Creating an Online Store
Creating an online store has never been easier.
Your Helcim account makes it quick and easy to set up an online store. Use the information and content that already exists in your Helcim account to launch an online store in just minutes.
Below is a suggested setup guide for creating your online store, although you do not have to follow these steps in this order if you prefer not to. Click on the link in each step to see the corresponding support article.
- Products- Adding products is probably the best place to start, as they will be the foundation of your store.
- Review the Invoice and Merchandise Settings for your account to confirm inventory tracking, shipping, and tax settings as these will affect your online store
- Confirm your Store Settings - Change how customers can access your store, your shipping settings, tax calculation, payments and tips
- Set up a Quick Order Menu if needed
- Review your Domain Name Settings - Use the Default Subdomain provided by Helcim, or purchase and use your domain name (such as a .com name) while still taking advantage of our fully hosted online store.
- Customize the look and feel of your Online Store with the Theme Designer
- Add Hero Images to your pages and create Content Blocks
- Blog - Create blog articles for your customers to read.
Preview of the Helcim Online Store
Preview of the Quick-Order Menu
Theme Designer
You can use the Theme Editor in the Online Store to create a beautiful website that reflects your brand.
To get started, click on Online Store and then click on Theme Designer.
You will now be able to view a preview of your website in the center of your screen and the Theme Designer options on the right-hand side of your screen. As you make changes in the Theme Designer, you will be able to see a preview of what they will look like on your website.
Logo
Store Logo: Click on the Upload button to add your business logo to your online store, your store logo should be 400 x 200 pixels.
Icon
Store Icon: If you would like to add an icon for your store, you can upload an .ico file using the Upload button. The file should have an extension of .ico and sizes should be 16x16, 32x32 or 48x48
General
Logo Width: Use the drop-down menu to select how wide you want your logo to be. As you make a selection you will be able to preview how it looks before you save the changes.
Hero & Product Images Size: Use the drop-down menu to change how small or large your product photos are.
Image Fit: Use the drop-down menu to choose between Crop or Scale, crop will adjust your images to fit in the product image box whereas scale will adjust the image based on its upload size to fit the entire image in the frame. You can preview the two options on the left-hand side of your screen as you switch between the two.
Brand Color: Click on the color icon to choose from pre-selected swatches, or use the color picker to enter a custom color.
Theme Mode: Use the drop-down menu to pick between light and dark mode.
Text Font: Use the drop-down menu to change your fonts.
Text Size: Use the drop-down menu to change your text size.
Once you are done making your changes, click on Reset Design to clear the edits, or Save to apply the changes.
Hero Images
Highlight your products using hero images in your online store.
A hero image is a large picture that is stretched across the top of the page like a banner. You can add these images to increase the visual appeal of your products for customers, but they are not necessary for the online store to function.
Hero image size
The maximum image size is 2000 x 2000 pixels.
To add a hero image or view your existing images, click on Online Store and Hero Images.
If you have existing hero images you see an overview of which sections of your online store currently have images assigned to them. Clicking on a Hero Image will expand the additional details associated with that image.
Adding a New Hero Image
To add a new hero image, click on Add in the corner of the hero images screen.
Next, enter the details using the text boxes on the New Hero Image Screen to create the image.
Page/Section: Use the drop-down menu to select where on your online store you want to assign the hero image. Sub-section: The sub-section will populate with options based on the page you previously selected, use the drop-down to further specify where the image should be assigned. Title: Enter the text you want to appear on the hero image, this can be left blank if you do not want to add any text. Subtitle: Enter any subtitle text you want to appear on the hero image, this can be left blank if you do not want to add any text. Button Text: You can add a clickable button to your hero image with a call to action if you would like, if you do not want to add a button to your hero image then leave this field blank. Button Link: Add a link to the page where you want the button to direct your customers. Upload: Click to upload the image you want to use as a hero image.
Click on Save to create the new hero image.
Editing a Hero Image
You can make changes to any of your existing hero images by clicking on the downward-facing arrow next to the image.
You can now review the details for the hero image and make any applicable changes.
Be sure to click Save when you are done editing to apply your changes.
Customize your Online Store using content blocks
You are in control of the look and feel of your online store, including adding custom text to content blocks throughout your website.
If you want to add content to your home page, header, footer, about us page, or if you want to create a thank you message for your customers, you can do so by creating a content block.
To edit and create your content blocks, click on Online Store and Content Blocks from the main product menu. You will now see the Content Blocks menu with the different page options on the right-hand side of your screen.
Home Page
Use the Home Page text box to add any content that you would like to be displayed on the main home page of your website. This content will show up just below the hero image.
Use the toolbar at the top of the text box to customize and format your text as needed. Click on Save once you are done to apply your changes.
Header
To add text to the header of your website you need to toggle the radio button On to activate the feature. Once the radio button is On you can access the text box and enter your content. Anything entered here will be displayed between the page content and the header on all of your online store pages.
Click on Save once you are done to apply your changes.
