eCommerce Basics: How to Create Your Own Online Store

Starting your own online store is filled with the promise of the freedom to be your own boss and the potential for significant profits. But beware – it is more than just launching a website and hoping for customers to flood in. Like any venture, it requires careful planning and strategic steps. Let’s ascend this ladder together, step by step, to ensure you reach the summit.

Step 1: Find Your Profitable Niche

Your ecommerce journey begins with identifying a profitable niche – a market segment often overlooked or underserved by other businesses. Your niche defines your target audience and shapes the products you will offer.

Research Market Demand

To pinpoint your niche, explore market trends, consumer needs, and existing gaps ripe for exploitation. Here is how you can uncover hidden opportunities:

Trend Checking: Tools like Google Trends help reveal dynamic shifts in consumer interests. Platforms such as Semrush and Sistrix also pinpoint emerging opportunities, guiding your strategic niche selection.

Best Sellers Analysis: Scrutinise top-selling items on platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. By examining customer reviews and sales data, you can identify gaps in the market where existing products fail to meet consumer expectations.

Insights from Niche-specific Forums: Platforms like Reddit, a top destination for product review queries, are where enthusiasts discuss their needs and preferences. Mining these discussions can uncover niche opportunities that align with emerging trends.

Keyword Research: Tools like Keyword Keg unveil search behaviours and keyword competition. Identify keywords with low competition, as they indicate unmet consumer needs waiting to be addressed. Google Keyword Planner can also be helpful, though you will need an Adwords account for the best data.

Following Your Passion: Consider turning your personal interests into a profitable niche. Your enthusiasm equips you with unique insights that competitors might overlook. Passion can lead to discovering a missing product in that area, innovative product ideas, or compelling content.

Analyse Competition

Once potential niches are identified, study your competitors. Tools like Semrush provide insights into popular keywords and traffic patterns, while Ahrefs reveals competitor backlinks and content strategies. Examine their keywords, backlinks, and customer reviews to identify gaps in product offerings and customer satisfaction that you can fill.

Define Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Differentiate your store by defining a compelling USP. Place emphasis on exceptional customer service, innovative products, or unmatched quality – your USP should resonate deeply with your target audience and sway customers in your favour.

Step 2: Develop a Business Plan

Statistically, entrepreneurs with a business plan are significantly more likely to move beyond the startup phase, seeing a growth rate of 129%. They are also 260% more likely to transition from the “idea” stage to the actual launch of their business. Additionally, businesses with a plan tend to grow 30% faster than those without one. So, to set yourself up for success, make sure not to miss this step.

Outline Your Business Objectives

Start with clear objectives to keep you focused and motivated. Set specific milestones, both short-term and long-term goals, to guide your efforts and track progress toward growth.

Work on Financial Planning

Thorough financial planning ensures you are prepared for both expected and unexpected costs. Create a budget covering:

Initial Investments: Allocate funds for inventory, website development, and marketing.
Ongoing Costs: Include platform fees, shipping, and customer service expenses.
Sales Forecast: Estimate monthly sales based on market research and competitor analysis to gauge revenue goals.

Create Your Marketing Strategy

Even the best products need effective marketing to succeed. Develop a strong strategy and adapt it as you learn more about your market and customers.
Direct Marketing Through Email and SMS: In 2023, 73% of marketers relied on emails to share their content. Email marketing holds the crown for a reason: it offers a superior ROI, with an average return of $42 for every $1 invested.

Begin by creating a subscriber list with engaging content and special offers, then divide it based on demographics, behaviour, and engagement levels. Plan to send consistent newsletters and automate workflows such as welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups using tools like MailChimp to boost open and click rates.

For SMS, focus on time-sensitive notifications and exclusive offers.

Content Marketing: The main goals of high-quality content creation include driving sales, nurturing customer relationships, and enhancing brand awareness. Content marketing surpasses outbound marketing by generating over three times as many leads while costing 62% less.

