How to Create Your Ecommerce Website

So you want to sell something online but don’t know where to start. It’s easy to become frustrated with all the options available online as their are many companies that offer all-in-one packages who are willing to take your money. This article will show you what you need and how to create, promote and monitor your ecommerce website.

7 steps to create your own ecommerce website

1. Define the purpose of your website.

It’s easy to say “I want to make money” however try to think a little deeper about what you want the money for e.g. “I want to make enough money to quit my job, work from home and spend more time with my family”. A clear purpose provides a deeper motivation that keeps you going especially during difficult times.

2. Define your business goals

Make goals for how much money you wish to make with your website and how long it will take to achieve them e.g. “I wish to make $3000.00 a month within one year.” Realize that most businesses fail within the first year and many fail within 5 years so you need be determined to be successful.

3. Decide what products or service(s) you wish to sell

Select a product (or products) or service that is in demand. Have you heard the saying “don’t sell iceboxes to Eskimos.” Research your market first to determine whether your product or service will be profitable.

4. Ecommerce website design checklist

Here is what you need to build your ecommerce site:

• domain name
• software to design and build the site
• web designer (if you’re not building it yourself)
• web hosting service
• list of products to sell
• product variables e.g. size, color, price, sku#, tax, shipping costs
• legal documents e.g. refund policy, terms and conditions, privacy policy
• images of products
• content for web pages
• merchant account
• payment gateway
• SSL certificate
• shopping cart software

5. Build your website

If you wish to create a customized website scan through websites online to see which ones appeal to you, then ask your web designer to create your site based on your choices. Alternatively select a ready-made template that you can use “as is” or be customized to your liking. A template will cost less however a customized website will have your own unique design and help brand your business.

If you’re selling 100s of products make sure you have the ability to maintain it e.g. add, edit, delete products and pages. This will save you from constantly paying your web designer to maintain it.

6. Create a marketing plan

Your website won’t become profitable if it’s not promoted. There are 1000s of different was to promote it however here are 10 very effective marketing strategies:

• search engine optimization
• link building
• pay per click marketing
• social marketing
• article marketing
• directory marketing
• video marketing
• press releases
• email marketing
• blogging

7. Track website visitors

Your web host usually includes site statistics that show how many visitors your website is receiving every day, week, month and year. It also displays where they are coming from (countries, browsers, website addresses) and what keywords they’re using to find your site in the search engines. Based on these statistics you set goals how much traffic you want to generate each month. The more traffic you receive the greater your profit potential becomes.

Related articles
How to Build an Ecommerce Web Site Using the PayPal Shopping Cart
Create Online Store – How to Quickly and Easily Create an E-commerce Store

To receive a free consultation on creating your own ecommerce website
please visit: Professional Website Design

Herman Drost is the owner and author of
http://www.DrostDesigns.com
Web Design, SEO, Article Marketing
7 Effective Ways to Build Your Own Web Site