Create a Website for My Online Store in 5 Steps (2024)

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What Is Online Store?

If you are reading this guide, you should be well aware by now regarding what exactly is an online store and how it functions. But we are obliged to still explain in case you have no idea – an online retailer or online store (like eBay or Amazon) is a virtual place (a webpage), where you can purchase merchandise of all types and have it delivered to you. If this is the type of business you are looking for, keep reading this article, as we guide you deeper in the process of what you will need to set up your first store.

CREATE AN ONLINE STORE

What Do You Need to Create an Online Store

  1. Domain Name
  2. CMS Platform
  3. Choosing an E-commerce Theme
  4. Website Hosting

Domain Name

First and foremost, to create a store, you will need to set up and come up with a good domain name.

But what is a good domain name? The domain name is what defines your brand name and it will be how people remember you.

So if you make it short and snappy, it is much much easier for others to remember it. Furthermore, be advised that a short and catchy domain name is the first thing that users will see and they are also very good for Google. The main idea is to rank your site higher in terms of SEO and make it be there, on top.

Another interesting fact is that the domain name of your site should not be a domain name with a bad reputation.

If people search for your site and see a name and site that will leave a bad impression on your site, you can just forget about creating a site in the first place.

CMS Platform

Starting with your shop you need to choose weather WordPress, Magento, or Wix you are going to use. These are the best platforms for creating online stores. If you are focusing big site with a lot of traffic and sells better choose Magento. But if you are focusing on fast site creation the Wix is the best solution for you.

Here you will find out how to create your webpages with WIX. In both cases you can use WordPress and WooCommrece for creating your store.

A very important detail that we would like to accent on and probably the most important for your store to actually make you money is setting up WooCommerce. Don’t worry, it is not that difficult, since most WordPress hosting companies offer it bundled with the install (see the instructions at the bottom).

To best explain it, WooCommerce is the type of plugin that contains the needed tools to set up the whole customer-store relationship and purchase process. It comes pre-embedded with most WordPress installations and it is a plugin that is very user-friendly and allows you to track and set-up each sale link on your shop.

Web Hosting

Another very important step in creating an e-commerce site is to choose a good and decent hosting service. Whatever CMS you are using there are hosting services with optimized plans.

The main idea here is to choose a good hosting company that offers WordPress or Magento. Here are the main qualities to look for in a good hosting company:

  • Free SSL
  • 24/7 support
  • They have good support and are open minded when it comes to solving problems
  • They offer free CDN to maintain speed of your site across the planet
  • They offer backups that are free
  • They often offer daily backups
  • They have decent prices
  • They offer e-mail services
  • Their bandwidth is a lot or even unlimited
  • They have more than 99% UpTime
  • One-click easy install and setup of your site

Choose E-commerce Theme

Your site is now thought out, but it still needs something – a theme. The best way to build up your online store is to choose a e-commerce theme. If you are using Magento choose Magento e-commerce theme

This can happen quite easily as you can choose a theme when you install your site, as most web hosting providers offer.

Be advised that themes are readily available at your WordPress or Magento (as shown below in the steps). And if you want an even bigger choice, feel free to browse in Theme Forest for more themes.

Use a Website Builder to Create Your Online Store

Starting a site is not that easy for everyone, because not everybody has coding knowledge. For this purpose, there are drag & drop page builders that you can help create your shop at ease. Without using any coding. But before start with the drag and drop builders here we have some questions to answer.


Which Is the Best Site Builder?

Depending on what you are going to use, a building software, or a WordPress plugin you can choose the best one for you. The building software is a platform that has the functions to help you build your site by dragging and dropping elements. The best drag and drop building software on the market is WIX

But if you want to use WordPress instead of a building software you will need drag and drop plugin, which pretty much do the same work. The best drag and drop plugin is Elementor.

You should research more info about the drag and drop site builders and find the best ones in the market.

How to Optimize and Advertise Your Online Store

Creating an webpage is one, but optimizing its a whole different ball game.

To optimize your site and fit your needs, you will need to think about its future and how you see it. You will need to make sure that the site is fast and very reliable so that your visitors do not feel like “meh, I’m going to Google to find another site, this one is crap”. Optimizing your site not only makes sure that your pages load fast, but it also makes sure the experience is more pleasant for the visitors and they are more likely to remain on your site.

Here are 3 main tips to optimize your site:

Tip #1: Try to make your pages simple and not long and boring. Make them with snappy eye-catching content and split long texts.

Tip #2: Try not to use external links or images unless absolutely necessary. Original content is the most sought after content.

Tip #3: Use some sort of caching plugin. This will help keep your cache at a minimum level. One way to do it is via WP-Rocket cache plugin. It helps manage your cache adequately.

Now, lets talk “marketing”. Marketing is a very important detail when setting up your first e-commerce site. The main reason for that is because to keep your customers flowing and to establish a good reputation for your site, you need to have a good way to reach your customers out there.

How is this achieved? Here are the main points you should follow for a successful marketing:

  • Set up promotions and discounts
  • Make sure to set up a first-buy promotion of some sorts
  • Drop hidden discount codes across your online sales site pages
  • Follow the latest trends to choose the best products to market and sell
  • Add deals for the number of items to sell more (ex.: pay for 2, get 3)
  • Follow the seasonal promotions (Black Friday, Summer sale…)

Hopefully, you are now fully educated on how to start your first online store. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop us a comment.

Researched and created by:
Krum Popov
Passionate web entrepreneur, has been crafting web projects since 2007. In 2020, he founded HTH.Guide — a visionary platform dedicated to streamlining the search for the perfect web hosting solution. Read more...
Technically reviewed by:
Metodi Ivanov
Seasoned web development expert with 8+ years of experience, including specialized knowledge in hosting environments. His expertise guarantees that the content meets the highest standards in accuracy and aligns seamlessly with hosting technologies. Read more...

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