The e-commerce market has been growing for many years, alongside the development of modern technologies. However, 2020 was a breakthrough year – globally, e-business recorded over 16% growth, and it's safe to assume this is just the beginning.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to more and more consumers opting to order online. As more customers enter the market, it's expected that the potential for new online stores has opened up! But how do you start your own online store?
The internet is the most promising sales channel – there's no doubt about that. Regardless of your business, the ability to reach customers without location restrictions gives you a huge competitive advantage. It's worth leveraging this advantage – especially since setting up an online store is easier today than it was just a few years ago.
But be warned! If you think it'll happen in a snap of a finger... well, it's not quite that simple. To go from idea to implementation, and then effectively establish your market position, you need to know how to do it step by step. So, see what you need to open a successful online store.
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Step 1: Refine your business concept
Before you get into the technical details of your own online store, you need to go through the basic business tasks. These are the foundation of your investment.
Remember
When you start an online store, you're investing long-term. Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that business growth won't happen overnight, and you'll have to wait for results.
So the question is: how do you get started? It depends on several factors. Consider this: is your online store a way to expand your brick-and-mortar business, or is it your first step into the market?
If you're already involved in the production and distribution of specific goods through brick-and-mortar channels, you likely already have appropriate mechanisms in place, including those related to product transport and storage, as well as marketing resources. You also have a customer base and know who your solutions are aimed at.
However, if you're starting from scratch, the first step is to find an industry . Start with in-depth research. Check the current market conditions and consider which area you're an expert in, or could quickly become one.
There are two leading approaches to this topic: either targeting a niche or building an exclusive brand, or, conversely, relying on proven and common material goods.
Remember also that you need to decide whether you will sell goods under your logo (e.g. by collaborating with a manufacturer to create your own brand) or whether you will redistribute them.
It's equally important to secure a suitable space for your online store . While initially, you might be able to manage small orders by storing products in your home garage, for example, over time you'll need professional storage space.
You can also choose to work with a dropshipping model , which means you'll partner with a product supplier and only handle the entire sales process (and ultimately, the entire order). This solution is good for beginners, but it also has its drawbacks, such as limited influence over the shipping process and product quality control.
So as you can see, if you are a complete beginner, you need to start by developing your business foundations.
When they are ready and you know:
- what are you selling,
- who your products are intended for,
- what is your "processing capacity",
- what budget do you have to start with,
…then you can start setting up your online store from the technical side.
Step 2: Branding
If you already run a brick-and-mortar business and have developed a brand that is recognized by customers, the best solution is to promote it through e-commerce as well.
However, remember that if your market niche is highly competitive, a distinctive, easily recognizable brand may be one of the factors that will determine your business success.
Therefore, developing a good branding strategy from the outset is the best thing you can do. Changing your name later can be time-consuming, costly, and, above all, risky.
How to create a good brand? Before you begin:
- precisely define which group of customers your products will reach – assess their needs, expectations, problems, and challenges,
- indicate the key values with which your store (and products) should be associated – what will be more important: prestige and very high quality of the products, or perhaps their designer character?
Once you know how you want to communicate with the market, you can move on to the next step: choosing a brand name and its visual identification system.
Especially in this latter aspect, it's worth enlisting the help of professional graphic designers and web designers – they can handle this task independently or collaborate on designing the online store layout. It all depends on how you want to "set it up."
At this stage – once you've developed your store's brand – it's also worth purchasing a domain name for your website. Remember, you can choose not only .pl, but also .eu, and .com domains, as well as many other unique ones.
However, the three things I mentioned above give you more credibility. If you have the option, when choosing a domain:
- buy several address endings at once – you can then set them to redirect to the correct store (i.e. yours!),
- avoid hyphens and other elements in the domain name that may make it difficult for the user to type the address manually.
- remember that the domain name itself does not affect positioning – it should be easy to remember and, of course, associated with a given business.
