How to Go Live from Your Phone or Browser: A Guide to the LiveShoply Studio

The fastest way to start live shopping is to use the device already in your pocket. LiveShoply includes a browser-based studio that lets you broadcast a live show from a phone, tablet or laptop without installing any streaming software or mobile app. You open the studio page, allow camera and microphone access, and press go live. Viewers watch on your Shopify storefront and can add products to their cart while you talk.

This guide walks through how the browser studio works, how to prepare your device, how to pin products during a show, and what its limits are, so you can decide when it is the right tool and when a more advanced setup makes sense.

What the browser studio is

The browser studio is a page inside the LiveShoply admin that turns your browser into a broadcaster. Under the hood it uses WHIP, a modern standard for sending real-time video from a browser to a streaming server. In practical terms, that means three things:

• No downloads. There is no separate app to install on your phone and no encoder to configure on your computer. A current version of Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox is enough.
• Low setup time. You can go from "I should do a live show" to broadcasting in a few minutes.
• Available on every plan. The browser studio works on the Free plan, which makes it the natural place to try live shopping before committing to anything.

Your stream appears in the live player embedded in your theme and on your storefront live page at /apps/live. Viewers do not need an account or an app; they simply open your store.

What you need before you start

Before your first show, check the following:

1. LiveShoply installed and the app embed enabled. Install the app from the Shopify App Store, then open your theme editor and turn on the LiveShoply app embed. This loads the player and mini-player on your storefront.
2. A place for viewers to watch. Your storefront live page at /apps/live works immediately. You can also add the live player block to your homepage or any template through the theme editor.
3. A stable internet connection. Wi-Fi is usually more reliable than mobile data. Aim for a consistent upload speed of at least 5 Mbps. If you must use mobile data, do a test broadcast first.
4. Products ready in Shopify. Make sure the items you plan to feature are active, in stock and have clear titles and images, because these appear under the video during the show.
5. A charged device. Live video drains batteries quickly. Keep your phone plugged in for anything longer than 20 minutes.

Creating your first show

In the LiveShoply admin, open the Shows page and create a new show. Give it a clear title that tells shoppers what to expect, such as "Autumn knitwear try-on" rather than "Live show 3". Add a short description and pick a scheduled time if you want to announce it in advance.

Next, add the products you plan to feature. You can add as many as you like; during the broadcast you decide which one is pinned at any moment. Ordering them in the sequence you plan to present them makes pinning faster later.

If you schedule the show ahead of time, viewers who visit your live page before it starts can sign up for a reminder. We cover reminders in detail in our guide to email reminders and Klaviyo for live shows.

Setting up camera and microphone

When you open the studio for a show, your browser asks for permission to use the camera and microphone. Choose "Allow". If you accidentally block access, you can re-enable it in your browser's site settings and reload the page.

The studio lets you pick which camera and microphone to use. On a phone, you can usually choose between the front and rear cameras. On a laptop, you can choose an external webcam or USB microphone if one is connected.

• Front camera is convenient when you host alone and want to see the preview while you talk.
• Rear camera generally has better image quality, which matters for product detail, but you cannot see yourself. It works well when a second person operates the phone.
• External microphones make a bigger difference than most people expect. A simple clip-on lavalier mic that plugs into your phone removes room echo and keeps your voice clear when you move away from the device.

Before going live, look at the preview. Check that your face and the products are well lit, the background is tidy, and there is no strong light source behind you that turns you into a silhouette. For more on lighting and gear, see our live shopping equipment setup guide.

Going live and pinning products

When you are ready, press the go live button. After a short moment your stream reaches the player on your storefront, and the show status changes to live. Anyone on your live page, or on a page containing the live player block, starts watching.

Pinning is the feature that turns a video stream into a shopping experience. When you pin a product, it appears under the video with its image, price and a variant picker. Viewers can choose a size or color and add it to their cart without leaving the stream. Here is a simple routine that works well:

1. Introduce the product verbally and show it on camera.
2. Pin it at the moment you start describing it, not at the end, so viewers can act while they are interested.
3. Say out loud that it is pinned: "It's pinned below the video, so you can pick your size right now."
4. Keep it pinned while you answer related questions in chat.
5. Pin the next product when you move on.

