With more people purchasing products online, it is clear that eCommerce is here to stay. However, starting an eCommerce website requires investing your time and money. Luckily, we have a few steps to consider while setting your eCommerce website. Let’s take a look.
Create a brand
Before you consider venturing into eCommerce, you need to have a clear picture of want you intend to sell and come up with a brand name. If you want to create a successful website, you should design a name that will appear in the domain name you buy for your website.
When designing a brand name, you need to research your competitors and identify your prospective customers. Determine the goals and purpose of the website and choose a name for your business. Then you can improve the appearance of your brand name with captivating color, font, and logo.
Purchase a domain name
Now that you already have a name for your brand, it’s time to buy the domain name.
You can purchase a domain name from domain registrars or hosting companies. There are web-hosting companies that offer in-house web-building services. You can choose to create your website with your web hosting company or take your domain name to a website builder like Wix. If you feel Wix restricts you, you can check alternatives to Wix like UENI.
One thing to consider before securing a domain name is your target market. For example, if your target market is one location, you can buy one domain name. However, if you want to reach out to prospective customers in different regions, you can opt to buy more or consider buying one that is not specific to one country (top-level domain)
Select an eCommerce platform
You might have good brand and domain names, but choosing the wrong eCommerce platform can mess up the whole operation. You don’t want to join an eCommerce platform and invest your time only to leave after a few years. Remember that moving to another eCommerce platform is expensive and consumes a lot of time, particularly if you intend to move many products.
Ecommerce platforms can be either Bespoke solutions, off-the-shelve, or software as a service. The choice of the eCommerce platform type you pick depends on the speed to promote and pricing. Each type has its benefits and disadvantages, so it’s essential to research, considering the number of SKUs you want to have and the expected demand levels.
Secure an SSL certificate
A secure sockets layer is a primary technology for securing websites against hacking and keeping a secure internet connection. An SSL is a digitally created file designed with code to authenticate, verify and encrypt. You can get the SSL certificate from a third party, and it secures communication with the webserver on the website and the web browser on the visitor’s end.
There are several web hosting companies that can get the SSL certificate for you. Remember that you need to have a domain name, and the prices will vary depending on the provider.
Choose a hosting package.
Your website has to stay on a particular server. Some of the factors that may influence your choice of a hosting package include website speed, your budget, performance and uptime, and security.
It’s important to understand that sharing your hosting environment means that you don’t own the rights to control the security around your site. If you don’t want to lose your customer details to third parties, you need to weigh your options as to whether or not to adopt shared hosting environments.
Comply with regulations
You need to ensure that you comply with the General data protection regulation. Some of the critical areas to improve include terms and conditions, privacy policy, accessibility, cookies policy, and acceptable use policy.
If you’re serious about data protection, you need to seek help from an attorney with knowledge in data regulation and compliance. Make sure data protection is at the core of your business and ensure that your subordinates comply as the website grows.
Remember that some of the customers may want to know who you use their data. Make sure you have a clear plan of how you intend to protect the data from third parties.
Takeaway
Building a competitive website requires patience and hard work. However, with simple tips, you have more than you need to develop a robust website. Consider hiring a website builder if you’re unable to complete the process.