How to Make An Online Shop: A Simple 6-Step Guide

7 min read

Global ecommerce sales are expected to surpass $7 trillion in 2024.

This number has grown exponentially over the last decade. Retailers have become increasingly reliant on their online sales.

Global Ecommerce Retail Sales from 2018 to 2026

Source: Ecwid Insights

Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever for entrepreneurs to create an online store. With that in mind, here’s how to make an online shop without breaking the bank.

1. Find Your Target Audience

First, finding your specific niche is a crucial part of building an ecommerce platform. Learning how to make an online shop successful starts with understanding what you’d like to sell and who your target audience will be. Before settling on a product, consider the following questions.

Is your product profitable? If a product is too expensive to manufacture or purchase wholesale, it is not likely to create a profitable business. Similarly, if the product is too expensive to ship, it may not be a good ecommerce product.
Are you passionate about the product? While passion does not guarantee profitability, it can certainly help. If you have a personal connection to the product you’re selling, you are more likely to devote extra time and energy. Passion also inspires you to learn more about the product, allowing you to become an expert in the field.
Are customers always in need of your product? Selling products that are always in high demand is a great place to start. People who need a particular product will search online, which offers a great resource for ecommerce businesses. SEO tools can be used to help businesses understand what customers want, and effectively guide them to your site.

2. Start to Slowly Build Your Brand

Once you have decided on your products, it’s time to move on to your marketability. At this stage, you should decide the name of your business, explore ideas for a logo, and create your brand assets.

Before settling on a name, you can explore available domain names to ensure your name is available. While you may not be ready to create a logo at this stage, you can use the Canva app to explore ideas. Canva can give you logo and font options that may fit your particular style.

3. Verify Your Business

When exploring how to start an online shop, make sure you understand your legal obligations.

To start your business, you will need to register as a limited liability company (LLC). This is to support small businesses in case they are sued. It also makes you eligible for certain tax advantages.

Through the registration process, you will be given an employer identification number (EIN), which helps your business be recognized in your state. The registration process often benefits based on your state, so be sure to check with your particular state.

4. Select an Ecommerce Platform that Meets Your Needs

There are countless website builders on the market today. While many of them serve a similar function, they all have their own unique set of pros and cons.

Ecommerce website builders are designed to make website building easier by offering pre-made templates, logos, and more. This allows business owners to create their own websites without hiring a professional, often saving hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Each platform varies in its capabilities, user-friendliness, customer service, and affordability. We recommend you do a thorough search of all of your options before selecting one for you.

5. Create Your Website

Once you have found the right platform, it’s time to get to work. Each platform may have its own step-by-step guide on how to make an online shop, but most are similar.

Here is what you can expect from the shop creation process:

Create an account with your email, password, and payment option
Choose your domain name (you may need to purchase this separately depending on your plan)
Search through themes and templates. Find the one that works for you
Add the name of your business (and logo if you have one)
Create a custom homepage and additional pages. Your platform will guide you through this process.
Add your specific products and create listings
Set up your payment processor
Edit your settings including shipping calculators and taxes

6. Spread the Word

The best way to promote your online shop often varies depending on your particular product.

Here are a few ways to spread the word about your new ecommerce business:

Find influencers that use products like yours. Hire them to promote your product.
Use online advertising like Facebook Ads and Google Ads.
Use word-of-mouth marketing amongst friends, family, and previous customers.
Become active on social media, making creative and unique content.
Add your business to online directories in your industry.
Find an affiliate marketing program.
Follow businesses that create similar products on social media. Learn how they promote and market themselves.

Optimize Your Online Shop with Ecwid

Let’s face it – ecommerce is a saturated market. To succeed you need to stand out from your competitors. Having experienced marketing professionals by your side can make all the difference.

At Ecwid, our passion is helping small businesses grow. Whether you need help with inventory, advertising, website building, or brand building, our industry experts will work with you to optimize every aspect.

Take a step forward in your business — get started with Ecwid today.

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Feb 20, 2024

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.