Profitable Product Sales: Stepping Stones for Your Online Start-up

If you have not already embraced the concept of e-commerce, you are missing out on an opportunity to generate some profitable product sales from customers who are looking to buy for what you have to offer online.
Having an online retail platform means you are open for business 24 hours a day and available to customers all around the world.
Creating an online shop is relatively easy to do, but getting it right involves doing your homework and following a few tips and strategies that will help your business to trade online successfully.
The right domain name
The most critical first step in your online start-up process is to choose the right domain name.
Your domain is an essential component and it I important that you try and obtain a domain name that accurately reflects your business and is easy to spell and easy to remember. So many start-ups rush into buying a domain name that doesn’t meet the right criteria or is just simply too complicated for customers to remember, so they click over to a rival site instead when they can’t find you instantly.
Web hosting package
Getting the right web hosting package will also help you get off on the right foot and you should ensure that your website is compatible with the shopping cart software that you intend to use.
Have a look at this PayPal virtual terminal review to get an idea of what you need and what to look out for, as being able to take payments from customers online quickly and efficiently, is critical to the success of your venture.
There are web hosting packages available which make it easy to set up a virtual storefront but you will have to decide if you want a more bespoke version or if a generic one can be adapted to meet your specific needs.
Also consider setting up your business on third party platforms and online marketplaces. Having a presence on sites like Amazon and eBay can increase your profile and add extra customers.
Accessibility
Another important point to remember when working on the design of your website, is the need for multi-channel optimisation.
What this actually means, is that customers will be viewing your website via a variety of different devices and your site needs to perform in the same way and be easy to navigate regardless of whether they are accessing the content on their PC, phone or tablet.
More customers than ever before are using their phones to access the internet, so you will need to ensure that your e-commerce site looks and performs in the same way.
Ask about this aspect of design if you are using a designer to create your site or at least make use of innovative visual content and utilise interactive functions on your site, so that anyone viewing on a mobile device still finds the site engaging and easy to view.
Compliance
Whether you are selling to someone in the UK or overseas, there are regulations that you will need to comply with.
Make sure you understand the Distance Selling Regulations and design your website to give customers access to all the relevant information and disclaimers that you are using as well as providing clear details relating to shipping and returns policies.
If you follow the basic stepping stones to setting up an online store, you should be able to generate new global customer orders and increase your sales.