More people than ever have been using online shopping, with global online sales reaching $4.9 trillion in 2022. The e-commerce industry is booming, but with this increased demand comes more competition. Digital marketing is essential for companies to stand out from the crowd in this heavily saturated market. Below are some of my best practices and tips for starting a lucrative e-commerce site in 2023.
Build Your Store
Once you have decided on your niche, target audience, product, and sourcing (manufacturing, dropshipping, print on demand, digital creation), you are ready to start setting up your business! First, pick a name that fits with your brand and values. Then choose a legal structure (such as LLC or sole proprietorship) and fill out the relevant paperwork to apply and open a business bank account. Next comes the fun part of designing a website and logo to represent your online business. Don’t worry – if any of this is overwhelming, HD Digital Design is here to help you along every step of the way, from building your site to on-going maintenance.
Choose an e-commerce platform
Choosing the foundational platform to run your online business on is a crucial decision to ensure long-term success. You will want an e-commerce site that allows you to:
- Own all of your content (to minimize risk)
- Scale to unlimited products and visitors
- Full functionality (such as memberships, subscriptions, and built-in marketing)
- High-quality customer support
Shopify and WooCommerce for WordPress (which is used by 42% of the web) are two excellent options for your e-commerce site. Shopify is an easy all-in-one e-commerce solution starting at $29/month, whereas WooCommerce is a highly customizable and free open-source software plugin – providing you with the most flexibility and control over your store. The freedom that comes with WooCommerce means that you will need to have someone with technical expertise to keep your WordPress site safe and up-to-date with the latest features.
Decide on a host
Your host is the foundation of your website – storing your files, providing speed and security, and making your site visible online. When deciding on a host, choose one that meets the following criteria:
- An uptime of at least 99% (percentage of time the website is up and running)
- 24/7 customer support
- Great reviews
- Top security features (firewall, regular scans for malware, regular backups)
- Fast speed (in-house caching, SSD servers)
- Optimized for WordPress
- Has a plan to fit your business (managed vs. unmanaged, shared vs. VPS vs. dedicated)
Here are some recommended hosts for WooCommerce and WordPress.
Pick a theme
A theme is a design template that affects the layout and functionality of your site. There are tons of excellent free and premium themes to choose from. Whatever your needs or specific industry, there is a theme out there for you.
Create your pages
The main pages for your site include the Home (or Shop), About, FAQ, and Contact. Additional pages such as Shipping, Term and Conditions, and a Blog are also useful to help bring credibility for your website to rank.
Add products
There are many different products you can sell on your online store such as:
- Simple products (standard)
- Variable products (pattern, color, size)
- Digital products (eBook, video, song)
- Memberships (courses, videos, guides)
- Subscriptions (recurring payments)
Depending on the type of product you are selling, various extensions may be required to integrate the product onto your site. For each product, be sure to add high-quality images, in-depth product descriptions, and suggested products that are frequently bought together.
Select a payment gateway
A payment gateway accepts money from your customers, validates their information, and then transfers the payment to your bank account in a secure and fast transaction. When choosing a payment gateway, consider the following:
- Associated fees
- On-site or off-site process
- Time to process payment
- Integration with digital wallets
- Ease to manage
Set up shipping
If you sell a physical product, start by choosing a carrier who will deliver your packages (UPS, DHL, FedEx, USPS). Consider the weight limits, location of customers (national vs. international), insurance options, fragility and refrigeration (if applicable) when deciding. Then choose the available shipping methods to offer customers when checking out, such as free shipping or flat rate shipping. Lastly, decide on your fulfillment solutions such as how you will print shipping labels, package items, or use tracking tools for automated e-mail tracking updates.
Configure taxes
Online taxes can be complicated as the sales tax depends not on only where you are located but also where your customer is located. Please consult a tax professional when deciding your tax structure.
Ensure your store loads quickly
Make sure your site loads quickly or else customers may get frustrated and leave, negatively affecting your SEO and conversion rates. Here are some tips for optimizing your website’s speed:
- Optimize your images (compress, resize)
- Content delivery network (CDN) to load your site quickly from the nearest server
- Optimize your code (generate critical CSS and defer non-essential Javascript)
- Lazy load images (free plugins like Jetpack only show relevant images as an alternative to compressing or resizing your images)
- Regular updates (WordPress, themes, plugins)
- Install caching plugin (WP Super Cache enables browsers to store a copy so the site loads more quickly for repeat visitors)
Secure your store
Keeping your site secure is vital to protect against hackers, bots, and other issues. Be sure to adhere to the following maintenance tips:
- Regular malware scans (Jetpack Scan)
- Block brute force attacks from bots (Jetpack)
- Monitor site activity
- Use secure passwords
- Automatic backups
- Automatic spam filtering (Akismet)
Establish Your Brand’s Power and Credibility
The World Wide Web is infested with illegitimate websites, deceiving users about everything from selling false e-visas to online shopping scams. People have a natural inclination to be skeptical during their first interaction with a website, so it is imperative that your e-commerce site establishes trust, power, and credibility through your brand’s image.
