How to create an e-commerce website 15 easy steps
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Setting up an online business can be straightforward. Follow these 15 steps to build a stunning e-commerce website design from scratch.
Starting an e-commerce firm is a significant step, but it is easier than you may believe. Most e-commerce systems are designed for beginners, even for people with no coding skills.
This is due to the substantial preparation required to create an e-commerce website. Apart from determining who will build your e-commerce website (for example, an in-house developer utilizing a website builder or a third-party firm with a professional design and development team), you must also pick how to set up your e-commerce site to drive the maximum traffic and sales.
On the other hand, an e-commerce system with CMS features allows you to construct your online store in days, if not hours. This tutorial contains everything we've discovered about creating an e-commerce website.
Here are the following seven steps to Create an E-commerce Website Design:
1. Purchase a domain name:
A domain name is required for any website. As a result, think of your domain name as your internet address.
The basis of your online business The term "website design" refers to a domain name (also known as a URL). A web address is required for online shops just like a street address is required for physical stores.
When you've decided on a domain name, please verify with a domain registrar to ensure it isn't already in use. Consider the following domain registrars:
You could already have a domain name for your company. If you do, you may mark this item off your to-do list when creating an e-commerce website.
If you don't, you must select a domain name. Use a domain name consistent with your brand for the best results, such as google.com. If your preferred domain name is not available, you have two options:
Look for a different option.
Make an offer to the existing owner to acquire the domain name.
Whatever method you choose, ensure that your selected e-commerce platform (covered in the following step) does not offer a free domain name.
Some platforms will pay for your domain purchase; if this is the case, you should take advantage of it.
2. Choose a website builder:
Select a website builder. The following are several website builders:
The size of this article on how to develop an e-commerce website will be decreased if you use a standard website builder such as Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify. This is because most builders already link with online payment gateways and provide tools such as shipping tax calculators to simplify your life.
On the other hand, working with a web design and development agency demands more involvement from your team.
Of course, you may still benefit from a web design firm's knowledge and the simplicity of a website builder. Many well-established e-commerce enterprises will work with expert designers to build or adapt templates based on best practices to enhance visitor purchases.
3. Choose a web-hosting provider:
A hosting service is required for every website. Please take a look at Just, so you know, the number of visitors to your website will determine your hosting requirements. Consider your hosting requirements as you plan to develop an e-commerce website.
More significant sites have more hosting requirements, which raises the cost. As a result, if you're starting a brand-new, unestablished business, you might expect decreased visitors. A well-known brand considering starting an e-commerce site could expect higher visitation levels.
4. Think about website design:
Nobody can deny the importance of a visually appealing layout for a successful e-commerce website design. A website may be designed in two ways. You can commission a custom project from a design firm or utilize an e-commerce template from a reliable vendor like TemplateMonster or TemplateMela. TemplateMonster offers professional templates for all major e-commerce platforms (WooCommerce, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Magento, Shopify, and others). (For example, there are dozens of high-quality WooCommerce themes available.) Furthermore, whichever e-commerce platform you pick for your site will provide you with a broad range of layouts, guaranteeing that you will find an excellent match for your business.
5. Make sure the navigation is responsive and well-designed:
Because many purchases are made while on the go, your business should be functional and appealing on every screen size. The term "responsive" refers to the site's ability to automatically adapt its size to match the screen size of the device on which it is viewed. Do you think the core of e-commerce is maximum ease and freedom in website design? Also, if you value your customers' time, be aware of their preferences and routines, and remember to make your website customizable. Then we are convinced that investing in a responsive e-commerce design will be worthwhile.
make-sure-the-navigation-is-responsive-and-well-designed
To enable easy navigation, quick search, and decent usability, you must have a list of items separated into categories and subcategories.
Amazon is a prime example of this kind of navigation paradigm. Breadcrumbs are also crucial since clients always know where they are and how to navigate to one of the previous pages easily.
6. Choose a theme:
The following step is to choose a theme for your online store. A theme is a template that gives your store a consistent, clean, and professional image.
When choosing a theme, keep the following aspects in mind:
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A theme may frequently be added to your website with a single click. You may then alter fonts, colors, and other parts of your online store's design based on the theme and site builder you use.
