Today, many global brands successfully promote their own e-commerce sites, allowing them to sell products online worldwide. Such stunning success is typical for well-known companies and small stores, so this tool can significantly help scale relatively quickly. There are many ways in which anyone can own their own moderately successful online e-commerce resource without any particular financial investments.
Table of Contents
Development and support of an e-commerce website without overpayments
A successful e-commerce website is a complex endeavor with many stages, each of which is individually important. The first step is to decide on a suitable platform; independent projects provide a massive range of services and self-written “naked” solutions. The choice between these two options should be made depending on the site’s requirements; if you do not have any unique and specific tasks in mind, feel free to choose ready-made platforms such as custom Magento development, WooCommerce, Shopify, and others. To create your website in this way, an entrepreneur does not need to have narrowly focused skills because professionals are responsible for all processes.
Developing an e-commerce website from scratch is more expensive, and you must look for suitable contractors yourself. Often, specialized freelance platforms are used for searching, where the customer has to lay out detailed requirements for the order. Still, it is essential to note that unsuccessful cooperation cases occur often, and no one will return the time and effort spent. It is rational to turn to this option when you need advice on some issues or create minor tasks.
Even having experience and certain knowledge does not guarantee you results if you engage in development on your own from the first stages. This is a multi-stage process that requires a professional approach and the ability to make quick decisions in a timely manner. After all, the world of e-commerce is constantly changing. It is important to stay in trend and follow current rules and requirements.
Choosing the right direction for an e-commerce site
After determining the platform, you should select a suitable topic currently in demand in the market. The best option is to have extensive online stores with many categories. If this option is not suitable, then try to determine the type of product based on the following factors:
- Trendiness: study your closest competitors and see which products are currently trending; they are likely to be popular with you;
- Current customer base: at the time of creating your own e-commerce site, many entrepreneurs already own physical points with products, so it is best to add first those products that your customers most often need;
- Conduct testing: the global market is very flexible and loyal, so you can always conduct experiments, adding some exciting products and studying customer reactions;
- Follow global trends: Place on your website thematic products related to popular Internet phenomena, such as long-awaited films.
If you have little capital, there is no room for error, so you should not make hasty conclusions, including large-scale purchases without proper confidence in demand. Focus on one category of services and add to it as you go. It is also worth investing part of the proceeds in targeted advertising and other promotion methods.