Creating a thriving and competitive market, eCommerce websites are becoming more and more popular and prevalent by the day. According to some experts, eCommerce will surpass $2 trillion in sales in the next few years. Here is how to build a successful eCommerce website within a year to get the most out of this profitable industry.
An extremely profitable industry to operate in, eCommerce is expected to surpass $2 trillion in sales in the next few years. That is a lot of money and you’d want to set yourself up to get a chunk of that. The primary reason eCommerce is so valuable is because it makes thing convenient for shoppers. No wonder 40% of worldwide internet users have bought product/goods online from an eCommerce business or eCommerce store.
Additionally, a 2016 report by Forrester—an American research company reveals the following:
- Online sales from commerce platforms are expected to rise at an average rate of 9.32% annually over the next five years. US consumer spending will reach $523 billion online by 2020.
- The number of consumers browsing eCommerce businesses and eCommerce stores, and buying online is expected to hit 270 million
People are increasingly looking to shop online for an easier customer experience and many of them are shopping using their mobile phones, mainly due to better mobile networks and bigger mobile sizes. Clearly, the eCommerce website boom is already upon us. If you want to sell your products online and build a successful Ecommerce business, then now is the time to hone your strategy and start building a successful Ecommerce website.
Setting Up a Successful Ecommerce Website
You may want to embark on your new ecommerce venture with lots of big ideas and that’s great. However, it is recommended that when you start, you should put aside your ambitions and focus on the most practical steps of your building an Ecommerce website first. Following are the 12 steps you need to follow to build a successful Ecommerce website.
Buy a Domain Name
This is the web address people type in to find your website. Find a domain name that perfectly matches the identity of your brand but avoid overthinking the process. You can purchase your domain name from GoDaddy or Hostgator.
Find a Website Developer
This is crucial to launch an eCommerce website. To avoid problems in the future, hire a professional to develop your website. Before hiring a developer, find out their credibility from other people who have used their services for the same purpose as you i.e. building an eCommerce site. Meet with the developer to find out how long it will take to launch your website. Additionally, ensure that they have a graphic design background. Gathering the above information is important to get the best professional for your money.
Get all the Paperwork you need to Legitimize your Business
To legitimize your business and ecommerce website, you need to register your business and get a vendor’s license. Contact a local attorney for assistance in this process. While it is an upfront cost, it will likely save you significant headache and expense in the future.
Choose a Hosting Platform
Save time and money by choosing a popular Ecommerce platform such as Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce. Most developers are familiar with these platform, which makes it easy for them to implement the most effective plugins and payment processors that help your ecommerce website perform better.
Find an eCommerce Website Theme
Your website theme is the first thing visitors see when they land on your website. For this reason, you need to make sure that you choose a theme that will entice people to continue to navigate through your website. There are many websites where you can buy a theme for your website from.
Go Live
If you have products available to be purchased, then you should make your website live. To do this, all you need is to have a homepage, an about page, and a contact page on your website.
Use Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
This is one of the best tools for PR and SEO available to business owners and digital marketers. Free to use, HARO generates amazing exposure and can really be a game changer. HARO is used by journalists who need expertise sources for the stories they are writing. As a business owner being cited as a source, this is the media coverage that helps to build your credibility.
Use PitchBox
Developing relationship with media contacts is crucial to build a successful eCommerce website. To save you time that you can spent on other meaningful activities, Pitchbox automates the media outreach process including handling prospecting, emailing, and tracking workflow.
Personalize Your OutReach
Whether you operate online or offline, building personal relationships with media and vendors will help your business. If you want to be on the good side of your media partners and vendors, make sure to provide them with value. As your relationship grows with them, your website will be the one they will prefer to promote.
Get a Payment Gateway
Securely accepting credit payments is one of the keys to building a successful Ecommerce website. PayPal or Stripe won’t work for this purpose. Instead, you need a dedicated payment gateway such as autorize.net and 2checkout.com.
Include a Google Shopping and Facebook Product Catalog
To ensure your product images appear when users search for relevant keywords, set-up your Google Shopping Campaign. You can upload the same data feed to Facebook’s product catalog. This will boost your SEO before you launch your Ecommerce website.
Order Your Packaging and Determine Your Shipping/Storage Options
To build a successful Ecommerce website, you must know how to properly store and ship your inventory. This information will be crucial when you make arrangements with your vendor.
There you have it—how to build a successful eCommerce website within a year. For more tips on building a successful eCommerce business, get in touch with us today.
by Bobby J Davidson
We love our company and we love what we do. Check out the ‘Why Percento‘ page to learn more: Love of Technology and Business! As the President of Percento Technologies International, I provide day-to-day leadership to the company’s senior management and I am personally involved in the strategy, business development and sales activities of the firm.
The company was founded in 1999 with the purpose of providing a one call source for organizations in need of Enterprise IT Consulting and Management. We also provide a line of products in the boutique Cloud Server space with a touch of high-end website strategy consulting and design services. We personalizes the IT Service experience with a team approach, working with clients from diverse sectors of industry, including energy services, financial, legal, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, retail and general and/or corporate business.
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