Creating valuable content like blog posts, how-to guides, videos, podcasts, and social media updates can attract and captivate your audience while subtly promoting your products or brand.
Did you know that users spend an average of 5.59 seconds reading text but stay on pages with videos for about six minutes? In fact, 82% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a video. This demonstrates the unique power of videos to engage and hold attention, making them an essential component of your content strategy.

The use of AI in content creation is becoming more significant, as many marketers integrate AI tools into their workflows. 71% use AI for content ideation, 70% for brainstorming, and 40% for developing overall strategies. 85.1% of marketers now rely on AI for creating articles. However, 63% of these marketers face significant challenges with inaccuracies, highlighting the need for a careful and balanced approach.

Investing in a robust content marketing strategy can drive organic traffic, establish your expertise, and build customer trust. Plus, it helps reduce shopping cart abandonment by providing valuable insights.

Affiliate Marketing: Think about collaborating with influencers, bloggers, or businesses to endorse your products. These partnerships can broaden your audience and increase sales by leveraging the credibility influencers have with their dedicated followers. Use affiliate networks to identify suitable partners and monitor their impact on your business.

Social Media Marketing: Interact with your audience across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Consistent posting and engagement can enhance brand visibility and attract a loyal following. Use scheduling tools like Hootsuite to plan and manage your social media activities effectively.

Paid Advertising (PPC): Run targeted campaigns on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to enhance brand and product visibility. Bid on relevant keywords to display ads on search engines and relevant websites, paying only for meaningful actions like clicks or conversions. Robust PPC options from platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads can optimise your marketing expenditure. Consider seeking assistance from an ecommerce PPC agency for expert guidance.

Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Don’t overlook the power of recommendations from satisfied customers, as they are highly trusted and influential. Encourage delighted customers to share their positive experiences and consider setting up referral programmes to stimulate word-of-mouth marketing.

Step 3: Select the Right eCommerce Platform

Choosing the ideal ecommerce platform requires considering your business size, budget, and technical skills. You might even consult a Shopify ecommerce agency to ensure you select the best platform for your needs. Here is how to find the perfect fit for your needs and goals.

Evaluate Platform Features

Think long-term and determine the number of products you will sell. Smaller businesses might start with a lower-cost platform, while larger or rapidly growing businesses need a more robust solution from the start. Make a list of must-have features like inventory management, payment gateways, and SEO tools. Rank them by necessity and compare platforms based on their native features and additional costs for extensions or plugins.

The most popular choices, in simplistic terms, are:

• BigCommerce: Ideal for scaling businesses with large product catalogues, offering strong support for bigger operations.
• Shopify: Known for its ease of use and scalability, perfect for beginners and growing businesses. It provides a user-friendly interface, professional themes, and excellent mobile optimisation – companies like Ronins can help with its development.
• Shopify’s popularity, with over 1.75 million merchants and $200 billion in total sales volume as of 2023, speaks for itself.
• Adobe Commerce (Magento): Best for highly customisable and complex needs.
• WooCommerce: Offers flexibility and extensive plugin options. The average WooCommerce store uses around 20 plugins. It requires a WordPress site and hosting but supports around 29% of all online stores with its wide range of plugins.
• Wix: Suitable for simple, small-scale online stores.

Consider Integration Needs

Ensure your platform supports essential integrations to streamline store management. Look for compatibility with payment options like PayPal, Stripe, or Square, and carriers like UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Choose a platform that works well with email marketing services like MailChimp and SEO tools. This will allow you to focus on growing your business without getting bogged down by technical issues.

Prioritise User Experience

Opt for a platform that provides a seamless experience for both you and your customers. Remember that 61% of website users expect to find what they are looking for within just five seconds of landing on a site. If they can’t, they will quickly move on to a competitor’s site. This underscores the importance of an intuitive interface, such as those offered by Shopify, which ensures a pleasant experience for everyone using your online store.

Step 4: Design and Build Your Online Store

The way your website looks greatly influences first impressions and overall perception. A visually appealing and modern site is valued by 83% of online users, and nearly 48% consider web design a crucial factor in judging a business’s credibility. Therefore, if you aim to captivate your customers right from the start, it is essential to focus on this important aspect.

