How To Create An Online Store?
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Are you looking to create an online store? But before we dive into those options, let us look at why you need an online store in the first place.
Why do I need to create an online store?
According to Statista, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to US$ 3.53 trillion in 2019 and are projected to hit US$ 6.54 trillion in 2023. Online shopping is one of the most popular online activities worldwide.
For this reason alone, whether you are a brick-and-mortar business and are looking to expand online, or you want to sell your new products or services online, you may want to create an online store and ride that wave. In summary, below are the upsides of selling your products or services directly on your website.
First, you can sell to anyone anywhere anytime. This can boost your sales by leaps and bounds.
Secondly, you can keep your overheads to a minimum while growing your sales.
Thirdly, an online store with the right content can keep your online store at the top of search results pages i.e. higher SEO ranking on search engines like Google.
Fourthly, many people only shop online. You can reach new audience whom you will not have reached by just selling offline.
Fifthly, you can enhance your customer experience by letting them download product manuals, answering their feedback, posting how-to videos, webinars, FAQs, etc.
Finally, nowadays, many companies have established an online presence. Those without one are considered mickey mouse companies. Therefore, you can improve your corporate image and hence brand awareness by having an online presence.
What eCommerce platforms are available?
Deciding which eCommerce platforms to use to create your online store is the very first and yet the most critical step. However, there are tons of options available. Below is a summary of the most popular eCommerce platforms you may use to create your online store.
- Marketplaces like Amazon, eBay and Etsy
- Hosted platforms like Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly
- Self-hosted platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, and PrestaShop
WooCommerce as eCommerce Platform
WooCommerce is the world’s leading eCommerce platform to create an online store. According to Datanyze (the world’s leader in technographics), WooCommerce is used by more than 28% of all the eCommerce websites.
Most importantly, WooCommerce is built on WordPress, the world’s leading online content management system that powers over 35% of the websites around the world. WooCommerce is simply the best of the best as far as an eCommerce platform.
Besides, regularly audited by Sucuri, an industry leader in security, WooCommerce online stores are in good hands.
Here are the features of a WooCommerce online store.
How To Create An Online Store
If you want to create a WooCommerce online store to sell your physical goods, downloadable products, or services, you may follow these simple steps.
- Think of an online store name that is creative and easy to remember.
- Get a domain that matches your blog name.
- Get a hosting plan.
- Install WordPress.
- Install and set up WooCommerce.
- Customize online store design.
- Set up products in your store.
- Set up shipping.
- Connect a payment gateway e.g. Paypal or Stripe
- Start selling.
- Manage orders.
- Analyze sales data.
Additionally, you may want to share your products on social channels.
Create an Online Store: Conclusion
Which is the best eCommerce platform to create an online store? In fact, there is no definitive answer which depends very much on what you are looking for in an eCommerce platform.
For instance, as a startup with not much budget and time, you may try Amazon. First, it is because according to Statista, there were over 2 billion visits to Amazon per month from May 2019 to February 2020. This gives your products great exposure. Secondly, Amazon can manage your inventory, packing and shipping. This lowers your upfront and operating costs as a startup.
However, if you have time and a bit more budget, you may consider building a Shopify online store from scratch by using their online store templates and purchase a domain at Shopify.
Discerning businesspeople with long-term goals may want to scale up their online stores with customizations and add-on features to grow their audience and boost their sales using WooCommerce.
