Tired of working for the man, and making others rich, I've been talked into trying to start my own online shop, any ideas on where to go got product ideas How to Set Up an Online Store
There鈥檚 so much to consider when setting up an online store that it can seem downright overwhelming to a would-be ecommerce entrepreneur. From the little details to the bigger ones, you as the owner are responsible for all of it 鈥?and practically every last decision point could be treated in an article of its own. Think of this, then, as an overview of the process.
Before you even take the first step of going into business online, you need to ask some of the same questions you鈥檇 ask when going into any business. Do you have something to market? That is, can you give your customers something they want, for which they鈥檒l pay you enough money for you to turn a profit? It doesn鈥檛 have to be a specific product; it can be a service, or it can even be a combination of the two. One entrepreneur I know writes and maintains custom software for small businesses, blurring the line between a product and a service.
Once you鈥檝e decided what kind of online business you鈥檙e getting into, you need to choose a domain name. This is fairly important, since it will be your company鈥檚 online identity. Think of Amazon, for example. The point is, all of your customers will remember your URL, so you want to choose one that will stick in their heads, and give a favorable impression. If you鈥檇 like to read more about choosing a domain name, there are a number of articles on the subject, including one here on Web Hosters.
So, you know what you鈥檙e going to offer for sale, and you鈥檝e chosen your domain name. What鈥檚 the next step? You want to register your domain name, and you want to put together a website that will encourage your customers to trust you and buy. Never mind articles; there are literally books that cover the topic of good website design
Building the Site
Here you have several options. If you鈥檙e a programmer or website designer (or would like to become one) you could build the site yourself from the code up. Or you could use DreamWeaver or some other HTML editing program to help you build it. You could hire someone else to do it for you. Or you could find and purchase some readymade website templates.
There鈥檚 a lot to take into consideration when building a website, whether you鈥檙e doing it from scratch or basing it off of templates. Obviously it should be professional-looking. The actual appearance will depend on what exactly you鈥檙e selling. Some of the factors you should take into account when setting up your website include:
鈥?How many products do you wish to display? Too few can leave you with a bare-looking website, while too many can look busy and overwhelming to visitors.
鈥?What type of products are you selling? That鈥檚 going to affect how many you display, as well as how you display them. You wouldn鈥檛 want to display basic furniture in the same way you display highly detailed jewelry, for example.
鈥?Do you have digital pictures of the products? If not, can you obtain them? And are they of a quality that shows off the products to their best advantage? (You should also consider how quickly these pictures will load; you might have to settle for some kind of compromise between highly detailed pictures and faster loading).
鈥?Include item descriptions, prices of items, and discounts (if applicable). Your customers will definitely want to know this information! In order to keep this data up to date on your site with a minimum of hassles, you might need a database or content management system from which the site can pull information.
鈥?You might already have this set up if you鈥檙e taking a bricks-and-mortar business online, but you need to keep in mind all of the information that your database requires so that you can keep track of your products and sales. This might include the item number, product ID, a description of the product, and its price. You might also need to know its weight, at the very least so you can calculate shipping costs.
Obviously, if your online business is service-oriented rather than product-oriented, some of these points won鈥檛 apply to you. But you still need to build a website that is easy to navigate and not confusing to your customers. You need to tell your customers clearly what to expect from your business.
That鈥檚 the first step in building trust; it鈥檚 important in any business and even more important for an online business where customers often don鈥檛 interact with a real person (even in email) before deciding whether or not to place an order.
Choosing Your Web Host
This is a site dedicated to web hosting, after all, so you knew we鈥檇 get to this topic sooner or later. Again, there are plenty of articles on this topic (and you can find a few of them on this site). Right now I鈥檓 going to cover, very briefly, some of the things you need to look for in a web host, if you want to give your online business startup the best chance of success.
If you鈥檙e going to handle any kind of financial transactions through your website, you need to make sure your web host offers secure servers. This means that they offer SSL encryption. You should find out whether your prospective web host offers SSL encryption as part of its regular package or charges extra for this service.
When your website is your storefront, if your website is down, your store is closed 鈥?or worse, effectively nonexistent. So you need a web host that offers at least a 99 percent uptime guarantee (and will provide some kind of compensation if it doesn鈥檛 live up to its guarantee, so it has some incentive to keep its word). While asking about a web host鈥檚 uptime guarantee, you might also inquire as to its back up systems in case of emergencies.
