5 Easy Steps to Starting Your First Ecommerce Website

The advent of the internet has undeniably changed many of the things we do, ranging from how we communicate to where we get our information. However, one aspect that has undergone a massive change due to the easier accessibility of the internet is how we do business.

With more and more people turning to the internet for their shopping, starting an eCommerce website has become more of a need than an option for most businesses. After all, there are numerous benefits to starting an online business instead of a traditional brick-and-mortar store.

Of course, creating an eCommerce website is still a lot easier said than done, especially if you don’t really know where to start.

The good news is that you can create your own eCommerce site in five easy steps. Check them all out below.

1. Identify What You Want to Sell Online

Before you go on and build an eCommerce website, you first need to figure out what exactly you want to sell online. This isn’t really much of an issue if you already have an established offline business, but if this is your first time, you’ll need to start from square one.

Becoming a successful online entrepreneur entails carefully selecting the niche you want to enter and the products you want to sell. It would be best if you also considered whether or not there’s actually a market or demand for that specific product.

Aside from the “whats” and “whos,” you also need to consider the “hows.” In this case, it means that you also need to think about how you’re going to get the products for your inventory and how you’re going to deliver them to your customers.

2. Analyze Your Competition

Considering how easy enough it is to start your own business online, it’s no secret that the competition can be fierce among online entrepreneurs. That’s why it’s essential to conduct competitive analysis before you start building an eCommerce website.

Doing so allows you to identify how your preferred market works and who are your biggest competitors on the field. Conducting competitive analysis also enables you to observe what your competitors are doing and whether or not what they’re doing works.

It also allows you to compare the current prices on the market for similar products, so you have a more solid footing when it comes to pricing your own items. Of course, you’ll need to collect the necessary data before you can make an analysis.

Fortunately, there are numerous software solutions out there that can help scrape eCommerce data and compile it so that you can conduct a thorough analysis before officially establishing your site. Click here to read the entire article about how to scrape eCommerce data.

3. Create Your eCommerce Brand

Once you know what to sell, who to sell it to, how you’re going to obtain and deliver your products, and who your competition is, the next step is to create your business’s unique brand. This is essential for when you finally make your website since it will reflect your brand’s message and goals.

Moreover, your brand is what your customers will associate your business with, so it’s essential to create one that’s striking, memorable, and perfectly represents your business’s core values.

For this, you will need to determine your business name since this won’t just be what your brand is called, but it can also serve as your website’s domain name. It should be original and easy to remember so that your customers can easily recall it when they want to buy your products.

You also need a brand logo that depicts your brand’s core message. Ideally, it should be simple and clean so that your customers will easily recognize it. Most importantly, you also need to build an eCommerce or Shopify website in a manner that attracts more visitors, is highly accessible, and has a good click-through rate, with an average CTR of more than double what your nearest competitor receives. In this context, an expert like “Tada” can come up with new ideas regarding email pop-ups, spin win wheel, pop-up games, sin-to-win apps, and more.

4. Build Your Website

Once you have laid the groundwork for your business, you can then focus on the technical aspects of starting an eCommerce website, which involves building the actual site. For this, you’ll need to buy a domain before you can do anything else.

If you already have a business name, you can use that as your site’s domain. However, just make sure that it’s short enough that your customers can easily recall it without having to search for it.

Once you have a domain, you can start the actual construction of the website. While you can build one from scratch, you can also use a third-party e-Commerce platform to host your website.

These platforms can help you set up your shop as quickly as possible, and they usually have numerous handy features that can make managing your business easier and more convenient. There are a lot of choices out there, but some of the most popular are:

• BigCommerce
• Shopify
• Magento

With an e-Commerce platform, you don’t have to worry too much about the nitty-gritty of setting up an e-Commerce website since these platforms can simplify the process for you.

5. Drive Traffic to Your Website

Once your online shop is up and running, you now need to find the right marketing partner to help you get your brand’s name out there.

Doing so won’t just allow you to find the correct strategies to boost your site’s traffic, but it can also help you maximize it by increasing the chances of conversions at every point of the buying cycle.

While you can partner with marketing experts, you can also use automated platforms to help you reach your audience, achieve your business goals, and earn a profit from your new venture.

Conclusion

Starting your first eCommerce website can be daunting, but the steps mentioned above can help you see where to start. The internet has become an integral part of our daily lives, and forming an eCommerce business can be an excellent way to maximize this resource and earn a considerable profit.