Choose a Professional Theme for Your Online Store

When picking a theme for your online store, think about what reflects your brand best. Your theme should speak to your customers, with every element from fonts to colour choices matching the type of products you sell. Consumers particularly value photos and images (40%), colour (39%), and videos (21%) in website design. Among colour preferences, blue (46%) and green (30%) are the top choices for visitors to business websites. Aim for a design that offers an exceptional user experience, as 38% of users pay attention to page layout and navigational links when they first visit a site.

Simplify navigation

Since the average user spends roughly 54 seconds per page, quick access to information is essential to keep them from leaving. Ensure your site’s navigation is straightforward and intuitive, guiding visitors smoothly from landing to checkout. In fact, 94% of online users consider easy navigation the most important website feature. On average, users spend about 6.44 seconds on the main navigation menu, highlighting the importance of having a clear and easily accessible menu.

Make sure your store covers the basics: an “About” page that tells your story, product videos that showcase your offerings, and a shopping cart and checkout process that are easy to use.

Optimise for Mobile

Almost 66% of online traffic came from mobile devices in February 2024. Ensure your store is mobile-friendly to provide a seamless experience across all devices. A mobile-friendly site also improves your search engine rankings.

Implement SEO Best Practices

Data indicates that 53.3% of all measurable website traffic originates from organic search, compared to just 27% from paid search. To draw in more visitors and enhance your site’s visibility, you need to implement SEO best practices:

On-Page SEO: Conduct keyword research to find terms your potential customers use, create quality content with relevant keywords throughout your site, and craft compelling meta tags and descriptions that entice clicks. Keep URLs short and descriptive.

For product pages, optimise them with clear, persuasive descriptions that address customer needs, highlight features, and showcase benefits. Use high-quality images. For high-value items, consider 360-degree photos to give customers a better view. Organise products into clear, logical categories to help customers find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

Off-Page SEO: Improve site speed and mobile responsiveness. Build backlinks and ensure your site’s code is clean and efficient. Use HTTPS for security and create XML sitemaps. Ensure your site has logical navigation that helps both users and search engine crawlers understand your site’s purpose.

Step 5: Source and Manage Inventory

Securing quality products and maintaining sufficient stock levels are crucial for your online store’s success.

Identify Reliable Suppliers

Finding trustworthy suppliers guarantees you have consistent, high-quality products for your customers. Platforms like Alibaba and attending trade shows can help you discover reliable suppliers who meet your product standards.

Establish Quality Control Measures

Maintain high product standards through robust quality control procedures. Set clear quality standards for your suppliers and communicate your expectations clearly to ensure every shipment meets your high standards. Before placing large orders, request samples to verify quality and suitability. Conduct regular inspections.

Implement an Inventory Management System

To keep your shelves stocked just right, use inventory management tools such as Zoho Inventory. These tools streamline operations by tracking stock levels, managing orders, and predicting demand, ensuring you are always prepared and never caught off guard.

Step 6: Set Up Payment and Shipping Options

In 2023, 47% of online shoppers left their carts because of unexpected costs at checkout, like high shipping fees and taxes. Surveys also show that 80% of shoppers prefer same-day shipping, and 61% expect their packages to arrive within 1 to 3 hours of ordering. These findings emphasise the importance of offering seamless payment and shipping options to build trust with customers and encourage them to return.

Incorporate Payment Gateways

Set up a diverse array of online payment options to cater to a broad customer base and make sure customers are aware of any additional costs upfront. Integrate secure and reliable payment gateways, offering multiple payment options, including processors like PayPal and major credit cards.

• PayPal: Widely trusted and easy to set up, PayPal is a favourite among online shoppers. With over 400 million users, it can boost websites’ conversion rates by up to 82%.
• Stripe: Known for its versatility and continuous innovations, including fraud prevention and subscription billing, Stripe supports various payment methods and currencies. It is great for international ecommerce.
• Square: Perfect for integrating both online and offline sales.

Offer Shipping Solutions

Choosing the correct carrier, packaging, and shipping methods is crucial for ecommerce businesses to remain profitable. Additionally, your shipping approach should focus on both speed and reliability, as many customers decide on purchases based on fast and economical delivery options.

