Preparing For Your New eCommerce Website

Depending on your arrangement with your developer, you may be required to provide the content for your online store, such as images, text, and prices. The items listed in this article include the most common requirements; your particular needs will vary depending on the type of online eCommerce website you are building.

Domain Name

The domain name is the first and probably the most important element for your online business.  A domain name is the URL you select for your website.  For example, our domain name is sellersbay.com. 

It’s usually a good idea to try to get the .com extension when searching for a domain name.  eCommerce websites require higher trust than regular websites that do not accept online payments and exchange money.  Selecting a domain name that sounds professional, is as short as possible, is brandable, and has no dashes is important.  An example of a great domain name would be Nike.com; it’s short, branded, and easy to remember.

Other extensions are becoming increasingly popular, but in my opinion, the .com is still the best.  Other options are .net, .co, and hundreds of others.  If you can’t find the domain you want for your business, try looking on auctions, such as https://auctions.godaddy.com/ or other domain auction sites. 

Sometimes, the best names have already been taken, but you can sometimes find a great name on auctions for a few hundred dollars.  The name of your business should be used as your domain whenever possible. 

If your business name is XYX, Inc., you could look for domain names such as xyz.com, xyzinc.com, and xyzwidgets.com, widgets being whatever you sell.  The goal here is to keep it simple, professional, and memorable.  Regarding purchasing your domain name, ask your web designer or developer if they resell the domains.

Sometimes they do, and they can give you a discount.  However, always ensure the domain name is in your name as the owner and keep your login details private and secure.  If you lose your domain, you lose your business; ensure all measures are taken to secure it.

Registering your domain name for a lot longer than 1 year is also a very good idea.  If you are serious about your business and plan on being around for a while, then you should purchase your domain name for at least 5 years.  There are a few good reasons for this; one, it’s strongly suspected that Google’s search algorithm takes this into consideration when ranking websites. And it would make perfect sense because if you are not planning on being around, why would they rank you higher than someone else?  Also, there is less of a chance you forget to renew your domain and lose it inadvertently. 

Logo & Branding

If you don’t already have a logo for your business, creating your logo and then building your website around it is advisable.  The reason is that it’s much easier to create a logo than it is to create an eCommerce website, and it will give you and your designer the color scheme and feel of your website and some other hints, such as what fonts to use and the overall focus of your business. 

If possible, and if needed, it’s a good idea also to have a brochure, letterhead, and any other branding materials completed during this time.  You will likely have to create content for these materials, which can then be repurposed for your website. Keep in mind that any content you have that has not been used online in some way can be used on your website if it’s suitable.  

eCommerce Website Hosting

The 2nd most important element of your online business is your hosting choice.  It’s extremely important to select a well-established, trusted, and secure environment for your new online store to be able to grow, close sales, and keep your customers coming back for more.  

Types of Website Hosting

Many types of website hosting are available, but most of the time, the level you choose directly relates to your budget and how fast you think your business will grow. For example, if you have a brand new, unknown product you want to sell online and you only have a few customers or none yet, then it’s usually a good idea to start off with a shared hosting environment, but one that will allow you to grow.  To do this, I recommend using a hosting provider that allows you to start with a shared hosting environment but upgrade to a dedicated server or cloud hosting later if and when your business grows.

Difference between Dedicated, Shared, and Cloud Hosting

Although there are other hosting options besides dedicated, shared, and cloud, I will only clarify these three options for now, as they are the most common.  

Dedicated Servers

Dedicated servers are dedicated to your business only, hence the name.  There are two types of dedicated servers: managed and unmanaged.  If you have an in-house server administrator, then lucky you, you can afford to purchase the unmanaged dedicated server and save a few bucks each month.  But we recommend the managed dedicated server, which means the hosting provider takes care of all those pesky changes you will need during your many years, hopefully, in business.  Managed dedicated servers are a great choice for most eCommerce stores because you can usually expand by adding more drives to your server.

Cloud-based hosting

Cloud web hosting represents a significant advancement in web hosting technology, offering a flexible and scalable solution for websites, especially eCommerce websites. Unlike traditional hosting models like shared or dedicated hosting, cloud hosting operates across a network of interconnected virtual and physical cloud servers. This setup ensures higher levels of performance and reliability. In shared hosting, multiple websites reside on a single server, sharing resources such as bandwidth and storage.

This can lead to limited performance and slower website response times during peak traffic, which is not ideal for businesses. On the other hand, dedicated hosting provides a single server for one website, offering greater control and resources but often at a higher cost and with less scalability.

For eCommerce websites, cloud web hosting is particularly beneficial. It offers the flexibility to handle fluctuating traffic – a common scenario in online retail, especially during sales or promotional events.

