This is a practical guide based on a fresh build. I opened a new Shopify store, connected Gelato, and moved a small set of hoodies over from my WooCommerce catalog. The steps below are the standard path, with small notes from the live build so you know what to expect.
What Shopify + POD is in 60 seconds
You sell designs on physical products without holding inventory. A POD app connects your Shopify orders to a production network that prints and ships to customers. Your focus is niche selection, quality listings, pricing, and traffic.
Step 1: Validate your niche
- List three to five audiences you know well.
- Draft six to twelve designs that audience will actually wear or use.
- Sanity check demand with search volume and a quick competitor scan.
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Step 2: Create your Shopify store
- Start a new Shopify store and pick a clean default theme.
- Add basic pages: About, Contact, Shipping, Returns, Privacy, Terms.
- Turn on payments: Shopify Payments and PayPal.
Live build notes: I kept the default Horizon theme, enabled Shopify Payments and PayPal, and left design changes for later. Products were invisible at first. The fix was to assign products to the Online Store sales channel.
Legal pages: Shopify can generate Cookie and Privacy pages. If you operate in DACH, plan to add an Impressum, AGB, Widerrufsbelehrung with form, and a Versand und Zahlung page before a public launch.
Step 3: Add a POD app
- Install the Gelato app from the Shopify App Store.
- Connect your Gelato account and follow the prompts.
- Confirm product sync and order routing with a quick draft test.
Why Gelato works well on Shopify: Native integration for listing and fulfillment, local production in many regions that can lead to faster delivery, a wide product catalog, and ready-made size charts.
Step 4: Publish your starter products
- Aim for five to ten products that represent your niche.
- Write clear benefits, add accurate sizing, and include lifestyle mockups.
- Price with a realistic margin cushion.
Live build notes: I published 11 hoodies using Instant Collections in two sequential runs. Each run took about 20 to 30 minutes. Every hoodie had 54 variants. I saw zero mapping errors. I set a simple 20 percent margin across the board.
Language note: Instant Collections generated titles and descriptions in English for my Shopify products. I did not see a language toggle in the Instant Collections interface. For a DACH store I would seed the Gelato templates with German titles and descriptions before bulk creation.
Size charts: Gelato provides size charts. In my current default theme the chart does not render by default. I would enable a size chart section or block before launch and re-check that it appears on product pages.
Step 5: Launch checklist
- SEO basics: readable URLs, primary keyword in the title and first paragraph, alt text on key images.
- Store visibility: confirm products are active and assigned to Online Store.
- Payments: place a low-value test order to confirm checkout.
- Analytics: add GA4 so sessions and product views are tracked.
- Support: enable order and shipping confirmation emails.
Step 6: Scale what works
- Add personalization options to improve average order value.
- Expand to new regions and lean on local production benefits.
- At roughly ten or more orders per month, evaluate Gelato Plus to reduce per-order costs.
Create your first products with Gelato
Live build stats
- Products published: 11 hoodies
- Variants per product: 54, about 594 total
- Bulk uploads: two sequential Instant Collections runs
- Time per run: about 20 to 30 minutes
- Mapping errors: none observed
- Theme: Horizon defaults
- Payments: Shopify Payments and PayPal
- Notes: products must be assigned to Online Store to be visible; AI copy generated in English for this build
Final thoughts
Bulk creation with Instant Collections made it easy to stand up a working catalog. The only friction was the visibility step and the English copy. For a public DACH launch I would seed German template text, enable a size chart block, and place two sample orders to check packaging and delivery times.
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