If you are here then many a time you would have thought about starting an online business store but didn’t go any further because you didn’t know where to start. Don’t worry it happens to a lot of people but only a few who turn their thoughts into action are the ones that successfully start an online store and sell online.
In this blog, we have explained the step-by-step procedure on how to start an online store. Be it starting a new online business or taking your business online we’ve got you covered.
Whether you are selling self-manufactured products or products sourced from wholesalers, you need a great website with ecommerce functionality to create a successful online store.
Yourstore is a no-code ecommerce website builder with all the essential ecommerce features that lets you create your business website, launch your online store and start selling within seconds.
The first step in starting an online business store is determining the niche. Find what products or services you are passionate about. You cannot sell a product that you are not passionate about or don’t have knowledge about. Research the market, and see if the niche is in demand and is profitable. See how many people are searching about your niche and what products are highly searched for.
Your target audience is the core of your online business. Research what they are interested in and target them. The product/service you sell should be the need of your target audience.
Launch your online store in any industry with Yourstore.
Once you have decided about your niche and target audience, choose the products for your online store that you will be focusing on. This can be a little tricky but is a very important decision you will be making while starting an online store. Choose a product that is purchased often and which is not very expensive to manufacture or buy. See the competition the product has, and if you are starting new, plan how you will place yourself in the market.
While choosing the products you should also decide your business model based on how your customers buy the product. Choose the B2B ecommerce model if you are selling your products to businesses. If you are directly selling to customers choose the B2C ecommerce model. Check out other ecommerce business models here.
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Once you know what you are going to sell, the next step is to choose a name for your online store. The name you choose for your business is how people will remember your brand. Choose a unique name for your online store that suits your product and the industry but don’t choose something too mainstream. Give your online store website a custom domain to improve your brand identity. The name google originated from a misspelling of a word which represented 1 followed by a hundred zeros, but it did fit with their vision of building a large-scale search engine.
Apart from the name something that immediately catches the attention of a customer is the logo. Creating a logo for your online business store is as important as choosing a name. Learn how to make your own logo or just create one with our free instant logo maker tool.
To sell your products online you need to build a website. Creating an ecommerce website from scratch can be money and time-consuming. The best choice is to choose an ecommerce platform to set up and launch your online store website. While choosing an ecommerce platform you need to consider features, scalability, device compatibility, security and reliability.
Yourstore has all the essential features and even add-on features that make scaling your online store easier than ever. Learn how to create your ecommerce website with Yourstore.
After choosing an ecommerce platform, you can set up your store by choosing a plan that best suits your business. Every online store has a template and theme which puts forth the brand value of the business. Customise your online store keeping your brand values in mind and give your customers a high-quality online shopping experience.
With Yourstore, you can set up and launch your online store within seconds.
An online store with detailed product pages and clear product category pages makes navigation easy and gives clarity to customers. List your products and optimise the product pages with detailed product descriptions highlighting the features and how it is beneficial to the consumers. Add appropriate product photos that are professional, you can also consider adding a 360-degree photo which increases the chance of buying the product.
The most important feature of an online store is the payment gateway. Set up multiple payment methods which gives the customers multiple ways to pay. You do not want to lose a customer because you don’t have a payment method that’s convenient for them. Also, choosing a fast and secure payment gateway for your online store website is important.
Set up shipping methods and charges and let your customers know how long it will take for delivery through your online store website. It is best to have a shipping policy so you don’t have customers asking too many questions.
The most exciting part of starting an online store is launching it. You’ve put a lot of effort into creating it and now it’s time for you to launch it. Optimise your site for search engines so more people discover your store online.
Now that your online store is up and running, you need to market it to attract your potential customers. There are paid and organic ways to market your online store. The best ways that will initially help you without spending chunks of money on marketing are SEO and Social Media. Learn how to drive more traffic to your online store.
Have a solid business idea with a plan? Start your online store today and sell online globally! Yourstore equips you with tools to set up a successful online business store and scale faster. Download our app and set up your online store right from your mobile.
Read our other blogs to learn more about ecommerce and grow your business globally. Get in touch with us and our team of experts will guide you.
Sumaya Sheik, Yourstore
16th November 2022