How to build an ecommerce website for your business step by step

While it is possible to build a functional e-commerce website from scratch, it is not an easy task. However, with the right resources, you can build a good-looking and functioning e-commerce site within a short period of time. This article will guide you through the process of building an e-commerce website. You'll find links to resources that will help you along the way, as well as helpful tips and advice along the way.

1. Selecting the right business model for your e-commerce store

If you’re looking to build an e-commerce store, the first thing you need to figure out is which business model will work for you. There are two main models:

- Business to Consumer (B2C)

- Business to Business (B2B)

For B2C, you’ll be selling directly to the consumer. Your B2C client will pay you a fee for every order they place through your website. For all other B2B clients, we’re talking about a business model that still relies on selling to the end customer, but they’re not purchasing everything from you. Instead, you sell to other retailers (offers within each retailer).

When you’re deciding on a business model for your e-commerce site, you’ll first want to decide whether you want to be selling exclusively through the website, or potentially offering access to your online store in retail outlets. If you’re a B2C store, you typically have a ton of flexibility in the way you sell because you can offer as many sales as you want. However, if you’re offering B2B products, you will likely want to limit how many offers you have on offer at any one time.

Figure out what functions you can offer your B2C and B2B clients. What are the products you want your e-commerce store to sell? Will your offerings be exclusive, or will other retailers also be offering these products? Do you want to offer gift sets, jewelry, and other high-ticket items? Retail stores are able to offer discounts for big purchases, and there are retailers that have dedicated websites where you can register and start buying immediately. These include Lazada, IKEA, Zara, and Gap, to name a few (yes, you’re currently reading that right).

Once you know what you want your online store to offer, the next thing to tackle is picking your web hosting provider. We’ll be going through a few hosting providers in this article, but depending on your budget and overall needs, you can (and should) do a variety of different things.

2. Choosing the right platform for your e-commerce store

E-commerce is defined as the selling of products or services over the internet. When you’re starting an e-commerce business, it’s important to choose the right platform for your store. While you can choose from platforms like Shopify, Bigcommerce, and WooCommerce, there are pros and cons to each of these platforms. This article will outline some of the key differences and offer options that are right for the majority of users.

What is an e-commerce site? According to the latest Search Visibility report by Google, the average e-commerce website ranks in the 58th percentile for overall visibility. This means that just over three-quarters of all websites in the world rank in the middle of the pack.

Strengths and Weaknesses

There are positives and negatives to an e-commerce website. A strong e-commerce site can serve as a reference resource, highlighting products that are similar to those that you would like to stock. This gives you a chance to gauge customer interest and accommodate customer requests.

It also provides dedicated features to allow you to better understand your audience’s needs and anticipate their needs down the line. By doing so, you will be able to build a remarkable user experience.

Less attractive e-commerce sites lack comprehensive product comparison features that allow shoppers to find products that match their criteria, often at a reduced price. With this, you will have to price your products appropriately depending on your customer’s needs.

Your website should also be user-friendly without compromising security and accessibility. This means that the information that users enter into your website is easy to read. Errors are automatically reflected and users are taken back to the product page if they try to view the information in a different browser.

The key to successful e-commerce websites is creating a platform that is easy to use, regardless of the technology that you use to build your website. If you can do this and still provide a high level of security and user experience, then you are set.

3. Choosing a domain name, designing and developing your website

Choosing a domain name: Your domain name should be easy to remember and communicate your brand. It should also be easy to remember and spell. Think about what makes your brand unique and be sure to include that in your domain name. As an example, Steve Jobs named his computer company Apple because of its ease of use and simplicity.

Hosting: When starting your website, you need to establish a hosting provider for your online store. By hosting provider, I mean the company that will take your website and will provide you with servers, domain name registration, SSL certificates, email services, and more. Hosting providers will also set up a manufacturing lab so that you can test all of your products on your website before you place them live. When you decide what hosting provider you want, think about speed and the resources that you need. Choosing a service with a low monthly fee is always a good idea. Designing your website: In essence, the design of your website is a picture of curated information. It gives your visitors an idea of what content will be available and how the website will be organized.

EvPost is a leading provider of e-commerce infrastructure solutions for small- and mid-sized companies. They offer a range of e-commerce services, including front-end solutions, back-end solutions, and solutions for builders. Providing design services is where they shine, and they do so on multiple fronts. One example of this is how they create the design assets that the stores use to publish photos with their store photos.

Here is what Natalie Chappell-Smith, EVPost’s CEO & Founder, had to say about their process:

“We work closely with our clients to create a bespoke, high-touch online experience with a visual language that fully understands the brand and context of what they’re doing. The brand search, ideation, order flow, email sign-up, handling and planning, store photography, on top of every other facet of our service is designed to completely capture the essence and feeling of your platform and convert visitors back into customers.

4. Building an e-commerce website on a shoestring budget

If you don't know how to build a website, there are a number of platforms that can help you. If you have a product you want to sell, check out Shopify or BigCartel. If you have a blog you want to monetize, try building your own website using WordPress or one of the many other content management systems out there. If your product or service requires a lot of contact information, or if you discover that you need to build a website to engage with your customers, this article is for you! Building your own website is a great way to directly connect with your online audience and help them when you can.

Buyers’ Donuts is a profitable company that sells e-liquid, which they deliver to their online store from locations all over the world. Today, they employ people throughout their organization in every single country to put their best foot forward when they need to reach their target audience quickly.

So, in this article, we will look at exactly what makes this company tick, what their current processes are, as well as some features of their website that they are proud of.

From head to toe, from SEO to content writing and everything in between, Buyers’ Donuts is a well-run company. They do find time to acknowledge the value they provide customers as well as others in their team through their rights defense policy.

The rights defense policy states that if customers were to think bad of the donut shop as a result of bad reviews on the internet, Don’t defend or apologize is the next course of action. In order to give away their service for free, they have had a line of customers punch their toll-free number and anyone who calls can leave a one-star review of the donut shop.

These reviews come flooding in as some people have trouble understanding why someone would do this, yet the way they reacted showcases a very business-like attitude. Although maybe not the correct solution, it shows the customer isn't always right, even with a company that comes from a well-known company.

5. Marketing and promoting your e-commerce website

In order to make your E-commerce website successful, you’ll need to market and promote it. The most important thing you can do to promote your website is to use social media. Post new product photos and information on your social media accounts, like Facebook and Instagram. You can also use Linkedin and Twitter in order to promote your site.

When you get new customers or clients from your online store, make certain they were assured of getting what they paid for. Before taking any payment, make sure you thoroughly investigate the item or service you offer and its compatibility with the customer. For example, I previously worked with a leather apparel call-out client who asked if a customer could purchase a pair of leather riding coats for their horse.

My client researched the item thoroughly and determined it would be a perfect fit for her horse. I verified with her that it was authentic leather and fabric and that there was no missing stitching or damage to the leather when it arrived. She confirmed she would only ship it if there were no returns. This process went smoothly and presented her with cost savings by avoiding shipping costs.

Keep in mind you’ll have to give away a portion of the sale to the charity upon request. Additionally, you can set up a Giveback button on your online store, where customers can make a donation to a charity of their choice within your checkout page.

striving for simplicity is one of the keys to online success. When it comes to the look and feel of your e-commerce website, unnecessary elements, such as Google Drive files, stacked up at a level above the rest can be detrimental to user experience.

Design for two or three columns per page, using sans serif fonts. Avoid multiple blog posts that sit in a line, or with buttons above, below, or next to each other. Try not to place vendor pages, contact information, private messages, and other content in the footer, as it is easy to overlook.