{"id":49489,"date":"2016-07-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/preparations-for-the-creation-of-an-online-store\/"},"modified":"2023-03-16T08:49:18","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T08:49:18","slug":"preparations-for-the-creation-of-an-online-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/2\/31836\/development\/web-development\/preparations-for-the-creation-of-an-online-store","title":{"rendered":"Preparations for the Creation of an Online Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days it is fairly easy to put up a website. Anyone with some basic knowledge can create one in just a few minutes. But hastily assembling a web portal<\/a> does not guarantee that anyone will find your business, much less buy any of your products. While it may be important to get yourself out there as quickly as possible, the best web development<\/a> comes from careful preparation. Here are some considerations when planning an online store.\n<\/p>\n

Consider Your Goals<\/span><\/h2>\n

Your goal is to sell. That is clear. But all the business experts will tell you that there is more to it. You need a business plan. The U.S. Small Business Administration<\/a> has plenty of advice and resources to help put yours together. Even if you already have a plan, you should be sure that your intentions regarding an online store are included. Writing a plan will force you to think about how you will make your store happen.\n<\/p>\n

Selling merchandise or services through an online store is a form of e-commerce<\/a>. Techopedia describes this process as an \u201cinteractive collaboration\u201d between the buyer and the seller. The dream of anyone wanting to sell online is that many people will find their website and respond to the product or service offerings. But if you want the fish to bite, you need to use the right bait.\n<\/p>\n

According to Forrester Research<\/a>, online sales are expected to reach $523 billion in the U.S. by 2020. To get a piece of that action, you will need to draw people to your site. Recently I wrote about how interesting content can bring people to your website. It will do no good to create a beautiful online store with all the required functionality if no one sees it. One of your key goals in preparing for your online store is to figure out how to generate web traffic.
\n(For the previous article on drawing people to your site, see How to Build Your Business with Content Marketing<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

To do that, you should consider your demographic. Who will buy your product? The design and content of your e-commerce site should be targeted to that audience. All the fancy bells and whistles mean nothing if they don\u2019t help to reach your potential customers.\n<\/p>\n

Ask Key Questions<\/span><\/h2>\n

Entrepreneur online writer Kim Lachance Shandrow suggests \u201c10 Questions to Ask When Creating an Online Store.\u201d<\/a> How will you build your store? What financial tools will you use? How will you attract shoppers? The truth of the matter is that until you have done it, there are many things that you don\u2019t know about starting an online store. Embrace your ignorance. Spend time writing questions of your own, and don\u2019t stop until you have covered every aspect of your e-commerce project.\n<\/p>\n

What will the scope of your project be? Are you planning to sell just a few products that you create yourself, or will there be a large catalog of product offerings to incorporate into your site? It\u2019s OK to start small. EBay<\/a> was started by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as a side project. Whatever your initial e-commerce storefront looks like will change and develop as you learn and grow as an online seller.\n<\/p>\n

Here are some more questions to consider that are based on Techopedia’s definition of e-commerce:\n<\/p>\n