The internet has changed the way we shop, and with our increasing reliance on smartphones, more people than ever before are choosing to make many of their purchases online. Any business selling products to customers really needs to have an online shop if it is to remain viable in the digital age.
According to Business 2 Community, over 60 per cent of us have made an online purchase via smartphone, and that number will increase as the technology becomes more commonplace.
Some small retailers rely on sites such as eBay to sell their products, but hosting your own site looks more professional. If you haven’t yet created an online shop, here’s how to go about setting one up.
Work to a Plan
You need to make sure that you have all the relevant information to hand before you start building your online store. Make a list of all your products and prices, together with your company logo and intended customer base. If you are unfamiliar with ecommerce it’s well worth employing a web designer to help you with building your store, but don’t worry that it will be too expensive. Wherever you live you’ll find plenty of web designers, such as the South Devon web design team at https://www.igoweb.co.uk/, who will put together a great-looking and functional online store without blowing your budget.
Choose Your Shopping Cart Provider
If you decide to go it alone you’ll find plenty of ecommerce sites that will add functionality to your online store. Some ecommerce sites, such as Magento and Shopify, offer a helpful set-up wizard which allows you to work your way intuitively through the set-up process, configuring the various elements to suit your requirements perfectly. If you opt for a web designer to create your site then they will probably have their own favoured ecommerce platform. Some platforms allow you to import your products from an Excel spreadsheet, which is useful if you have a lot of different products to sell.
Shipping and Payment
It’s essential that customers are offered an easy and seamless experience when making a purchase, so spend time ensuring that your chosen platform delivers the functionality you require. If you use Shopify or Magento, you will be able to follow their intuitive set-up wizard. And don’t forget to add an FAQ section to answer potential queries.