If you’ve decided you would like to take the leap to E-Commerce and start your online shop, it can be a difficult process to get started. Fear now though, these days it’s very simple to get your store set up, even if you are just a beginner.
Here are five things you need to consider when you’re starting your journey in the e-commerce world.
Server Size
The first thing you should take into account is the hosting provider that you choose. Essentially, it all comes down to how big you want your store to grow. A shared service is a good option, to begin with, whereas a dedicated server will cater to bigger e-commerce stores.
A shared server means that you won’t have its space all to yourself, however, it’s not needed if your store is only relatively small. If you are aiming at exponential growth then a dedicated server will be a perfect fit. Do note that dedicated servers are more expensive than shared servers. There are other options though, these days you can get a good cloud hosting where you can update the specification of the server as your website grows. To be honest, this is probably the best option. Companies like SiteGround, WP-Engine, and eUKHost offer some great packages to get you started. Best of all, their online support team will help you with any hurdle along the way.
Web Design
When your first visitor lands on your store, the first impression they will get is from the design of the website. So you need to ensure it’s clean, easy to navigate and pleasing to the eye. This will ensure people will stick around and continue to browse your website.
If your website is difficult to explore and not attractive, often potential customers will look elsewhere. Especially if they’ve had no previous dealings with you in the past. Think about it realistically, the big e-commerce sites out there are all straightforward to navigate and have great designs. No matter how small you are, your store shouldn’t be any different. These days, you should consider flat designs for a foolproof way of making your online shop look good.
A Niche Market
When embarking on your journey in the world of e-commerce, you’ve likely learned that a niche market is absolutely something you should avoid. Nice marketing is a term that means finding your path in an already busy market. When there are a load of competitors with nothing different or unique to offer, avoid the oversaturation of it all and use the power of innovation to bring something completely new to the table. You’ll find by doing this, it will grow your audience rapidly.
As you begin with your own business, it is important to get this registered in a “Limited Liability Company” as a sign that it’s a legally registered business. For example, when forming an LLC in SC (South Carolina), the required documents and qualifications should be met.
Quality Customer Service
One of the most important things to have when establishing your online store is a reasonable or high level of customer service. It’s the only way you’ll guarantee solid relationships with buyers – they’ll establish respect and trust for you should you be doing the same for them. In my opinion, for online shops, chat support is a must, everyone likes speaking to somebody before purchasing something right? Offer good customer service and you’ll find that clients will come back.
Security
To get established with an online store, you’ll at least some level of security to back you up. Too often are websites compromised by a lack of security, with attacks such as SQL injection being all too common. Be sure to employ security upon your online store for your sake, as well as in the best interest of your customers – if they’re a victim of an attack, it’s unlikely they’ll stick around to buy from you ever again. As with all online stores, they should always be https:// secure buy installing a valid SSL certificate o the server. This will bring more trust to potential buyers! It is also useful to offer multiple forms of payment by using PayPal and Stripe/SagePay/WorldPay to offer your customers more security when it comes to purchasing products/services from your shop.
Well, I guess that wraps it up, are you starting an e-commerce shop and came across this article? Leave a comment, we’d love to help you on your journey!
Talent management is one of the useful ways to have an organized e-commerce platform. It could help recruit talented employees, which is vital to your success.