There’s a difference between an eCommerce site and a successful eCommerce site. The latter requires planned decisions from the start. From selecting your website’s name to an effective marketing plan, everything factors when you are trying for a successful eCommerce website.
Nowadays, there are many website platforms like Shopify where you can easily build your eCommerce sites. Getting subscriptions for such services is as easy as getting a plan upgrade by calling on Spectrum billing phone number to select a cable plan. The only difference is that you buy these subscriptions from the official website of the platform. However, here we will only go through the more flexible approach of a custom-built website for an eCommerce business.
Choosing a Domain and Hosting
The first step of building a website is to choose a domain name and web hosting. The domain name is the name that appears after a “www.” in a web address. The best practice is to choose a domain name that is simply the name of your brand. You can check the availability of any domain from namecheap.com or Godaddy.com. When you search for a domain name, you can also see its availability and price. So, you can directly buy it from there.
It is important to select a web hosting that suits your site’s requirements. Usually, web hosting providers offer shared hosting, VPS (virtual private server), Cloud, and dedicated server choices. Consult your web developer before finalizing a hosting plan. It is better to choose a plan of a web hosting platform where you can scale in the future. Also, choose the platform that offers freebies like free SSL certificates.
Web Design and Development
After you have chosen a domain and a web hosting plan, the next step is to build the actual website. The process involves UI/UX design and website development through coding.
The UI/UX of your website is the interface that your visitors interact with. The goal in the design process should be to make your website as user-friendly as you can. Also, it should be visually appealing. Good UI/UX can help you get more conversions on your website. Another aspect of paramount importance is that your web design is responsive. This means your site should load easily with all its elements on cell phones and tablets.
From the development side, it is important to consider future customizations and adjustments beforehand. You have to select between static and dynamic websites depending on your site size and other requirements. Also, if you want any custom functionalities, it is important to have them implemented in the development phase.
Creating a Marketing Plan
A mistake a lot of businesses make is starting things without a plan. For a successful eCommerce site, it is important to create a marketing plan and make all the efforts in accordance. You can create a prospect funnel and then create content that focuses on every stage of the customer journey.
Also, you have to consider what platforms you are going to use to market your products. You can promote your website on search engines by working on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing). Also, you can promote your eCommerce business on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms through SMM (Social Media Marketing).
Besides just creating a marketing plan and including platforms to sell your products, you also need to monitor your campaign’s performance. The best way to do this is by setting KPIs at every stage. In this way, you can get detailed data on what’s working and what isn’t.
Setting Up Omnichannel Sales Point
Apart from leading traffic to your website, you can also set up multiple channels for making sales. Both Facebook and Instagram offer the option of selling your products directly. You can put your products on Facebook Marketplace.
If you are also running a physical shop with the same products, you can promote your physical shop through your online presence. Also, you can work on your local SEO to put your store to maximum visibility.
Lastly, you can also connect your eCommerce website to Amazon. In this way, you can use multiple channels to promote and sell your products and get maximum visibility. So, do include omnichannel sales in your working strategy.
Conclusion
Building a successful eCommerce website is not as simple as building a website. It requires efforts in all departments from the time of buying a domain name to building a website and creating a marketing roadmap to integrating more channels for sales. By working on all these aspects, you can create a successful eCommerce site.
