Nowadays, almost every young entrepreneur wants to have an online store, however, do you really know what it takes to build a successful online store?
Are you ready how to get your startup online? Have you got all the right tools to grow and take your business to the next level?
An online store is a fantastic way to make income, and there are generally a lot fewer overheads than for a brick-and-mortar shop.
However, it is not always as simple as you may thank, and there are likely to be some things that you may have forgotten while setting it up that will affect your success.
- Visually appealing storefront design
- Essential apps and tools installation
- Always open shops – 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Easy integration with marketplaces
- Simplify ecommerce management tools
- Easy integrations with Amazon, eBay, Facebook
Below are some of the more commonly forgotten aspects when setting up an online store, so you don’t fall into that trap.
#1]. Market Research
Although you might think you know what is going to sell well, until you have done extensive market research, you are just shooting blind.
The competition for online selling is vast, so you are likely to come across a lot of people selling the same, or similar products to you, so the trick is to look at how you can make your offerings stand out from others.
You can do this by creating a SWOT analysis, of your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to help you gauge your USPs and to drive you forward.
#2]. Design
We don’t always realize we do it, but we all judge websites and businesses based on their design. If it doesn’t look professional, we are likely to click off the page, or not trust them.
In fact around 93% of buyers consider visual appearance as the most important factor when buying an online purchase. You may not be a design expert yourself, but it does pay to invest in this.
- Check out BigCommerce here
- Get X-Cart shopping cart here
- You can also build your online store with Shopify here
- Sell your digital products on Sellfy
Having an eye-catching logo and a colour scheme that goes throughout the site will make you look more professional and set you apart from a lot of your competitors.
#3]. Marketing
It doesn’t matter how polished your site is, and how great your products or services are, if you are not marketing your store correctly, you won’t be getting the sales you want. Social media is at the forefront of a lot of this marketing as it is so popular and is a great way to reach new audiences.
Depending on what your products or services are, will determine the best marketing channel to use and a lot of it may be down to research or trial and error.
#4]. Terms and Conditions
This may not be the most exciting part but it is one of the most important. Your terms and conditions must be compliant with the relevant consumer laws and be easily accessible for your customer.
They are just as important for protecting you as a supplier, as it is for your visitors and customers, as it forms a legal agreement specifying explicitly the rules of conduct between all parties. Before you can begin to operate, make sure you have your terms and conditions in place.
#5]. About us
When consumers are buying online, it is nice for them to experience a bit of a personal touch and feel as though they are buying from a real person, rather than a faceless entity behind a screen.
You can do this simply by creating an “About us” page, where you describe the people behind the scenes, the mission statement of the company, and ways in which your customers can contact you. It’s a small personal touch that could make a great difference to your visitors.
Setting up an online store can be incredibly rewarding and lucrative. However, you have to ensure that you have considered everything fully.
When it comes to setting up your next online store, make sure you tick these items off your setup list and you will be on your way to a successful online business. Let us know in the comments below if there is anything else we have forgotten.
PLEASE SHARE ON PINTEREST
Great content. I am also looking at the possibility of setting up an online shop for my business. Still not sure on how I will do that though