Opening an ecommerce store today matters more than ever. The internet touches every area of our lives, whether we are socializing, researching, working, and so on.
43% of shoppers use the internet and social media to research products before buying them, and ecommerce revenue is set to keep rising into 2024.
Small retailers need to be online if they want to reach customers. Ecommerce stores let you reach new markets and build resilience: you can keep selling even if your physical stores have to close, and you might even open online before you open a physical shop.
It also gives you the ability to control every aspect of your customer’s experience, from branding to shipping and customer service. If you don’t have the skills to build it yourself, you can hire a developer, but understanding the process can help you make the right decisions and end up with an optimized website.
Ecommerce sales statistics
A well-designed ecommerce store can benefit from offering convenient shopping options to consumers.
1. Ecommerce will account for 22% of global retail sales by 2023.
Online store sales are expected to reach 22% of global retail sales by 2023, up from 14.1% in 2019.
While part of this growth is due to the creation of more ecommerce sites, most of it comes from a shift in shopping trends.
Business owners can take advantage of this global phenomenon by giving customers the chance to buy as soon as they decide on a product, and also by reaching consumers abroad with international sites and shipping.
2. Ecommerce sales in the first quarter of 2020 accounted for 11.5% of total sales.
An estimated 11.5% of sales in the first quarter of 2020 were ecommerce sales. The impact of COVID-19 means more people are shopping online, and ecommerce sales have kept growing throughout the year.
Why build an ecommerce website?
It’s clear that the growth of ecommerce brings many benefits to a company’s bottom line, but there are more reasons to build an ecommerce business. An online presence creates the opportunity to build the connections you need to grow.
1. Reaching new markets
For many businesses, especially small businesses and startups, it can be hard to reach customers in new markets with just one store. An ecommerce site lets you reach new customers online whom you couldn’t reach through physical sales alone.
2. Create unique shopping experiences
Online businesses can also directly shape the customer journey by creating a unique shopping experience through videos, stories, and personalized services.
These shopping encounters don’t need to end at checkout either, since you can reach customers through email marketing or social media. These experiences have a way of convincing customers that online shopping offers inclusive opportunities a physical store usually can’t match.
3. Strengthen your brand
If you sell on a marketplace like Amazon or Zalando, the customer might not realize they’re buying from you and won’t get to know your brand. Building your own ecommerce store lets you control how you present your products, so customers remember you, not the marketplace.
How to build an ecommerce website step by step
Creating an ecommerce store can be simpler than you imagine.
There are ecommerce solutions that do most of the work for you, but you still need to understand what’s on offer and what your site needs. You can make decisions that lead to a great site that grows and evolves with you over the years to come.
- Choose your perfect ecommerce platform.
- Buy a domain name.
- Find a developer.
- Choose your ecommerce theme.
- Customize your ecommerce template.
- Add your products.
- Set up payment options.
- Sort out your shipping settings.
- Preview, test… and publish your online store.
Find your perfect ecommerce platform.
Finding the right ecommerce website builder is the first step. It’s important to have one that can meet the needs of your products and brand.
1. Types of ecommerce platforms
There are three main types of ecommerce platforms to choose from, which suit different kinds of businesses and offer different functionality. Here’s what you need to know:
- Open source
As the name suggests, open source platforms make their source code available for free to anyone who wants to use it. It’s free to install and infinitely customizable. However, open source platforms usually require advanced coding knowledge to use properly. Security gaps are also a concern, and users often need to hire people dedicated to maintaining security, which can end up costing more than a subscription to another type of platform.
- SaaS
SaaS, or software as a service, is an ecommerce platform offered as a subscription service. These systems are generally easy to use, scalable, and have robust security. Because they’re designed specifically for ecommerce, they can handle logistical processes such as checkout and payment processing.
Some services may also come with restricted branding, which limits your creativity when designing. Sites built on Wix, for example, have “powered by Wix” at the bottom of the screen, so you’re not only promoting your own brand, you’re sharing the spotlight with Wix. Premium services generally give you more freedom to create a look that reflects your brand, and yours alone.
- Headless commerce
Headless commerce keeps the shopping cart and the display layer of ecommerce sites separate. This means you can use a content management system (CMS), a digital experience platform (DXP), a progressive web app (PWA), or another technology on the frontend and power it with an ecommerce engine on the backend.
Headless commerce lets customer-facing changes be made quickly and gives businesses a lot of creative control. It also lets businesses get to market faster, at a lower total cost, and gives businesses greater control over their store while outsourcing security and PCI compliance.
2. Ecommerce hosting
Ecommerce web hosting is where your data is stored. It can have an impact on security and costs, so take the time to understand your options.
Cloud
Cloud hosting refers to ecommerce sites hosted off-site. It’s usually offered by SaaS or headless commerce companies. The platform manages uptime, as well as the updates, patches, and upgrades that help keep sites secure. Open source solutions may also have a cloud option that includes hosting costs, but they’ll still require the merchant to handle security maintenance.
On-premise
On-premise hosting refers to ecommerce sites hosted on servers owned by the company, and is usually found with open source solutions. The company needs to have space for the server, handle the installation, and hire people to look after it and ensure the site stays up and secure. This is usually more feasible for large corporations.
3. Things to consider when choosing your ecommerce solution
Several systems have to work seamlessly together for customers to have the best ecommerce experience. Look at how your preferred ecommerce platform performs in the following areas to make sure it works optimally now and in the future.
Website performance
Make sure the platform runs consistently and has a solid uptime track record, so your website is available whenever customers want to shop. Unlimited API calls help make your site easier to manage, and fast-loading pages give customers the best experience.
Traffic capacity
Can the platform meet your current traffic needs? Does it have the reach to grow with you as your business expands? Does it support major days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Mobile optimization
More consumers are shopping on mobile devices, so it’s essential that your platform can optimize your website for a great mobile experience. Look for ways to improve the customer experience through mobile technology, such as geolocation, which helps customers find the nearest store.
Secure payments and data
The platform must be able to protect your data and your customers’ data. SaaS solutions include security, such as SSL and PCI, as part of their monthly plans. Self-hosted and open source solutions require you to have a greater understanding of security, since there’s a higher likelihood of attack.
4. Ecommerce website builders to use
The website builder is the foundation of your online store. Options designed explicitly for ecommerce give you more options and room to grow than generic website builders with an ecommerce add-on. Here are a few to consider:
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a SaaS solution known for being scalable. It offers 24/7 customer support, with priority support available for large accounts.
There are plenty of built-in features. Multilayer security keeps data safe, and local payment methods attract customers from all over the world.
BigCommerce supports headless, so brands can deliver API-driven experiences through a CMS, DXP, app, device, or custom front-end, with BigCommerce powering the commerce engine.
Shopify
Shopify is another fully hosted SaaS solution, known for being fast and easy to set up. They have a wide range of add-ons, but if you need to use a lot of them, the price can add up quickly.
Shopify can handle a large number of transactions per minute, so it can easily cope with traffic spikes.
Magento
Magento is a self-hosted solution, so you have complete creative freedom; however, you need someone with coding knowledge to get the most out of the platform. There’s a wide variety of integrations, and it can handle instant purchases and product suggestions.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open source WordPress plugin, so it’s free to install. It’s generally used by those who already have an existing WordPress site. WooCommerce is flexible, has unlimited customization, and its secure code is audited by industry experts.