How to create an online store: what is important to pay attention to?

A fairly large number of people dream of creating their own online store and start selling on the World Wide Web. Such a dream has its own rational explanation, in any case, the Internet allows you to sell goods regardless of the many restrictions that ordinary sales in the real world are subject to. In addition, this type of business implies a rather modest start-up capital. So, almost everyone can try themselves in this type of business. But some people have problems with the implementation of the online store project. Today we will consider the question of how to create an online store yourself, establish its full-fledged work and start the first sales!

Advantages and disadvantages of online stores

But do not rush to invest money! Before starting any business, you should carefully weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of online stores, as well as assess the possible risks. Is opening an online store the most promising type of activity in your case? It is possible that you have more profitable options for increasing your own capital. Perhaps these options are associated with less money and time. Is it worth it to open an online store? If the answer to this question is yes, then proceed to the next paragraph.

Search for start-up capital to create an online store

To open your own online store, as well as to ensure the start of its operation, you will need start-up capital. The main question here is where will the necessary amount of money for the initial investment in the business come from?

It is necessary to get out of the situation with the least losses and in the shortest possible time: the sooner the implementation of the online store project begins, the sooner the first tangible income will be received. Money can be earned as an employee, borrowed from friends or relatives. But first , stop spending money on unnecessary things and you will definitely see a significant increase in money that you can put into your business.

In extreme cases, you can even take a loan from a bank, but this option is very risky, but you cannot be 100% sure that things will go well and you should never discount possible failures. Such negligence can result in significant financial losses.

What product to sell in the online store?

Here, the starting capital was found for the implementation of the project, but in addition to this, you need to figure out what kind of product to sell in the store?

First of all, you need to decide on the category of goods, because you can sell completely different goods. And the success of the upcoming event depends on the correct choice of this very product. It is best to enter the niche in which you yourself are well versed. It is with such a development of events that you can completely control the situation, because it is impossible to work in an area in which you do not understand anything, and this especially applies to the nuances of pricing.

At the same time, you need to choose a product that is in demand, which is certainly possible to sell at cost, since in case of failure, this feature will help return the money invested. But the wrong product can lead to the loss of the invested amount. The party will forever remain in your bins as a visual reminder of the wrong choice.

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Store site creation

Let's assume that the category of the goods being sold has been defined. Now it's time to turn your attention to creating the shop website itself. In fact, without the presence of this element, the start of sales is simply impossible. You can choose a domain name, pay for hosting and create a website. But this requires certain skills. Moreover, it cannot be said that creating a website is an easy task even for a beginner.

note

There are many services and constructors that allow you to create an online store for free yourself from scratch. All of them provide limited functionality, which may not be enough for full-fledged work, but they are quite suitable for testing the demand for the selected product.

Of the popular website builders that allow you to create your own online store, you can highlight:

• WiX

• uKit

• 1C-Umi

  An online store will most likely require very specific functionality, for example:

• basket;

• user's personal account;

• filter or search for products;

• online payment;

• billing system.

So the creation of the site can be entrusted to a more experienced person or studio. It is possible that such a decision will be associated with unnecessary financial costs. But in this case, such costs can be considered quite justified, since a huge amount of nerves and time will be saved.

The site should have a friendly and understandable interface, as well as a convenient navigation system. These features will surely appeal to your potential customers.

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Popular CMS/CMF for developing online stores:

• Drupal (free)
• WordPress (free)
• Webasyst (free, but for the store you will need to purchase Shop-Script 7)
• 1C Bitrix

Search for suppliers for an online store

So it's time to look for the first suppliers for the online store. You should choose those suppliers that are closest to you and offer the most favorable delivery services. At the same time, you should try to buy goods from several suppliers. After all, if one of the suppliers fails to fulfill its obligations under the contract or if it does not have a certain product in stock, then it is easy to compensate for the shortage at the expense of another supplier.

It is also worth paying attention to the quality of the product itself. After all, different suppliers can offer goods with similar characteristics, but of different quality. So over time, you will have to choose the best option. It is this approach to business that will help increase the level of income over time.

The nuances of the delivery of goods from the supplier

A very important point in the implementation of the store project on the Internet is the delivery of goods. It is necessary to clearly stipulate the terms of delivery of goods with their suppliers. In addition, preference should be given to those suppliers who offer delivery at their own expense, which is a fairly common practice.

Important!

When choosing suppliers, be guided by the delivery conditions offered to customers – this is a very important factor.

Filling the online store with goods

Now it's time to fill your online store with descriptions of the products offered, as well as their photos. Only a competent offer of goods can lead to a high level of demand, as well as a significant level of further sales. Photos should be of high quality and bright, and the text description should be concise and clear. Everything here should motivate the buyer to make a purchase.

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You can fill the store both manually and with the help of various downloads from third-party databases.

Where to store goods for an online store?

When opening your own store on the Internet, you should ask yourself the question of storage of goods. After all, if there is no physical store, then the warehouse simply must be. At first, you can use your own apartment or garage as a warehouse. That's just the garage you need to choose insulated, because a cold garage can lead to the fact that the goods will become unusable. And who needs these financial losses?

Note!

With the increase in the scale of the business, there will certainly be a suitable room, which will be used as a warehouse.

Additional sales tools

But not only with the help of one online store you can make sales. It would be foolish to refuse to use additional sales tools here.

What is meant here?

Pay attention to free bulletin boards, to ads in periodicals. Even leaflets in crowded places can be posted. All these tricks will lead to an increase in the number of your potential customers, and therefore an increase in store profits. What else can a novice businessman dream of?

So the process of creating a complete tool was described, the competent use of which will allow you to leave your main place of work and earn money absolutely independently. But it is precisely this state of affairs that attracts many novice businessmen. It remains only to receive calls from customers and send the goods to their destination. Nothing complicated! So why put off creating an online store?