How to create an e-commerce website from scratch in 8 easy steps.
The unfortunate outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic had led to closures and travel restrictions being enforced around the world to curb the spread of the disease. Because of this, many people around the world have become less mobile and it has become difficult to make their physical purchases to meet their needs. Therefore, online shopping has become popular around the world during the prevailing pandemic and is expected to increase after the pandemic ends.
It follows that many e-commerce websites have been established to take advantage of this growing trend. As a result, the growth of the e-commerce business has recently outpaced that of traditional brick-and-mortar stores many times over. In fact, many of these traditional businesses, even the more established ones, have to put their stores online in order to survive. However, many smaller ones face stiff competition from e-commerce companies, and those that were not sustainable had unfortunately closed.
The success of e-commerce companies has been so impressive that many people have started selling online through social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Tik Tok. But the more enterprising people want to get into e-commerce on a larger scale instead of just using the social media platform. But to start an e-commerce business, it is first necessary to create an e-commerce website.
Fortunately, there is a structured process in building an e-commerce website. Although a website developer is usually engaged in such a task, some relevant knowledge can also help you build a website for your online business.
Just follow these 8 simple steps to build an e-commerce website from scratch:
1. decide on the product niche for your store.
If you search the internet, you 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 product or service line such as clothing, pet accessories, fashion, shoes, or travel packages. There are also 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, etc. The latter is similar to a hypermarket where you can find almost anything - you name it, they have it.
First, it is important to decide on the niche or type of services you want to sell or offer on your website. In making your decision, you need to determine the local demand for specific products related to the niche or specific high-demand services you are interested in. Keep in mind that buyers would usually prefer to purchase products or services from a local supplier, whether online or offline. The local vendor usually offers easy payment methods, faster deliveries, and quicker replacements for incorrect or defective items.
2. decide on your business model
As a budding e-commerce entrepreneur, you should first decide on your business model that best suits your needs and budget. You can either sell your products exclusively on your online store or you can sell your products on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc. If you choose the latter, you don't have to create your own website. All you need to do is sign up for an account, post your products on the marketplace and start selling. You can also sell your products on both platforms in parallel.
3. Decide on a domain name for your business.
Once you have decided on your business model as an e-commerce online store and decided on the niche and product offering or the type of services you want to offer, you need to buy a domain name from any web hosting company like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Hostgator, etc. Make sure that the domain's hyperlink is "HTTPS" to ensure data security over the network.
It is preferable to choose a domain name that is closely related to your chosen product niche or services. For example, if you only want to sell pet supplies, get a domain like "petaccessories.com" or "petaccessories.net", depending on which one is available. The domain name is also considered your business name and should be easily remembered by your target audience. A domain provides your business with a brand and makes it easy for your audience to connect with them.
Hosting the domain is easily done with the help of the support team of the web hosting company.
4. choose an e-commerce platform
Nowadays, there are a variety of e-commerce platforms on the internet, such as Square Online, Weebly, Big Cartel, Constant Contact, BigCommerce, Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, WooCommerce, and more. Some come with a free plan, others with a free trial but for a limited time. Choose one that best suits your budget and requirements. You also need to make sure that the platform you choose is optimized for mobile usability to take advantage of the accelerated growth of smartphone users worldwide. The online e-commerce platform can help you build your website in a few simple steps.
5. set up your e-commerce store
Your e-commerce website is your online store and needs a proper theme to represent your brand. You need to set it up properly to ensure that your potential customers have a good browsing experience in terms of fast loading speed, navigation, usability, etc. Your website should contain accurate details about your products or services as well as high-quality images, good descriptions, and prices as well as opportunities for customers to submit reviews and star ratings. All this should be included on your product page for potential customers to view so that they buy based on an informed decision and they are not misled into buying in any way. You need to make your website and its web pages stand out as they represent your brand to your online customers.
You also need to include pages on your website regarding About Us, Contact Us, Return Policy, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Shipping Information, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). These are very important to build trust with your customers who feel confident to share their money in exchange for your products.
6. set up a payment gateway
For your online store, you need to have some payment options for your customers. Most e-commerce store builder platforms already have features that allow you to easily set up the payment gateway. The customer should be able to make payments via PayPal, credit card, debit card, online wallet, internet banking, etc.
7. secure your website by installing an SSL certificate
For any website that transmits data online, especially payment transactions, you need to ensure that the network connection is protected by a Secured Security Layer (SSL). The SSL certificate protects your website from website hackers and helps 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 through shipping companies. You need to choose reliable providers that have a good track record of fulfilling shipments within the agreed duration and at the lowest shipping rates available so that you can offer the best deal to your customers and maximize your profits.
There you have it, the 8 simple steps to create an e-commerce website from scratch and sell your products or services online.
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