Build your first store, step by step

Follow a candle-store example from sign-in to your first preview, a focused change, and the checks before publishing. Includes screenshots and short recordings.

Build a storefront you can review, change, and prepare to share. Follow the steps in order, or use the table of contents to return to the step you need.

The example is Quiet Mornings, a handmade candle store. Use your own business idea instead. Screenshots and silent recordings show the English interface; questions and available controls can vary by store.

Entry path: Runner AI → Start for free → sign in → your workspace.

The short path

1. Open the store-name menu → Create Store (or + Store in an empty workspace). Choose Build new if shown, or Connect Shopify for an existing Shopify store.
2. In the project conversation, describe your business, audience, visual direction, and required pages. Send the request and answer Runner’s questions.
3. When the first build is ready, open Storefront and review the preview. A ready preview is not public.
4. When ready to launch, select Publish and resolve every readiness item before confirming. Publication and working checkout remain separate checks.

Before you start

• Use an email or Google account you can access.
• Choose a workspace with an available store slot and enough credits for the request. Resolve any plan or access limit before creating another store.
• Prepare one sentence about what you sell and who buys it. Refine the design after the first preview.

You do not need to connect a payment provider to review a storefront. Preview, published, and ready to accept payments are separate checkpoints.

1. Sign in

1. Open Runner and select Start for free. If you are already signed in, select Open Workspace.
2. Select Continue with Google and choose your account, or enter your Email, select Continue, and enter the code from Runner’s email.
3. Complete any account questions shown. Runner opens your workspace or returns to the page where you started.

English callouts highlight the controls. Select the image to enlarge it.

Check: You can open your workspace without returning to sign-in. See Sign in if a code or account choice fails.

2. Create a store

1. Select the store name at the top of the left sidebar, then Create Store. Expand the sidebar first if it is collapsed. In an empty workspace, use the Create Store or + Store action shown there.
2. Choose Build new if the form offers a choice. Use Connect Shopify instead to keep an existing Shopify store.
3. Enter Quiet Mornings in Store Name, or use your own name.
4. Select Create and wait for the new store to open. Do not select Create again while it is working.

English callouts highlight the controls. Select the image to enlarge it.

Check: The sidebar shows the new store’s name. Creating the store does not build or publish its storefront yet.

3. Describe the first version

1. Select Storefront. If it has no built version, Runner shows an input asking what the storefront should look like. You can also use the new store’s conversation.
2. Copy this example into the input and change the business details:

Build a store for Quiet Mornings, a handmade candle brand for people
who enjoy slow mornings. Use warm cream colors, forest-green accents,
and spacious product photography. Include a homepage, product pages,
About, and Contact. Start with three sample candles: Morning Light,
Cedar Cabin, and Lavender Dusk. Keep the store unpublished.

3. Select the send arrow (Send message). If your starting screen shows Start building, use that action.
4. Runner opens the build conversation and starts work. Stay in this store while reviewing the result.

Check: Your request appears in the conversation. A progress indicator or a follow-up question appears below it. Sample products are for practice; replace their details before selling them.

4. Answer questions and follow the work

1. Read each question. Select an answer, or use Other… to write your own.
2. Answer the remaining questions. In this example, we choose a candle price and a photography direction.
3. Wait for Runner to continue. Open Details when you need to understand a failed or blocked step.

English callouts highlight the controls. Select the image to enlarge it.

Watch: answer the follow-up questions

The recording selects a price, advances to the photography question, then selects a visual direction. Answered confirms the choices and Runner resumes work. Your questions depend on your request.

Check: No question is still waiting for your answer. A completed message alone is not the final check: open the storefront and inspect what actually loads.

5. Preview and make one change

English callouts highlight the controls. Select the image to enlarge it.

1. Open Storefront, or select Preview on the completed build card when offered.
2. Wait until the store itself appears. Preparing preview… means it is not ready to review yet.
3. Open the homepage, a product, About, and Contact. Check the text, images, prices, and navigation.
4. Use the device control to check PC, Pad, and Phone. Look for cut-off text, overlapping buttons, and sideways scrolling.
5. Return to the conversation and request one specific change:

Change the homepage headline to “Make room for a slower morning.”
Keep the colors, layout, and product information unchanged.

6. Wait for the change, reopen the current preview, and confirm the new headline is visible. Check Phone again.

Check: You can point to the requested change in the preview. It is still unpublished. If available, Design Mode also lets you select an element for a focused edit.

English callouts highlight the controls. Select the image to enlarge it.

Watch: check desktop and phone layouts

The device control cycles from PC to Pad, then Phone, and back to PC. Only the preview frame changes; this action does not publish or edit your store.

6. Review the publication checks

Publishing can require a paid plan or additional workspace access. If Publish opens an upgrade message, review the current plans or return to your preview. Resolve that gate before expecting the publication confirmation.

English callouts highlight the controls. Select the image to enlarge it.

1. Select Publish in the Storefront toolbar. This starts access and readiness checks; it is not proof the store is live.
2. Read Put your store live? and wait for the build check.
3. Resolve the items shown. Fix with AI requests a repair, Retry check runs the check again, and Open Store Operations takes you to setup when offered.
4. If you are practising, select Cancel. To make this version public, review any warnings and select Confirm only when it is enabled.
5. After confirming, wait for a successful publication result, open the public URL, and check the live pages. If publication fails, do not assume your changes are live.

In the screenshot, the build check passes but setup still needs attention. Publish anyway — I’ll finish setup later., when offered, acknowledges the listed unfinished setup; it does not complete that work.

Watch: leave the checks without publishing

The recording reviews the build result and setup warning, then selects Cancel and returns to Preview. It does not publish the example store.

Check: A working preview proves the build is visible to you. A successful publication and working public URL prove visitors can reach it. Payment connection and checkout checks still need to be completed before taking orders.

Use Prepare to publish for products, shipping, policies, and other setup. Continue with Publish and republish and Live store and checkout.

If a step does not finish

Related guides

• Create a Runner store
• Write effective requests
• Preview your store
• Open your first store for business