Anyone can set up an e-commerce store following this checklist.
Selling a product online seems easy enough. After all, Amazon does it. How hard can it be?
You have a product and a vision to change the world. Now, you just need a way to get it out into the world.
If you are setting up your first e-commerce store, here is what you need to do.
Purchasing a domain and hosting
The first step in creating an online presence is purchasing your digital real estate.
Your domain is not just the place your website will live but is also a statement of your identity. Establishing a relevant domain is the first step in branding.
Be sure your URL is either the business name or has your business name included. Including your business name in your domain helps search engines find your website when someone searches directly for your brand.
Because your brand is commercial and you want search engines to recognize it as such, purchase a “.com” domain. You may find it difficult to gain organic traffic otherwise.
When you have your domain selected and purchased, you’ll need to find a company to host it. If your internet domain is the virtual address, hosting is the physical location of your data, the hard drive or data center where all your virtual information resides.
When choosing a company to host your website, it is vital to make sure they provide email services for your domain. You’ll need this to communicate with customers and other essential business operations. Also, be sure your host sets up your website with a security certificate. Search engines are not as likely to prioritize your website without it.
Designing a website
There are varying levels of difficulty in building and designing your website.
If you want to save yourself as much hassle as possible, you can find a user-friendly company that can provide you with a template for your website. These are easy to set up and require little ongoing maintenance.
Buying a website builder and using templates to build your website doesn’t allow much flexibility. Instead of opening the website to your creativity, templates restrict the actions and designs you can do with your website.
An alternative to subscribing to a website builder is using a WordPress website and theme builder instead. These are a bit trickier to learn how to operate, but once acquired, they offer you and your business better flexibility for website design long-term.
Installing an e-commerce platform
Now that you have an established website, it’s time to make your online inventory!
Setting up the online store is much more complicated than the initial setup of your website. Where it is relatively easy to learn how to work a WordPress theme builder, designing an e-commerce method is much different and much more difficult.
Setting up an online store requires you to design a secure banking system that can handle financial transactions. The average person cannot create a custom financial transaction program from scratch, which is why installing an e-commerce platform is the best option if this is your first e-commerce enterprise.
Most e-commerce platforms integrate easily into a WordPress website as a plug-in. They are often user-friendly and have all the essential features you need for your e-commerce shop.
Make sure to research which platform will work best for your business and your experience. Here is an article comparing the 11 most popular e-commerce platforms to date.
Selling products online
Once you have your e-commerce platform installed on your website and have set up everything you need to handle financial transactions, you need to list and launch the product you know will make a difference in your customers’ lives.
When you list your product online, remember to include these details:
- Product name
- Description
- Features
- Price
- Reviews
- Images
- Shipping information
Description
When reading your description, your customer should know your product as well as if they were inspecting it with their own hands.
The description should include usability information, weight, dimensions, portability features, power requirements, color, and material where applicable.
Features
The features of your product are why the product exists. What problem does it solve? How is it better than comparative products? How is it going to make the life of the customer better?
Price
This section tells the customer exactly what your product is worth. It should be clear. Hiding the price from the customer or making it inconvenient to find will not help your customer decide to purchase.
The price needs to be as much of a part of the decision-making process as the product description.
Reviews
Allowing past customers to review the product gives credibility to your products. Customers are more likely to trust the product if they see a positive review from someone in their shoes.
Images
When choosing a picture for your display, be sure it is clear and does your product justice. Accurate product photos can help your customers determine if the product solves their problems.
Misleading photos can cause problems selling products down the line, especially when you allow your customers to review products. It is best to represent your products accurately to avoid making your customers disappointed or angry.
Shipping information
Without a brick-and-mortar store, you are responsible for providing a means by which you can get your products to customers. Be specific about what services you use and notify your customer that shipping may be an additional cost.
Be clear if you want to make special offers about providing free shipping after an order exceeds a threshold. Clear communication is the ally of a successful business.
Revity – One Marketing Company for All Digital Marketing Solutions
A lot goes into setting up an e-commerce store. We are here to help you run the business you’ve always wanted to have, making the passive income to suit your needs. We can help you set up your online store and can go further in helping you promote your business through online advertising, email retargeting, social media marketing, and more!
Your success is our initiative. Whether you are thinking about starting a business or haven’t had the success you’ve wanted, we are here to help you get your business where you want it to be. If you need a boost to get you started, contact us to see how we can best help you achieve your vision.
