eCommerce is expected to grow in the future. It is a good idea for businesses to enter the industry and build a recognizable brand. Many individuals today prefer to buy products online or book a service via an app or website.
There is a large audience that is located across digital mediums. With an eCommerce store, you can promote your product or services to more consumers and expand the business quickly.
Now, this can be challenging as the competition in the digital world is very tough. You must stand out from the beginning with an impressive eCommerce website, social media presence, and branding elements.
What to know for eCommerce
Before starting your eCommerce store, you must work on visual design to create awareness and recognition. That includes elements that a user interacts with on the website. They can make a significant impact in bringing in visitors to the eCommerce store.
For instance, the logo is usually the first thing people will likely see. It could give them an idea of your niche and expertise immediately. If you have yet to design one, you can launch a brand logo contest and pick a relevant icon to represent the business.
Once you decide how you want the audience to perceive and think about your brand, creating a platform that generates high revenue and sales becomes easier. To simplify this, here is the ultimate guide to building an eCommerce store from scratch.
How to create your eCommerce store
When you are looking to build your eCommerce store, there are quite a few factors that you need to keep in mind. before you. From the website layout to marketing the products or services, business owners must brainstorm ideas to help send the right message.
So, before you set up a checking account online to maximize your profits, let’s look at some critical steps to create an eCommerce store from scratch. You can choose eCommerce platforms to sell your products there such as Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc, or sell on marketplaces such as eBay, Etsy, Amazon, etc.
Figure out your main product
Identifying the main product is one of the first things business owners should pay attention to before launching a website. You should identify a bestselling or main product to pitch to potential customers. For instance, current trends show that books or accessories are popular in eCommerce.
According to a report by Shopify, the book market saw impressive growth in 2021 and generated a revenue of $27.5 billion worldwide. Some of the top products that you can quickly sell online include shapewear, mobile accessories, scented candles, LED lights, home decor, wallets, clothing items, smart watches, hair accessories, and eyeliner.
Pick a relevant product in the industry that can attract potential customers. Consider this a unique factor that could convince people to pick your eCommerce store over the competitors. Highlight what makes your online business different from the others in your industry. People today have a lot of choices in the market, so they might keep browsing instead of making a purchase.
Promoting a solution or a product that might not be available anywhere else makes it easier to attract high traffic to your online store and convert more leads.
So, right from the beginning, identify one or two items that can generate interest in visitors from the first look. Now, you might be selling a similar product or service to your competitors. In such a situation, it’s a good idea to draw focus to certain features that make it unique.
Establish connections with your target audience
It is vital to locate and connect with your target audience to boost sales and keep the visitors coming to the eCommerce store. That is where you need to work on an effective marketing and branding strategy. People looking for specific products or services may want to know why they should choose your business or platform over any other option.
According to a report, almost 56% of consumers in the United States prefer to do their shopping online. It’s why eCommerce sales have increased by billions in a few years.
As a business owner, you need to gain their trust and encourage them to check out your products or services. Initially, you need to find out where the target audience exists and pitch your eCommerce store to them effectively. It is a good idea to focus on one or two places where most of the audience is located.
For instance, if you are selling athletic products or sportswear, you should create a presence on social media networks and connect with bloggers in the industry. Many people aged 18-35 search for sports brands and fitness wear on social media like Instagram and Facebook.
These numbers mean most of your customer base will be found across such mediums. So, start running sponsored ads and collaborate with micro-influencers to increase your following and create awareness. People also do a lot of research before making a purchase. You can attract their attention by producing relevant content that gets high rankings in search engine results.
Make sure your web design is interactive
It is one of the most important factors when building an eCommerce store from scratch. Once you have identified what you are selling and found your target audience, you need to pay attention to the web design for the eCommerce store.
People who are interested in what you are selling may search for the website to get more information or make a purchasing decision. With an interactive web design, you can keep them on the page for a longer time and make a good impression.
If you want to create an impressive website, you can work with a professional or look for a CMS like WordPress or Shopify. These are highly popular in the eCommerce industry and allow business owners to provide a smooth user experience to visitors as well.
You need to add or include features that convey the information clearly and instantly tell people about the brand. With relevant colors, bold typography, and high-quality visuals or imagery, you can engage potential customers in a short time.
You should also keep in mind that the website needs to be responsive. The layout and web design should work well with mobile devices and maintain speed and image quality for different screen resolutions.
When it comes to interactive web design, you can take the example of Brooklinen. The website has soothing colors and appealing imagery that immediately convinces visitors to scroll down.
Similarly, Retro Supply is another eCommerce store that managed to get people interested in digital products. The web design is user-friendly and reflects the brand closely. You can take inspiration for your web design and start building your ecommerce store.
Set up smooth checkout and payment options
You might be surprised to know how many people leave a website or eCommerce platform that does not have multiple payment options or an easy checkout. When creating one, keeping the process short and asking for less information is essential.
