A Beginners Guide To Setting Up A Successful Online Store

A beginner's guide to setting up a successful online store

Online selling is by no means a simple task. To sell products online not only requires making use of high end marketing strategies but also involves lots of planning. This article is meant for those of you who intent to start an online store. It is intended to give you a fair idea of what you would need to do and what you need to avoid while planning an online selling business.

The following are the various steps that you would need to take in order to open a successful online store

1.) Designing a website that sells

The first most important aspect of online selling is to have a professional looking website that is designed to sell. You can go about creating the website from code up using web designers or simply go for readymade website templates. If you are purchasing website templates, be sure to go for templates that are professionally designed and have the option of shopping carts. Buying templates from providers who offer allied services like template customization, web hosting; SEO etc would be even better. Some template providers like 'buytemplates.net' offer allied services irrespective of where you actually purchased the template from. To get a rough idea of how your site should be designed you can take hints from successful discount online stores like http://www.ishopage.com, 'gap.com' and 'bestbuy.com'.

2.) Hosting your store online

There are many factors that you need to take into consideration before selecting your web host when it comes to online selling. Some of the major factors are discussed as follows.

a.) Secure servers

Firstly you got to make sure if your web host offers you with SSL encryption which is very important for secure money transactions online. Most web hosting companies would offer you with SSL secure server facilities along with a regular package whereas a few would charge you an extra amount for the service.

b.) Up time guarantees

Your business is only as good as it remains online. Make sure to go for web hosting service providers who promise you an uptime guarantee of 99 %. Also check to see as to how they back up their data and what kind of back up systems they have in place in case of emergencies.

c.) Private CGI-BIN

A CGI-BIN directory is a location on your web server where you can upload your binary scripts or interactive programs. This is very important for payment processing and shopping cart management. So be sure that the hosing company gives you a private CGI BIN directory.

d.) Web logs and web statistics

Web logs and statistics are vital for your online business. Studying the web logs can give you much needed information about your customers and your sales records. Understanding your customer behavior can help you retain customers and attract new customers.

e.) Customer support

Get as much information about the hosting company's support policies and the type of support they offer. Go for web hosting companies that offer 24/7 customer support.

f.) References

Most web hosts promise you lots of goodies but may not live up to it. Make sure to test the web host's credibility by asking them for references. The existing customers of the hosting company can give your first hand information on the service that you can expect to get.

In addition to this you should also look for services that offer you Mysql database and PHP scripting, unlimited emails and a minimum space of 10GB.

3.) Deciding on shopping carts

If you are selling more than a handful of products then having a shopping cart on your site is a good idea. You have three major options of getting yourself an online shopping cart. First one is buying a shopping cart software program; the second is using services of an ASP and the third is programming it yourself.

Your best option as a beginner would be to go for ASP services. These services are cheap and come with flexible options. As time passes and you online business develops, you can hire programmers to design yourself a customized shopping cart or buy shopping cart software programs that can be set up in your server. Some good ASP's that offer shopping cart services are 'SecureNetShop' (SecureNetShop.com) and 'GoEmerchant' (GoEmerchant.com).

Shopping cart software programs are a costly option for beginners and can cost you anything between $ 150 - $ 800. Some good shopping cart software programs are 'shopfactory 6' (shopfactory.com) and 'storefront' (strorefront.net)

One more option as already discussed above is making use of ecommerce website templates. These ecommerce templates have pre installed shopping cart systems and can help you set up a store in minutes. Some of these template providers also offer template customization services that would allow you to get your ordinary templates in selling modules.

4.) Deciding on how to accept payments

No matter what the speculation, credit cards are still the best way to accept payments. So make sure that your online business has facilities to accept credit cards. There was a time when you had to have a merchant account from a bank or financial institution to process credit card payments. But today there are enough options available that allow you to accept credit card payments even without a merchant account.

Paypal (paypal.com) is perhaps the best payment gateway and has no initial joining fees. Their service fees, per-transaction is very low and they allow you to accept payments from all over the world. In addition to Paypal some other good payment gateways are '2checkout' (2checkout.com), 'clickbank' (clickbank.com) and 'paysystems' (paysystems.com).

Payment options other than credit cards

It is by no means necessary that all your customers will have credit cards. As a matter of fact many of your customers don't have credit cards, many don't like to use credit cards, many have credit card phobias and the remaining may not wish to share their credit card information online. Under such a situation it would be best for you to provide alternate payment options.

Internet checks

Internet checks are as popular as credit cards when it comes to paying online. Internet checks are comparatively safer and are best if your customers are from international destinations. This technique would involve your customer's to make payments by an online blank check provided by an internet check service provider. This information is sent to the service provider for authorization. The merchant can also print the check on his printer immediately afterwards. Some good service providers who can offer you internet check services are paybycheck (paybycheck.com) and cross-check (cross-check.com).

In addition to internet checks there are some other options of accepting online payments like money orders and electronic checks. But these methods are suitable only if your customers are from nearby locations.