This scalability means that the hosting resources can adapt to the site’s traffic demands in real-time, ensuring consistent performance and user experience. Moreover, cloud hosting often provides enhanced security features, crucial for protecting sensitive customer data in e-commerce transactions. The distributed nature of cloud servers also ensures better uptime and redundancy.

If one server encounters an issue, the workload is seamlessly transferred to another server in the network, minimizing downtime. This reliability is paramount for eCommerce sites, where any amount of downtime can directly translate to lost sales and negatively impact customer trust.

Server Bandwidth

Depending on your eCommerce business type, it may require large bandwidth and storage.  Bandwidth is the resources used during transactions; think of your home internet; if you watch many YouTube videos, online movies, and video games, this all uses resources.  It’s the same on your business hosting account. 

You will use lots of bandwidth if you get lots of traffic and sales on your website.  It’s important to find out what the limits will be on your account before you sign up and spend months building your business on their servers.  

Storage Space

Besides bandwidth, the next consideration for your hosting is how much server space they will allow. Server space, just like your home computer’s hard drive, is required to store the images, database, content, and other files your website will accumulate over time.  

Email Server

There are a few options for your online store’s email server.  Your email should have your domain name at the end, so if your company website address is xyzwidgets.com, then you will want email accounts such as myname@xyzwidgets.com so you look snazzy and professional.  You need to set up an email server for your domain name to do this. 

The good news is that most hosting providers include email hosting, and it’s very easy to set up a new email account.  The bad news is that using your website server for email is usually not a good idea, as it can use many valuable resources.  I recommend getting your email accounts with an external service like rackspace.com or Office 365.  

Security

As we all know, security is very important for any website, but even more so for an online store or any eCommerce website that stores the personal details of its customers or clients and accepts payments of any kind.  This requires an SSL certificate; in fact, Google now penalizes websites that do not have an SSL certificate. 

If you have ever gone to a website and been greeted with a warning that the website is not secure, this is probably because they don’t use a website security certificate or their certificate has expired. 

The good news is that, in many cases, it’s free to have one installed by your hosting provider.  But if you have the budget for it, it’s best to pay for more recognized and secure certificates such as GeoTrust or one of the leading brands.  This shows you take your website security seriously, which puts your customers’ minds at ease and gains trust, more sales, and more return customers.  

Privacy Policy

If you review most eCommerce websites, they usually have a privacy policy in the footer of their website.  A lawyer should review this privacy policy for accuracy and completeness. I recommend using Chat GPT to draft out a privacy policy based on your exact requirements and then be sure to have it reviewed by an Internet lawyer and add it to the footer of your website. 

Shipping Policy

For your shipping policy, you can usually review a few of your competitors and write yours in a similar way without copying their text directly. Keep in mind you obviously want to use your actual shipping requirements. This should include your carriers, shipping time requirements, and anything else you think is important concerning your shipping setup.

Tax rates

I won’t go into too much detail on tax rates, but it’s very important that you know where you have to pay taxes and where you don’t and how to pay them; this is known as your nexus. 

This is a question for your accountant and depends on what country you live in, the city, and other tax-related issues.  You must find out the correct tax rules and laws for your location and configure your online store accordingly.  I would recommend automating as much of the process as possible using software such as Taxjar or various plugins.

Payment processing

Without payment processing, something strange happens, nothing!  You need a method of accepting payments, or you won’t get any.  The most common options at the time of this writing are PayPal and Stripe, but there are hundreds of other options.  Here are just a few.

PayPal.com: PayPal will allow you to accept online payments from anyone who has a PayPal account, but even if they don’t have a PayPal account, they can still pay you with a credit card.  It’s very simple to set up a PayPal account, and most online stores have plugins to install PayPal, and it can be set up in minutes.

Stripe.com: Stripe offers a setup process similar to PayPal’s but specifically for credit cards. All credit card processing is done on the Stripe servers, and their rates are comparable to PayPal. Most of the websites I set up use either PayPal, Stripe, or both.

Shipping Carriers

Choosing the right shipping carrier is crucial for any online store. It’s not just about cost; reliability and delivery options also play a key role in customer satisfaction. A carrier offering tracking, insurance, and speedy delivery can enhance the shopping experience.

Additionally, considering the geographical reach of the carrier ensures that your products can be delivered efficiently to your target market. Many shipping carrier options exist, such as UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS, etc. Who you go with will depend on what type of products you sell, where you sell them, and the price point of your products.

For example, if you mostly sell small items that cost under $20 within the USA, then you are probably best using USPS; however, if you sell large, high-priced products, you should review other carriers to get the best option for your shipping requirements.

