Breaking Down the Basics: How to Start Your Ecommerce Business
E-commerce has opened up exciting new opportunities for entrepreneurs to sell products and services online. But starting an online business can still seem a bit daunting, especially if you don’t have experience creating websites. In this article, we cover the basic steps for launching an e-commerce business from the ground up. What is e-commerce? E-commerce or electronic commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet. An e-commerce business involves a company or entrepreneur selling products or services on an online platform to customers, rather than in a physical retail store. Some key things to know about e-commerce businesses: They sell products and services through a website or mobile app, enabling transactions and payments to happen digitally. Popular e-commerce platforms include Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, etc. Multiple e-commerce business models exist – sellers can have their own branded online stores, operate through marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, drop ship goods, create subscription services, and more. E-commerce opens up global reach to a business – customers can be located anywhere with internet access, rather than the geographical limitations of physical retail stores. It generally provides more flexibility and scalability to businesses. Inventory, staffing, and operations can be managed, automated, and expanded in a more cost-effective way. Setup costs vary widely based on factors like e-commerce platform fees, website development, payment processing, and fulfillment workflows chosen. Ongoing expenses are also there for marketing, customer service, etc. In summary, an e-commerce business removes the geographical and physical limitations of running a store while empowering entrepreneurs to sell products and services to customers all over the internet. Starting an e-commerce business on WordPress or Shopify does require some initial technical setup. Here is a step-by-step overview of the key tasks: WordPress E-commerce Store Domain Name – Purchase a domain name for your online store e.g. yourstore.com. Short, memorable, and relevant to your niche is best. Web Hosting – Sign up for managed WordPress hosting to deploy your site quickly with automatic WordPress installation. Enable SSL certificate for security. Install WooCommerce – It’s the most popular e-commerce plugin for WordPress. Search the plugins panel, install, and activate WooCommerce to get store features. Pick a Theme – Choose an aesthetically pleasing theme designed specifically for WooCommerce stores out of the hundreds available. Configure theme settings. Payment Processor – Activate payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal to accept online orders and process transactions […]