docs/user/user-quickstart-guide.mdx
Spree Commerce gives you a powerful, flexible platform to build and manage your online store - but before you can start selling, there are a few key steps to complete.
This guide walks you through the essential setup tasks, from configuring payments and taxes to adding products and launching your storefront. Whether you're launching an MVP or just exploring Spree’s capabilities, this guide will help you get up and running quickly.
When you log into a fresh Spree Commerce instance, you’ll land on the Getting Started tab - a quick-launch checklist that helps you configure the essentials and go live faster.
You’ll see four key onboarding tasks:
Once all tasks are completed, the checklist will disappear from view. Let’s walk through each step below.
To sell anything, you’ll need to configure at least one payment method.
Click Setup Payment Method to jump to Settings → Payments.
At the top, you’ll see your currently enabled methods (e.g., Store Credits, added by default).
Below that is a list of available payment methods you can add, such as Stripe, Adyen or PayPal.
<Note>Only payment methods that have been installed will appear in the Available Payment Methods list. If a method you’re expecting isn’t listed, ask your developer to confirm it has been added to the codebase.</Note>
To add a method:
<Note>Most payment gateways require you to have an account with the provider before setup.</Note>
To learn more about available methods and configuration, see <u>Payments</u>.
There are three ways to populate your store’s catalog:
Click the Add Products button to start adding manually, or refer to the relevant articles based on your method.
Once you’ve added some products, make sure to set them as Active to publish them on the storefront.
For more detailed guides on creating and managing products, see:
This small but critical step ensures customers know how to reach you.
Simply enter your customer support email in the field provided, and click Save.
This address will appear on your storefront and works as a contact for your customers in case they have any queries or require support.
To charge the correct taxes at checkout, click Setup Tax Rates to be taken to Settings → Tax.
From here, you can configure:
For full instructions, please refer to our <u>Tax support article</u>.
Customers won’t be able to complete orders without at least one shipping method configured.
To configure a shipping methods, go to Settings → Shipping and click New Shipping Method to define:
See <u>Shipping Methods</u> for a full breakdown of settings and examples.
<Note>By default, all Spree stores have a Digital Delivery method pre-configured. If you plan on selling digital products, be sure to assign those products the Digital shipping category.</Note>
Once your product catalog, payments, taxes, and shipping are ready, it's time to build your storefront. Spree gives you a built-in visual page builder that lets you design your storefront without writing any code.
Navigate to Storefront in the admin dashboard to access:
Here you can customize the design, layout, and branding of your storefront, and add new themes that you can switch between when desired.
Simply click on the theme you wish to edit to launch the Theme Editor.
If this is a fresh Spree installation, you’ll see the blank, default layout. However, here you can easily:
For a detailed guide on customizing your storefront theme, please refer to our <u>Theme Editor support article</u>.
<Warning>Changes are only saved when published. Previewing alone does not make them live.</Warning>
At the top of the Themes section, click Connect your own domain to add a custom domain or subdomain. This will redirect you to Settings → Domains where you can complete the setup of your custom domain.
Use the Pages section to add static pages like:
Click Add new page and fill in the page name and SEO fields.
Click Create to finalize the settings of the new page, and you’ll be taken directly to the Theme Editor to edit the content of your new page.
To learn more about Pages, please refer to our <u>Pages</u> support article.
Spree includes a built-in blogging tool that’s great for content marketing and SEO.
To add a blog post, go to Storefront → Posts and click New Post.
Simply, fill in your post content, image, and SEO fields, set a Published At date, and click Create to finalize your new post.
To learn more about Posts, please refer to our <u>Posts</u> support article.
In Storefront → Settings, you can control:
Make sure to click Update to save your changes.
<Note>To appear in search results, make sure Index in search engines is checked.</Note>
If you need to launch multiple storefronts (e.g., for different regions or brands), you can create a new store by clicking the + button next to your store name (top-left) and selecting New Store.
You’ll be asked to:
Each store can operate independently and have unique designs, catalogs, and settings, but they all share customers, admin users, and some other configurations.
Learn more about managing multiple stores in our <u>multi-store use case documentation</u>.
Your Spree dashboard Home tab gives you high-level insights into store performance.
You’ll see:
Use the date selector to change the reporting period at any time.
Similarly, you can view and export sales reports from the Reports tab:
For more detailed analytics, we recommend using our native <u>Google Analytics 4</u> or <u>Google Tag Manager</u> integration.
Once you’ve completed the basic setup, you’re ready to explore more advanced features and tailor your store to your business model. Here’s some recommended reading: