What you will learn
- Which pages are truly essential
- What each page must say
- Where pages should be linked
- How to write policy pages honestly
- Pages to add as you grow
1. Homepage, product pages, and collections
The homepage states what you sell and points visitors to products within seconds. Product pages carry the buying decision: photos, price, options, stock, and delivery information. Collection pages group products by category so shoppers can browse without searching. If any of these three is thin or confusing, the rest of the store cannot compensate for it.
2. About page
An about page tells visitors who is behind the store, why it exists, and what it stands for, in a few honest paragraphs. You do not need a long company history; a new store can simply say what it makes, where it operates from, and what it cares about. A real about page with a real photo builds more trust than a generic mission statement copied from elsewhere.
3. Contact page
A contact page needs a working contact method, such as an email address or a contact form, plus realistic response times. Add your business location in general terms if you have one, and state your working hours if replies are not instant. Customers who cannot find any way to reach you will assume there is none, and will shop elsewhere.
4. Shipping, returns, and refund pages
A shipping page states delivery regions, expected times, and costs, including whether any threshold earns free shipping. A returns page states the return window, the condition items must be in, who pays return postage, and how refunds are issued. Write these from your actual process, not from an ideal one, because customers will hold you to exactly what is written here.
5. Privacy policy and terms of service
A privacy policy explains what customer data you collect, why, and how it is used, including checkout, analytics, and marketing tools. Terms of service cover the basics of using the store, ordering, and pricing. Shopify provides templates for both; adapt them to your actual practices rather than publishing them unchanged, since a template that describes tools you do not use is misleading.
Example: a minimal page set for a new store. A new store selling printed notebooks launches with eight pages: home, two collections, product pages, about, contact, shipping, returns, and privacy. The footer links to about, contact, shipping, returns, and privacy, and the contact page promises replies within one working day. Nothing is fancy, but every question a first-time buyer is likely to ask has an answer somewhere on the site, and the owner can add a FAQ page and a blog once orders are flowing.
Keeping pages honest as you grow
Pages written at launch describe a small, new store, and they drift out of date as the business changes: shipping times improve, return handling changes, and new product categories arrive. Schedule a review of every essential page once a quarter, and update any sentence that no longer matches reality, especially delivery ranges, return windows, and contact response times. A page that was accurate at launch but wrong now is more damaging than a page that was never written, because customers rely on it.
As the store grows, add pages only when a real question keeps recurring. A FAQ page earns its place when support messages repeat the same questions; a size guide earns its place when sizing questions dominate; a wholesale page earns its place when trade enquiries arrive regularly. Pages added to answer real questions stay maintained, because they keep proving their value, while pages added speculatively go stale and quietly mislead visitors.
Frequently asked questions
Which page should I build first?
Product pages first, then the homepage, then shipping and returns. A store cannot sell without products, and buyers check shipping and returns before paying.
Do policy pages need a lawyer?
For a small store, adapted templates are a reasonable start, but they are not legal advice. If you sell regulated products or operate in several countries, get proper advice.
Where should policy pages be linked?
From the footer on every page, and from checkout where relevant. Customers look for them in the footer by habit, so hiding them elsewhere reduces trust.
Can I use Shopify policy templates as they are?
You can start from them, but edit them to match your real shipping, returns, and data practices. An unedited template may promise things you do not actually do.
How long should an about page be?
A few short paragraphs is enough. Say who you are, what you sell, and why, in your own words, and stop there.