The traditional brick-and-mortar stores are long gone now; businesses operate online. Unsurprisingly, it’s the best decision ever! Why? A quick look around shows that 2.1 billion people prefer online shopping, and more will migrate soon.

So, as long as your business stays online, you gain more clients. But how do you start an online store? In this blog, we’ll go over the steps to starting an online store.

Starting An Online Store: A Detailed Guide

E-commerce is one of the booming industries nowadays, and statistics predict it’ll stay that way for a long time. Read this blog for e-commerce business ideas to start. Back to the subject matter, let’s understand what it is before we dive into how to start an online store.

What is an online store? 

An online store is a website, app, or platform that allows a business to sell its services or products over the Internet. An online store, alternatively called an e-webstore, e-shop, or webshop, provides convenience and accessibility to buyers and sellers alike. Rather than a long drive to your location, all buyers need is an internet connection right at your doorstep.

To start an online store, you need to do the following:

Choose and Build Your Product

When starting an online store, the first thing you need is a product (obviously!). You might have a product already, but even if you don’t, there are several e-commerce ideas to choose from.

To pick out a suitable product/service, you must understand that not every product does well online. Some products do best with a physical store, while others thrive more online.In any case, find the perfect niche for your product.

Note: It’s not enough to pick an industry; you must go down to a specific niche. For instance, if you decide to sell body lotions, you must decide who you sell to. Rather than the general “beauty lotion,” consider beauty lotion for African Americans or “beauty lotions for young women.”.

This approach helps narrow down your target audience and leads to a better marketing experience.

Next, scope out your competitors: here you’ll need to visit their websites and socials for a front-row view of their strategies. What’s the web design trend in your niche? What‘s the average pricing? How do they market themselves, etc.? Just find out what works—or doesn’t—in the industry.

Tip: Before starting an online store, you should test the waters by selling your product in lesser quantities. This action allows you to conduct a real-time market survey about who is willing to buy your product and how much they are willing to pay. In fact, it allows you to adjust your brand and packaging to suit the market’s desire.

Eventually, you’ll need a business plan (it’ll come in handy during business registration). Here’s how to write an investor-ready business plan.

Build Your Online Store

Once you decide on a product/service, it’s time to go online. Here’s how to build an online store from scratch.

1. Pick an e-commerce platform

To start an online store, choose the best e-commerce platform for your business. While it’s easy, here are some factors to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform:

Scalability: your business will continue to expand, and the online store will get more traffic as time passes. For this, you need a platform that will grow with you. That way, an overhaul or migration will not be needed. 

Security: Your customers will submit sensitive information like credit card details, addresses, etc., and just like fintech companies need data security, your e-commerce platform must contain provisions to protect data.

Cost-effectiveness: for a startup business, getting funds is one of the challenges early-stage entrepreneurs face, and spending unnecessarily shouldn’t be entertained. Therefore, you need an e-commerce platform that fits right into your budget. Yes, platforms always come with costs like subscription renewals, so be fully aware of them.

SEO features: your preferred platform must encourage search engine optimisation with custom urls and meta tags. With this, your store gains more visibility.

Additionally, you must pick an e-commerce platform that allows smooth integration of marketing software, shipping services, etc. Finally, look for one that offers customer support (very important!).

Quicklaunch by TechDella is the best platform for your online store. With it, you can customise one of the many online store templates, integrate shipping and payment software, monitor subscriptions, and boost SEO.

Build your online store with the affordable Quicklaunch for premium value. Check out our comprehensive guide on how to use the TechDella website builder.

2. Name your store and pick a domain name

Before the website design and layout, customers encounter the brand name. It’s the first part of your store that creates an impression on them. So, you must pick a name that relays the kind of message you want.

Nowadays, short rules are supreme. Stats show that the average human attention span is reduced by a lot. So, when picking a name, go for something short, easy to remember, and meaningful to communicate your brand essence fast.

Once you’ve picked a store name, you need to get a domain name. A domain name is simply the string of characters internet users type in the browser URL bar to visit your website. You can get domain names from Namecheap but for a startup store, Dot TK and Freenom are sites that offer domain names for free.

