The unfortunate start of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in lockdowns and travel restrictions being put in place around the world to slow the spread of the disease. Because of this, many people around the world have become less mobile and making physical purchases to meet their needs has become difficult. Therefore, online shopping has become popular all over the world during the current pandemic period and it is expected to increase even after the pandemic is over.
It follows that many eCommerce websites have been created to capitalize on this growing trend. As a result, the growth of e-commerce business has outpaced that of traditional ‘brick and mortar’ businesses many times in recent times. In fact, many of these traditional businesses, even the most established ones, have to bring their businesses online in order to survive. However, many smaller ones face stiff competition from e-commerce businesses and sadly those that were not sustainable went out of business.
The success of e-commerce companies has had such an impact that many people have started selling online using social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or Tik Tok. But the more enterprising are looking to dive into e-commerce in a broader way rather than just using the social media platform. But first, to start an eCommerce business, you need to create an eCommerce website to begin with.
Fortunately, there is a structured process for creating an ecommerce website. Although a website developer is normally dedicated to that task, having some relevant knowledge could also help you create a website for your online business.
Just follow these 8 easy steps to create an ecommerce website from scratch:
1. Decide the product niche for your store
When you search the internet, you will have come across many e-commerce websites that sell a variety of products. However, there are also many similar websites that focus on selling a specific line of products or services, such as clothing, pet accessories, fashion clothes, shoes, or travel packages. In addition, there are other e-commerce websites that sell many different products such as smartphones, cameras, home appliances, household items, sports and health items, lamps, laptops, books, etc. The latter is something similar to a hypermarket where you can find almost anything, whatever, they have it.
To get started, it’s important to decide on the niche or type of services you want to sell or provide on your website. In your decision, you must know the local demand for certain products related to the niche or certain high-demand services that interest you. Keep in mind that buyers would normally prefer to purchase products or obtain services from a local provider, either online or offline. The local supplier would usually provide easy payment methods, faster delivery, and quicker replacements for wrong or faulty items.
2. Decide your business model
As a potential eCommerce entrepreneur, you must first decide which business model best suits your needs and budget. You can sell your products solely on your online store or you can sell your products on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc. If you go for the latter, you don’t need to build your own website. All you need to do is sign up for an account and list your products on your marketplace and start selling. You can also choose to sell your products on both platforms in parallel.
3. Decide on a domain name for your business
If you have decided that your business model is an online e-commerce store, in addition to having chosen the niche and the range of products to sell or the type of services you want to provide, you need to buy a domain name from any web hosting company like GoDaddy , Namecheap, Hostgator, etc. Make sure the domain hyperlink is “https”, which ensures data security on the network. It is preferable to choose a domain name that is closely related to the niche of products or services you have chosen. For example, if you choose to only sell pet accessories, get a domain like ‘petaccessories.com’ or ‘petaccessories.net’ depending on which is available. The domain name is also considered your company name and should be easy for your target audience to remember. A domain provides a brand to your business and makes it easier for your audience to associate you with each other.
Domain hosting is easily done with the help of the web hosting company’s support team.
4. Choose an eCommerce platform
There are a multitude of eCommerce platforms on the internet today, including Square Online, Weebly, Big Cartel, Constant Contact, BigCommerce, Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, WooCommerce, and more. Some come with a free plan while others come with a free trial but for a limited period. Choose the one that best suits your budget and needs. Additionally, you need to ensure that the platform you choose is optimized for mobile phone usability to take advantage of the rapid growth in smartphone usage around the world. The online eCommerce platform can easily help you build your website in a couple of simple steps.
5. Set up your ecommerce store
Your eCommerce website is your online store and you need an appropriate theme to represent your brand. You need to set it up correctly to ensure that your potential customers have a good browsing experience in terms of fast loading speed, navigability, ease of use, etc. Your website should contain accurate details about your products or services, quality images, good descriptions and prices, as well as options for customers to leave reviews and star ratings. All of this should be included on your product page for potential customers to see, so they buy based on an informed decision and are not misled into buying in any way. You need to make your website and web pages eye-catching as it is the representation of your brands to your online customers.
Additionally, you should include pages on your website regarding About Us, Contact Us, Return Policy, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Shipping Information, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). These are very important to build trust with your customers, where they will feel safe to share their money in exchange for your products.
6. Configure payment gateway
For your online store, you must have some payment options for your customers. Most eCommerce store building platforms already have features that allow you to easily set up the payment gateway. The customer should have options to make payments via PayPal, credit card, debit card, online wallets, internet banking, etc.
7. Secure your website by installing an SSL certificate
For all websites that transfer data online, especially in connection with payment, you must ensure that the network connection is protected by a secure security layer (SSL). The SSL certificate keeps your website safe from hackers and will help build trust among your customers.
8. Choose your shipping partner
When you start selling products on your eCommerce website, you need to ship the products to your customers using shipping companies. You should choose reliable ones that have a good track record of delivering within agreed-upon durations and at the lowest shipping cost available, so you can give your customers the best deal and maximize your profits.
There you have it, the 8 easy steps to build an ecommerce website from scratch and start selling your products or services online.
