How to Build an E-Commerce Website From Scratch in 8 Easy Steps
The
tragic onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in worldwide
lockdowns and travel restrictions to prevent the disease from spreading.
As a result, many people all over the world have become less mobile,
making physical shopping difficult to meet their needs. As a result,
during the current pandemic, shopping online has become increasingly
popular around the world.
As
a result, several e-commerce websites have sprung up to take advantage
of this rising trend. As a result, in recent years, the growth of
e-commerce companies has far outpaced that of conventional "brick and
mortar" businesses. Many of these conventional companies, including the
more developed ones, are forced to go online in order to stay afloat.
Many smaller ones, on the other hand, face tough competition from
e-commerce firms, and those that were unsustainable had to shut down..
Many
people have started selling online using social media sites such as
Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or Tik Tok as a result of the success of
e-commerce businesses. However, instead of relying solely on social
media, the more enterprising ones are looking to expand into e-commerce.
However, before you can start an e-commerce venture, you must first
create an e-commerce website.
Fortunately,
creating an e-commerce website follows a set of steps. While a website
developer is typically assigned to this role, having some relevant
knowledge can assist you in developing a website for your online
business.
Simply follow these 8 easy steps to build an e-commerce website from scratch:
1. Decide on the product niche for your store
When
you search the Internet, you would have come across many e-commerce
websites selling a variety of products. However, there are also many
similar websites focusing on selling a specific line of products or
services such as apparel, pet accessories, fashion wears, shoes or
travel packages. Besides, there are some other e-commerce websites that
sell many different products such as smartphones, cameras, home
appliances, household items, sports and health items, lamps, laptops,
books, and so forth. The latter is something similar to a hypermarket
where you can find almost any stuff - you name it, they have it.
For
a start, it's significant to decide on the niche or type of services
you wish to sell or provide on your website. In your decision, you need
to find out the local demand for certain products relating to the niche
or certain high-demand services you are interested in. Be mindful that
buyers would normally prefer to buy products or obtain services from a
local vendor whether online or offline. The local vendor would usually
provide easy payment methods, faster deliveries, and faster replacements
in case of the wrong or defective items.
2. Decide on your business model
As
a prospective e-commerce business entrepreneur, you should first decide
on your business model that best suits your need and budget. You can
either sell your products solely on your online store, or you can sell
your products on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc. If you
decide on the latter, there is no need for you to build your own
website. All you need to do is to sign-up for an account and list your
products at its marketplace and start selling. You can also choose to
sell your products on both the platforms in parallel.
3. Decide on a domain name for your business
If
you've decided on an e-commerce online store as your business model, as
well as the niche and product selection you'll sell or the services
you'll provide, you'll need to purchase a domain name from a web hosting
company like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Hostgator. Make sure the domain's
hyperlink is "https," which guarantees network data protection. Choosing
a domain name that is closely linked to the product niche or services
you've selected is preferable. If you want to sell only pet accessories,
for example, get a domain like 'petaccessories.com' or
'petaccessories.net,' whichever is accessible. Your company's domain
name is also considered as your business name and should be easy to
remember by your target audience. A domain provides a brand to your
business and makes it easy for your audience to associate it with each
other.
The hosting of the domain is easily done with the help of the web hosting company's support team.
4. Choose an e-commerce platform
There
is a multitude of e-commerce platforms on the Internet nowadays, such
as Square Online, Weebly, Big Cartel, Constant Contact, BigCommerce,
Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, WooCommerce, and more. Some comes with a free
plan while some comes with a free trial but for a limited period.
Choose one that best suits your budget and requirement. Also, you need
to make sure that the platform you chose is optimized for mobile phone
usability to take advantage of the accelerated growth of smartphone
usage worldwide. The online e-commerce platform can easily help you
build your website in a couple of simple steps.
5. Set-up your e-commerce store
Your
e-commerce website serves as an online shop, and it requires a theme
that reflects your brand. You must properly configure it to ensure that
your potential customers have a positive browsing experience in terms of
loading pace, navigability, and user-friendliness, among other factors.
Your website should provide accurate information about your goods or
services, as well as high-quality photographs, clear explanations, and
pricing, as well as the ability for customers to leave feedback and star
ratings. All of this should be included in the product listing for
potential buyers to see so that they can make an educated decision
rather than being misled into purchasing. You must create a website and a
web page for it.eye-catching as it's your brands' representation to
your online customers.
Besides,
you need to include pages on your website with respect to About Us,
Contact Us, Return Policy, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Shipping
Information and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). These are very
important in order to build trust with your customers where they will
feel confident to part their money in exchange for your products.
6. Set-up payment gateway
For
your online store, you must have a few payment options in place for
your customers. Most e-commerce store builder platforms already have
functions to 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 relating to payment,
you must ensure that the network connection is protected by a Secured
Security Layer (SSL). The SSL certificate keeps your website secure from
website hackers and will help to build trust among your customers.
8. Choose your shipping partner
When
you first start selling goods on your e-commerce website, you'll need
to use shipping companies to get the products to your customers. You
must select those that are dependable and have a track record of
completing shipments on time and at the lowest possible shipping rate,
so that you can offer your customers the best price while still
maximizing your profit.
Here
are the 8 simple steps to creating an e-commerce website from the
ground up and starting to sell your goods or services online.