Offer Multiple Shipping Options: To meet diverse customer needs, consider offering various shipping choices such as standard, priority, or expedited shipping.

Studies reveal that 96% of customers interpret “rapid delivery” as same-day delivery, and 51% of retailers currently offer same-day delivery, while 65% plan to implement it within the next two years. In fact, 88% of consumers prefer same-day or faster shipping, and 41% are willing to pay for same-day delivery, with 24% ready to pay for a specific one- or two-hour delivery window. 49% of consumers state that the availability of same-day delivery significantly impacts their decision to shop online, and 25% would abandon their carts if this option isn’t available. With 61% of consumers willing to pay a premium for expedited service, there is a substantial opportunity for retailers to meet the demand for same-day delivery.

Attract more customers by offering free shipping, but ensure it is sustainable for your business. You might set a minimum order value to qualify for free shipping or use a tiered ‘flat fee’ structure for different types of deliveries – standard, priority, two-day, etc. Providing multiple shipping levels allows customers to choose between faster or more cost-effective options, ensuring their satisfaction while optimising your logistics.

Select Reliable Carriers: Choose carriers based on reliability, cost-effectiveness, and the specific needs of your products. Compare services from FedEx, DHL, UPS, and others to find the best fit for your business.

Plan for International Shipping: Start with nearby countries and expand gradually. Understand the logistics and costs involved in international shipping.

Offer BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup in Store): If you have a physical store, consider offering BOPIS for added convenience.

Utilise Shipping Software: Utilise tools like ShipStation to streamline shipping processes and secure discounted rates.

Incorporate Delivery Solutions: Modern customers expect real-time updates on their delivery status. Geofencing technology has revolutionised tracking and coordinating deliveries, providing retailers and consumers with precise, up-to-the-minute information on package locations. This technology allows customers to receive notifications as their delivery approaches, significantly improving their experience. Incorporating delivery solutions such as tracking apps increases transparency and control.

Define Return Policy

A clear return policy builds trust and encourages repeat purchases. Offer a generous return window, providing customers a reasonable time frame to return items. Specify return conditions and simplify returns with prepaid labels, making the process hassle-free for customers.

Step 7: Launch and Market Your Online Store

Launching your online store is an exciting step! Make sure everything goes off without a hitch and your store gets the attention it deserves.

Go Through Pre-Launch Checklist

Before going live, double-check that everything is in tip-top shape.

Test Functionalities: Ensure payment processing works smoothly, shipping calculations are accurate, and the site speed is up to par. Try making a purchase yourself to catch any potential issues.

Content Completion: Verify that all product descriptions, images, and pages are accurate and complete. Missing product images or incomplete descriptions can turn customers away.
Analytics Setup: Implement Google Analytics from the start to monitor your store’s performance, helping you identify what works and what needs improvement.

Launch Marketing Campaigns

Now it is time to attract your first customers and build your brand. Utilise multiple marketing channels for a strong launch.

Social Media Ads: Run targeted ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Share teasers and product previews to create excitement before your launch. Announce your launch day and offer special discounts to your followers.

Email Campaigns: Use your email list to announce your store launch and special offers.

Paid Advertising (PPC Ads): Consider using Google Ads to attract targeted traffic. If you are new to this, consulting with an ecommerce PPC agency can maximise your advertising efforts.

Influencer Marketing: Early support from influencers can attract initial sales and boost your online presence.

Ensure Customer Service

Set up multiple customer service channels to keep your customers happy: create a detailed FAQ section to address common queries, use tools like Tidio or Zendesk for real-time support and reply to customer inquiries promptly.

The Road Ahead

Congratulations! You are on your way to building a successful online store. Now that you have the basics down, it is time to look ahead.

Creating an ecommerce business is about continuous adapting. Stay updated with the latest trends and technologies to remain competitive. Don’t hesitate to team up with experts, such as a Shopify ecommerce agency, for tailored guidance to ensure a smooth and successful launch.

With dedication and smart planning, each step you take will bring your online store closer to success. Keep pushing forward!