Get people to purchase from your online shop.
Creating your own online shop allows you to become a virtual store owner, offering products and services to people from all corners of the Internet. Necessary preparation must be done before you create an online store, including deciding which products or services you'll offer and where you'll store the inventory. After these preparations, you can use e-commerce software to get your online store up and running.
Instructions
1. Purchase a domain name and hosting account for your online shop. Domains and hosting subscriptions can be purchased from such places as GoDaddy, Just Host, Liquid Web and Host Gator. Make your domain name a brandable one--a name that is short and memorable so that it will be easy for customers to remember. For hosting subscriptions, look for a provider that has an easy-to-use control panel. Also look for a hosting provider that offers "Fantastico," a program that uses a one-click system to install dozens of web applications and scripts.
2. Look for an e-commerce program that you can install on your domain for your online shop. E-commerce shopping cart software provides payment gateway integrations to allow customers to pay for orders and also inventory systems for adding products to your online store. Some shopping cart software is free, such as Zen Cart and osCommerce, while others, like Volusion or BigCommerce, cost around $25 to $50. Some web hosting providers may have free e-commerce shopping programs in script libraries, like "Fantastico," that you can use.
3. Install the shopping cart software program on your domain name. Upload the necessary files and folders to your website using your hosting provider's file transfer protocol (FTP) program. If using "Fantastico," choose the shopping cart software script you want to install and click "Install." Create a username and password for the administration side of your online shop software.
4. Log in to the administration side of your online shop. Edit the appearance and design of your site. For example, upload a store logo to brand your online store. Choose the color scheme that you want your store to have and the basic site layout if the e-commerce software allows for it. Make any other appearance changes as necessary.
5. Create product categories for your store. For example, a retail apparel store would have categories such as "footwear," "men's clothing," "women's clothing" and "accessories." Sub-categories include product listings such as "shirts," "jeans" and "sunglasses."
6. Create product listings and descriptions under the appropriate categories. Upload photos of your inventory for each product and write an accurate description that helps sell your products and services. Edit product variables, such as size, color, quantity and price.
7. Set the shipping modules for your online store. Decide if you want to charge a flat-rate shipping fee or whether customers pay shipping dependent on product order and weight.
8. Edit the accepted payment forms for your online store and insert the required information. For example, integrating PayPal for credit card payments requires that you insert your PayPal address and API credentials; using Google Checkout requires the use of the Google Merchant ID and Key. Save the settings to your online store's payment module when finished.
9. Log out of the administration side of your online store. Test your online store from the user's side. Add a product to the shopping cart and make a test purchase to ensure that your payment integrations are working smoothly and correctly.
Tags: your online, online store, your online store, online shop, shopping cart