Because LiveShoply uses your normal Shopify cart and checkout, orders go through exactly as they would from a product page. If a viewer navigates away to browse, the mini-player keeps the stream playing in a corner of the screen so they do not miss anything.

Working with chat while you host

Live chat appears alongside the player for viewers and in the studio for you. Hosting alone from a phone means you have to split attention between talking, showing products and reading messages. A few habits help:

• Read questions aloud before answering. Many viewers do not read chat, so repeating the question gives context.
• Batch your chat checks. Glance at chat after each product segment rather than constantly.
• Ask a colleague to moderate. A second person logged into the admin can moderate messages, run polls and share live deals, while you focus on presenting.

Polls, keyword giveaways and time-limited live deals are covered in our guide to live chat, polls and live deals.

Recording and replays from the browser

It is important to understand how recording works with the browser studio. Browser broadcasts are not recorded in the cloud. Instead, the studio records the show locally in your browser while you broadcast, and then uploads that recording as the replay when you end the show.

In practice this means:

• Keep the studio tab open after you end the show until the upload finishes. Closing the tab or locking your phone too early can interrupt the upload.
• Make sure you have free storage on your device, since the recording is stored temporarily before it is uploaded.
• Expect the upload to take a few minutes for longer shows, depending on your connection.

Once uploaded, the replay becomes shoppable, with the same products available to buy. See our guide to shoppable replays and the video library to learn how to place replays on product pages.

Tips for a smooth phone broadcast

• Turn on Do Not Disturb. Incoming calls and notifications can interrupt the camera or the stream.
• Close other apps. Background apps compete for memory, processing power and bandwidth.
• Do a private test. Run a short test show to check sound, framing and pinning before your first public broadcast.
• Keep products within reach. Arrange them in order on a table next to you so you do not walk out of frame.
• Plan the first minute. Viewers trickle in, so open with a short welcome and a preview of what is coming rather than diving into your best product immediately. Our show script template helps here.
• Invite a co-host if needed. You can bring remote guests into a show using an invite link, which is useful for interviews or collaborations. See co-hosting a live shopping show.

Frequently asked questions

Do viewers need to download anything? No. Viewers watch in their normal browser on your Shopify storefront, either on your live page or wherever you have placed the live player block. They do not need an account with LiveShoply or any app.

Can I use the browser studio on a laptop instead of a phone? Yes. The studio runs in any current desktop browser. A laptop is often more comfortable for hosting because you can see chat and the product list on a larger screen, and you can connect a USB webcam and microphone.

What happens if my connection drops? Short interruptions may cause viewers to see the video pause or buffer. If the connection fails completely, reopen the studio and go live again for the same show. To reduce the risk, use Wi-Fi close to the router, close other apps and avoid moving between networks during a show.

Can I remove the LiveShoply branding from the player? Branding removal is available on the Starter plan and above. On the Free plan, the player shows a small LiveShoply credit.

Is the studio available in my language? The LiveShoply admin, including the studio, is available in 11 languages: English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Polish, Japanese and Swedish. The storefront widget your viewers see is localized automatically based on your store locale.

How long can a browser show be? There is no special time limit for browser shows, but longer shows use more viewer minutes and create larger local recordings to upload afterwards. Most successful shows run between 20 and 45 minutes. Keep an eye on battery, device storage and your plan's monthly viewer minutes.

When to move to OBS

The browser studio is ideal for getting started, quick drops and casual behind-the-scenes shows. You might consider moving to OBS or another RTMP encoder when you want multiple cameras, on-screen graphics, cloud recording, or multistreaming to Facebook and YouTube on the Growth plan and above. RTMP streaming is available from the Starter plan; our OBS and RTMP setup guide covers it step by step.

Many merchants use both: the browser studio for spontaneous shows and OBS for scheduled, produced events. Compare plans on our pricing page or see everything the studio can do on the features page. If you get stuck, the in-app Help page has live chat support.