After all the hard work of creating a logo, finding a good vendor, successfully selling a few orders to your Instagram followers using Cash App or Paypal, the feeling is rewarding, but something is missing… “Me don’t have a website, people don’t feel legit, ugh!’.
I’m sure many of our readers today have had similar moments, which is even more frustrating that you’re trying to make a website , but you just don’t know where to start, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered! Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get your website up and running.
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Step 1: Find the right ecommerce website builder
If you actually gotten to the research step of building a website you’ve probably heard of platforms like Godaddy, Wix.com, Shopify, and more. These ecommerce builders are online software that you can use to build your own online store without needing advanced technical skills, coding skills, or a ton of money. All you need is an internet connection and a great business idea! With so many options to choose from, we recommend Shopify because this website is built with Shopify, is easy to navigate, has a very clean look, and has tons of apps to help you grow your business, but remember it’s harder to change this overall look of the site without serious programming knowledge. The ecommerce store plans start at $29 per month and you now have a 90-day free trial due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a perfect opportunity to work on your store while in quarantine.
Step 2 : Get a domain name for your business
A domain name is a part of a URL that identifies your business (website) name.
A good domain name is a key to starting a successful online shop. It builds trust with customers and helps establish your brand.
You can buy a domain name through Shopify for around $10 a year. Alternatively, you can use a domain name registrar like Godaddy.com to buy a domain and connect it to your online store builder.
Step 3: Customize your ecommerce template
When you sign up for your Shopify account, you can use whatever template you want to work with, and that’s how the fun began!
Customizing the template is easy and you can almost change everything. These include:
- Product photos
- Text font and size
- Theme photos
- Collections
- Social media connect
- And more.
Don’t forget to embed apps in your store. These can be found on the Shopify App Store and can be used to cover any functionality you need that the platform may not have built in yet. Note, however, that the most useful apps will cost you a bit of money, but it’s up to you to choose what you think is essential to building your business. You could say “all the talk is easy, how about you show me an example?”, we’ve already thought of that, here it goes:
To create this page we used the Debut theme, click the Customize button, on the left you will see all the elements of the website you are working on on the right , you can see what the store will actually look like. There are 3 major sections on the left, “Header”, “Footer” and the middle section, where you can add different styles of blocks to the homepage to make it look pretty and professional! Place your logo and your menu in a “header”. This part stays at the top of every page where you click on this shop, it acts as a navigation tool for customers to find the products/information they need. At the bottom of all pages is a “footer” where you can add additional information or links to your policies for others to review if they need to. Both are very important! As for the center part, where you place all those beautifully captured pictures of your luscious hair, you can choose either a “Slider” or a “Banner” to be the first thing that pops up when someone comes to your online store, eye-catching image to make a good first impression!
Step 4: Add your products
Now you have created a stylish online store with a template and need to add your products.
The image above shows, how to do it You can combine style with minimalism to create a unique look.
The main things you need to add a product are:
- Name
- Price
- Category
- Weight (for physical products)
- File (for downloadable products such as e-books).
Shopify allows you to sell unlimited products on their cheapest pricing plan, but other ecommerce site builders may limit you to plans with lower tiers.
See also: How to Make an App for Both iPhone and Android?
Three key factors for uploading great products are:
- Product Images
- Product Descriptions
- Product Categories
Product Images
Your images and videos will do most of the “talking” when someone visits your store, let’s face it, all hair sellers sell the same patterns and lengths, but why would a customer want yours instead choose another seller? It’s likely your pics have shown what she might look like once she gets the hair, confidence and glamour! And here are some tips about the images you will be using on the site:
- Quality Images – Blurry or pixelated images do more harm than good!
- Take yours own photos – originality is really important in the hair game.
- Unification – Use a tool like Photoshop or Pixlr to resize your images to the same size so your store is clean when displayed side by side will take a look.
Product description
A detailed product description can mean the difference between a purchase or not.
