How to Sell Online

Everything you need to know about starting an online store.

I am new to selling
products online.

I want to sell online to
reach more customers.

I want to open and own
my online store.

Decide what to sell

Your first step is deciding which products or services to offer. Your products can range from unique products you’ve created to sourced items from third party vendors or drop shippers. To help you choose the right products for your online store, read our comprehensive guide on selecting products to sell online.

Identify your target market

Researching and identifying your target market and competition will go a long way to help you decide product pricing, website design and branding, and building your initial marketing strategy. This can provide insights into showcasing your product’s benefits to potential customers.

Pick an all-in-one ecommerce platform

Picking the right ecommerce platform is just as important as the product you sell. Make sure you choose a fully hosted, all-in-one solution that allows you to own both the ecommerce website and the shopping cart software. This way, you don’t need coding skills or have to pay transaction fees on sales. You also have access to a support team to help you set up your store.

Build your online store

Choose an ecommerce theme or a custom design that works with your brand. Set up product categories and upload your inventory with as much information as you can. Set up shipping methods and payment gateways.

Create detailed “About Us” and “Contact Us” pages to tell your story. Again, if you’re using a hosted, all-in-one platform, these are included. Now you’re ready to sell products online.

Advertise and market your web store

Once you have your ecommerce store up and running, your next step is to start connecting to potential customers. Another advantage of the all-in-one ecommerce platform is the built-in SEO tool that allows you to optimize your site for search engines and users. Connect with your customers on social media and advertise through PPC ads and shopping engines. To help you maximize revenue and improve conversions, check out the ecommerce conversions guide.

Essentials for online business

Live Chat

Offer the same in-person experience with Live Chat on your website.

SSL Certificates

Increase your customer’s trust in your ecommerce website by purchasing an SSL Certificate to protect private customer data.

Credit Card Processing

Accept a variety of credit and debit card payments online with an ecommerce payment processing solution.

Try Volusion free for 14 days

No fees, no commitment, no credit card.

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Easily manage inventory both online and offline

Your online store needs an inventory management system that seamlessly tracks your stock both in-store and online. It should allow you to organize products by categories and common attributes that you can control such as colors and sizes. This makes it easy for your customers to find exactly the items they’re looking for on your website.

Conveniently ship orders and collect payments

As a new ecommerce store owner, you’ll need to determine how customers will pay online for purchases and how will you ship orders. To collect online payments, choose an easy, fast and trusted credit card processing solution for your customers. Shipping policies and preferred vendors should be selected based on your business needs—“free shipping” offers and “no hassle” return policies are an important part of this process.

Establish trust with customer privacy and security

Securing your customers’ trust will give you an undeniable competitive edge. Build trust by implementing a strong privacy policy and invest in SSL certificates and fraud protection for your ecommerce website to protect private customer data. These steps are a significant part of a larger customer care strategy that supports customer relationships when you can’t see them in-person.

Sell online with the right ecommerce platform

When selling online, choose an all-in-one ecommerce solution that meets your needs for inventory and order management, credit card processing options and secured hosting. Start building your store by uploading product images, creating categories, and updating inventory details. Now you’re ready to start selling online with your ecommerce website.

Design and market your store

Once your online store is live, think about how to customize the design of your store with your brand. Pick an ecommerce theme or hire a professional ecommerce web designer. Also, market your store by using built-in SEO tool and consider reaching even more customers with Amazon, eBay and Facebook integrations. And don’t forget to send emails to existing customers inviting them to try your new online store.

Essentials for online business

SSL Certificates

Increase your customer’s trust in your ecommerce website by purchasing an SSL Certificate to protect private customer data.

Fraud Protection

Identify and lower the risk of credit card fraud with Fraud Protection.

Live Chat

Offer the same in-person experience with Live Chat on your website.

Try Volusion free for 14 days

No fees, no commitment, no credit card.

Get started

Switch to your own online store

The biggest advantage is that you’ll own your site and will have the shopping cart technology built-in. Additionally you’ll never have to pay transaction or listing fees when you own your own store. The ecommerce marketplaces are a great start but as your brand begins to flourish, it is advantageous to build the long-term value of your business.

Choose and ecommerce solution that scales

Choose an ecommerce solution that scales

Having your online store on a complete ecommerce solution will lower some of the frustrations of running a store in a marketplace or using third party shopping cart integrations. We recommend picking a fully hosted, all-in-one solution that will let you own both the ecommerce website and shopping cart software. You can now easily manage and fulfill your orders, create a personalized experience for your customers and grow your business.

Build and customize your online store

When you build an online store using an all-in-one solution, not only can you quickly add products and categories, you also customize the storefront’s design with minimal HTML and CSS skills. Easily set up different emails on your domain, streamlining communication and quickly identifying orders, support tickets and sales inquiries. Also, you can access a support team to help you set up your online store or troubleshoot issues.

Extend with third-party app integrations

Once you’ve launched your store, then simplify the backend processes with integrations from third party apps for accounting, email marketing, payment gateways and even shipping. And with certain all-in-one solutions, you can continue selling on Amazon, eBay or Facebook through integrations.

Promote and market your store

Many ecommerce platforms will offer built-in tools such as SEO and even a free Facebook Store. You can customize the design of your store based on your brand vision using ecommerce themes or a custom design. You can send targeted emails to your customers and look at shopping cart abandonment reports to help improve user experience on your site.

Essentials for online business

Payment Gateways

Accept payments from a variety of credit and debit cards using payment gateways with no set-up fees.

Ecommerce Themes

Create a beautiful storefront that best represents your brand using ecommerce themes.

Customer Support

Access customer support and knowledge base to answer questions and resolve issues.

Try Volusion free for 14 days

No fees, no commitment, no credit card.

Get started