Building an eCommerce site from the ground up is not an easy process no matter where you fall on the spectrum of technical skills. In this blog, I’m going to walk you through 8 tips that I learned along the way of building several ebsites from small to enterprise. Are you ready? Let’s go.

Build Partnerships with Vendors

As you set up your eCommerce business, you will need to establish partnerships with vendors to help you along the way. This is a crucial link to your success. When you partner with the right tech vendor, they become an asset to you in the future as you grow alongside each other. For instance, you can offer a case study, and they can utilize your market to help you create your brand.

Choosing the Right Tech

They say the best diet is not the most popular one, but rather it’s the one that you can stick to. The same is true for technology. Just because certain hardware, software, or online platforms are popular may not mean it’s the best fit for you. Do your research and compare tech against the points that matter most to you. If possible, see if there is a free trial period to test something out before committing.

What’s Included

Make sure that whichever platform you choose for your eCommerce site has plugins and integrations for all the tools you need. This means everything from tracking your inventory to setting up a seamless checkout process for clients online. Having everything connected, tested, and working is critical before you launch your site.

Product Content Strategy

You’ve got your software picked out, your site up and running, and a workflow established. Awesome, now you need to make some sales and run your business. How? By having a solid product content strategy in place. This is how you will establish your brand and market your new business. Establish a presence on social media and if you need help, hire someone to manage it for you. They can create a brand and posts and help you get the word out. This will build your following, email list, and overall conversions aka sales.

Roadmap of Releases

Next, you’ll want to create a roadmap of releases. You can create this for the whole year at once and break it down quarterly. This way you know when you’ll have sales and what you need to prepare for in terms of ordering inventory and getting the word out. You can prepare to release new features and alternate ways to deliver and differentiate your business from the competition

Tech Integrators

Hire people who not only know what they’re doing in terms of tech but ones who are as invested in your project as you are. If you hire someone who’s only in it for the money, chances are you won’t be able to rely on them when you have an issue or really need help. Be sure to fully vet all potential prospects you hire in terms of outsourcing help.

Negotiate

Negotiate everything. Don’t be a pushover when it comes to establishing partnerships, cost, price, and more. If you’re going to be successful in eCommerce, knowing how to negotiate is an important piece of the puzzle. If you’re new to it, do some research online and practice with a friend or yourself in a mirror before in-person negotiations take place.

Conclusion

There you have it. The above is what I learned and employ in my journey of building and running an eCommerce business. In a world that is progressively moving online, I hope this helped you to establish your corner of the market.