Starting up an eCommerce business is definitely a tricky thing to do.
Building an eCommerce website is a task that is best to take on once you are completely sure that you have a bulletproof strategy.
There are a lot of mistakes that amateurs tend to make when it comes to creating their eCommerce website, but it usually comes down to just one thing – they aren’t prepared enough!
You would surely like to avoid going through such stages when it comes to your new eCommerce business, and we are here to help you out. For further reading, we have another post titled, 10 ways to succeed as an eCommerce business owner? It’ s a must-read!
In order to help you make both your business and your e-commerce website flourish, we’ve prepared a list of questions that will need to be answered ASAP! Remember, you may not be ready to start up an e-commerce website if you cannot answer each and every one of these questions confidently. Without further ado, let’s get into the list!
1. How are you going to market your eCommerce website?
You have to understand that having an engaging, aesthetically pleasing, and user-friendly e-commerce website is of extreme importance. If it is the opposite, the chances are that your business is destined to fail.
With that being said, what use is an awesome e-commerce website if no one will actually see it? So, before you start answering any of the other questions on this list, you have to seriously consider your marketing strategy.
Luckily for you, you don’t have to be a digital marketing expert to get your e-commerce website to the top. There are many digital marketing agencies to do this work for you while you focus on other important aspects of your business.
You don’t have to come up with a mind-blowing marketing strategy off the top of your head, you can always hire someone to do it for you. However, if you fail to do either one of the two, your e-commerce website will be in the mud from the get-go.
2. How will you host your eCommerce website?
One thing is for certain – it is important to pay attention when choosing the best WordPress hosting provider for your website. Another question that needs answering straight away is whether or not you will go for dedicated hosting or shared hosting?
If you are still uncertain about what each of these means, allow me to explain. Dedicated server hosting means that you will get your own server all to yourself. It gives you full control from the control panel dashboard settings to the machine-level configurations.
If you decide to go for shared hosting, you will be sharing the server with other websites and it will be limited, but it is cheaper.
3. How will you handle your inventory?
The answer to this question depends on the type of online store you are running. If you are an owner of a brick and click store, you will need a space to keep your products until they are sold. Also, you will have to keep track of your inventory. Or, on the other hand, you can hire someone to do it!
If you sell your products online and don’t have a physical store, it will be easier to manage your inventory. However, you still have to have a plan for managing your website’s inventory!
4. How much do you expect to sell?
Before you spend a fortune on getting the inventory for your eCommerce website, you will need to have a business plan. You have also to understand how big the demand for your products is. Once you put your finger on how much you expect to sell, you will know just how much you should invest.
It’s as simple as that!
5. How will you handle the payment processing?
There are lots of ways your customers can pay for your products – credit cards, PayPal, sometimes even BitCoin. Which method will you prefer? You need to consider several other things as well, such as the plugins and extensions you may need in order to support whichever payment option you choose. Or even how your payment option will impact your e-commerce website?
As you can see, you can never be too careful or too prepared when it comes to running an e-commerce website. So make sure to get everything in order before stepping into the world of e-commerce! Once your business plan and strategy are set up, there are other important aspects of your business to proceed with.
So play it smart!
Extra tip: are you familiar with the PMAX campaigns carried out by both Google and Microsoft? They’re quite remarkable and worth your attention!
