3 Tips to Create an Online E-Commerce Store

Selling products online is the new retail standard. E-commerce retail sales in the United States added up to approximately $123B in the first quarter of 2018 alone. The e-commerce market is growing rapidly, as are the digital platforms that support them. Despite the ubiquity of online storefronts, getting your e-store up and running is a complex process. Fortunately, there are ways to combat the complexity. In this post, we will share three tips to creating your online store.

1.   Set Deadlines First

Establishing deadlines before you start building your site will allow you and your team to set realistic goals for what can be accomplished. If you only have a few weeks, consider using a dedicated e-commerce platform such as Shopify or simply creating a seller account on a site like Etsy rather than building a custom online store from scratch. It’s more important to have the kinks worked out before you send customers to your online store than it is to have a completely custom e-commerce website. The only way to have adequate time for testing and troubleshooting is to establish your deadlines before you build.

2.   Know Your Products

Selling physical products online requires shipping products to customers. No matter who is handling your shipping (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.), you will need to know the exact dimensions and weight of your products when packed. If you have many different products of varying weights and sizes, consider putting the information in a spreadsheet for easy reference. When it comes time to “stock” your items in your online store, having all of your product information in one place will save you loads of time.

3.   Don’t Be Cavalier

Setting up an online store is a complex process. It involves monetary transactions, sales taxes, shipping, and customer service in addition to the technical aspects of creating and maintaining a website. There are plenty of quick-start guides on the internet that will help guide you through the process, but there’s no substitute for experience. Hiring a person or a team who has experience creating e-commerce websites will save you from wasting time and money trying to do it yourself—and potentially getting it wrong, having to scrap your work, or losing sales and customers.

Are you ready to embrace online retail? Want a team you can rely on to help you get your store up and running? Let us know. We’d love to help you build a digital retail empire.

About Kara Franco
Kara writes copy that speaks. She has a knack for creating clear, compelling messages without wasting words. She is passionate about digital marketing and believes that copy is the cornerstone of user experience.

Copywriter + Content Strategist
Kara@diacedesigns.com