How to Easily Develop an Amazing Ecommerce Website Using WordPress
In the last 20 years, the internet has changed many things, but one thing it has proven to be indispensable for is shopping. According to a recent study, more than half of all American adults have shopped online. This is compared to 48% who have shopped in a physical store and 28% who have used both methods.
With the help of technology, mobile shopping has become a thing, and more people than ever are taking advantage of the opportunity to shop when and where they want. In fact, 40% of all retail sales are now done online. Although the ecommerce industry as a whole is growing, the digital nomad lifestyle has proven to be especially beneficial to online shoppers as it allows them to quickly and securely purchase what they want, when they want, and from wherever they want, all from the comfort of their homes. As more people choose to shop online, entrepreneurs are stepping up to the plate to provide them with a good online shopping experience.
The Benefits Of Building An Ecommerce Website
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either an entrepreneur looking to establish an online store or an online shopper who has realized the benefits of online shopping and decided to take the plunge and establish an ecommerce store of your own.
No matter which camp you’re from, you have a common goal: to build a reputable online presence that provides value and builds trust with potential customers.
Let’s explore some of the advantages of building an ecommerce website.
Free
One of the biggest perks of having an online store is that you can set your own prices and avoid the middlemen, such as retailers, who normally charge extra for these services.
In short, you’ll be trading your time for money, so you might as well do it for free. There are plenty of legal ways to support yourself entirely without having to worry about profit margins or following a set of rules that only serve to increase your overhead.
The downside is that establishing an online store requires a lot of work, and when you’re starting out, the hours can be endless. However, with sufficient planning and research, the time investment shouldn’t be that arduous and can be reduced to a more manageable level. Even then, you’ll still need to factor in the costs of domain registration, web hosting, and a little something to keep your visitors engaged, which is where marketing comes in.
Secure
A related advantage of establishing an online store is that it’s generally more secure to do business online than it is to run a brick-and-mortar business, which is why so many entrepreneurs are opting to build their online stores rather than trying to operate a physical retail location. For instance, you’ll need to worry less about security issues (e.g., safe guards on the cash register, protected credit card information, etc.) and can focus more on creating a great product and engaging with your customers.
The downside is that since your product will be digital, you’ll need to make sure that you have adequate security in place to prevent hackers from accessing your website and obtaining personal information about your customers. One of the simplest yet most effective ways of securing your site is by using a secure password, which you can generate with best practices such as this guide from Square.
Fastest Way To Market
Marketing is a big factor in the success of any business, and having an online store provides you with an opportunity to do quite a bit of it for free, since you’ll have a larger audience to target. The best part is that you can do all of this from the comfort of your home.
The downside is that since you’ll be operating an online store from the comfort of your home, you’ll need to make sure that you have the technical know-how to set up a reliable and efficient website, which, as we’ve established, takes some time to figure out. Additionally, you’ll need to make sure that you have the marketing funds to effectively promote your product to the masses.
Freedom Of Choice
One of the beauties of online shopping is that you have the freedom of choice. You can build a one-of-a-kind online store that provides a unique product or service that fits perfectly with your brand or theme, or you can choose to follow the popular mainstream style and go with one of the many pre-made ecommerce store templates that make up the bulk of the web. Additionally, you can choose whether or not to accept credit cards online or only via phone.
The downside is that since you have so much freedom of choice, it can be daunting to know where to begin. This is why entrepreneurs usually start out by focusing on a few key areas and then expand from there.
Global Reach
If you’re already operating in the digital nomad space, you know that the world is a village, and with the advancements in internet technology, the world is now a global village. The ability to reach people worldwide with the click of a button and have them visit your site and then make a purchase is incredibly exciting and can be a great way to grow your business. Additionally, with international shipping, you can market your products to people who are located all over the world and allow them to purchase your product without having to worry about extra taxes or fees. This is one of the many reasons why so many entrepreneurs, whether they’re digitally nomadic or not, are choosing to pursue ecommerce as a means to an end.
The downside is that establishing an online store is a monumental task, and just to give you an idea of how much effort it takes, let’s examine the various costs and logistics involved in setting up a store for sale on Shopify, which is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms. To get started, you’ll need to invest in either a standalone retail space with a cash register or you can rent a small garage or kitchen space and set up a food truck or a food truck pad.
If you’ve ever shopped at a brick-and-mortar store, you know that the checkout process is often times quite frustrating, particularly if you have a lot of items to purchase. However, with the click of a button and the use of a digital wallet, the checkout process is a lot less painful and a lot more streamlined. Even better, when you check out, you’ll often times be given products or discounts that were unavailable when you made the original purchase. This is the joy of online shopping: instantaneous gratification without the need to go through an elaborate (and often frustrating) checkout process.
Tips For Beginners
No matter what, building and operating an ecommerce store is a monumental task, and quite frankly, it’s a lot of responsibility. As a business owner, you’ll need to make sure that your store is always up and running, that your inventory is managed properly, and that your online sales are maximized. Even after you’ve established a reputable ecommerce store, you’ll still need to keep on top of trends and fads in technology and marketing to stay relevant and effective.
Here are some tips for beginners to follow to ensure that your ecommerce store is as successful as possible:
Find Your Niche
If you’ve been operating under the impression that having a broad product range is the key to ecommerce success, you’d be mistaken. Instead, finding a niche and staying there is the key.
To expand on this, quite a few ecommerce stores have become incredibly successful by focusing on a small number of products that they know they can offer extremely well. For instance, Bonjoro, an online marketplace for women’s and children’s swimsuits, built their reputation and established themselves as an authority in the industry by focusing almost entirely on skimpies, bikinis, and other bikini-related products. Likewise, Myra McCloud, the founder of luxury bag brand Bottega Veneta, saw her business take off after she started out selling handbags and evolved to selling luxury accessories specifically designed for women.
If you identify a gap in the market for a product that you offer, you can bet that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of other entrepreneurs who share your same conviction that there is a gap in the market and are prepared to capitalize on it.
Understand Your Audience
No one wants to do business with or support a business that doesn’t appreciate their needs. Since your product will be aimed at a specific audience, it’s extremely important to understand these needs and wants. This entails everything from understanding what motivates your target audience to purchase your product to knowing what features they expect in a product that you’re marketing.