Lesson 5 of 7 5 min
Checkout, policies and the things that make strangers trust you
The checkout form, a minimum order, trust badges, your returns and delivery policies, branded order numbers, and the share preview a forwarded link shows.
A friend will buy from a half-finished store. A stranger will not. This lesson is the twenty minutes that turn a store your friends like into one a stranger pays on.
Checkout
In Settings → Checkout you choose the Default method (a normal Direct Order form, or WhatsApp), and which details the customer fills in. Phone and delivery address are shown and required by default — keep them that way for anything you post. You can set a minimum order value, add trust badges that appear at checkout (100% secure payments, Easy returns), and set an Order ID prefix so your orders read MYSTORE-0001 on invoices from day one. Details in Checkout: order methods & form.
Policies
Under Settings → Pages & policies, write your returns policy, delivery times and COD rules. You decided the policy in Money and paperwork basics; the return policy generator turns it into a page in a minute. A clear policy on its own page is one of the strongest trust signals a small store has, and it is what you point to when someone asks for a refund on day twelve. See Policies & products page.
Branding and the menu
In Settings → Branding: your logo, favicon, the accent colour from the first course, and an announcement bar for the one line you want everyone to see (Free delivery above ₹999). In Settings → Navigation & menu: hide links you will not use yet (a Blog you have not written) and keep Track Order, so customers can follow parcels without messaging you. Guides: Branding, Edit your store menu.
The preview people see before they click
When your link is forwarded on WhatsApp or posted on Instagram, a small card shows a title, a line and an image. Set those under Settings → SEO & sharing: the name shown on Google, a one-line description, and a share photo. Without them the card is blank, and a blank card gets fewer taps. SEO & social sharing has the field names and sizes.
Your WhatsApp number
Under Settings → Store details, enter your WhatsApp number with the country code. It powers WhatsApp checkout, the chat bubble, and the message the customer button on every order. Use the business number from the first course, not your personal one.
Read it on your phone
Most of your customers will see the store on a phone. Before the next lesson, open your draft store on yours and read every page as a stranger would: is the price obvious, is the delivery time stated, is it clear what happens after they pay?
Write down
The one question a stranger would still have after reading your store. Answer it on the product page or in the announcement bar before you launch.
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