How to Build an eCommerce Website to Sell Your Products to Clients
- 1). Decide what products you'd like to sell in your online store. What kind of inventory would you have to keep in order to get shipments out on time? You'll need some form of quality control, so drop-shipping or purchasing an item from another store and shipping it to your customers from there isn't recommended. Know how much you can stock and are capable of shipping out on a daily basis before ordering items for your store. Remember, you're responsible for the security of your items. Be sure to pack them in boxes before shipping them out to customers.
- 2). Pick a good name. Every company has to have a name. Decide on if you want to base your name on items you sell or something different that stands out. For example, Amazon.com started by selling books. Now, they could've called their store Online Book Store and become lost in the masses. Instead, they picked a unique name, which is now a household name. Pick whichever works best for your business.
- 3). Choose a webhost that allows the use of javascript as well as payment options and a shopping cart. Most webhosts offer plans for eCommerce that include an e-store, inventory control and shopping carts, as well as payment options. You'll have to look around to see which one works best for your company.
- 4). Build your website. Keep your color palette limited to three or four colors. The site should be gentle on the eyes, but bright enough to get customers interested in what you have to sell. Look at a few of the big names. What does the layout of their site look like? Don't forget to add your items and shopping cart. You can also have someone build the site for you if you don't have time.
- 5). Advertise. Even if you already have a handful of clients, you'll need to place ads online to pull in more traffic. Remember, you're competing with all of the other e-stores out there. What can you offer that your competition doesn't? It's a good idea to keep an eye on your competition for trends until you've established a stable customer base.