Ask for Customer Reviews
People will be more trusting of your site if they can see the opinions and reviews of past customers. One option is to offer previous clients a discount off their next order if they leave an honest review
Provide a plethora of information
Google ranks sites that have a lot of relevant content under what is referred to as “authority pillars”. The more information you provide the better so customers can learn about your product and trust that you are an expert in your industry.
Don’t forget about customer service
Build credibility by allowing consumers to contact you through either a live chatbot, e-mail address, or phone number. Typically, customers respect a timely inquiry response within 24 hours and e-mail updates surrounding orders, so depending on your company’s size and budget, it may make sense to hire customer service representatives.
Write a blog
By regularly posting relevant blog articles, Google ranks the site higher since it is updated and current. Blogs also help inform customers about your product and offerings to answer any questions they may have. Think of a blog as an extended FAQ section or an opportunity to explain your company’s mission, impact, product details or highlight sustainability initiatives, for instance.
Consider these facts from Optinmonster about how blogging can improve your SEO and web traffic:
- 434% more indexed pages
- 97% more links to their websites
- 200% more email traffic
- 67% more leads
Figure 7: Average blog post length of top 10 ranking sites [7]
With 77% of internet users reading blogs, which rank as the 5th most trusted source, there is no reason not to blog. The average top ranking blog post has at least 2,000 words (ideally 2,500) so be sure to provide the depth and details to establish yourself as an expert, trustworthy, and an authority figure in the subject. Aim to post regularly (at least few times per month) to show Google that you are updating and to keep your audience engaged.
Evaluate Your Business Processes
As the e-commerce business is constantly evolving, it is imperative to regularly check-in and reevaluate your current processes in comparison with your competition.
Compare your shipping cost & time with your competitors’
Shipping is many times listed as a top factor online shoppers use when deciding to pull the trigger and make a purchase. Not only shipping price but also shipping times influence the buyer. If your website has a low conversion rate or low repeat business, consider either offering free shipping or increasing shipping speeds to satisfy your customers.
Re-examine your pricing models
Price is king, with the highest converting site typically offering the most competitive prices. Regularly check your prices against other e-commerce sites offering similar items and re-evaluate your price based on the difference in quality and features. One highly popular trend in 2022 is flexible payment options, such as four monthly installments, that can rapidly increase your conversion rates.
Invest in high-quality images
Stock images on your website can easily be confused for a scam. Paying extra to create high-quality images of your product will greatly improve your conversion rate and sales.
Incorporate Digital Marketing
Without investing in digital marketing, e-commerce sites will never reach their full potential, ultimately losing out to competition who does employ these successful advertising methods.
Pay-per-click
Pay-per-click (PPC) is when a company pays only for the ad space when a customer clicks on it. This is a highly effective form of advertisement that drives traffic to your site.
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization, or SEO, generates organic, long-term traffic by increasing the site’s visibility. SEO is largely related to Google understanding the website is a trusted authority in the subject. See my other blog post SEO HOW-TO STARTER GUIDE for more information.
Social media ads
Paid social media advertising allows businesses to reach an exceptionally targeted customer base with excellent conversion potential. Social media is the perfect platform for re-marketing and reusing ads.
E-mail marketing
E-mail marketing is critical for improving the customer’s lifetime value and repeat sales. E-mails can be used to remind people about their abandoned carts, promote current sales and specials, and provide calls-to-action.
HD Digital Design is Here to Build Your E-Commerce Site!
Here at HD Digital Design, we custom develop and design your WordPress e-commerce site with all of these best practices in mind. The sites we create are professional, responsive, and built on a strong foundation with search engine optimized code so that your website ranks. Contact us today for a free quote and 20-minute Discovery Call to discuss your vision for your business and website!
References:
[1] https://www.logicalposition.com/blog/best-practices-for-e-commerce-sites
[2] https://blogs.constantcontact.com/what-you-need-to-know-before-starting-an-online-store/
[3] https://woocommerce.com/posts/how-to-start-a-thriving-ecommerce-business/
[4] https://www.logicalposition.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-e-commerce-marketing
[5] https://ecommerce-platforms.com/compare/shopify-vs-woocommerce-comparison