Visitors may not want to include a lot of details and could leave the page if they are required to do so. Keep the checkout form short and get only the contact information so you can grow your email list and reach out to customers later on, too.
To encourage people to return and build loyal customers, it’s a good idea to include all the supported payment options. Other than VISA or Mastercard, you should also add Venmo or Zelle and Apple Pay.
That could give you an advantage over competitors with limited payment choices. People may prefer to purchase from your eCommerce store, which allows them to check out smoothly and process the payment immediately.
Some popular payment gateways that help businesses with a smooth process on their eCommerce platforms include Skrill, Amazon Pay, PayPal, 2Checkout, and Square.
It is an excellent way to establish credibility in the market and boost recognition. Consumers also recommend or promote your website to their followers, friends, or family based on their user experience.
Incorporate multiple product images
In eCommerce, people can only look at different products online and decide according to what they can see. Most people rely on images or photos since they cannot view an item in person or visit a physical store.
That is one of the first things visitors look for in an eCommerce store. The product pictures or catalog can tell them everything they may need to know. You must add high-quality and multiple images of each product to make a good impression on first-time customers.
This way, people can quickly figure out if it can help solve a problem for them and how it works. Include various angles that highlight the features of all the items. It allows visitors to get a closer look and make the right decision. When adding the pictures to the eCommerce store, ensure they are compressed and do not slow down the loading speed. You can also have a large header image or sliders on the home page to give people an idea of your expertise and niche.
You can insert multiple pictures of the products that make them look appealing. Take the example of Andar, who specializes in wallets. The product landing pages are designed to draw attention to images clearly showing the color, features, and options.
That can convince people to purchase immediately and add the product to the cart before leaving the eCommerce store.
Begin marketing and promoting your platform
In the end, no matter how well-designed or attractive your eCommerce website is, you may not be able to generate high sales if people are unaware of it. You can create familiarity with the audience with an impressive marketing strategy or promotional campaign.
The eCommerce store or platform is at the center of the strategy, and you need to focus on increasing its visibility before anything else. If you think about it, billions of people search for products and services online.
Here are a few factors to keep in mind for a successful marketing and promotional strategy:
- To bring potential customers to your page, you need to rank among the first-page search results of a search engine like Google. You can achieve this rank through search engine optimization techniques.
- Include relevant keywords in website content and create a blog that offers tips or tricks and unique insights on a trending topic in your industry.
- Get quality backlinks from authority websites or bloggers through guest posts to boost organic traffic to your eCommerce store.
- Initially, you can leverage social media networks to market your eCommerce platform to the target audience. This method could help you build a long email list as well.
Once a few people are interested in your products; you can work on email campaigns to send them updates and the latest discounts or holiday offers. Add lead magnets or pop-ups to the eCommerce store to encourage people to subscribe or sign up.
Tools you can utilize to track eCommerce sales and conversions
Once you have created your eCommerce store, you must prioritize using tools that can help you regularly track its progress. This way, you can improve the web design or products to engage a wider audience and expand your business quickly.
Today, a range of tools can help business owners monitor the performance of their websites and marketing results. You can easily use software or analytical tools to create awareness and recognition to convert higher leads.
These are a few options to monitor your eCommerce store and track your goals in real-time.
- Google Analytics – Track the visitors to your website and get daily insights on how you can improve traffic.
- MailChimp – Use templates for email campaigns and send automated messages to the email list.
- Hootsuite – Manage social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Track engagements and send updates regularly.
- Sumo is great for email marketing and helps businesses generate and convert leads. The tool is designed to boost website growth.
- OptinMonster – It can help you increase sales and grow your email lists with more subscriptions.
- SurveyMonkey – Get website visitors’ feedback and generate surveys or quizzes to boost engagement.
The tools above are handy for getting insights or daily reports on traffic and conversion. You can even find out which CTA (call-to-action) generates the best landing or home page results. Google Analytics is a top-tier tool for monitoring how much time a visitor spends on the website and what factors affect the bounce rate.
Other than that, you can also pick social media and email marketing tools to track the results of your promotional campaigns. They can give you a clear idea of visuals or content that works well and brings people to the eCommerce store.
Build your eCommerce store today
Building a successful eCommerce store requires a holistic approach that combines strategic planning, effective execution, and continuous optimization. By defining your niche, choosing the right platform, designing a user-friendly website, and implementing robust marketing strategies, you can position your eCommerce store for success in a competitive online marketplace.
Ensure a lasting online business by consistently adapting to trends, monitoring performance metrics, and prioritizing customer satisfaction. Nowadays, omnichannel selling is one of the best practices to grow up your business and expand 23X customer reach. If you have one or many physical stores and intend to open eCommerce website, you will need a POS system that can connect data across sales channels and help you manage all operations in one place. Discover Magestore POS for Magento and Magestore POS for Shopify to start scaling up your business today!