Shopping Cart

A well-designed shopping cart is essential for a smooth checkout process. It should be intuitive, allowing customers to add or remove items easily. Security is also paramount; a secure cart builds trust, reducing cart abandonment.

Integration with other systems like inventory and payment gateways further streamlines the process, ensuring a hassle-free experience for both the business and the customer. Some popular options are WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, OpenCart, and many more.

CMS (Content Management System): The right CMS can make or break an eCommerce website. It should allow for easy content updates and be scalable to grow with your business. Customization is key for creating a unique brand experience, and support for various payment gateways ensures flexibility for customers.

A CMS that is SEO-friendly can also significantly boost your site’s visibility and traffic. Again, there are many options for a CMS for an eCommerce store, such as Shopify, WordPress/WooCommerce, Joomla!, and Magento, just to name a few.

Choosing the Right Developer

Your developer’s expertise is a critical aspect of your eCommerce success. Look for a developer with a strong portfolio and experience in building similar websites. They should understand SEO well to ensure your site can rank well in search engines, or you should have someone who knows SEO to review and guide the developer’s work.

Responsiveness and the ability to provide ongoing support are also important factors to consider. Responsive design basically means the website is built in a way that it will morph to different screen sizes to allow the site to look good and function correctly on all screen sizes.

Preparing Product Images

High-quality images are vital in showcasing your products. They should be clear and professional, giving customers a true sense of what they’re buying. Consider different angles and close-ups to provide a comprehensive view. Remember, attractive images can significantly increase engagement and sales.

Also, remember that all your images should be optimized to load fast and have the correct Alt and title tags applied. These are usually added by your web designer or someone doing the SEO of your website. An alt tag is added to each image to tell search engines and those with visual impairments what the image is about. The title tag explains the image in a bit more detail. For example, if you have an image of a green apple, your alt tag would be something like “A green apple”, and the title could be something like “This is a green apple from one of my trees.”.

Product Details

Detailed and accurate product information is essential. This includes sizes, colors, materials, and any other relevant details. Clear, concise information helps in making an informed purchase decision. Highlighting unique features or benefits can also set your products apart from the competition.

A key part of search engine optimization is creating relevant, unique, and highly detailed product details pages to rank them higher in search engines and increase conversion rates. The more questions you answer before the purchase, the more likely the customer is to make the purchase. Descriptions should be engaging and informative, emphasizing the benefits of the product.

Correctly Pricing Your Products

Pricing strategies should be market-competitive yet profitable, considering factors like cost, demand, and target audience. Pricing products correctly is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it directly impacts profitability.

Setting the right price ensures covering costs and achieving a desirable profit margin. Secondly, pricing affects market positioning. Prices should reflect the brand’s value proposition and target market. For instance, premium pricing can position a product as high-end, while competitive pricing might appeal to cost-conscious consumers.

To price products effectively, consider cost-based pricing, where you add a markup to the cost of goods. Alternatively, value-based pricing focuses on the perceived value to the customer. Market research is essential here to understand what customers are willing to pay. Also, monitor competitors’ pricing strategies but avoid a race to the bottom.

Review and adjust prices regularly based on factors like market demand, production costs, and overall business strategy. This dynamic approach helps you stay competitive and profitable.

eCommerce Inventory Management

Effective inventory management in eCommerce is not just about tracking stock levels and ensuring the availability of diverse options like sizes and colors. It’s also about understanding customer demand patterns to predict stock needs accurately. This involves analyzing sales data, seasonal trends, and even promotional activities.

Implementing a just-in-time inventory system can reduce holding costs and increase efficiency. Integrating inventory management with other systems like sales channels and supply chain logistics can also automate and streamline operations, leading to a more responsive and agile eCommerce business. The goal is to maintain a balance that maximizes customer satisfaction and minimizes costs.

SEO Optimization

SEO optimization of product pages is vital for online visibility. This includes using SEO-friendly titles and descriptions, which can significantly enhance your site’s ranking on search engines.

Keyword-rich content that’s both informative and appealing to readers can drive more traffic to your site. Each product details page should be in its correct category, and the category pages should all be optimized to focus on the product within it. Ensure that each product has cross-sell and upsell products added and that the product descriptions are very detailed and link to various related products.

Social Media Integration

Integrating social media with your online store opens up marketing and customer engagement avenues. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be used to showcase products, interact with customers, and drive traffic to your website. Effective social media strategies can boost brand awareness and sales.

Profile Page Layouts and Content

The layout and content of your profile page should reflect your brand and engage your target audience. An attractive, user-friendly layout with compelling content can significantly affect how visitors perceive your brand. Regular updates and relevant content keep the audience engaged and encourage repeat visits.