Footer
To add text to the footer of your website you need to toggle the radio button On to activate the feature. Once the radio button is On you can access the text box and enter your content. Anything entered here will be displayed between the page content and the footer on all of your online store pages.
Click on Save once you are done to apply your changes.
About Us
To add information to the About Us section of your online store, use the About Us text box. Once you have entered your business information, click on Save.
Thank You
You can use the Thank You text box to create a custom message for customers once they finish checking out. Once you have entered your thank you message, click on Save.
Blogs for your Online Store
Add a blog to your online Store to share updates and exciting news with your customers.
Before adding content to your blog, you first need to turn on the feature. To do this, click on Online Store and Store Overview.
Now, under the General settings page, ensure the radio button for Enable Blog is turned On.
Once enable blog is turned On you will see an option for Blog under the Online Store options in the main menu. Click on Blog to add content to your online store.
Click on Blog to view the main articles page, here you can view any existing articles that you have created and the Website Blog menu options to edit your Articles, Topics, and Authors.
Articles
To create a new blog article, click on New Article in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
Creating a blog post
Mandatory blog fields are noted with an asterisk. This includes adding an Author. You will need to add at least one blog author to under the Authors page before you can create a blog post.
You can now enter the Article information for your new blog post.
Author: Use the drop-down menu to select from a list of the Authors you have created.
Topic: If you have created topics to sort your blog posts by, you can select the associated topic using the drop-down menu.
Visibility: Use the drop-down menu to select Hidden for posts that you don't want your customers to be able to see yet, or Published, for posts you want to be visible on your website.
Publish Date: Use the calendar tool to assign a publish date to the post.
Title: Enter the title you want to use for the blog post.
Blog Image: Click on the Upload button to select a header image for the blog post. The maximum image size is 2000 x 2000 pixels.
Page Content: Use the text box to enter the body content for your blog post. You can use the toolbar above the text box to format your content.
If you would like to add SEO Information to your blog post to help customers discover your content using search engines, toggle the SEO Information radio button On. You can now enter the SEO details for your blog post.
SEO Information: Toggle the radio button On to activate the additional SEO Information fields.
SEO Title: Enter your preferred search engine friendly blog title here.
SEO Tags: Add the keyword tags you want to include for your blog post.
SEO URL: Enter a descriptive URL for your blog post.
SEO Description: Enter a short description of what your blog post is about, this description will be shown in search results below your blog title.
Click on Save to apply your changes and create your new blog article.
Topics
You can create topics and subtopics to help sort your blog articles based on their subjective matter. To get started, click on Topics from the Your Website Blog menu on the right-hand side of your screen.
Next, click on Add Topic to create a new blog topic.
Now, enter the information for the new topic.
Name: Use the text box to enter the title of the new topic.
Parent: If you want the new topic to be assigned as a subtopic of an existing topic, use the drop-down menu to assign the parent topic here.
Click on Save to apply your changes.
Authors
To assign different authors to each of your blog articles. To create a new author, click on Authors from the Your Website Blog menu on the right-hand side of your screen.
Next, click on Add Author to create a new author.
Now, enter the information for the author using the textboxes.
Name: Use the textbox to enter the display name you want to use for the new author.
Biography: Enter a short description of who the author is.
Social Media: Toggle radio button On if you would like to add links to the author's social media profiles.
Click on Save to apply your changes.
Custom Web Pages
If you want to view or edit the existing pages for your online store or create a new page, you can do so by clicking on Online Store and Custom Pages.
If you have created a custom page already it will be shown on this page.Adding a New Custom Page
If you have not created any custom pages yet, click on the + to get started.
Now, use the text boxes to enter the page information.
Page Title: Enter the title you want to use for the page.
Visible: Toggle the radio button On to make the page visible to your customers.
Page Content: Enter the text for the page in this box, you can format the content using the options in the menu bar at the top of the text box.
If you would like to enter SEO information for the page, toggle the SEO radio button On.
SEO Title: Enter a search engine friendly title if you want to include one. This field is optional if you do not enter anything the SEO title will be the same as your Page Title.
SEO URL: Enter a search engine friendly URL. This field is optional if you do not enter anything the URL will be based on your Page Title.
SEO Description: Enter a brief summary of what the page is about, this will be displayed in the search results.
Click on Save to apply your changes.
Deleting a Page
If you want to delete a page from your online store, click on the Trash Can icon.
Editing a Page
To edit a page from the online store, click on the Pencil Icon.
You can now make changes to the page content using the text boxes.
Advanced Store Options
To view the online store options for your Analytics Code, Custom Code, or Meta-Tags, click on Online Store and Advanced Options.
You can select Analytics Code, Meta-Tags, or DNS Record from the menu on the left-hand side of your screen.
Analytics Code
Use this text box to enter any custom code you want to apply to your website. To write Javascript, wrap your code using the tag <script>. To write CSS, wrap your code using the tag <style>. You can also use this text box to enter tracking codes from your preferred analytics site. For example, from Google Analytics.