Step 3: Select a platform
At this stage, you'll face a crucial decision: what technology your online store will use. There are several options.
- Outsourcing your store development from scratch to experts is the safest solution, one that can be fully tailored to your business needs. However, you should remember that the costs of creating a dedicated platform can be high (and unnecessary), and the time required to prepare the website can be very long. This is why investors who can afford a one-time investment of tens or even hundreds of thousands of zlotys choose this solution.
- Use an e-commerce platform.
When choosing an online store platform, consider the scale of your business—even over the long term. Also, consider your budget.
When it comes to e-commerce platforms, you have two basic types of services to choose from: subscription platforms and open source platforms. How do they differ?
Open Source Platforms
This software must be installed on your own server. Platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, and PrestaShop are good examples. They are suitable for those who want a high degree of independence, the ability to customize their online store to their specific needs, and especially for medium- to large-scale stores. Running them may require prior e-commerce experience or technical support (especially at the beginning).
Typically, the platform itself is available for free download, but operating it and expanding the store's functionality may require investing in paid plugins. It's also important to remember that it will require server implementation and integration of a chosen graphical layout (either your own or one of the available templates).
Open-source platforms:
- provide the possibility of very extensive customization,
- they are friendly positioning of online stores,
- they have enormous technical support – especially from the users themselves, who are constantly developing this technology.
When choosing one of them, you will face additional costs for implementation, hosting, administration, as well as challenges related to adapting the platform to legal requirements (including developing store regulations).
If you're opting for an open source platform, you'll also need to purchase hosting at this stage. Your hosting server should:
- be well secured – so that it is not susceptible to attacks and your customers’ data is safe,
- be adapted to the requirements of the e-commerce platform you have chosen,
- provide you with sufficiently fast data transfer.
You can choose between shared hosting, which is inexpensive and suitable for small stores, and dedicated servers, which are more expensive but also easier to configure individually. They are suitable for larger and more advanced e-stores. Learn how to choose the right hosting in this article.
By choosing an open source platform, you also have greater control over the appearance of your online store. You can implement it using a template designed by a graphic designer to best fit your brand's visual identity. You can also explore available, ready-made templates.
Subscription platforms (SaaS)
Subscription platforms typically operate using a SaaS (Software as a Service) model. These include platforms like Shoper, Shopify, and Shoplo. These platforms provide access to software in an accessible dashboard—and this is what powers your online store.
With them, there's no need to "upload" the store to your own server—you're using a ready-made system. Fees for using the SaaS platform are charged in the form of a subscription—e.g., monthly or annual—and you can choose the specific scope of services and features the service offers based on your needs. Costs for such a solution range from several hundred to several thousand złoty per year.
Who are subscription platforms for? Primarily beginners who want to run a small-scale online store, especially using the dropshipping model.
Using this solution is the simplest, but it poses many limitations, including limited functionality and the need to choose from pre-made graphic templates. Some SaaS platforms are also not ideal for online store SEO and are burdened with various barriers.
If you're unsure about which e-commerce platform to choose, seek expert advice. Analyze your business model with them to avoid making a mistake. Switching platforms later can be costly and time-consuming.
IMPORTANT!
Your online store should be responsive. This means it should display fully functionally on a variety of devices – computers, tablets, and smartphones. Sales via mobile channels are also growing rapidly, so you can't afford to lose customers from this source!
Step 4: Integrating the e-shop with ERP
While not a mandatory requirement, it's worth considering integrating your online store software with the one that manages your inventory. Why?
The reason is simple: if a customer orders an item you don't have in stock, you're in for trouble. A single incident like this might happen, but if these problems become recurring, you'll quickly lose your good reputation, and with it, your customers.
That's why integrating your online store with your ERP system is the best solution. The immediate flow of information will eliminate the possibility of errors and simplify your task.
Step 5: Selecting payment methods and integrating them with the e-shop
To encourage customers to shop at your online store, you need to provide convenient payment options. A standard bank transfer isn't enough, of course. Therefore, you need to choose payment methods that are convenient, secure, and easy to use.
