Opening an online store takes less time than it used to, but the stores that sell from the first week are the ones that prepared a few things before they opened the doors. This checklist follows the order that saves you the most rework.
1. Decide what you sell, and to whom
Write one sentence that says what you sell and who it is for, such as "handmade leather bags for people who commute by bike". It will guide your store's name, the photos you take, the words on your home page and the places where you advertise.
Start with a small range you know well. Ten products with good photos and honest descriptions sell better than a hundred that were added in a hurry.
2. Choose a name and an address
Pick a name that is short, easy to spell after hearing it once, and free as a domain. Your store can start on an address the platform gives it and move to your own domain, such as shop.example.com, when you are ready. Your own domain is worth it: shoppers trust it more, and everything search engines learn about your store stays yours.
3. Prepare your first products
For each product, have ready:
- Photos: several per product, on a plain background, in good daylight, with at least one that shows the product in use.
- A description in your own words: what it is, what it is made of, its size, and who it suits. Copying the manufacturer's text makes your page look like every other shop's.
- A price and the stock you have. If the product comes in sizes or colours, set them up as variants, each with its own stock, so a shopper never orders a size you no longer have.
4. Set up how you get paid
Offer the payment methods your shoppers already use. Cards and PayPal work almost everywhere; in Indonesia many shoppers prefer QRIS, virtual accounts and e-wallets; bank transfer suits large orders and made-to-order goods. Connect accounts in your own name, so the money goes straight to you, and test each method before you open. Our guide to accepting payments online goes through the options.
5. Decide on shipping and returns
Choose where you ship to, how you charge for it (a rate per zone, or shipping included in your prices), and how long orders take to leave. Then write your returns rule in plain words: how many days, in what condition, and who pays for the return. Shoppers read these before they buy, especially from a store they have not bought from before.
6. Write the pages shoppers look for
Before their first order, shoppers check that there is a real business behind the store. Make sure they find:
- About us: who you are and why you sell what you sell.
- Contact: an email address and, if you can, a phone or chat.
- Shipping and returns: the rules from step 5.
- Privacy policy: what you do with their details.
7. Place a test order
Order something from your own store, on your phone, as a shopper would: find the product, add it to the cart, check out, pay, and read the emails you receive. Then fulfil it from your dashboard. You will spot the unclear sentence or the missing photo that a shopper would have left over.
8. Open, and tell people
When you open, tell the people who already know you: customers, followers, friends. Submit your store to Google Search Console so that search engines find your pages, and keep adding products and articles: every page is a new way in.
Ready to start? Open your store: it takes a minute, and the free trial needs no card.