How to Build an Ecommerce Website?

There are many steps one must take to successfully create, and learn how to build an ecommerce website. You must take into account a variety of factors, and use them all together. Although the process itself can appear daunting to someone who has never done it before, learning how to build an ecommerce website isn’t overly complicated. With proper planning, and following the steps outlined below, you too can create your own ecommerce website in no time.

Step 1 – What are you going to sell?

The most important question you must ask yourself when building an ecommerce website is what product are you going to sell. Let’s assume you’ve already chosen a product at this stage, or at least have one in mind. You must do extensive research if you want to succeed. You have to look deep into the numbers, and accurately gauge what costs you may encounter along the way. This should always be the first step in building an ecommerce website. Some potential questions to keep in mind are.
– What profit margin can you expect after all operating costs?
– How many products must you sell to reach these profits?
– Is the profit margin worth your overall effort?
– Are people going to buy your product, and if so why?

As you can see, there are many questions you must answer when deciding what product you’re going to sell. The above list is only a small sample of the many questions you should be asking yourself. Take a hard look at the numbers, and be realistic. You don’t want to waste time and money selling a product that won’t sustain your business efforts.

Step 2 – How are you going to sell it?

The next question in learning how to design an ecommerce website is deciding how you’re going to sell your products. Yes, this is going to be done online, but how? Here are some of the questions you should be asking yourself.

– Are you going to use an existing ecommerce platform, or build your own website?
– If using a platform, which one should you choose?
– How will you accept payments?
– Are you selling one item at a time, or by wholesale?

Obviously if you have web design experience, you may consider building your own ecommerce website, but what if you don’t have any? Luckily for you, there are many options out there for you take advantage of. Some of these include Weebly, or BigCommerce. They all provide layouts, and an easy way to list your products. Unfortunately they all look pretty generic, and do not let you have the flexibility in design and function as a custom ecommerce website gives you. They will usually guide you through the setup process, which includes naming your website and choosing a hosting plan. They make it much easier overall for you to get started. This is probably your safest bet, especially if you are just starting out.

Hiring a web development company like Flying Cow Design to do all the work offers several advantages. For example, you will have a site that’s more targeted; which will lead to better conversion rates and it will more than likely look better than the competition.

Step 3 – Putting it all together

The last step in building an ecommerce website is preparing for the launch, and having everything ready to go. Make sure you read over this checklist, and ask yourself these questions before going live.

– Ensure all products have descriptions, accurate images, and all links are working.
– Payment processing should be tested and working properly
– Have all the SEO work completed throughout the site
– Submit your site to the search engines
– Have advertising strategies mapped out, ready to place in action
– Shipping information figured out and ready to roll.
– Make sure the entire website experience is smooth, and flows correctly

You will be able to easily build an ecommerce website with the above information at your disposal. If you think through the process one step at a time, you’ll be perfectly fine. The biggest obstacles placed in your way are choosing the right product, creating a nice looking website, and advertising effectively. If you can accomplish all three of these tasks, we promise you’ll end up becoming successful.

For more information on ecommerce, visit the Ecommerce Web Design FAQ section of Flying Cow Design.