Before your online store goes live, follow these steps to ensure your success.
You may have been considering opening an online store for some time, but you may be wondering where to start especially if you have no prior e-commerce expertise. Luckily, today’s tools make it easier than ever to start an online store.
Follow these six steps to get your online store up and running a business.
1. Select a Domain Name
A website address is required to sell online. This is a crucial decision because it will represent your business. Choose a name that is short, easy to spell, and relevant to your company.
“It’s preferable if you come up with a unique yet legitimate sounding domain name to avoid appearing suspicious once your online store becomes available online.
Search for a domain name
2. Choose e-commerce platform for the online store
You need to use an e-commerce platform like WooCommerce WordPress to develop an online experience, sell products, and fulfill orders. Most people mistakenly believe that an ecommerce platform is similar to a website builder, in which you simply add new products and collect payments online. But they’re capable of so much more.
WordPress ecommerce Features:
Get a full-featured online store with fast, simple setup.
- 1 website
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited visits per month
- Website backup protection with 1-click restore
- Automatic daily malware scans
- SEO optimizer
- SSL certificate
- 1-click testing site
- Unlimited malware removal and hack repair
- Automatic installation of WooCommerce
- No transaction fees
- Unlimited products
- Bookings and appointment scheduling
- Real-time shipping rates
- Free Premium WooCommerce Storefront design themes
- Free access to over $1,500 of WooCommerce addon extensions
3. Identify your unique unique selling point.
You most likely already know what you want to sell. The next thing to consider is how your products or services will differ from those now accessible.
Take the time to research your competition and learn how they do things so you can do things better in your online store.
4. Identify Your Target Market
It is not as simple as assuming who your customers are or hoping for a specific demographic to determine your target market. Instead, it requires a comprehensive review of your products and services, the marketplace, potential (or current) customers, and other considerations.
Identifying your target market will assist you in understanding how to sell your products so that you can customize your branding, messaging, and marketing outreach efforts.
5. Improve your website’s performance.
You cannot simply launch a website and expect people to find it. It must be optimized in order to attract traffic from search engines. Using keywords in your product descriptions is one strategy, but it should only be the beginning.
You need to improve your search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO tool analyzes your website and gives you step-by-step instructions on how you can optimize for Google®, Yahoo® and Bing®. All it takes is a few clicks, and then you can get back to business.
6. Social Digital Marketing
Placing ads can cost money that you may or may not have. Take advantage of low-cost social media marketing when launching an online store.
The initial investment may pay off in the long run. Once people follow your business page, you don’t have to spend money sending them content, When you post, they see it right away.