Top 10 Steps to Start a Successful Online Store in 2022

Jul 28, 2022 | Business Tips, WordPress

Kevin Fouche

Top 10 Steps to Start a Successful Online Store in 2022

Posted by Kevin Fouche, Pixel Fish Director

Kevin handles the planning, design, launch and training of every website that Pixel Fish creates. He ensures that every website is highly engaging and aligned with our client’s goals. With over 20 years of design and web industry experience to draw upon, Kevin aims to pass on his knowledge to our clients and like-minded businesses wanting to grow their online presence.

In 2022, becoming your own e-commerce retailer has never been easier. If you want an online store, it’s really quite simple to build one, secure a supplier, and start advertising. Of course, the website doesn’t exactly build itself, and you’ll still need to supply all the unique brand experience and selling points to bring in customers, but the tools are all there waiting to be used. Let’s go through our Top 10 Steps to Start a Successful Online Store in 2022.

Here at Pixel Fish, we know everything there is to know about opening a web store, whether you’re selling crocheted hats, hand-built computers, home-catered cookies, or retailing your favourite fashion finds. We can even help you open an online store to book local services. Let’s dive into how any entrepreneur can start opening a successful online store in 2022.

Top 10 Steps to Start a Successful Online Store in 2022

1. Build Your Inventory, Business Model, and Brand

The first step is to have a plan. You don’t need us to tell you the importance of designing a brand and establishing a stable business model before you start buying inventory and selling to customers.

Start with your business concept. Define your industry, niche, and brand personality you want to share. Then give your brand a name and design the brand assets like your colour palette, logo, letterheads, icons, and the page assets you’ll use to make the website into a friendly branded experience.

Then determine exactly what will be in your inventory and calculate the costs of keeping an inventory or ordering on-demand.

2. Register Your Business Name, Get an ABN & Open a Business Bank Account

Now you’re ready to get official. Register your business name with ASIC. A business name is the name your business operates under. You must register a business name if you conduct business under a name other than yours. You should also apply for an ABN The ABN is a unique 11-digit number that identifies your business or organisation to the government and community.

Then open a business bank account with your ABN to handle all your store finances. You may want to link this account to a business credit card for purchases and a Paypal account to smooth over online transactions.

3. Establish a Domain Name and Web Server

Now you’re ready to start building your web store. Choose a domain name based on your business name. Try to choose something memorable and easy to spell – that is clear when seen without spaces or capitalisation. Search through a platform that sells domains like GoDaddy or HostGator to purchase an unclaimed, affordable, catchy domain that fits your brand.

Once you have a domain, buy a web server from a hosting company. This can be Azure, DigitalOcean, HostGator, or even Amazon through AWS. All you need is a server that can handle website software with a public IP address reachable by the world wide web.

Follow the platform instructions using CloudFlare to connect your server to your domain name so that anyone searching for your website reaches the server.

4. Set Up Your ECommerce Website Software

Now, choose your e-commerce software and build your web store. Many web store software options exist, including Shopify, Square, Wix, etc. However, by far the most popular choice on the internet is the pairing of a WordPress website foundation with a Woo-Commerce plugin that transforms the basic WordPress structure into a full-featured web store.

5. Brand and Customise the Website Design

Once your web store is installed onto your live server, you can take your time branding and customising the website design. Change the colour palette to your brand’s colours with a complimentary theme that makes everything come together beautifully. Add your log to the logo space and your icon to the favicon (tab icon) option. Now is also a good time to set up page templates for things like product pages and blog articles.

Spend time tweaking and improving the website design until you have created your desired brand experience. Then check it out on mobile and make sure the pages load correctly through your phone and tablet as well.

6. Secure a Supplier and Build an Inventory

Now you’re ready to stock up. Online stores vary wildly in their product selection and how they choose to handle inventory. Make your plans now. Start reaching out to build partnerships if you need to secure supplier and vendor relationships to fulfil orders. If you plan to hand-make custom orders, look for bulk and vendor discounts on your supplies. If you plan to drop-ship, ensure your drop-shipping partners are lined up, and you know your timeline and costs.

Build your inventory and set your prices based on the research and network-building you do in this phase.

7. Populate Your Website with Products

With your inventory prepared, it’s time to populate your website with products. Use the e-commerce back-end tools to create as many product categories and individual product pages as you need. Customise each one with photos and descriptions to inspire new buyers. Consider landing pages for product categories and tagged attributes to make products easier to filter and search for. Use e-commerce best practices and templates to make each product page appealing and functional.

8. Write a Killer About Page and FAQ Guide

Of course, there are a few details every customer will look for on a legitimate webs store site. This includes your About page, Service pages (if any), a Contact page, and a FAQ or Support page. Fill these out with personality and details that will make your customers smile and leave them with useful answers.

You may also want to take this time to ensure your website footer is populated with a site map and your NAP (name, address phone) block, as this is where customers will look.

9. Fine-Tune Performance and Cybersecurity

To create a successful online store, you’re also going to need a little technical fine-tuning. First, ensure your cybersecurity measures are up to web store industry standards. Use trusted plugins and ensure each security feature is tailored to your website – and never left on the default settings or with default passwords.

Then hone your page-load-speed and other elements of a performance. A fast-performing and responsive website is necessary to appear on Google search results.

10. Write a Few Seed Articles for Your Blog

As you prepare to launch, take a little time to write some interesting and enthusiastically welcoming seed articles for your blog. While you may release regular blog updates, having three to ten blogs already written when your website opens gives you a “stocked shelves” instead of an “empty store” feel – and gives your brand new customers some content to peruse while they fall in love with your brand. Use your blogs to create compelling, fun, interesting, and authority-building content that will show up on inbound marketing searches and delight potential new customers with your brand’s personality and supply.

Start Advertising

Finally, you are ready to get out there and advertise! With a hand-built online store, branded and stocked with products, the only thing you need now is customers.

Build Your Online Store with Pixel Fish

If this sounds great, but you don’t consider yourself a web admin or brand designer, you don’t have to be! With expert teams like Pixel Fish ready to take on the technical and even creative tasks of opening a web store, all you need is a great idea and supply of products that your future customers will love. Contact us today, and we’ll help you build your new online store from the ground up.

Take your online store business to the next level with a Pixel Fish Ecommerce Website.

Check out some of our latest Ecommerce Website Design projects.

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Kevin Fouché, Pixel Fish Director