Creating an online shop, i.e. an e-entrepreneur's guide

For several years now, the e-commerce industry has been breaking records of popularity. According to the wiadomoscihandlowe.pl portal, the value of the Internet sales market in 2016 amounted to PLN 34.4 billion. Moreover, it is estimated that by 2020 it will increase by almost 100% (PLN 62 billion). This means that this trend is definitely not weakening, which creates additional opportunities for online entrepreneurs. Here are some tips for those who are going to open their own online shop.

Defining an e-commerce strategy

Firstly, it is necessary to do a market survey to know what products and services are most in demand. Finding a niche in the market is a guarantee that the company will not be a failure and that the actions will bring the desired benefit. The next step is to define the marketing strategy, i.e. what goods or services will be sold, how and who is the target group.

Technical aspects of the online shop

The name of the company is a very important issue that distinguishes the shop in the market. It is worth to make it catchy, unusual and not too complicated, so it will be easy to remember. It is also necessary to check whether the name in connection with the selected domain has not already been used by another site. The most frequently registered domains include pl., com., eu., or local domains such as waw.pl. You should also consider the type of online store software and hosting. You can purchase a license, use it free of charge or buy a subscription that allows you to use the software. For this purpose, it is worth visiting the website, where there are comprehensive services for e-commerce stores. In order for a shop to be attractive to visitors, it must have an aesthetic and well thought-out graphic design, so it is worth using the help of graphic designers or ready-made templates available in the shops offering, among others, domain registration and software. In addition to the clear layout of the site, the site must also have useful and interesting for users content, the so-called content (photos, infographics, descriptions of products and services).

With the client in mind...

All activities on the e-shop's website must be conducted in such a way as to meet the expectations of customers. Users should easily find information of interest to them, so avoid unnecessary bookmarks or redirections and design the site so that it can be viewed as quickly and easily as possible. However, the proper layout of the page layout is not everything. First of all, it is necessary to predict what the client would like to find on the website. A desired element is a bookmark with opinions of other users, section "Frequently asked questions" and information about returns and complaints. In addition, the ordering process should be simplified as much as possible, as the impatient customer can change his mind at any time and cancel the purchase.

Formal issues

When creating an online store, it is also necessary to complete formal issues. These include, for example, sending the necessary data to the GIODO, defining the regulations and privacy policy, as well as placing information about the so-called "cookies". You also need to choose a reliable and fast provider, so signing a contract with a specific broker, courier company or Polish Post is essential. Since e-commerce prevents you from paying in cash, you have to choose other payment methods (transfers, electronic wallet, card, SMS). In the e-commerce industry, online payment systems that streamline the entire shopping process also play a major role. The most famous are Dotpay and Przelewy24, although PayU, Payeezy and Transferuj.pl are becoming more and more popular. If all the above mentioned requirements have been met and the shop already exists, it is necessary to test its efficiency and see if it meets the technical requirements. In order to do this, the so-called usability testing is performed, which helps to detect any shortcomings.

Effectiveness analysis and online shop advertising

In order to measure the traffic on the website and find out who is most willing to choose the products of the store, it is worth to use tools for online analytics. On the basis of the data obtained in this way, it is possible to improve everything that needs to be improved and more effectively create an advertisement. For this purpose, it is worth thinking about personalisation and modern forms of promotion, e.g. in social media or search engines.