7. Create your other pages:
Every e-commerce website design should include the four core pages listed below:
Well-written copy matches your brand voice and may help you connect with your target audience and increase conversions. Responding to consumer queries and concerns also increases trust in your products and reduces customer support calls and emails.
On most site builders, adding pages is as simple as clicking "Add Page" in your dashboard. After that, an easy-to-use content editor should walk you through adding text and media.
Start with Terms & Conditions, FAQs, or other less frightening page categories if you need clarification on where to begin. Browse other online businesses for ideas and inspiration for your glitzier product pages.
8. Provide contact information:
Could you check that your phone number, newsletter subscription form, and support chat all work and are appropriately positioned on the website? If your firm is small, you can do testing with relatives and family.
9. Add product images and descriptions:
Product images and descriptions are vital to an online store's success. Customers who shop online need help touching, feeling, or testing their items before making a purchase. As a result, high-resolution photographs and thorough descriptions should be used to reproduce this experience as feasible and precisely.
Show photographs from different perspectives, weights, dimensions, and unique characteristics. Video lessons and demos are also acceptable. Add SEO keywords to your product titles and descriptions to help potential buyers locate your items.
Could you describe and show the attractiveness and value of your items? Your product descriptions and photographs must stand out and encourage people to buy them.
10. Choose an online payment gateway provider:
Whether you employ a website builder or a web design firm, you'll need to choose an online payment gateway provider. If you wish to take online payments, you must use one of these service providers. Remember that while many website builders support the most popular online payment gateway providers, many charge a fee to use them.
Shopify, for example, charges up to 2% in transaction fees. While 2% may seem modest, it rapidly adds up. In comparison, if your organization works with a web design agency to construct a custom website, you may avoid these transaction costs (rather than using an e-commerce platform integration like Shopify).
11. Setup Shipping and Delivery:
You will need to set up shipping software and delivery choices for your e-commerce store unless your firm entirely depends on digital items sent by email.
Customers today desire items faster than ever before, according to the Amazon Effect. That is why it makes sense to use two shipping fulfillment providers, such as ShipBob. However, there is a cost to this. There is, however, a cost to this. If your e-commerce website design does not have a significant order volume, offering it to your customers may not be practical.
That is why researching delivery costs and order fulfillment is vital. Managing your fulfillment may make sense if you send a few orders daily.
However, imagine you are nearing the end of your inventory storage space and spending so much time on shipping and fulfillment that you cannot focus on anything else. In that situation, it's time to hire a third party.
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all shipment solution for your e-commerce marketplace. Instead, you can browse for estimates and look for reputable partners to pass on their shipping savings to you.
12. Consider your refund policy:
Explain how customers may return a purchased item for a refund if it does not fit or perform correctly. This will enhance client trust in your products and persuade even the most suspicious customers that you are eager to help them.
13. Comply with PCI requirements:
Please remember to be careful when handling and protecting your customers' personal information. Many individuals are apprehensive about disclosing personal information to unfamiliar merchants once they provide explicit guarantees about personal data safety. For example, the footer menu must include a link to your site's PCI system.
14. Testing your e-commerce website:
You can start constructing your e-commerce website once you've finished the following steps: For the best outcomes, use the following recommended practices while building an e-commerce website design: When your e-commerce website's UX design is finished, you can start testing it. Solicit the usage of the site by family, friends, and coworkers. Please keep track of any concerns they bring up and any input they give.
If someone finds something puzzling, such as checking out, consider making modifications—and A/B testing those changes—when your website goes live.
15. Launch your e-commerce store:
The finish line is near.
Here's a pre-launch to-do list:
Once you're pleased, launch your site and congratulate yourself—you're now an e-commerce business.
Conclusion
If you have wanted to know how to start an e-commerce business, you should know that it takes something other than expert coding skills or months of work.
Building and managing an online store becomes relatively simple, even for beginners, with the many site builders and e-commerce tools available.
While online shopping is a significant trend that will be around for a while, it's still critical to have a solid e-commerce website design NYC that focuses on the customer experience. Customers will go to other online businesses that sell similar products if they need help finding what they're looking for, paying for it, and receiving it quickly.