The future of ecommerce is brighter than ever in 2021. With 1.92 billion people shopping online, an ecommerce store has huge potential for success in the right hands. Even before Covid-19 pandemic hit and brick and mortar stores were forced to close their doors, the high street was flailing. Shops have been suffering in face-to-face sales for years whilst the ecommerce sector has boomed. However, starting an ecommerce business is challenging, requiring a lot of hard work to prosper. Read on to find out how to start your own ecommerce business.
Select a product
The first step to starting an ecommerce business is choosing a product to sell. This part can be more challenging than you might imagine, especially with so many options available to you. One way to select a product is to consider the profit margins in various industries. Some industries make bigger profits than others. Phone accessories, for example, often have considerable margins. You should also try to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Your ecommerce store should sell products that provide better performance or value than what’s already available to them. Simplifying a complicated product can help to make yours more appealing to customers.
Choose a name and create a logo
Don’t underestimate the importance of choosing the right name for your business. Although you might think that your products speak for themselves, the name you choose can help your business to stay in the minds of your customers. Not only do you want it to be something that they can easily remember, but you should also consider if it invokes the concepts and feelings that you want to be associated with your store. Carrying out some domain name research can help you find a name that’s not just right for your brand, but that’s within your budget. An unregistered domain probably won’t cost much, however, an established domain may be expensive. Some web design agencies offer hosting services and can usually offer expert advice on choosing a domain name for your business.
Your logo is a small but vital part of your ecommerce business. It can help to visually represent your brand, communicating a message to your customers about who you are and what you can offer them. Your logo is one of the things that differentiate your business from its competition. As well as this, it can involve influence how people feel about your company and help invoke an emotional response that encourages them to buy your product.
Build your store
Building an online store has never been easier thanks to ecommerce builders like Shopify and WooCommerce. However, if you want to store to offer an unrivalled ecommerce experience to your customers, it makes sense to call in the experts. Hiring a company to provide professional web design London can ensure your ecommerce store has the best possible chance of succeeding online. Ecommerce web designers like Creative Brand Design can tailor their service to your unique business model, making sure the finished product meets your needs exactly. Whether you need a simple shopping cart experience or something more complex, an ecommerce designer can assist.
Understanding Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
When it comes to ecommerce, you can’t afford for your site to just look pretty. For any ecommerce website, ranking at the top of the search engines is a high priority. Whilst it’s true that paid search can help you reach the pinnacle of the SERPs you there, this isn’t likely to be sustainable long-term. Only SEO can help your ecommerce store maintain high rankings. So, we recommend taking some time to understand the basics of SEO. This will enable you to structure your site for Google and other search engines. Of course, you can also opt to hire a web designer who has SEO expertise. They will be able to optimise your ecommerce site for search, making sure it performs well in the SERPs.
Market your products
Once your ecommerce store is up and running, the hard work doesn’t stop. You now need to focus on marketing your products and getting them in front of your target customers. There’s a broad range of digital marketing methods that can help you reach your audience and increase sales. We recommend asking your chosen web design agency what service they can offer to help promote your store. They may recommend promoting your products on social media, investing in PPC advertising, or even forming strategic partnerships with key players in your industry to help create a buzz.
Setting up an ecommerce business can be exciting, particularly since online sales are rocketing whilst point of sale (POS) transactions are suffering. The ecommerce economy is expected to continue its rapid growth for many years to come. However, you should also keep in mind that a huge number of ecommerce businesses fail within the first year. To give your business the best chance of success, hire an experienced web designer who won’t just build you an ecommerce store that looks great and works well but that’s optimised for the search engines.
