If you have a great business idea or simply want to earn some additional money, an e-commerce website might be the perfect solution for you. Alongside the fact that you can easily build one and sell your merchandise, it is user-friendly meaning that you won’t have any trouble figuring out how everything works.
What is an e-commerce website?
Put in layman’s terms, this is a web page that allows retailers to sell their products. It is created with the goal of facilitating the entire process of putting online orders and transferring funds between two individuals. In the past, before these were designed, this type of business was conducted via email and the phone.
There are four main types of e-commerce websites – Business to Business (B2B) where the transaction happens between two companies when, for example, one of them offers their services to the other one. Then, there is Business to Consumer (B2C) when an online store sells its products to people via the web. Consumer to Consumer (C2C) when people sell their items to one another via a platform, for example, eBay. Finally, there is a Consumer to Business (C2B) when an individual offers their services to a company. This type is usually used by influencers nowadays that offer online advertisements to certain brands in exchange for a fee.
How to build an e-commerce website?
This is a thing that probably interests you the most. Taking into consideration how many online stores exist, as you can assume, creating one of these is a fairly easy process. You do not have to be tech-savvy to complete this task, but you can always hire professionals if you want to ensure that not only does it function perfectly, but that it also looks great. If you want to find more information, or do daily rank tracking site, check out spyserp.
Name and domain
The first thing that you have to do is to figure the name and get a domain for your website. In order for the customers to find you easily, and more importantly, before they locate your competitors, you should go with something that closely describes your business or your merchandise. Make sure to incorporate keywords because these are going to improve the SEO i.e. the visibility of the page in the search engine results.
Once you have come up with the name, it is time to buy the domain. There are multiple platforms that offer this service. All you have to do is to enter the name, and you will find out whether it is available or not.
E-commerce platform
This is a platform where you will build your website. You will need the help of a website builder not only to design the page but also to run and manage it. On the WebpageScientist web page, you will find a list of the best platforms you can choose from.
Due to the fact that most of these offer a free trial, our advice is to test as many as possible. Check the designs they offer, how easy it is to add and categorize the items, can you change the layouts by adding new pages, how easy it is to navigate the website, and so on. You need to find something not only you can use without any trouble, but also something that is user-friendly for the visitors and also aesthetically appealing.
Web hosting plan
If you have opted for a platform that doesn’t offer website hosting, you have to purchase this plan somewhere else. When it comes to choosing this plan, you have to know that there are numerous companies and even more plans you have to consider. This means that you should conduct research. Also, keep in mind that the price varies between these, so you also have to think about the money you are prepared to invest in it.
For example, if you are just starting out and have a limited budget, you should go with a shared hosting plan. For more details, check FounderJar.com. Even though the bandwidth will be lower, it is still a great choice for beginners. As your store grows and you get more and more customers, you can upgrade to private hosting.
In addition, do not forget to get the SSL certificate for your page. This encryption will not only improve the safety of your website but it will also help you build your brand and improve online visibility. As you surely know, many people choose not to make a purchase if a store does not possess this certificate.
Design the website
Once you have arranged everything, it is time to start building your page. The first thing that you have to ensure is that people can navigate the website. This means that they should be able to easily find whatever product they are looking for. As a general rule, you should arrange everything so that the visitor could access every page with as few clicks as possible.
Furthermore, make sure to add photos of each product as well as the description. When it comes to the former, people want to see how the item they are buying looks. Due to this reason, you should incorporate as many photos as necessary, and you can also add videos. The latter is going to increase customer satisfaction because they will be able to find all the information they need immediately, and it will also allow you to minimize the number of emails and phone calls you might receive.
Moreover, you should add a page where you will introduce yourself to the clients. There is the “About Us” page on every website, and yours shouldn’t be different. Write a short text about yourself, the business, the merchandise, and so on. People want to know who they are collaborating with, and this is the best way to allow them to get to know you.
Lastly, you should include all the necessary shipment information. This is another thing that everyone wants to know. Make sure to describe the entire process and also write the approximate cost.
Payment Gateway
This is the final important thing that you have to do. Since you will be selling the merchandise via this website, you have to set up a payment gateway that will allow you to receive payments online. When it comes to these methods, as you know there are many of them, and you should try to include as many as possible because these will increase the chances of visitors making a purchase.
