This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
Remember these top 10 points to set up your online store
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
Who says starting an online e-commerce is easy? It is not easy to set up an online store. There are lots of things to be considered while you decide to open an online shopping store. You are not only investing money but your precious time, so make sure you are not wasting your time in wrong decisions.
We have been checking internet resource since long. There are lots of new websites launching each day, but not all are successful. So if you don't want to get into losses, read this article which will help you to set up an online store with utmost care and research.
1) Plan your market
If you have been thinking about an online store, you might already have decided upon products. Make sure that your product is really unique and useful. Research about the products similar to yours and check the competition. Check out price ranges and think of your audiences to ensure that they will fit in that buying range or not. Starting with a sustainable business model is really important because well begun is half done. In short, choose an appropriate product range. It will be easy for you to sell online if you have a good network of wholesalers or manufacturers.
2) Decide business name
Choosing your business name wisely is a smart way to start an online store. If you are already a brand, visit godaddy.com and buy your brand name with nominal price. Do not worry if your desired name is already taken. Twist your desired names but make sure it retains If you want to establish a new brand, choose it wisely. Your brand name must be easy and catchy enough to remember.
3) Shipping and courier partners
When launching your online store, it is very important to tie-up with reliable shipping partners. In an online business, we rely heavily on courier partners because once the product leaves your warehouse the things are no longer in your control. Choosing a trustworthy courier service is the biggest challenge because you take so much pain and invest everything in taking an order and suppose your courier company doesn't deliver on time, your pain becomes vain. Keeping your customers happy is vital for business. Ensure its services, loss coverage and shipping charges are proper. You can also offer free shipping up to whatever region you can, this may attract your customers to spend on your website.
4) Choosing your web platform
Now comes the time, when you will choose the platform on which your website will be built. Unless you are thinking of re-selling your item on stores like Amazon and Flipkart, you will need to research about the platforms like Magento, Open cart, OS commerce etc.. that will suit your products range. Choose a system that is under your budget, popular, feature-rich and backed with good community support. Choosing a platform also depends on the website development company. If you choose Magento platform and your web developer is mastered in Opencart, your decision may fail. Have a word with your web development company about this.
5) Web Hosting
Now that you have started creating a website on a particular platform, check what are the hosting requirements of that platform. Some systems may fail to work if the server is not in accordance with your web platform. List the estimated traffic, server space, server speed and other technical aspects before purchasing a server package.
6) Payment Gateways and other legal formalities
With the right and easy payment gateway options, make it easy for your customers to pay for their purchase. Having a bank account is must to accept payments. Modern payment gateways usually come with all facilities. Check what type of gateway you need: integrated gateway or hosted gateway.
7) Showcase your product range
Once your website is developed and set up on a server. Start uploading your items with all the possible in-depth details. It is very important to showcase the items with clear high definition images from all the angles. Remember, an online store is not a regular touch and feels shopping, so your customers might want to check them in detail from all sides. Update items on regular basis, if they are not in stock.
8) Play SEO game
Once you are done with all these steps, get ready to infuse all those SEO factors like Metadata, structured data. Are you new to these SEO terms? Search engine optimization is a never-ending activity. It involves on page optimization, off page optimization and lots more to do well with search engine rankings.
9) Social Promotions and Paid Campaigns
It is vital for any online business to stay connected with the customers socially. Social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp are some of the popular channels through which you can socialize with your audience. Keep posting about your latest products and offers on your social media. Apart from social media networks, you can invest in paid campaigns such as Google AdWords. It is advisable to hire a Google AdWords expert to set up your marketing campaigns as it requires a lot of technical knowledge. This can increase awareness about your website to some extent.
10) Offers discounts and newsletters
Start giving some offers and discounts initially, to attract offer lover customer base. Once a customer is enticed with your product, don't miss any opportunity to shoot newsletters. Newsletters are great ways to lure customers. Monitor how customers are using your offers and discounts.
We hope this guide has been helpful in deciding some crucial things for developing new e-commerce store. Have any questions? Let us know and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.