You've got a brilliant idea for selling products online
that's been festering in your mind for a long time. This
means you need to build an ecommerce web site or online
store as others would call it, but have no idea what is
involved and how much it is going to cost you.

This article will put your mind at ease as I will try to
give you the necessary knowledge for creating, building and
promoting your ecommerce store.

Steps involved in building an ecommerce website:

1. Do the necessary online research - you first need to see if
   your product is in demand. It's no point spending time and
   money building your ecommerce store only to find out no one
   is interested in your products.

   Enter the keywords or keyword phrases that visitors would
   use to find your web site in the overture suggestion tool:

   This will give you a good indication of the number of people
   that regularly search for that term. If there are no search
   results, you may want to reconsider what you intend to sell
   or do more extensive research on other types of keywords
   that may match your products.
    

2. Prepare your product information - if you organize your
   products ahead of time in an excel spreadsheet, it will make
   it much easier for you (or your web site designer) to add
   them to the ecommerce web site.

   Here are the columns to create in your spreadsheet:

   • product categories and subcategories ie horse supplies-horse
     boots
   • product options ie sizes, colors
   • product ID number ie SK105
   • product description
   • product image
   • product price
   • shipping calculations
   • tax calculations
    
3. Open a PayPal account - the paypal shopping cart is one of
   the easiest payment solutions to integrate with your
   ecommerce web site. You won't have to bother with a merchant
   account, payment gateway or shopping cart and signing up for
   a paypal account is free. Paypal integrates all these
   services automatically and just charges you a small
   processing fee for each purchase. You can accept both paypal
   and credit card payments online. Customers don't even have
   to open a paypal account to purchase products with their
   credit card. 

   To sign up or learn more, click on the banner below:

   There is plenty of online documentation on how to set up
   your paypal shopping cart should you get stuck. There is
   plenty of online documentation on how to set up your paypal
   shopping cart should you get stuck.
    

4. Register a domain name - choose a name that is easy to spell
   and remember. This makes it easier for the customer to
   return to your online store without looking it up. You can
   register a domain name for around $9.00 at Godaddy.com.
    
5. Select a web host company - here are some features to
   consider when choosing a web hosting company for your
   ecommerce web site: 
   • web space
   • bandwidth
   • email accounts
   • autoresponders
   • site statistics
   • database (if needed)
   • fast customer service
   • reasonably priced
   You can view some very affordable web hosting plans here
    
6. Build your ecommerce web site - decide on how many pages you
   want on your site (this won't apply if you have a database
   driven site). Name the navigation links for the web pages
   according to the main product categories you are using. 

   Here are some suggestions:

   • Homepage
   • Category 1
   • Category 2
   • Category 3
   • Category 4
   • Category 5
   • Category 6
   • Policies
   • About Us
   • Contact

   Some points to consider:

   • There should be a consistent theme and design running
     throughout your site ie same header image and/or logo,
     slogan, navigation, copyright and colors.
   • The homepage should include a summary of what products
     your site has to offer. Customers can always delve deeper
     into your site for more information.
   • Add a paragraph of text at the top of each page
     (250-500 words) which includes the keywords you have
     researched for that product. This will attract potential visitors
     to find your site based on the keywords they insert in the
     search engines.
   • Include a contact form to build a contact list so you always
     keep in touch with your customers. -Include a policies page
     for shipping, refund and terms of service policies.
    
7. Test your web site - after uploading your site files to your
   web host, thoroughly check your site by testing for these
   factors: 
   • broken links
   • browser compatibility
   • screen resolution
   • html/xhtml vaildation
   • contact form works
   • site loading time
    
8. Market your web site - you will not make any sales if you
   don't actively market your web site. The most important
   action you should do on a consistent basis to increase your
   presence in the search engines is to build your link
   popularity (number of links pointing to your site). Contact
   sites related to yours and exchange links with them. You
   should also submit your site to the main search engines and
   directories.

Other methods of marketing include writing articles related
to your site's material, advertising in ezines and pay per
click advertising. Be sure to include offline advertising by
including your web site address on all your stationary.

Conclusion - building an ecommerce web site doesn't have to
be complicated task. By following the steps outlined above,
you can quickly and easily set up your site and start
selling your products.

 

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