15 Points You Should Check Before Starting an e-Commerce Website

An e-Commerce website is a preferable way for consumers to shop today. An e-Commerce website can be quickly turned into a profit-making business. However, building an e-Commerce website is not easy. Here are 15 e-Commerce website tips that you should incorporate before starting your business.

1. Inventory Model

e-Commerce websites function on various models depending on which you will decide on your inventory requirements. If your e-Commerce site only hosts sellers and buyers, you will not require an inventory, as the sellers will directly ship to the buyers. However, if you’re selling your products, you must have an inventory of your products to ensure that the products are in stock in case of high demand. You will also need an inventory if you want to white label the products. White labelling means purchasing generic products and applying your brand name to them. This could also be limited to packaging.

2. Target Audience

Target Audience is the category of customers you majorly will cater to. Your target audience is different according to location, age, gender, occupation etc. For example, if your website is majorly focused on expensive branded items, tier 1 city dwellers will be your primary target audience. Identifying your target audience will help you direct all your marketing efforts towards the right people.

3. Product Selection

Once you have a target audience in mind, it will be easier for you to select the types of products you want to sell on your platform. In selecting your products, make sure to include only trusted sellers and avoid selling counterfeit goods. Limited but quality options will make it easier to find products and sort through them. Product selection also depends upon the niche of your website. For example, if you are a clothing website, you must not include tech accessories on your website.

4. Profit Margin

The e-Commerce market is very price competitive. Every business wants to ensure its website offers the lowest prices. However, this may not be sustainable for your business in the long run. Hence, it is best to decide early on how much profit margin you want and will be able to maintain to sustain your business. Using tools like OkCredit can help you track your accounts and estimate the profit margin.

5. Competition Analysis

To understand the market and seek inspiration for new ideas, you must conduct a thorough competition analysis. A thorough analysis will help you understand the current market trends, business strategies and shortcomings of the existing businesses.

6. e-Commerce Site Design Tips

The user interface (UI) design of an e-Commerce website should create a smooth shopping experience for any business. A complicated and unsystematic UI can confuse users and make shopping from your website a laborious experience. Here are some quick e-Commerce website design tips:

• Maintain a cohesive colour palette and link functions to colours. E.g. Add to cart button changing colour upon addition.
• Create a UI keeping all age groups and technological backgrounds in mind
• Keep the steps simple and easily accessible.

7. Website Management

Once your website is ready and running, it is necessary to manage it properly to keep it running at its full potential. This includes having cloud storage management, traffic management, reviewing analytics etc. This will ensure your website is functioning at all times and you miss out on no customers. Website bugs can make it slow, create errors, and can even make it vulnerable to hacking. Thus, it is vital to manage all these aspects of your e-Commerce website to run it smoothly.

8. Website Testing And Bug Fixing

Coding and building a website is strenuous. Often many errors occur that create issues in using the website. Thus, before the launch of your website, it is essential to test your website for multiple days to ensure it remains bug-free and does not create an issue during the launch. You can even run a beta test for your website and get feedback from multiple people.

9. Legal compliance

e-Commerce websites also have many legal formalities to cater to. Avoiding mandatory legal compliances can lead to negative consequences. These procedures include domain name registration, trademark registration, company registration etc. India has also been developing rules and laws for governing e-Commerce companies, which restrict certain anti-competitive practices. You must ensure to get all your internal policies verified by a lawyer to avoid any negative consequences.

10. Privacy And Data Collection

All websites use cookies and other data collection methods. This data helps in the analysis of customer behaviour, sales patterns, analytics etc. While data collection can help in growing your business, it can also lead to privacy violations. Thus, collect only the required data and invest in anonymisation tools to protect the privacy of your users. With data privacy and protection laws, there is an increasing requirement to protect customer data and ensure utmost security.

11. Marketing Strategy

A good marketing strategy is a must to attract more customers. Build your social media profiles, invest in paid advertising, and post valuable content to grow your online presence. An online presence will help you in reaching your potential customers.

12. SEO Tips for e-Commerce Sites

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation helps in increasing your website visibility and helps in gaining organic traffic. Generating organic traffic is the most budget-friendly way to build your business and boost sales. Here are a few SEO tips for an e-Commerce website:

• Use sufficient and relevant keywords
• Make user-friendly URLs
• Ensure good site structure
• Clear and precise product images

This list is not exhaustive. You can use many other tips to make your site more SEO friendly.

13. Shipping and Delivery Policy

A hassle-free and timely delivery will enhance the customer experience. Research all your shipping options beforehand and pick based on cost-effectiveness, safety, and delivery time. Ensure that your shipping and delivery policy is present on the website. It should be in clear and precise terms to avoid confusion.

The delivery policy will also decide how much delivery staff you will have to hire to manage deliveries and tracking orders. Using tools like OkStaff can help ease the process of managing attendance, payroll, staff duties etc.

14. Return Policy

As an e-Commerce website, returns and exchanges have to be a part of your business model. But can often get expensive and be misused. Hence, you must formulate a return and exchange policy suitable for your business needs. Communicate the return and exchange policy of each product before the purchase. This will ensure your customer is aware of the process beforehand.

15. User-Generated Feedback

User-generated feedback and reviews allow customers to understand the product quality from a third person’s perspective. Including reviews and feedback will increase the authenticity and trust of your brand. Incorporate unfiltered and honest reviews so customers can get complete details about the products.

Bonus Tip! Run sales and offers on your website from time to time to attract new customers and introduce your new products. Discounts during new launches, festivals or special occasions can help in boosting your growth. You can collaborate with your sellers on these offers.

Conclusion

Running an e-Commerce website is not a cakewalk, and there are many tiny details involved that can make a tremendous difference in the growth of your business. Tools like OkCredit and OkStaff help in automating many business tasks like accounting and staff management.  This article should have given you a clear idea of how to run an e-Commerce website. Go ahead and start your business today!

Also Read:

1) Things to Keep in Mind Before Starting an Ecommerce Website
2) Things "Profit & Loss Report," Says About Your Business
3) Losing Customers Regularly in Business? Know Why and How To Prevent It
4) Tips To Boost Your Business By Building Party Relationship

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FAQs

Q. What are the types of e-Commerce business models?

Ans. There are various types of e-Commerce websites such as B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumers), C2B (Consumer to Business), White labelling sites etc. However, there are no strict rules. You can design your model best suitable to your needs.

Q. How can I get the domain name registration for my e-Commerce website?

Ans. To get a domain name, you must first have a unique name for your business that is available. Next, you can register your domain with a web hosting service and get your domain name at a minimal cost. You can further register your domain with the government to avoid trademark breaches.

Q. How to design an e-Commerce website?

Ans. You can either use free online tools like WordPress to design your website. If you can invest some money, it is advisable to hire a professional to curate your website.

Q. How many website designs should I have?

Ans. Your overall website design should be one. However, you can build different interfaces for mobiles, tablets, laptops etc.

Q. What are some additional ways to boost sales?

Ans. An affiliate programme is great to boost sales. However, generally, affiliates earn a small commission over every sale made through their recommendation, which has to be borne by the e-Commerce company.