Note: Sometimes your brand name may not be available; then, you must pick one closest to it or simply change the brand name entirely.

If you’ve picked out your brand and domain names, the next thing is to add them on the e-commerce platform. 

3. Design your store

• Product? Check!
• Brand name? Check!
• Domain name? Check!

It’s time to design your store. With Quicklaunch, you don’t need to be a tech guru to build your own website. Just register an account with your email and a strong password, and pick a suitable template for your website.

Resource: Learn how to choose the right website template.

Once you’ve chosen a website template, customise each page to your taste with the drag-and-drop builder; no coding is required. While you’re customising, remember the store is for the customer, so it must be user-friendly and properly arranged.

Every page must reflect your brand image and customise each page to promote smooth transitioning for clients. That way, they go from the homepage to the products page, down to the checkout page.

This system will optimize your website for conversions and ultimately, growth!. Also, use product descriptions that are short but fully packed with necessary details; remember to emphasise how the product helps the client. 

4. Connect a payment processor

What’s a store without a payment method? Exactly!. Due to the nature of your store (online), you must find a payment method that supports online transactions, which rules out cash. 

To successfully carry out transactions, you need to bridge the gap between your store and its customers with a payment processor. So, what is a payment processor?

A payment processor is a company that facilitates electronic transactions (credit cards, digital wallets, and debit cards) between businesses and their customers. For example, Paypal, Stripe, and Google Pay.

Resource: How To Use Paypal in Nigeria

The role of a payment processor goes beyond transaction facilitation. It includes:

Authorization and Authentication

The payment processor seeks authorisation from the issuing bank to ensure the customer has sufficient funds or credit available. It also verifies the customer’s identity and the validity of the payment method. 

Funding

Once a transaction is authorised, the payment processor coordinates the transfer of funds from the issuing bank to the acquiring (merchant) bank. The merchant account is then credited with the transaction amount.

Encryption and Security

To protect sensitive financial data, payment processors use data security technologies like encryption and tokenization to transmit transaction data safely between customers, businesses, and banks.

Multiple Currencies and Payment methods

To help businesses expand globally, many payment processors offer support for multiple currencies and popular local payment methods.

But right before you integrate a payment processor, open a merchant account. A merchant account is a bank account used to accept and process electronic payments like credit/debit cards, bank transfers, etc. You need one together merged with the payment processor to accept payment.

Launch your website

Once you’ve designed your online store, added all your products with good descriptions, connected a payment processor, and optimised each page for easy navigation and SEO, you’re good to go!.

Nevertheless, ensure consistency across all pages. Also, use high-quality photos and graphics to engage and guide visitors towards making a purchase.

To make sure your website launch goes smoothly, do some quick checks.

Test everything (every single thing)

• Does your payment system work? (Nobody likes a glitchy checkout!)
• Is your site speedy? Try GTmetrix or Pingdom to check
• Got your security sorted? SSL certificate—check!

Pro tip: Get your friends to test drive your site; they’ll spot things you might miss!

Build anticipation

• Share sneak peeks on social media
• Maybe throw in some early-bird deals
• Consider a fun virtual launch event

Once You’re Live;

• Keep an eye on how things are running (Google Analytics is your friend)
• Ask your first customers what they think
• Fix any hiccups as they come up
• Make sure your hosting can handle the traffic

And remember: A smooth-running site = happy customers! Keep tweaking based on what you learn, and don’t stress if everything isn’t perfect right away.

Summarily,

Starting an online store requires careful planning and a willingness to learn. With the steps highlighted above, you’re on the right path to success.

Don’t forget to use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc. to promote your store.

Frequently Asked Questions on Having an Online Store

Is it profitable to have an online store?

Yes! Online stores are very profitable. According to Statista, the average net profit margin of the e-commerce industry lies between 4 and 10%. Apart from the profit margin, online stores have a huge growth potential, so your profit increases with time—all things being equal.

How much is it to create an online store?

The total cost to create an online store ranges between $30 and $100.00. Why? It depends on the particularity of your intended business and your preferences.

How to build an online store from scratch

1. Choose an industry
2. Develop your product
3. Conduct competitor analysis
4. Build your online store with QuickLaunch
5. Promote your store energetically!