How to Start Planning for Your Ecommerce Website

So, you have an idea. A really good idea. No, make that A GREAT idea! You make hand-crocheted purses. Friends hear about your amazing crocheting skills and tell their friends, who in turn begin placing orders with you and you deliver the purses personally when finished. Simple. Easy. Oh so cozy… But then one day, one of these friends proclaims the following 5 words: “You should sell these online!” “Yes,” you think to yourself. “Yes I should. I absolutely should. I could create an empire. I could be the Purse Queen. I’ll be on Oprah and Rachel Ray and I’ll never have to work again!” For small start-ups venturing into the world of eCommerce sales, there are upsides (no brick and mortar shop needed; work from home; let the website do the work while you become fabulously wealthy) and downsides (you become so rich, you start hanging with JLo and that Beiber kid). So when contemplating the launch of an eCommerce site, there are a couple of things you will need to consider.

Search hard for a top-tier design and development firm.

For eCommerce websites, we would certainly recommend an established firm with proven experience in producing eCommerce websites. Also be on the look-out for companies that can offer all-in-one services (i.e. website design, development, and marketing). This will save you time and money in the long-run, where all aspects of your online business can be managed together.

Choose the right eCommerce platform.

Here at TheeDigital, we prefer the Magento platform for eCommerce websites. A Magento platform, coupled with TheeDigital’s top-tier custom design and development services will equip your venture with a highly intuitive, highly functional, customer-friendly online store. Complete with various pricing and shipping options, detailed sales metrics and analytics, stunning inventory portfolios complete with various views and additional, add-on items, an eCommerce site from TheeDigital and Magento assures you that you are starting off on the best possible foot.

Budget at least 30% of your investment for search engine optimization.

This includes SEO both onsite and ongoing costs. As we say here at TheeDigital, the best website in the world is useless if it is not viewed by the folks looking for your service and/or product. This relates back to finding the right firm with which to partner – if you choose a tested and proven firm such as TheeDigital, you will have both aspects covered: site design and development AND marketing the site to your core target audience. So, the right design and development firm, coupled with the right platform in conjunction with top-tier SEO marketing. Nail these three crucial elements and you’ll be fielding calls from Oprah before you know it.

Tags: Magento • Web Design