What is an Ecommerce Business

Ecommerce refers to a business model where products or services are purchased and sold online. Ecommerce companies will carry out these online transactions by digitally transferring money and data

With retail ecommerce sales worldwide reaching nearly $5 trillion in 2021, it’s never been a better time to start an online business. 

If you’re a talented businessperson or craftsperson, you definitely have fantasised about opening your own online store and creating a company that provides you a sense of freedom and success. Each step is explained in this manual.

We’ve compiled a comprehensive startup guide for businesses utilising Shopify’s most popular content. The most important tasks you’ll need to complete when organising, creating, and growing a successful e-commerce firm have guided the arrangement of these blog posts, how-to guides, and videos.

How to start an ecommerce business

1. Find product opportunities and choose what to sell
2. Thoroughly research your competition and write a business plan
3. Choose a logo and name and set up your online store
4. Choose your shipping strategy and set sales and marketing goals
5. Launch your business

1. Find product opportunities and choose what to sell

The first step in creating an online store is deciding which goods you want to offer directly to customers. This is frequently the most difficult phase of beginning a new online business. We’ll discuss how to locate product opportunities, where to find great product ideas, and popular e-commerce products in this section.

• Find a Product to Sell: 12 Strategies for Finding Your First Profitable Product
• Product Ideas: 17 Places to Find Profitable Products
• 17 Trending Products to Sell in 2022
• 29 Ideas for How to Start an Online Business in 2022

Evaluating your idea

How do you know if a product concept you have will sell after you have it in mind? We’ll discuss a few methods used by active entrepreneurs to validate their product concepts and possible markets in this part.

• Video: How to Validate Your Product Ideas
• Product Research: The 15-Step Checklist for Finding Profitable, In-Demand Product Ideas

Obtaining your product

Finding a place and a method for obtaining your products is the next step after coming up with a great product idea. The several ways to buy your items are covered in the following four blogs, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each approach.

• From Dropshipping to DTC, Here Are the Most Popular Types of Ecommerce Business Models
• How to Find a Manufacturer or Supplier for Your Product Idea
• How to Source Products for Your Online Store: Top Apps and Tips
• Print on Demand: A Low-Risk Way to Sell Custom Products

Sell your retail products online

Numerous independent retailers have a difficult road ahead of them. You can weather this storm, produce cash flow, and create a more durable company by moving your brick and mortar firm online. To create your store, you’ll need to choose a solid ecommerce system like Shopify.

• Bricks to Clicks: How to Move Your Brick-and-Mortar Business Online
• Sell Gift Cards for Your Brick-and-Mortar Business with a Simple Online Store
• Local Delivery: Add Local Delivery to Your Store to Increase Sales
• The Ultimate Guide to Curbside Pickup (With Examples of Local Retailers Doing it Right)

2. Thoroughly research your competition and write a business plan

Research your competition

You have identified your product, assessed its viability, and located a supplier. But before you do that, you must properly investigate your rivals so you can understand who you’re up against and how to set your company apart from theirs.

• How to Conduct a Competitive Analysis for Your Business (Plus a Free Template)
• SWOT Analysis: A Simple Way to Find Your Competitive Edge (Plus a Free Template)

Writing a business plan

The moment has come to draft your business strategy now that your competitive analysis is complete. A business plan serves as a road map to organise your ideas and thoughts. It’s essential for choosing what to focus and how to contact potential clients efficiently. A business plan also emphasises your organisation’s mission statement to demonstrate to employees and investors the core principles of your brand.

• How to Write the Perfect Business Plan in 9 Steps
• Business Plan Template: A Practical Framework for Creating Your Business Plan

3. Choose a logo and name and set up your online store

Choose a business name 

In addition to locating a genuine product to sell online, another difficult choice is deciding on your company’s or brand’s name and picking an appropriate and accessible domain name. You can take on these crucial activities with the aid of these blog posts.

