There’s a lot that goes into building a successful online store, which can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. We’ve collected the 8 things you need to build your brand – from start to finish.
Find your audience
You know your products better than anyone, and you should get to know your audience just as well, as well as their consumer and online behavior. Who are you aiming to sell to? Is there a particular niche in the industry that you want to get into? Take note of your ‘who’ and ‘why’ before you get started on anything else. This will help you with branding, tone of voice and even pricing of products.
It’s also a good idea to take a look at what your competitors are doing. See what you like or don’t like about their websites, branding and marketing strategies and apply that to your own online store. Of course, don’t copy – take inspiration from their work and use that to inform your business decisions.
Choose your hosting platform
Finding the right web hosting provider can be make or break for your business. You need to think about what resources you need, how large your site will be and the security of not just your data, but your customers too. Your online store needs to be available to visitors 24/7 as well, otherwise you might lose potential customers due to slow loading or downtime.
Of course, we have our own options for your store right here – with our WordPress Hosting, Website Builder and Ecommerce Website Builder all packed full of features to help your business succeed! Each of our Web Hosting products come with lots of add-ons, plugins, themes and guidance to help you impress your customers. Plus, you’ll get 24/7 support from our team of experts, so we can help you keep your site up and running at all times.
Pick a name and register a domain
If you’ve already got a business name in mind then the hard part is done. But before you go ahead, double check Companies House to make sure your name isn’t already being used.
Once you’ve got that sorted, it’s time to register your domain. Ideally, your domain should match your business name to avoid confusion and make it easy for customers to find you again and again. But, if your business name is already taken with the .co.uk or .com TLD, try looking for available .store domains.
If you’re struggling for ideas, our AI Domain Name Generator can help you out. Just type in a few keywords relating to your business and a TLD and get a list of available domains ready for you to pick from.
Business is better with a .store
A .store domain is ideal for an online shop, as it tells visitors what type of site you have from the off. But it’s also important to register multiple domains to cover any typos or misspellings. To reduce the risk of this, choose a domain that’s easy to spell, will stick in people's minds and doesn’t contain any special characters or numbers.
Decide on branding and choose a theme
Depending on the hosting platform you’ve chosen, you might get the option to choose a theme to help you start designing your site. Our Website Builders and WordPress Hosting packages come with loads of free themes to choose from.
You should choose a theme that reflects your business, evokes the right feeling from your customers and is easy to digest. You don’t want a site that’s overwhelming or too jumbled with content and images. You should also keep things consistent throughout your site. Use the same fonts, colours and logos, otherwise customers might get confused.
Add your products and set up payment
Now comes the important bit – listing your products. Because what are you going to sell if customers can’t find your stock?
Make it easy for visitors to navigate to your product list and consider dividing them by category. This only increases the usability of your online store. Make sure the images you use are clear, look professional and show each item or service in the best light. You should also include a detailed description of each product, plus any shipping costs, so customers don’t have to hunt to find the information they need. Shout about what makes your store different and why they should buy from you over your competitors.
And give your customers the chance to tell you how they feel. A reviews section not only tells you how your business is performing, straight from the mouths of the people who are buying, but also builds your credibility. Visitors are more likely to turn into customers if they see that other buyers had a good experience. There are a few plugins you can use to add a reviews section, like Elementor on WordPress.
Set up shipping and returns
Are you an international store? If so, advertise that! Offer shipping to customers across the world and make sure you include the right payment methods that will work for those particular people.
If you’re using our Ecommerce Website Builder, you can choose from payment types like PayPal, Visa, Stripe and Apple Pay – plus so much more.
When setting up shipping, make sure you’re charging the right amount depending on where the product is going. Set up a shipping address for your store for tax purposes, define your shipping options (are you offering free shipping or a flat rate? Can customers collect items directly from you?) and choose a courier that offers competitive rates.
If you’re going to offer returns, make sure the policy is clearly defined, so both you and the buyer are protected. Be clear on the time frame customers have to return and the quality of the item in order to qualify.
Promote, promote, promote
Set your store up with a social media presence, whether that be Instagram, Facebook or even Pinterest. Build up a following by posting consistent, good quality content that appeals to the audience your products are targeted at. And interact! If a customer comments on your post, give it a like or a response.
If you’re looking to invest in paid promotions, ads are a great place to start. Using Google Ads, you can track how your ads are performing, put in more spend and edit the content of your ads as and when you want to change things up.
Email marketing is another way to promote your new business. Add a ‘subscribe’ section to your website, where customers can sign up for a monthly newsletter, updates, sales or promotional emails. If you need any tips on how to perfect a business email, we’ve got a blog post that covers just that!
Keep it up
The work doesn’t stop here! You may have everything set up, but if you don’t keep your site up-to-date then your customers could be looking at an old site that hasn’t been touched for 5 years. The world is constantly changing, so keep updated on what your audience wants from your business, how your products are performing and whether it’s time for a little shake up.
And if you need any help on your online business journey, our team is available 24/7 to help!
Get .store with Fasthosts
Your online store is the key to business success – so why not register a .store domain to go with it? Find your perfect domain and show customers that you’re a shop they can trust, with 24/7 support from our team of experts, complete DNS control and unlimited email forwarding.
If you’ve got any questions or need a hand with your .store domain, give our team a call on 0800 0612 153 or message via live chat.