You will also need a private CGI-BIN directory if you are conducting ecommerce through your website. It is into this directory that you upload binary scripts and/or interactive programs. These kinds of programs are involved with payment processing and shopping cart management.
Even small offline businesses try to keep track of customer information and sales records; indeed, if the business is big enough to pay taxes, this is essential. Online businesses have a somewhat easier time of it, since web logs and statistics give them the raw data they need (which of course still needs to be processed and analyzed). Make sure your web host will give you access to your web logs.
How comprehensive is the hosting company鈥檚 customer support? You want a company that will offer 24/7 support. May companies say they provide that level of support, but what about the quality of support? This is something you may have to research online at the various web hosting forums. Web hosting customers will be quite forthright in the condemnation of a bad host.
Of Payments and Shopping Carts
Obviously, this is one part of the business you have a strong incentive to get right. There are a number of options here. You can buy an online shopping cart program. You can use the services of an application service provider (ASP) to manage a shopping cart system for you. Or you can program a shopping cart yourself. Some web hosts offer a shopping cart program you can use on your website; you might want to look into that as well.
Googling 鈥渟hopping cart services鈥?(without the quotes) turns up hundreds of millions of web pages. You might find it is worth shopping around to compare prices, features, and customer service. If you have friends who engage in ecommerce, you might also check with them as to their shopping cart services.
Buying a shopping cart program can be an expensive option; you can expect to spend at least $200 if you choose that route, and some shopping carts cost $800 or more. Some shopping cart software might seem affordable at first, but then the company charges you extra if you want certain plug-ins (such as one that lets you display the shipping rates from all the shippers you use at the same time). You might want to put this off until you are more established and have a good idea of what shopping cart features are most important to you and your customers.
Your best option might be following through with a decision you may have made earlier, when you built your website: using ecommerce website templates. Many of those have shopping cart systems pre-installed. They make setting up an online store quick and easy.
Shopping carts bring up the issue of how you will accept payments. If you are doing business on the Internet, you鈥檒l want a way to accept instant payment from your customers. PayPal might work for a while when you鈥檙e starting out, but you鈥檒l need a more direct way to accept credit cards. That means you鈥檒l need a merchant account from a bank or financial institution that accepts Internet transactions
I haven鈥檛 covered everything involved in setting up an online business, but I hope I鈥檝e given you some idea of what鈥檚 involved. Take it step by step, and you鈥檒l be on your way to success!
Vera Chandler
Get all support and a perfect start at http://www.domain-name-register-store.co... when you get everything going, give me a call to set up your payment systems. we can set you up with a shopping cart on your site and even sercure payments. let me know when you need more info Unless you have something really unique - you will be buried by the 100's of thousands of ME-TOO websites doing the very same thing. And even if you do have a one of a kind unique product - you will spend tens of thousands of dollars in traditional advertising media to get people to visit it. Check out http://www.sixfigurediva.com
I have had GREAT results with this company! With this opportunity you do not have to keep an inventory, so you will have more free time! This is a legitimate BBB company. I do know there are some scams out there. This is not one of them.
We are looking for partners to work from their home computers and telephones educating others about the opportunities available for consumers and business builders with our company. In a nutshell we check email, set appts., dial into presentation calls, and set up online accounts.
We do this via informational phone conference calls. The call is 20 minutes and it goes over all the details of the company, their credentials, the compensation plan, how to start, etc. It is what I listened to when I joined. The call will give you all the details so you can decide if this is a good fit for you.
You do have to work though, it is not a get rich quick scheme. There is no large investment, no inventory, no parties, no risk. If you want more information send me a message.
Cindy It's not easy, nor can you get started with no upfront investment. But doing it online is the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to get started. Do your due diligence on any opportunity presented to you before you invest your hard earned money. The 2 links below are the services I am using to run my home business websites. These are not get-rich quick schemes, but legitimate ways to start building a viable, profitable online presence. If you decide to use either of these I'll be available to help in any way I can...
http://website.ws/nivlekswerdna
http://www.startyourbusiness.smmsite.com |
