How to create an eCommerce website from scratch in 8 easy steps
The unfortunate start of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in lockdowns and travel restrictions being put in place around the world to curb the spread of the disease. Because of this, many people around the world have become less mobile and making their 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 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, e-commerce business growth has outpaced that of traditional ‘brick and mortar’ businesses many times over in recent times. In fact, many of these traditional businesses, even the most established ones, have to take their businesses online in order to survive. However, many smaller ones face stiff competition from e-commerce businesses and sadly, the unsustainable ones went out of business.
The success of e-commerce businesses 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 entrepreneurial ones are looking to immerse themselves in e-commerce more broadly rather than simply using the social media platform. But first, to start an eCommerce business, you need to create an eCommerce website to start with.
Fortunately, there is a structured process for creating an eCommerce website. Although a website developer is usually 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 on 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 apparel, 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 somewhat similar to a hypermarket where you can find almost anything, whatever, they have it.
To begin with, it is important to decide on the niche or type of services that you want to sell or provide on your website. In your decision, you need to know the local demand for certain niche-related products or certain high-demand services that interest you. Please note that buyers would normally prefer to purchase products or obtain services from a local supplier, whether online or offline. The local supplier would usually provide easy payment methods, faster delivery, and quicker replacements in case of wrong or defective items.
2. Decide your business model
As a potential e-commerce entrepreneur, you must first decide on the business model that 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 their 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 that 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 that 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 as your business name and should be easy for your target audience to remember. A domain provides a brand to your business and makes it easy for your audience to associate you with each other.
Domain hosting is easily done with the help of the support team of the web hosting company.
4. Choose an eCommerce platform
There are a multitude of eCommerce platforms on the internet today, such as 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 a suitable theme to represent your brand. You need to configure it 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 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 must 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 sharing their money in exchange for your products.
6. Configure payment gateway
For your online store, you need to have some payment options for your customers. Most of the eCommerce store builder platforms already have features that allow you to easily set up the payment gateway. The customer must have options to make payments through 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 relation to 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 with your customers.
8. Choose your shipping partner
When you start selling products on your e-commerce 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 times and at the lowest shipping cost available, so you can offer 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.