The fact that Shopify is one of the biggest eCommerce websites out there means that it will be attracting thousands of online retailers on a regular basis.
The implication of this is that, if you are yet to open an online store with Shopify and intend to open one soon, the possibility of someone already using your name and the person has gone ahead to register the name as a company cannot be ruled out.
The truth is that even though you can operate a Shopify store with a name that is not registered, you can lose the name to someone who is smart enough to register the name as a company, and then follow the laid down process to open a Shopify store under the name even if someone is already using the name.
All they need to do is to change the domain address or adjust the name. Now, the question is what can you do if your Shopify store name is already taken and registered as a company?
Choose Another Business Name and Get it Registered as a Company
If you notice that your Shopify store name is registered as a company, one of the options you have is to change the business name.
This is so because you cannot register a business name that is already registered. As a matter of fact, you are required to conduct a name search before you can receive the clearance to register a business name. Once the name has been taken, they will provide you with options you can choose from if you are still interested in using the same name.
If you are not satisfied with any of the options you have, you may want to change the name entirely to a new name and then go ahead to register the business name.
After registering the business name as a company, you may go ahead and keep using the old name and wait for the person that registered the business name to negotiate with you if they intend to open an online store in Shopify.
If the owners of the business name are not interested in opening an online store in Shopify with the business name, then you may go ahead to open a new online store in Shopify with your newly registered company.
Adjust the Name to fit into the Business Name you Want to Register as a Company
Another option you have if your Shopify business name is taken and registered as a company by another person is to choose a name that is similar to the name you are using for your online store on Shopify.
For example, if the name you are using on Shopify is www.chriswilliamsherbalstore.com and people know your business as Chris Williams Herbal Store on Shopify but someone has already registered Chris Willams Herbal store as a company, you may want to change your business name to Williams Chris Herbal Store and then get the business registered.
With that, you may decide to maintain www.chriswilliamsherbalstore.com as your online store on Shopify or you may choose to open a new online store on Shopify that reflects your newly registered company that is www.williamschrisherbalstore.com. The bottom line is to make sure you are doing the right thing when choosing a name.
In conclusion,
It is important to always follow due process when starting a business. Following due process when starting a business means once you are able to come up with a business idea, the first thing to do is to get the business name registered before going ahead to open a domain name for the business or even opening an online store.
But the mistake many people make is that they first open an online store with a business name before registering the business name.