The best way to decide your payment options is analyzing your customer behaviors. You can also have online check boxes or feedback forms on your website to collect information about your customer's payment preferences and act accordingly.

5.) Promoting your online store

No promotion equals to no sales. You can promote your store using online marketing strategies like search engine optimization, email marketing, banner advertisements and affiliate marketing among others. While promoting your business you got to make sure to stay clear of any kind of illegal methods like spamming, cloaking etc. Your promotion activities should create a positive awareness about your online store that leads to trust building.

6.) Assuring your Customers

The customer is the king and just as in any other type of business here again you need to give your customer what he wants. To do this you got to be sure of your customer's preferences. Basically you need to address the following doubts that your customers are likely to have in their mind while buying online

a.) Is my credit information safe?
b.) How will the products be delivered to me and how long will it take?
c.) Are their any additional costs associated with the item?
d.) What kind of guarantees come with the product?
e.) Are there any discounts if I purchase multiple goods?
f.) What kind of customer service does the online shop have?
g.) What happens in case the goods are damaged or of low quality?

These questions in particular and many more questions in general can arise in the minds of your customers depending on the type of your products and your online store reputation. You can address these issues by providing valuable information in your FAQ section. Providing an online live chat on your website would be a great way to deal with your customer queries. There are many services that offer free online chat software programs; for instance 'boldchat' (boldchat.com).

Even after all this is over there is no word like 'remaining stagnant' in online marketing. You got to keep on moving and adapting yourself to newer technologies and better marketing techniques to stay ahead and abreast of all those pesky competitors.

http://www.bizbrim.com is an information portal that offers quality information on topics like outsourcing, mortgage, education, email marketing, affiliate marketing, hotels and travel.

---

Do You Need A Merchant Account?

Deciding when to get your own merchant account for internet... Read More

Your Readers are Publishers Too

Too often we charge ahead and treat the web as... Read More

Intranet Portals ? Collaboration through Team Rooms

Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More

How To Start An Internet Business ? Content, Content, Content

When it comes to e-commerce, the time-tested cliché is, "Content... Read More

Increasing E-commerce Website Sales

With consumers purchasing billions of dollars of merchandise online each... Read More

Doing Business Online ? Private B2B Exchanges

Business processes are the building blocks of an enterprise. If... Read More

Top 5 Dot Com Myths Debunked

Most people who get into business know what's involved. They... Read More

E-commerce Software That Will Safeguard Your Business against Fraud

Fraud is a huge issue when it comes to the... Read More

Ecommerce - Boost Your Business ROI

Did you know that over 90% of all online orders... Read More

Getting Started in ECommerce - Part One

In 2004, Enquiro.com conducted a study of the search behaviors... Read More

The Internet Challenge

In spite of the increasing attention on how the Internet... Read More

Building eCommerce Websites That Work - Part 1

You want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very... Read More

Gooooooooooogle It!

....there's much more to Google than you thought:With the wealth... Read More

Starting An E-Commerce Business

The development and expansion of the Internet has made business... Read More

The Essential Christmas Web-store Makeover

Ten great tips to turn online holiday shoppers into eager... Read More

Implications Of E-Commerce For Tax Legislation

As e-commerce develops ambiguities in the current tax code in... Read More

E-Currency Exchange: The First Bonanza of the 21st Century?

The 21st century has introduced the world to a new... Read More

Looking For Free Advertising, Here It Is!

There are lots of ways to advertise for free but... Read More

Something new in e-commerce: the Echo System Build

How four partners build and manage an exclusive art posters... Read More

7 Questions to Ask A Potential Internet Merchant Account Provider

Recently I went looking for an online merchant account, with... Read More

The Internet and Customer Care: Aid or Anarchy?

It was reported in 'Marketing' magazine this month, that Britain... Read More

Why Ecommerce is Not Ready for My Daughter or Me

As the mother of a teenage clothing fanatic I'm often... Read More

Online Payments Make It Easy For Your Customers To Buy

In the last column we discussed the process of credit... Read More

Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built ? Now What?

When I first got my web site built, I thought... Read More

Tell Site Visitors What To Do

Your site visitors make all the choices when it comes... Read More

The Clickbank Crash of 2003: Lessons Learned

I had a rude awakening recently. I checked the days... Read More

Shopping Online: What You Should Know

For some people, shopping online is as normal as driving... Read More

Shopping from Your Cell Phone with Froogle Wireless

Many surfers already know about Froogle, Google's shopping portal that... Read More

Retirement Signature Frames ? The Perfect Retirement Gift!

When most people think of a retirement gift, they think... Read More

Ecommerce Comes from Customer Satisfaction

Online shopping is convenient, but many companies whose web sites... Read More

Online Shoppers Say They?ll Buy from Small and Large E-Businesses Alike

As the holiday shopping season begins in earnest, consumers say... Read More

Delivering Information Products Through Paypal Automatically

Paypal is one of the wonders of the web. Never... Read More

Creating Legal Framework for E-commerce Taxation; non-tax statutes

We have to make amendments in existing substantive and procedural... Read More