It is predictable that online sales will keep on growing and the pandemic has contributed to that as well since more purchases are made without leaving the house or office nowadays. Experts predict a triple increase in the number of online sales in the next 7 years, while e-commerce sales will reach $4.5 trillion in 2021. Isn`t it a reason to promote your business and run an online store too? Probably, this idea has come across the minds of many company owners and people who want to start their own business. But how to build a functional e-commerce platform fast and without significant investments?
Look: this article explains how to build an online store in a quick and easy manner.
How to make an online store
Modern technology offers a variety of variants of how to build e trading platforms from start to finish. The most popular ways chosen nowadays are the solutions of recognized e-commerce builders or services of the companies that offer different digital solutions for customers on a paid basis. Naturally, the second variant usually takes not only more time but is also a more expensive way to get an online store. Therefore, the most reasonable way to get an e-commerce platform is to find a trusted and easy-to-use builder. One of such builders is AGORA – a B2B e-commerce platform for increasing sales by creating:
- Online B2B and B2C marketplaces;
- B2B portals or B2B online stores;
- Electronic trading systems (ETS) and SRM;
- Other e-commerce systems.
This builder allows creating online trading platforms without advanced technical and coding knowledge. It is software that allows building online stores in a quite simple way and the only thing required for this purpose is the Internet connection.
How can you get an e-commerce website using AGORA builder? There are several stages to complete on your way to the desired online store.
Finding your niche
It goes without saying that you should have a clear understanding of what you are going to sell on the platform and who is your target audience. It is important to calculate sales figures planned and decided on the way of offering customer support solutions as well as analyze the competition.
Experts offer to break every niche into three components including price, audience, and market opportunity. You should research each of these areas and have a clear vision of what to expect for setting up your online business.
Decide which type of platform meets your expectations the best
AGORA offers the creation of different platform types including online marketplaces, online stores, e-commerce systems, ETP, and SRM. You can research each of the types and their features on the official website and choose which of them is the best option for your business. Companies who look for other e-commerce systems can turn to AGORA representatives and get the necessary assistance from them.
Register the brand domain
A part of a URL that is associated with the brand name is called domain. This service is available inside the builder or you can use third-party sites like Domain.com, get a domain there, and link it to the builder.
Brands that have already received a domain name can transfer it to an online store builder by canceling the agreement with the current provider.
The choice of the domain is a responsible step so consider the following tips to get the best one:
- Choose a domain that is easy to pronounce;
- Get one related to your niche;
- Remember about its originality requirement;
- Avoid long names, combinations of letters and numbers, and references to specific products.
Select your e-commerce template
AGORA offers lots of templates to select from, but you should remember that the one you choose will be associated with your brand, so this is a responsible task. Templates are divided into several categories by different industries, so you can check several of them to find the most suitable one.
Choosing a tem[plate you should have a clear understanding of what features it should include, how your homepage should look like, and what kind of navigation you will offer to your customers around the store.
The majority of templates are customizable so you can make necessary changes including text size, fonts, images, colors, features, social media embeding, etc. AGORA offers more than 200 options, including integration with ERP, payment systems, logistics platforms as well as API solutions.
Add products to sell
Now when the basic plan of your online store is ready, it is time to add products you are going to offer to your customers. Naturally, the obligatory product details are its name, price, description, characteristics, and a category it belongs to. However, you may provide your products with extra details if necessary. Don’t forget to add a photo or image to your goods too.
You can consider adding the following features to your e-commerce store including price ranges, featured products, last-viewed products, filters, extra information about the product, reviews, etc.
Set up preferred payment methods
AGORA connects you directly to multiple payment options for both development and implementation: SaaS subscription or In-House solutions.
The most popular ways of accepting payments on e-commerce website look as follows:
- Opening a merchant account in the bank and providing a payment getaway to send money to this account;
- Ordering a payment getaway package or so-called all-in-one software to connect a shopping cart with the money processing network;
- A simplified version of credit card payment processing integrated with the store’s checkout.
One of the key considerations in the choice of payment processors is transaction security. AGORA online store builder offers solutions with SSL certificates for customers to feel safe and to have higher rankings in Google search results.
Check the rest of the settings
You should ensure all the pages of your online store are filled with information. You should create a killing About Us page, pay attention to the return and privacy policy, and other pages. Special attention should be paid to shipping settings too.
Other important things to look through in your online store settings are:
- Languages;
- Currencies;
- Timezone;
- Contact information;
- Name of the store;
- Order and product settings.
Preview, test, and publish your e-commerce platform.
Now when everything is ready, find time to test your new e-trading platform. AGORA offers easy testing solutions to everyone so you can find and correct all the bugs prior to publishing. What exactly should you check? Analyze the work of your checkout, functions of the store, its content, mobile compatibility, and operation in different browsers.
Promote your online store
Don’t forget to develop your new business and create a powerful marketing plan. Starting a business is a responsible stage but it is twice more difficult to let it survive and thrive in the tough market competition.
Conclusion
Getting an online store is a simple and fast process thanks to AGORA e-commerce builder. This software allows creating online stores in a professional manner and boosting online business with a minimum of effort.