Meta-Tags
Meta-tags are small sections of text that you can add to your website's code to describe a page's content. The meta-tags that you add to your website that will only be visible to the search engine. If you would like to add meta-tags to your online store, you can do so here.
Adding a New Meta-Tag
To create a new meta-tag, click on New Meta Tag in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
You can now enter in the tag details.
Tag Identifier: This is for your reference only, so you can quickly identify what the tag is for.
Tag HTML: Follow the format outlined in the text box to input the meta-tag. (<meta=ADD YOUR CONTENT HERE>)
Generation of tags
Your Helcim account automatically generates many of these tags using the properties of your Commerce data and these automatically generated tags can't be overridden.
Click on Save to create your meta-tag.
Editing Meta-Tags
If you need to edit a meta-tag after it has been created, simply click on the tag from the main page to re-open the text boxes.
You are now able to change the content of the meta-tag, or re-name it.
Click on Save to apply your changes.
Deleting a Meta-Tag
To delete an existing meta-tag, simply click on the Trash Can icon next to the tag on the main landing page.
Then click Yes to confirm you want to delete the meta-tag.
DNS Record
To review how to use a subdomain of an existing website domain for your Helcim Online Store, please visit our support article here.
Your Helcim account includes ecommerce options that make it easy to accept online food orders.
You can create a Quick-Order Menu to make it easy for customers to submit their food orders. Helcim Online Food Ordering uses information that is already saved in your Helcim account and applies it to your online store.
Follow these steps to create a Quick-Order Menu
- Or, use the Product Import feature to upload multiple products at once
- Sort products by Category so it's easy for customers to find what they're looking for Create Product Add-Ons for the different Categories
- Edit Product-Add Ons for each Product if required
- Add any required Variants to your Products
Once you have added your Products and Categories and created any required Product Add-Ons and Variants you're ready to create your Quick-Order Menu. To get started, click on Online Store and Store Settings.
Under the General Store Settings Page toggle the radio button to Enable Quick-Order Mode to On.
There will now be a page for Quick-Order on your website.
Customers are now able to quickly browse through your menu, select items, customize their choices, and add them to their cart to check out.
Tip for importing products
Some Tips to help you set up your Quick-Order Menu: If you're adding products to your store for the first time, use the Import option to quickly add multiple products, when adding new products ensure you select Available Online to have products appear on your website, and visit the support articles linked above for additional assistance in setting up your Product Catalog.
Adding Policies
You can add a selection of different policies to your online store to keep customers informed on how your business handles orders, returns, shipping and privacy.
Adding a Contact Us and Return policy are mandatory to enable your online store. Until these two policies are added your store will be in test mode. The Merchant Policy, Privacy Policy, and Shipping Policy are all optional and you can add them at your discretion.
To create a new policy for your online store, click on Online Store in the left-hand menu bar of your account, then select Policies.
Once you have clicked on the Policies page, you can view the different policy options on the right-hand side of the screen. Click through these options to select the policy you want to add.
Once you have selected the policy you want to add or edit, use the drop down menu to select the policy title and use the text box to enter the content for the policy.
Once you are done adding or editing your policy, click on Save to apply your changes.
Required Policies
The General store setting page will show a Required Policies notice if you have not yet created a Contact Us or Return Policy for your online store. These policies are required to follow best practices for online payments and can help protect your business from chargebacks and customer complaints. Your Online Store will be in test mode until these policies are added.
You can verify your Helcim Online Store domain with your Facebook or Instagram account by adding a <head> </head> tag to the Meta Tags under Online Store and Advanced Options.
Facebook provides three options to verify your domain, however, you only need to use one method of verification. For the Helcim Online Store, you will want to follow the instructions for verification method number three. You can view Facebook's Verifying Your Domain support documents here.
First, you will need to start by logging into your Facebook Business Account and completing the steps listed below:
- Go to your Business Settings https://business.facebook.com/settings/
- Then select
Brand Safety and Domains from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen
- Select
Add then copy and paste your Helcim Online Store URL into the textbox
- You will now see the verification options.
The option you want to select in the drop-down is Add a meta-tag to your HTML source code. Leave this tab open in a browser as you will need to copy the meta-tag information and return to this page to Verify Domain after adding the tag to your Helcim account.
You will now want to open a new browser tab to log into your Helcim account and navigate to Online Store and Advanced Options.
Next, select Meta-Tags from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
Click the New Meta-Tag button.
Now enter an identifiable name for the tag and copy and paste the meta-tag provided by Facebook.
Click Save to create the new meta-tag.
Now go back to your Facebook Business Settings and click Verify Domain. Facebook notes that it may take up to 72 hours for them to verify your domain.
Now, use the text boxes to enter the page information.
Page Title: Enter the title you want to use for the page.
SEO Title: Enter a search engine friendly title if you want to include one. This field is optional if you do not enter anything the SEO title will be the same as your Page Title.
You can now make changes to the page content using the text boxes.