A very important thing to do Keep SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in mind when writing product descriptions. This is where you rank on Google when customers search for products like yours. The higher your rank, the more traffic you get, and Online Business, Traffic = $$$!
Product Categories
Have you been to a website where you like what You see They see? the home page but when you click on another page you just can’t find what you’re looking for? Trust me, it drives visitors away! Categorization is so important in this hair game, when clients want their body wave bundles, and they want them in blonde, you need to find a way to categorize everything so they can jump in the store and go straight to this 22″ 24″ 26″. Blonde Body Wave Deal page to place the order, if she spends 2 minutes but can’t figure out where things are, chances are it’s one of those “factory” sellers who coldly messaged her on Instagram got the sale in front of you.
Step 5: Set up payment methods
Next you need to set up your payment method, this is a crucial part to convert a browser into a buyer after You have set up Shopify Payments. Your customers can make credit card payments on your store.
Shopify makes this easy for you, they help you by directly connecting you with several different payment options like PayPal, Connect Visa, Apple Pay and Mastercard. We strongly encourage you to use Shopify Payments, Shopify Payments is the easiest way to accept payments online. It eliminates the hassle of setting up a third-party payment processor or merchant account and having to enter credentials into Shopify. With Shopify Payments, you’re automatically set up to accept all major payment methods as soon as you create your Shopify store. How to set it up:
You can enable Shopify Payments on the Payment Providers page in Shopify Settings. When you set up Shopify Payments, you’ll need the following information:
- Your Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Your bank details
- The average price of your orders
- the average delivery time of your orders
Step 6: Shipping Settings
You’ve added products and payment options for customers to purchase. Next you need to make sure you can deliver those products. You need to choose a courier to safely deliver your products to your customers. Popular couriers include:
- USPS
- UPS
- FedEx
Shopify has partnerships with UPS and USPS , prices are lower than elsewhere. This makes your life much easier as you get access to real-time shipping discounts and shipping rates. Also, we will revisit this topic in another blog specifically about how to set up shipping, how to calculate time and how to offer free shipping to increase sales.
Step 7: Review, test and go live
You should now have added your products, customized your shop template, set up your payment and shipping and set up your store.
You’re almost there… But there’s one more important step before you finish creating your online store: test it!
Testing your store is the best way to make sure you are satisfying your customers’ needs. When you preview and test your store, you should check the following:
Is your checkout working?
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When testing your store, pay special attention to the checkout process.Make sure:
Orders work with all payment methods
Your shipping options and fees are correct and visible
The items and price in your shopping cart are correct
Discounts/promotions apply
The easiest way to test your checkout is to place an order and then get an instant refund. This is also a good opportunity to test the refund process and your email notifications.
Are your shop’s functions working?
Next you need to make sure that your shop is actually working .
Make sure any clickable buttons or links work. Hitting their mouse without a reward will frustrate your customers.
Your navigation bar should be easy to maneuver. It should feel like sailing around a calm lake, not navigating potholed roads with lots of dead ends! Ask friends and family to test your site and get feedback.
Have you reviewed the content of your store?
Many merchants make the mistake of starting an online store when which is full of content errors. It will make your shop look amateurish.
Go through your shop with a fine comb and check for bad spelling and grammar. This is also a good opportunity to review all of your images – make sure they are all optimized for website speed and are accurately promoting the product.
Does your store work on mobile?
Right Now we buy everything via mobile commerce! In short, it’s important that your website works perfectly no matter what device your customer is using.
This is one of the biggest benefits of using an online store builder like Shopify. They make it easy to check how your store looks and performs on different devices.
Your store needs to be responsive on mobile, tablet and desktop. You can test this in your builder’s preview mode and switch to the mobile icon to start experimenting.
And just like that, if all the boxes are ticked, you can make some $$$! If you have any questions, please contact us, we will be happy to help you! We have a lot more content like this. Also, please don’t forget to share this article with your friends and family who are about to start a hair business, online boutique or anything else. The same rules apply. We look forward to your success!
See also: How to Build a Law Firm Website
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