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Step 1
Research and choose the products you would like to sell on your website. Use a free program like the Google Adsense keyword tool to find out how many Internet searches were conducted with your targeted keywords. A clear idea of how many searches were done with your keywords will provide you with a better understanding of your market. Check other eCommerce sites that sell similar products. See what you can do differently that will set your site apart from your competitors.
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Step 2
Decide on the logistics for shipping and transportation. Choose a shipping provider and calculate all shipping costs. Determine if you will handle all shipping and distribution or if you will delegate that process to a warehouse or distributor.
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Step 3
Manage all of your product and shipping information. Use a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets and input all of the data for each product you would like to sell. Your information should include product ID and category, options (such as sizes or colors), short description, price, taxes and shipping costs.
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Step 4
Register a domain name that will be the new URL, or web address, for your eCommerce website. Choose a domain name that is easy to remember and effectively expresses the image and concept of your new web store. There are many websites where you can register your domain. GoDaddy.com is a popular domain registrar.
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Step 5
Choose a company to host your new eCommerce website. Carefully research the hosting packages they offer. Make sure the company has experience with eCommerce sites and that it includes a secure shopping cart in its hosting package.
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Step 6
Create an account with PayPal. PayPal is still one of the most widely used payment processors online. Even if your website has a shopping cart provided by your hosting company, you should also provide a PayPal cart as another option. PayPal provides instructions on how to install its shopping cart on your site.
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Step 7
Build your website using your hosting company's tools. Most web hosts offer a variety of store templates to help you get started. Knowing basic HTML code allows you to customize parts of the template to suit your needs. For a more extensive and complex site, you can hire a designer or programmer to build your website for you.
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Step 8
Enter all of your product information into your new website. Refer to your spreadsheet and place all of your products under the appropriate categories and navigation tabs. It should be very easy for site visitors to navigate through your store and find the products they are searching for.
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Step 9
Market your eCommerce website. Contact websites that might be interested in your products and ask them to link to your site. Use social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to raise awareness about your new store. If you want to conduct a more extensive online campaign, you can set up a Google Adsense account and pay to have your website featured on Google searches.
Start building your eCommerce website.