There are many trading platforms to choose from. When choosing, consider the available payment methods (fast transfer, credit/debit cards, PayPal, GPay, BLIK), as well as commissions and other fees, and the flexibility of accessing your funds.
Step 6: Select product delivery methods
This is something you need to take care of, especially if you're handling the shipping yourself. If you've opted for dropshipping, your supplier likely has specified their shipping methods.
If not, make sure to provide customers with convenient ways to receive products – in addition to courier services, pay attention to the increasingly popular options of delivering goods to points of sale, e.g., stores or parcel lockers.
On the other hand, remember that the more options a customer has to choose from, the greater the logistical challenge. Therefore, it's important to strike a balance.
Step 7: Formalities and income settlement
To run an online store, you must (with a few exceptions) establish a business. You also need to settle accounts with the tax office. Most stores operate using simplified accounting (KPiR).
In many cases, it's possible to opt out of issuing fiscal receipts in favor of electronic invoices. However, it's worth discussing these matters with your accountant to ensure all formalities are completed in accordance with legal requirements.
Step 8: Add products
Many e-commerce platforms offer the option of integrating with wholesalers and automatically updating product data. However, if you sell your own inventory, you must manually describe it in your store. When adding products to pre-made page templates, it's important to consider two key issues: on the one hand, ensuring the product presentation is attractive to customers, and on the other, meeting SEO requirements.
Therefore, both a good and unique description and attractive product photos are important. If you sell products from other manufacturers, you can usually get ready-made materials. If you distribute your own products, commission professional product photos.
In the content area, make sure that:
- were written in the language of benefits – so that they presented not only the advantages of the products, but also their translation into the customer's needs,
- were written in a style adapted to the characteristics of the potential client,
- comply with SEO requirements – you should ensure, among other things, the use of appropriate keywords, headings, and bullet points. It's also worth ensuring the introduction of meta data and the generation of friendly URLs,
- A complete guide to online store product descriptions.
Step 9: Marketing
Once your store is up and running and you start serving customers, it's time to increase its visibility to customers and, consequently, its popularity.
To promote your online store, you can take a number of actions – from paid links, PPC advertising, through social media activities, to online store positioning and using inbound marketing tools.
It is also a good idea to consider a blog in your online store, which will strengthen your positioning potential and the image of your website.
As you can see, the recipe for starting your own online store is a methodical, step-by-step approach based on a well-thought-out strategy. This is the best way to achieve long-term business success.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- The dynamic development of e-commerce and easier access to technology make it worthwhile to set up your own online store, but this requires appropriate step-by-step preparation.
- Before launching an e-shop, you should develop a solid business concept, defining the product range, target group, and logistics and warehousing model.
- Creating a coherent branding strategy, including precise communication with the target group and choosing an easy-to-remember name and domain, is a key foundation for a lasting online store image.
- The choice of e-commerce platform depends on the scale of the business and budget, offering a choice between flexible open source systems requiring self-hosting and simpler subscription platforms (SaaS).
- Integrating an e-shop with an ERP system automates the flow of information about inventory, which prevents order errors and helps build customer trust.
- The choice of diverse and secure payment methods, such as BLIK or fast transfers, is crucial for customer convenience and should take into account the amount of commission and ease of integration with the e-shop system.
- Providing customers with a variety of delivery methods, including popular parcel lockers and courier services, requires maintaining a balance between shopper convenience and the logistical efficiency of the online store.
- Running an e-shop requires registering a business and completing tax formalities, which should be discussed with an accountant to optimize settlements.
- Effective product listings require a combination of unique, benefit-based descriptions, professional photos, and SEO optimization to attract customers and ensure search engine visibility.
- Achieving long-term success for an online store requires methodically building its visibility through the use of various marketing tools, such as paid campaigns, social media, SEO, and blogging.