• Need a Catchy Online Store Name? Find Ideas With These Tips and Free Name Generators

Creating a logo

Once you’ve selected a memorable name and registered a corresponding domain, it’s time to craft a simple logo. In these resources, we’ll show you several options for creating a great logo for your new business.

• Hatchful: A simple logo maker by Shopify
• The Top 10 Paid and Free Logo Makers Online in 2022
• How to Design a Memorable Logo in 7 Steps (We Make One From Scratch)

Understanding search engine optimization (SEO)

Your internet store is almost ready to be built. To effectively arrange your website and pages for Google and other search engines, you should first understand the fundamentals of search engine optimization.

• The Beginner’s Guide to Ecommerce SEO
• Want to Rank Your Store? Get On Page One With This SEO Checklist

Building your store

It’s time to develop your store using a website builder now that you have a better understanding of search engines. There are several important factors to take into account. Our recommended readings are provided below to assist you in creating high-converting product pages, crafting intriguing product descriptions, taking stunning product photos, selecting your ecommerce colour scheme, and much more.

• 50 Exceptional Shopify Stores to Inspire Entrepreneurs
• How to Optimise Your Product Pages For More Sales: 11 Expert-Recommended Tips
• Product Description Examples and Tips to Inform and Persuade Your Customers
• A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Sales: A DIY Guide to Beautiful Product Photography
• Customising Your Shopify Theme: How To Use Images, Colours, and Fonts
• 10 Must Know Image Optimization Tips
• How to Create a Coming Soon Page and Start Marketing Before You Launch

Choosing your sales channels

Choosing sales channels where new customers currently shop is one of the finest methods to attract them. There are many excellent possibilities that can support and complement your self-hosted business, but the best combination of sales channels will depend on your products and your target market.

• Etsy and Shopify: How Three Makers Used Both to Grow Their Businesses
• Scaling Sales on eBay: How One Business Balances Growth, Customer Service, and Life
• How a Jewellery Business Generates 76.8% of Orders Selling on Amazon with Shopify

4. Choose your shipping strategy and set sales and marketing goals

There are a number of shipping and fulfilment-related tasks you need to get ready for as your new business’s launch approaches. We’ve collected a few in-depth instructions on how to choose your shipping plan in this section.

• Ecommerce Shipping and Fulfilment: A Complete Guide
• International Shipping: Everything You Need to Know to Deliver Beyond Your Borders
• Shipping Strategy: Get Packages to Customers Without Cutting Into Your Bottom Line
• How to Reduce Shipping Costs for Small Businesses: 6 Helpful Ways

It’s also a good idea to define your key performance indicators upfront so, once you launch, you know what measures of success to track.

• 67 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Ecommerce
• What Are the Basic Ecommerce Metrics I Need To Focus On First?

As a final checklist, this post covers the 13 essential things you need to do before launch.

• Starting up Starts Here: The Shopify Store Launch Checklist

5. Launch your business

Acquiring your first customer

The challenging task of selling your products starts now that you’ve launched. While many new business owners should think about selling their tangible goods in person, the other aspects of digital marketing rely on accomplishing one thing exceptionally well: generating qualified leads. Then, we’ll discuss a range of marketing strategies that will be useful to you in the coming months.

• How to Get Your First Sale in 30 Days: A Marketing Checklist for New Entrepreneurs
• Need Traffic? Here’s How to Get Visitors to a New Website (Even If You Don’t Know Where to Begin)
• Customer Acquisition: How to Calculate It and Create a Profitable Strategy For Your Business

Marketing your store

Now that you’re well on your way, you’ve probably made a few sales. It’s time to spend seriously on your store’s promotion. The pieces that follow will assist you in focusing on your best ecommerce marketing strategies or expanding into new ones to increase traffic and increase sales.

EMAIL MARKETING ESSENTIALS

• Learn Email Marketing: Everything from List Building to Advanced Lifecycle Automation
• 7 Automated Email Campaigns That Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back
• How to Write Engaging Welcome Emails (+ 12 Examples to Inspire Yours)
• What I Learned Analysing 60 Days of Emails from a Fast-Growing Ecommerce Brand