How to Build an Ecommerce Website: The Easiest Way That Requires No Experience

11 min read

In today’s digital world, having an online presence is not just a choice but a necessity for any business. From social media and studying to work and shopping, people are spending a significant amount of time online. So, why not leverage this opportunity to connect with your customers, grow your audience, and establish trust in your brand?

Moving your business online and creating an ecommerce website can sound overwhelming. Well, it doesn’t have to be! Whether you’re tech-savvy or not, you can create an ecommerce website yourself easily and quickly. Let’s find out how.

What Is an Ecommerce Website?

An ecommerce website is one that allows you to sell your products or services by transferring information and money over the Internet. They are frequently connected to online payment providers so that payments can be accepted online. You can also choose to get paid offline, for example, in cash, when the product is delivered to the customer.

An example of an ecommerce website

How Do I Create an Ecommerce Website?

Here’s how you can create your own ecommerce website:

You can build it yourself from scratch using a CMS (content management system) platform or a popular site builder. CMS is software that lets you create, manage, and modify digital content. A website builder allows you to put together a site using pre-built components.

Or, you can use special ecommerce platforms. They can be open-source, which are platforms where the source code is available for developers, allowing them to modify and adapt the software for different purposes. However, open-source platforms require some degree of technical skills.

There are also SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms, where ecommerce providers build, host, and maintain the software, so users don’t have to maintain it themselves.

If you’re not tech-savvy, choosing an ecommerce site with a SaaS platform such as Ecwid by Lightspeed is the easiest and most efficient option. This way, to sell online with your own website, you don’t have to seek help from web developers or designers.

When you sign up with Ecwid by Lightspeed, you get an easy-to-use website with a built-in online store right away. No coding is needed—just add your products, your business information, and you’re ready to go.

Brave Brew’s site is created with Ecwid by Lightspeed

If you already have a website and just need to add a shopping cart, you can use Ecwid to embed an online store to your website. You can integrate an Ecwid store into any website, including:

WordPress
Wix
Weebly
Or a site built with any other site builder, CMS, or website platform of your choice.

How Much Does an Ecommerce Website Cost?

To code an ecommerce website from scratch, you’ll need to hire a developer who may charge $70-$250 or even more per hour to build an online store. This option is mostly suitable for bigger businesses that need a complex, deeply customizable website (for example, a large marketplace).

If you run a small business and don’t have tech skills or a big budget, we recommend ecommerce platforms. Their entry plans are about $14-29 a month.

When you sign up with Ecwid, you can create an ecommerce website at no charge. That’s right—you get a free site regardless of what pricing plan you choose, a free or a paid one.

After you sign up, you get your own site that is fully hosted, secure, and maintained by Ecwid—an Instant Site.

What Is Ecwid Instant Site?

Instant Site is a free customizable website builder with a built-in online store that allows you to start selling right away. It looks great on any device, including mobile, and has everything you need to build a successful online presence:

Create a unique website using customizable content blocks and design themes. Edit and update your site content as often as you wish, no coding required.
Professional and responsive designs make your site look great on any device.

Instant Site is the online destination to create a professional website and showcase your business’ unique identity and values. Our goal is to help you make a great first impression with your customers from the moment they land on your site.

An example of an Instant Site

Who is Instant Site for?

Instant Site is perfect for you if:

You need a website for your business, but you don’t have tech skills or any coding knowledge.
You’ve just started your business, and you want to start selling online as fast as possible.

Create your website

How to Build an Ecommerce Website with Ecwid’s Instant Site

First, you need to sign up with Ecwid. You can start customizing your Instant Site right after signing up. To do so, go to your Ecwid admin → Website and click “Edit Site:”

In a new window, you’ll see an Instant Site editor. Here you can edit your website content.

First, you need to choose a template for your site. You can select from 40+ ecommerce templates that vary depending on your business niche. Whether you sell home appliances, food, jewelry, or anything else, we have a template for you!

Another great thing about Instant Site templates is that they can be personalized to fit your business perfectly. You can achieve this by editing content blocks. Let’s go over a common setup process.

In “Homepage Sections,” you can edit the content of your website and change the order of their appearance. Some of the most common sections are:

Header & Menu
Cover & Headline
Store
Customer Reviews
About Us
Contacts
Delivery & Payment
Footer

You can use all the sections provided or only select the ones that work for you and hide the rest. You can also add more sections like New Arrivals, Announcements, Special Offers, Promo Sliders, etc.

Every section has different layouts you can choose from, so your ecommerce website can be truly unique:

Now let’s go over a typical process of editing your Instant Site content.

At the very top of the site is the “Header & Menu” section. Use this to show your brand’s logo, let customers contact you, or add an action link.

The “Cover & Headline” section has twelve layout options. All of which have a space for your store’s name and a short description.

As your cover image, you can upload a photo of your team, your product, or an eye-catching picture that represents what you do. This cover can be changed anytime to keep your site fresh, promote sales and events, or showcase new products.

The “Store” section, of course, will consist of the products you sell. Here, you can customize your storefront’s appearance.

You can customize the appearance of both a product list and a product page. Change the size of the thumbnails, the layout of the product page, the position of the category name, and more. You can also disable the display of your products if they do not have images.

Instant Site allows you to lay out the information in a way that persuades customers to make a purchase. Even the one-page checkout is designed to get more sales. It’s transparent, easy to fill out, and collects customer emails right away. This way, you can send a follow-up email to those who abandoned their orders.

The “Customer Reviews” section allows you to add a testimonial to show some social proof and increase customers’ trust.

The “About Us” section is there for you to share your business story and create a connection with your site visitors.

The “Contacts” section lets customers know where they can reach you. You can provide your phone number, email, and social links for quick communication. You can also share the details of your brick-and-mortar store if you have a physical location.

The “Footer” is the last section of your website. It displays the copyright information.

You are able to change the order of all sections except for the Header and Footer—these are always the first and the last sections of your ecommerce site. However, you are able to hide them, just like any other block.

If you need help with setting up your website, check out our Help Center for detailed instructions on configuring the design and content of your Instant Site.

Create an Ecommerce Website Today

Ecwid Instant Site is a fast and feature-rich solution to find your business a home on the web that is fully hosted, secure, and maintained by Ecwid. You can get your website in less than five minutes and its full setup won’t take more than a couple of hours.

Did we mention that it’s all for free and no coding is required?

Start your ecommerce journey today!

With Ecwid’s tools and your dedication, your store is destined for success.

Want to learn more about adding ecommerce to your existing website?

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About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.