Everything you need to know about starting an Ecommerce Business

 

Learning how to start any business online and creating an e-commerce website is not easy, but setting and launching a site where sellers, as well as entrepreneurs, can connect with the customers can be attained and build the business.  E-commerce business that includes the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet may differ in scope and size of the business.

Online e-commerce business is one of the top areas that see the huge growth in the industry for several years. According to U.S Census Bureau, the online sales in 2019 have reached $154.5 billion. This lets the business start an online e-commerce store and avoid brick-and-system delivery of products to the customers. E-commerce business also provides great opportunity and flexibility to the business and its owners.

So, how to start an online e-commerce business that brings success to the organization? This write-up is here to help as we have curated a step-by-step guide to setting up an online business store. Here you will get all the information to take your business online and make it a success.

How to Start an Online E-commerce Business?

Starting an e-commerce business store is a bit of hard work and requires many steps and necessary decisions to make the right decision. If you are developing a startup e-commerce store, then it is perfect to choose an e-commerce website development company to seek the right help. So, let us start reading the blog and know the steps to build an e-commerce business website.

Step 1- Choose the product niche and research the e-commerce store space

The first step is to learn what products you need to sell to the customers. This is one of the most challenging steps to starting a new online business. Here, the business will look for several product opportunities, explore the best place to get the product niches and select the trending products for the business.

Once you have the product niche in your mind, select the e-commerce store space by creating a business plan. A business plan will help you add your thoughts and ideas together to reach out to new customers effectively.

 

Step 2- Provide the business name and develop a legal structure

After selecting the products to sell online, the next step is to determine the name of the brand or business. It means to have an appropriate domain name for the brand. The business name should also include an appealing logo using the domain. It should be noted by the business owner that the business name, as well as logo, should be attractive and compelling to the customers.

Then choose a legal structure for the business. The type of business you pick should have the necessary financial and legal documents to run the e-commerce store. You have an option to select from a corporation, LLC, partnership, and sole proprietorship. To clear any doubt, you can consult the legal professional advisor of your organization.

Step 3- Apply for the employer identification number

The next step is to apply for an EIN to run your online e-commerce business. The nine-digit employer identification number is essential to separate the professional and personal finances. To apply for EIN, you can use online, mail, or phone mode and receive your number instantly.

Step 4- Get the business license and permission

After you got your EIN for the online business, the next step is getting the permits and licenses to run the store legally around the world. If you register your business type as a corporation or LLC, then it is essential to register it with your state’s general operating license. Your business will also need a local operating license as per the location of the business store.

You have to also determine the requirements of the business area you are setting up a home-based online e-commerce store. Some types of business licenses are-

1.      Sales tax permit.

2.      Construction permit.

3.      Trade license for industries.

Step 5- Create the e-commerce website using a platform

Till this step, you have completed all your paperwork related to the online business store. Considering, these steps you might notice that all are related to developing the brick-and-mortar business system. The major difference is developing a website or application rather than searching for a location.

The website is the face of your business where the customers will see your products first and purchase them as per their needs. Developing the website is one of the important steps to set up your e-commerce online store.

Choose the best platform to set up your online store and customize it to launch your brand for the customers. Some of the frameworks to develop the e-commerce store are-

-          BigCommerce

-          Shopify

-          WooCommerce

-          Magento

Step 6- Develop and list the products

After setting up the online business website using the best website development platform, source out the products you want to sell to the customers. You can develop your products, source them according to the distributors and describe their services on the website.

To sell the products, this step is crucial as you need to add up the inventory and set up the startup costs. Make sure to list the inventory on the online business store as per the customer experience, business process, and SEO.

Step 7- Market the e-commerce business online store

The last and final step is to market the e-commerce online store to start serving the customers. There are various marketing tactics that the business owner can use such as social media integration, Google ads, and others.

Most importantly, you have to optimize the website to generate more SEO and take great advantage of the marketing tools that are available online within the e-commerce platform used to create the website.

Keep a track of all the marketing strategies that are working to set up the business and generate success for the organization. This step is very essential to developing e-commerce business for small business organizations.

Wrapping Up

There are several advantages of developing an e-commerce website to run the business online and bring success to the organization. It is also easy to expand the business operations by setting up an e-commerce business store for new aspiring small business entrepreneurs.

Therefore, these seven important steps will help you build a trusted online store to retain your existing customers and attract new customers to the business. Also, do not forget to create a mobile and SEO-friendly online business store as 60% of the sales come through mobile phones and other handheld devices.