How to start an e-commerce website?

I can see that you have already short listed e-commerce software's. You can search for steps and precautions in google or try reading some blogs related to E-commerce websites.I am sure you will find some suggestions there.

While starting an ecommerce business,you need a number of things to get started.Here everything that every entrepreneur must have to open an e-commerce business:
1. Products to Sell
2. Domain name
3. Web hosting service
4. Websites
5. Marketing Strategy to sell your products.

You can start you business with hosted ecommerce solution or you can start with ecommerce store that is customized according to your needs.
If you need any help please let me know.

You need a business plan and a marketing plan before starting a ecommerce site. as you already selected some scripts, choose one and go with it.
best of luck

Unless you're an experienced web developer avoid running your own cart software.

You'll end up spending your time upgrading the software, fixing bugs and adding security patches rather than marketing your products.

Sure, you'll sometimes have more control over exactly how you want the store to appear or which functions you want to customise. But unless you need a highly custom solution then stick to the SaaS products on offer.

Instead, there are offerings such as Shopify (good for design templates if you're selling something 'fashionable') and Bigcommerce (better for SEO if you're in a competitive niche).

For a few dollars each month they look after the backend development side. They fix bugs while you sleep! The idea is that they continually improve their software so you can sell more.

If you buy cart software from hotscripts then that is a snapshot in time of that software. You don't necessarily benefit from ongoing upgrades.

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And you asked for "steps you need to take". There's a rather comprehensive list over at https://sites.google.com/site/ecomme...ing-procedures

The "Who" column shows you who would typically do this type of task for you, if you are not a Writer, Developer or Designer.

Go with a hosted cart to begin with, Shopify or BigCommerce, and your life will be a lot easier. It allows you to focus on the important stuff i.e shipping, inventory, customer service etc and once you scale, you can build your own platform.

Hi Catherine,

A good starting point would be a hosted cart solution.

So what's a hosted cart solution?

It's like a service where you can launch an ecommerce site within a few minutes without worrying about hosting, installing tech stuff so that you can focus on selling your product..

So if you can get that done, it takes just a day to get it up and then you can start building your brand. Make sure you do put in some investment for marketing as well because it will need marketing to gain traction for your brand.

Be sure to capture leads!

Abel

Hi Catherine Mark
If you ask me, CS Cart is good. Please give it a try
Also work to get good domain name that suits your brand and also one which will get good results.

Good luck

Thank you, guys, for your input. I feel a little more confident in starting my business. God Bless, you guys!.

I recommend using Magento as an e-commerce platform to all of your clients. As someone else said, you surely need to plan everything out in the form of a business plan before you work on the website. Does not has to be too long a document though. All the best.

Hi Catherine,

Here is what I use as my e-commerce platform.

1. Wordpress self-hosted website.
2. Woo Themes ecommerce theme.
3. Woo Commerce plugin.

By using a self-hosted Wordpress website you are in complete control. Your costs will be the domain name, woo theme (plugin is free), and your PayPal fees. No monthly charges/fees of any kind (except for the hosting of course).

It takes a bit more time to DIY but you have more control over your inventory, store, and finances.

As previously stated, woocommerce is a great solution. I'm using it with plenty of my projects. You should have a look on it.

The problem with people starting websites off-the-cuff is that they forget to follow some incredibly important, and initial steps.

First off you need to find a niche. NOT a product.

And this niche needs to follow three specific parameters that do have measurable metrics associated with them.

First off, the niche HAS to be in demand - meaning, people HAVE to want to find the niche.

Second, the niche HAS to have manageable competition (However, too much demand usually correlates with too much competition.)

Finally, the niche has to be commercially intended. If people are learning rather than buying, then you're going to have a lot of traffic that isn't going to purchase what you have. (If you're targeting e-commerce.)

Once you have a niche, then you find a supplier that can give you products on a decent margin AND will have a fair relationship with you AND treat your customers fairly.

THEN you get a domain name.

If you get a domain name before you have a niche, then you've wasted money on an idea that research numbers have weeded out.

From there, you can create keywords spreadsheets, meta information based on proximity principle/cornerstone content and relevancy, and optimize each page with on-site SEO.

But do not start a website without a niche, extensive research with a basic checklist 'here-you-need-these' without ACTUAL metrics. Otherwise, you're toast.

IMHO Big Commerce is really the best Shopping cart available on the market. And I say this having used their service for two of my sites. Cheers.

#1 choose a hosting company
#2 install wordpress
#3 install a theme
#4 woocommerce plugin as well
start selling

Start here: http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...ce-fiverr.html

(Even if you aren't using Fiverr, there's a ton of getting started info there, including mindset, strategy development, sourcing products, etc.). Your shopping cart is not what you need to be thinking about yet.

I will give you some valuable advice that has taken a lot of time, money and effort in developing successful online stores.

The very first thing you need to do is find the subject or niche you want to sell in.

This is most important since it will dictate the rest of your decisions pretty simply. Once you find your niche, then choosing you domain name, your ecommerce platform, etc. will naturally be easy.

You need to figure out a niche that you have an interest in and that will make some money. Most people are not successful with online stores because they choose a niche they are not interested in. I have seen it time after time where people abandon or sell off the store because they lose interest.

Remember if you want a real successful store, you need to treat it like a real business and something more long term. If you approach it this way, then you will be 10x more successful.

For example, we decided we liked selling products to other people that they could use for content or to resell to their customers. We settled on Private Label Right and Master Resale Rights products. We like the ability to automate our store and at the same time providing the ability for others to start their own business.

Once we knew our niche, selecting the right domain was easy, we ended up with PLRProducts.com and PLRArticles.com. We see these businesses as long term just like owing real estate except this is virtual real estate.

As for the ecommerce platform, we have hosted our own and have used hosted plans. It really depends on how much money you have. If you don't have much money, then you can use a more economical platform for now and then eventually moved to a hosted store that provides backup capability, ssl, hacker proofing, etc.

Remember you can always export products from a store and import them into another. If you have any more questions on this, let us know. We enjoy helping others get started in owning their own online business.