For any industry or business, having an e-commerce website is the need of the hour. One may ask the question “ How do I get started with my own ecommerce website.” The article will give the reader a detailed guideline regarding how to get started with an e-commerce website, the definition of an e-commerce website, the cost of starting an e-commerce website, some tips for running an e-commerce website, and other e-commerce website-related issues.
Definition of an e-commerce website
What is an e-commerce website?
An E-commerce website is referred to as a specific kind of website where transactions can be done online through the website. The selling of the product of an e-commerce website can be a physical or digital product. An ideal e-commerce website will allow its visitors to see different products, order them and pay for them from the website.
Name and domain extension for an e-commerce website
When starting with an e-commerce website, the first thing one should do is select a name. A suitable and unique name should be given to the e-commerce website. .com extension is highly recommended for e-commerce websites as this extension indicates that it is a commercial website. It is seen many times that the name which the owner had registered his business is not available on the .com extension the name had already taken by others.
In this case, it will be better if the owner of the website opens his website on other extensions like the .net or the .org extension as these extensions also indicate that it is an e-commerce website. An extension like the.info or the .me is not recommended as these extensions don’t indicate to e-commerce websites.
Country domain extension for an e-commerce website
If the owner wants to sell his product locally or brand his product in a local name, it will be better if he takes the country extension like the .au or the .us. This extension will help the customer to understand which geographic boundary he is buying his product from.
Hosting for an e-commerce website
After choosing a name, one should also look at website hosting providers. Website hosting stores the data of the website. The owner of the website should especially ensure that he has chosen a reliable website hosting provider. Hostgator, Bluehost, Godaddy are some of the most famous hosting providers.
Creating an ecommerce website
One can create an e-commerce website on his own or can take help from a website development company to start with his own e-commerce website. While choosing a web development company for an e-commerce website, he should ensure that the company he had chosen to create a website is an expert in this field. Create an e-commerce website that will be user-friendly and attractive. look for a company which has created successful e-commerce website previously.
Approximate cost of opening an e-commerce website
The cost of creating a website differs according to the business owner’s needs. The domain name and hosting cost starts from $3 per month and it increases according to the package you chose. But if the business owner decides to take help to create an e-commerce website from the professionals, then the owner also needs to select a custom design and get a quote accordingly.
Things needed to consider while opening an e-commerce website
While starting with an e-commerce website, one should also make sure to look after the design, layout, appearance of the website. These things should match with the product which will be sold on the website. The design of the web pages should be appealing and the website must be faster enough to give a great user experience..
An e-commerce website will be different from a social media website or news-related website. An e-commerce website should have a catalog of products which will be sold on that website. The e-commerce website should be user-friendly so that the customer can easily browse the product. It is better to have a brief description of the product with some photos of it.
Review of the product on an e-commerce website
Review of the product on an e-commerce website is also important. By reading the reviews, the customers who had bought the product, be it positive or negative, the people who were visiting the website can have a realistic understanding of the product. Famous e-commerce websites like amazon had reviews of the customers who had bought the products which help other customers to make informed decisions.
Managing your e-commerce website
A website developer will create a website. But after the web developer had created the website, you had to manage the website by yourself or through your employees. Managing the website means uploading content, photos, videos, on the website. Being an admin for an e-commerce website is easy. One can easily manage an e-commerce website without having the knowledge of coding or computer languages. There are many agencies that help you in managing you website post its launch.
Free platform for e-commerce websites
WordPress is the most famous free platform where you can develop your e-commerce website. Although you can easily setup your e-commerce website on the WordPress platform for free, there are some features on that platform which you will have to pay if you want to use. If you want to use a free platform for your e-commerce website, we will recommend you to use WordPress.
Paid platforms for e-commerce websites
There are many platforms where you can develop your e-commerce website paying a fee to those platforms. Shopify, Wix, Squarespace are some of the most famous e-commerce platforms where you can develop the e-commerce website. You can take the trial version of this platform and see for yourself which platform will be best for you to setup the e-commerce website.
We will recommend you choose a paid e-commerce platform. Setting up an e-commerce website on paid platforms is easy as it removes the hassles of buying and managing your hosting etc. Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc. had been designed in such a way that the user finds it very easy to manage the e-commerce website through these platforms.
Summary of How do I get started with my own e-commerce website
We had discussed in detail how to get started with an e-commerce website. Now, we will summarize the points.
- First, select a name for your e-commerce website
- Then choose domain extension and hosting service,
- Design the website,
- Make it user-friendly.
- After that, choose a platform to run your e-commerce website.
That’s how you can easily get started with your own e-commerce website. If you find this info useful, kindly share.