Creating a brand-new store website to sell your products online, essentially an e-commerce website, needs to be done strategically. The online world is full of competition and if you aren’t able to stand your ground, it will be hard to carve out a portion of the market.
In the process of creating a brand new e-commerce site, there will be a few crucial steps to follow. Here’s our quick and dirty guide:
Step #1: Define Your Brand
If you don’t know who you are, it will be hard to convince people to get to know you. In the same way, a clear brand helps you reach a specific target market. Before even getting started on your site, define your brand. What do you stand for? What do you sell? Who do you sell to? The answers to these questions will help you figure out exactly how to position your business.
An important part of defining your brand is working on your marketing material which includes your logo and other marketing materials. Work with a graphic designer to make sure your visual representation conveys what you need it to.
Step #2: Focus on a Specific Product Line
If you’re a new shop just getting started, it’s best to go deep instead of wide with product offerings. When you’re reaching a particular target market, it’s much better to have a few related products than a whole bunch of ones that are less related. Aside from giving you a more defined brand identity, this will save you marketing dollars since you’ll be reaching out to a specific audience.
Have a business built upon selling toys for children? Don’t include kitchenware on your e-commerce website, then. You will want to have a focus that is tight on the products that your online store website carries. The toy category, in a broad, generalised manner, may actually be too broad as well. Instead, you may want to get specific and zero in on educational toys for preschool-aged students. Having more products does not always translate into more money. The niches are where the real riches can be found.
Step #3: Choose the Right Platform
Building a new e-commerce store involves choosing the right platform. With options such as Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix Commerce, and more, there will be much to consider. Our pick? WooCommerce.
WooCommerce is among the most popular platforms used for creating custom online store websites. This is largely because it allows business owners with little-to-know coding knowledge to create a beautiful, functional website with a set of user-friendly features.
No longer do sellers need to build a site from scratch—paying thousands of dollars upfront—and still need to pay hosting and maintenance fees. With WooCommerce, you have access to numerous go-fast tools and are only charged a fee monthly for the website to stay active.
Step #4: Fine-Tune the Payment Methods
One of the most important things about having an online store website, of course, is being able to make it convenient for your customers to pay. That way, you will be able to collect their payments in a timely manner.
The most common form of payment used online is a credit card. To be able to accept those kinds of payments, you need to have a payment processor to your bank and your website. Fortunately, WooCommerce offers customers a plethora of extensions that can be used for payments. With options such as Stripe, Viva Wallet, PayPal, and Amazon Pay, you can choose those that your customers will benefit from the most.
Conclusion
It can seem a little overwhelming to get a brand-new store website to sell your products. However, with the right tools and some basic knowledge of what’s best for your brand, you shouldn’t have too hard of a time with anything. When in doubt, it is always best to reach out to a professional that can guide you. Better yet, hire a web design company to help you map out your store website geared for success!
Looking for assistance with internet marketing in the Sunshine Coast? Reach out to F8 Media today! We are an Australian leader in website design, web-based application development, mobile-friendly websites, e-commerce and digital marketing.
