Part 3: Store Setup

Click My Account and then select Go to Vendor Dashboard > the Dashboard will reappear in a list form on the left.

From Dashboard, select Settings at bottom of the column on left. Here you will enter your Store, Payment (if you haven’t already), and Social Profile details within each category in the left column.

The following chapters lead you through each step.

Click on Settings > Store

Step 1: Store Setup

Upload a Banner Image for your store: Choose an image of your farm, shop, or a beautiful bounty of your products from your personal files to represent your store and identity as a whole.  

Make sure it has at least the pixel dimensions noted (larger is ok, smaller will not expand to fit the banner frame). Suggested image dimensions: 1200 by 600 pixels.       

The pixels can generally be found underneath the photo thumbnail, you can change the size or dimensions by clicking on Save As, and changing the size. 

Click Select and Crop, and the image will auto crop to the required size. 

Add your Profile Picture, a picture of you, your family, your animal or your logo. 

Be prepared for it to cut the corners into a circle. 

If you have a circular version of your logo that would be the best to upload. Suggested image dimensions: 150 x 150 pixels

Add your FarmDrop Store Name, same as your Business Name 

Add your Products per Page: default is 20, which is about 4 rows of 5 products across. 

Add Address, if it does not auto-populate.

Add Bio; this is meant to be short, please make your bio to about 35 words, not more. 

i.e “Mosswood Farm is a small regenerative vegetable farm in Lollywood, ME bringing a variety of fresh vegetables, and stone fruit to our communities. We care deeply about the sustainability of our local food system!”

Finally, click Update Settings.

Nicely, done! If you did not Connect Stripe via the Let’s Go wizard at registration, now is the time. If you already connected it, it is worth checking again, then going on to Step 3.

Click on Settings > Payments 

Step 2: Connect Your Stripe Account

Click Connect Stripe. …If you do not have an existing Stripe account for your FarmDrop created you will choose Create a New Account

To create a new Stripe Account, complete the form that pops up. Please note that you will need an Employee Identification Number or Social Security Number, as well as bank account and routing numbers.  

  1. If you have an account already, select the one you will connect to FarmDrop and click Connect
  1. If you already have a Stripe account, but want to connect a new business with different details for your FarmDrop online sales select Use a new business.  

After you connect your Stripe to FarmDrop, you will be brought back to your Vendor Dashboard and the payments area. 

Once you have taken care of these steps we encourage you to add some of the following additions to your store to really make it stand out to customers:

Click on Settings > Social Profile

Step 3: Link Your Social Profile

Enter all social media links that you wish to include. 

Search in your browser for your own facebook page, linkedin and instagram and when the search engine finds the correct account, click on it add then copy the link that shows up in your browser.

Click on Settings > Store SEO

Step 4: Optimize Your Store SEO (Search Engine Optimization): 

SEO is a strategy by which you can maximize the number of visitors to your store & your regional FarmDrop website. When you create a description or summarize the content of your page, you can use words and phrases that make the site rank higher and appear closer to the top of the list of results returned by a search engine, like Google.

Your SEO can help you to increase your store traffic and reach more customers who may not already know about you or FarmDrop, but are just searching online for ways to buy food in your area. 

You’ll be creating what we call a meta description (sometimes called a “meta description attribute” or “tag”). How to write a great meta description:

  1. Stick to your brand voice and tone, but also keep it conversational.
  2. Include as many primary keywords as you can, like “organic farm” 
  3. Make sure you convey value such as “freshly harvested”
  4. Include a call-to-action, like “Learn more here.”
  5. Write in active voice.

For the best results, use your settings to set your SEO title, meta description, meta keywords, Facebook title, store or farm description, store or farm image, Twitter title, Twitter description, and Twitter image.

 

Step 5: Review Your Store

To make sure your images and information are all properly displayed: Click the Visit Store button at the bottom of the left column. There you will be able to see how everything is displayed to customers.

When you are satisfied with your set up, return to the Dashboard, the top left button of the left column. Great job!

Now let’s work on your Products > go to the next lesson to continue setting up your account.