There’s no doubt that the Internet opened up many pathways for making money. Numerous new jobs and businesses can thrive thanks to the online world. Some of the most profitable sections are web development, web design, digital marketing, and the one that we would like to talk about today – online stores. There are plenty of things to consider when thinking of opening an online store and the process is not as simple as it seems. But, since you need to pay attention to the basic stuff, we decided to lay the foundation and name some of the most important steps that you need to take to increase your chances of success. If you are already familiar with these, make sure you check our advanced guide on how to start an online store.
(Domain) Name
One of the most important steps is giving your business a name and also creating a domain name. The name gives the business identity and it defines its purpose – in this case, online shopping. Complex names are a no-go because they are very likely to be forgotten. A short name that will be synonymous with your products will be memorized easily and it plays a major role in building your brand. The second step in this process is choosing the domain name. A domain’s name is your website address on the Internet. Most of the pieces of advice are same as choosing the brand name – it should be short, catchy to the ear, and easy to pronounce.
Avoiding hyphens is a good thing to do and even though there are plenty of domain name extensions (.net, .org, etc.) we recommend you to stick to .com. Before registering the domain name, make sure you research it to see if someone else is using it. Even though you can build your website by yourself, it is best to leave it to the professionals.
The Products
Figuring out which products will you feature on your site is also an important thing to consider. This process is not just about finding some cool things and placing them on your site. You need to figure out your targeted audience, primary market, and prices. That requires a lot of market research, surveys, and patience. You should also choose whether you want to sell your products or dropship them. There are certain pros and cons of both options. Selling unique products helps in building your brand, but it is much harder to have a breakthrough in the market. If you decide to dropship them, you will earn an easier profit, but your brand will have no identity. Give it a thought and make sure you choose the right option.
Optimize Your Site Properly
Studies have shown that if your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load, visitors are more than likely to disengage. Optimizing your site to load pages fast is a must. Having a good landing page is also crucial since the landing page should be the one that captures their attention and hooks them into exploring more. Lastly, the site needs to be optimized for mobile use as well. A majority of the population uses their smartphones to access various sites these days and experts believe by 2025 more than 70% will use their phones to surf the net. If you are willing to go a step further and make yourself even more reachable, you might also want to create an app.
Lastly, since online stores deal with numerous transactions, invest in its security and implement the latest SSL-encryption software.
