Whether you’re looking to expand your business beyond craft fairs or create an ecommerce empire from the ground up, starting an online store is the first step to transforming your entrepreneurial vision into reality.
You’ll need to nail the setup of your online store from day one to attract customers, make sales, and grow your business.
The good news is that your pre-launch checklist is pretty straightforward. In fact, you may have already completed some of the steps!
Here are some of the questions you’ll be able to answer after completing this guide:
We’ll also cover one critical piece of online sales success: empowering your customers to make purchases using their preferred payment method.
Let’s dive in.
Get down to business (literally) with these five key steps.
Whether you’re growing your existing side hustle or starting from scratch, you need to understand your competitors and your market.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
There are many ways to outdo the competition. But before your online store opens, you need to understand what you do better than anyone else.
For instance:
Finding your edge—often called your “competitive advantage” —will help you in every aspect of doing business online.
Following the latest trends can help you make a splash with your new store.
Researching social media hashtags, popular keywords, and Google Trends can help you understand what customers are looking for and how they’re finding it.
To illustrate, here are some trends that could help a new online store succeed:
Of course, your business is here to satisfy customers. But it would be great to make a good profit, too! Here are some factors to consider as you calculate costs of doing business online:
Once you factor in these costs, you can decide which products or services will help you earn the largest profit when you make a sale.
Have you been thinking about expanding your product or service offerings? Now might be the time to make that decision. Having more options available can help you attract more customers when you launch your online store.
Here’s what we mean:
Knowing your customer is key to a profitable business. But how can you learn about customers...before you have any?
One answer: Scope out the competition!
You can learn about your customers by observing how they interact with your competitors online.
When it comes to understanding your customer, you can also trust your gut. Even if you’re launching a brand-new product or service, you likely have a good guess as to what your ideal customer looks like. For example, a housekeeping service could reasonably assume that “busy parents” would be interested in their services.
Once you get a good grasp on your target audience, you’ll find it’s easier to make decisions about your products and services, and even details like what payment methods to offer.
For example, if your target audience includes Millennials and Gen Z, you could consider offering Venmo as a payment option on your online store. Venmo is an appealing payment option for these groups1, so you’ll be better equipped to accept payments from this demographic.
This part can be especially fun for business owners! Through your brand identity, you get to establish the “vibe” your customers get when they visit your website.
There are many small details that come together to form BIG brand impact, such as:
Another important aspect of your brand identity is your brand story. Your brand story tells customers why you’re passionate about the products or services you offer—and makes your business more “human”. A good brand story includes the “aha” moment that led you to launch your business, and how you honed your expertise.
Your brand story should be easy for customers to find on your online store. Typically, you’ll place your story in the “About Us” section of your site.
Don’t skimp on this step—a strong brand identity will play an important role in every aspect of doing business, both online and offline. Plus, it can be tough to change your branding once you begin attracting customers, so you’ll want to get it right the first time.
The logistics are the “bones” of your online store. This stage includes things like:
Now that we’ve covered your pre-launch steps, it’s time to think about how you’d like to sell your products or services.
To make your decision easier, we’ll break it into two options: website, or no website.
If you want to use a website to sell your product or services, you can use an ecommerce platform to get started.
Hosted shopping carts can host your online store on their servers and offer tools and add-ons to help manage your business. Some examples are Wix, BigCommerce, and Ecwid.
Examples of self-hosted ecommerce platforms include WooCommerce and Open Cart. These platforms offer flexibility and control to business owners, but you’ll have to host your online store yourself and deal with tech maintenance and security updates.
If you don't want to build a website, you can consider selling through Marketplaces or Social Media Platforms.
Amazon, Etsy, and other online marketplaces help businesses start selling online by listing products or services directly on their platforms, and charge fees for doing so.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest offer ecommerce features that let businesses sell directly on their apps.
Note: You can use marketplaces and social media platforms in tandem with a website! These two options are not mutually exclusive.
Well, that depends. Here are some things to consider:
Look for an e-commerce platform that fits your type of business. For instance, some platforms specialize in selling products vs. services, or digital goods vs. physical goods.
Different customers have different payment preferences, and offering their preferred payment methods can help close sales.
Are you happy with built-in tools for managing your online store? Or do you want to build store components from scratch? Determine how much technical knowledge you have and whether a “DIY” approach is a good use of your time.
If you plan to grow your business, you’ll need an e-commerce platform that supports growth. Research the platform’s ability to handle large inventories, support changing and evolving payment options, and integrate with other solution providers.
A conversion occurs when a shopper who visits your online store completes the checkout process for their desired items or services. Start off on the right foot by choosing a payment platform built to optimize your conversions, like PayPal Checkout. PayPal Checkout can help small businesses boost checkout conversions up to 46%.2
In partnership with three expert business owners, the PayPal Bootcamp includes practical checklists and a short video loaded with tips to help take your business to the next level.
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