Over the last decade, E-commerce has grown in scope and popularity, impacting the global economy. International trade has had tremendous growth thanks to the global trend that is e-commerce, and even though e-commerce is no longer a “new thing,” it is still bringing new business opportunities to many industries, and many benefits to buyers and sellers.
E-commerce is the act of buying and selling physical goods or services through the internet. It involves quick online transactions between a customer and a seller in exchange for a product or service. Some benefits of e-commerce are:
- The capacity to reach customers regardless of geographical location and at any time
- The high level of control over the selling, payment, and shipping processes
- The ability to manage costs, inventory, and revenue through a friendly and simple platform
If you can’t figure out where to start with e-commerce, our beginner’s guide has all you need to know to build and launch an e-commerce store.
What Should I Consider When Creating an E-commerce Store?
Anyone can start up an e-commerce business. However, not all business owners take all the necessary steps into consideration before jumping in. The best way to build a shopping channel like an e-commerce website is to plan, prepare, and make smart decisions along the way.
Hosting
Every single website that is live or online has what’s called a hosting. When a website is created and launched, all its files are stored within computers called servers, which “host” the site.
Although hosting can be very expensive, it is definitely a good investment, especially because guarantees the security of the website. Some popular hosting companies or hosting providers are GoDaddy and Siteground.
Domain
A domain name is simply the address of your website, i.e. the name that users will type in a search bar to find your website. Every domain name is unique and it can include letters and numbers. It also includes domain name extensions like .com or .net. Make sure to select a short and memorable domain name to increase your chances of standing out from the crowd.
CMS
CMS stands for Content Management Systems. They are platforms for non-experts or non-programmers to help them build a website easily. A couple of reasons to use a CMS when building your e-commerce website is that they require no programming experience. There are CMS that include the management of the hosting.
Some well-known Content Management Systems that are useful when you are developing an eCommerce store are Shopify and Woocommerce. Shopify is the one that includes hosting management, as well as its own payment gateway.
Shopping Cart Software
Shopping cart software is an essential part of all e-commerce websites because it allows visitors to add projects to their virtual carts whenever they want to purchase a product. A strong recommendation for beginners is to start with a CMS like Shopify that has a friendly interface and allows business owners to manage the shopping experience easily.
Payment Process
Every e-commerce store should have its own payment processor. A website can have the best layout and products, but if the payment process is not set up and secure, it won’t offer users the engaging and secure experience they deserve and need.
Paypal is one of the most popular payment processors around the world. Its popularity comes from the fact that it’s easier to integrate and it works worldwide.
Shipping or Delivery Process
Traditional businesses have a different method of delivering their products. This process normally involves buyers visiting a physical store, paying for the products, and then taking it home by themselves.
However, for an e-commerce business, you need to define the delivery process that your customers will go through once they have purchased the products online. Avoiding bad experiences within this process will ensure that customers return to your store and shop again.
For this step, we highly recommend creating a dropshipping business model to lower the risk of bad experiences to customers after making the purchase.
How to Manage an E-commerce Store
Operating an online business is a challenging job, but luckily there are tools that can make any beginner or non-professional manage an e-commerce store as an expert. One of the best tools to your e-commerce business is our WebCare Pro Toolkit.
With this ToolKit, you not only get an e-commerce site, but one with the best possible combination of hosting (Google Cloud Platform), CMS (WordPress), and e-commerce features (WooCommerce), all with automatic daily backups. The Toolkit also includes tools to help you keep your audience engaged on social media and build a reputation for your business, driving more and better traffic to your e-commerce site.
Financbase helps local businesses reach their goals with the most advanced and convenient online marketing tools. Find webcare solutions for your e-commerce site so it can grow fast and build the stronger online presence it needs to keep profitable overtime.
