How to launch an E-commerce website?

Been long since you have been planning to roll out our E-commerce website? Develop cold feet thinking about the long and arduous process of going online. What if we tell you that there is an easy way to do this. What’s more, if you have the right plan in place, you can launch your business online and go live in less than a week.

Unbelievable?

Let’s see how very much possible and easy the whole process to build an online store can be. All you need to do is follow a step-by-step plan and choose the right ecommerce software to get started. 

So without much ado, let us begin the process.

5-Step Plan To Launch Your E-commerce Website

Now that you have your business plan in place and shortlisted the products or services you want to sell, here is what you should do next. Create your free trial store using StoreHippo and explore the platform to understand how easy and fun it is to take your business live. 

Once you have uploaded your products and tweaked the design theme according to your brand’s requirements, here is what you need to do to start selling your products or services online.

Step 1: Book a domain name for your E-commerce website

Step 2: Choose the right StoreHippo Plan according to your requirements

Step 3: Drop a mail to us and send the details of your domain name and the pre-integrated payment gateway of your choice. 

Step 4: Update your products, prices, product descriptions, offers and other things you need to go live.

Step 5: Test your online store with mock orders and go live!

That’s all! That’s how easy it is to take your business online with the best online store builder StoreHippo. You can also choose from the pre-integrated shipping partners and avail discount logistics solution to deliver your orders. 

But is this all that you need to make your business successful? 

No, you also need to promote it and to attract the buyers. Afterall the customers need to know about your brand and how it can add value to their lives.

Wondering how to roll the marketing and start getting your cash counter ringing? Here is what you got to do:

1. Select A Social Network, Best Suited For Your Brand

One of the first steps is to create the perfect launchpad for that perfect launch of your E-commerce website! The easiest way of doing this, especially for the uninitiated, is by tapping into a popular social media. Be it Facebook or Twitter, you need to let your consumers know that you are arriving. Interactive cover photos, bright high definition images and interesting trivia will have people hooked on to your page. 

With Storehippo you can easily integrate with various social media platforms and create a buzz about your business. 

2. Build Anticipation Around Your Product

You could even take a teaser campaign approach instead of giving away all details in one go. Build anticipation around the product and reveal details in parts to your audience. Create online campaigns and give special discounts to attract customers to your website. 

You cannot assume that once you build an online store people will somehow automatically stumble upon your ecommerce store. You need to ensure traffic on the page and ergo, the launch pad.

StoreHippo comes with an inbuilt discount engine that lets you plan various deals and promotions to bring customers to your online store.

3. Jump The M-commerce Bandwagon

Do we even need to stress the importance of having a mobile presence for your online business? With up to 80% of online traffic coming through mobile, you need to have an online store that works seamlessly on all mobile devices. 

Your online store should be designed in such a way that it is mobile-ready and gives a seamless buying experience across all devices. It is no secret that we are into a habit of making more impulse orders on mobile devices rather than on desktops. And you certainly want to have the best mobile ecommerce site at your disposal to make the most of this trend. 

Wondering how to build one?

The inherent capabilities of StoreHippo online store builder lets you build PWA stores that look, feel and work like hybrid apps on all devices. Using your admin dashboard you can even build your mobile apps and see your sales soaring!

4. Customer Feedback And Review

We can’t stress enough on the importance of customer reviews and feedback. Did you know that more than 90% online buyers read reviews before making their final purchase decision? Believe it or not but reviews also help you rank better in SERP rankings as your customers inadvertently use long-tail keywords in their reviews.

Reviews not only help your customers make an informed decision but also build their trust in your brand. It also reduces returns and refunds as customers can decide about buying or skipping a product based on reviews. 

Both positive and negative reviews help you plan your business better and plug the loopholes if any. StoreHippo online store builder provides you with functionality to get customer reviews and ratings for your products. 

5. Cut The Clutter And Have Faith

Be clear and consistent in your approach, else it can confuse your consumer. Do not try to do too many things at the same time. Set the tone and pitch of your work in a way that reflects your ideologies. By doing this you can connect better with your customers and gradually build trust for your product and services. On a final note, have faith in your product, believe in it, and you will be good to go.  

Another step to cut the clutter is to ensure that you offer a frictionless checkout and clear shipping and refund guidelines when you build your online store. StoreHippo allows you to create the most engaging user experience with beautiful design themes, easy navigation and advanced product search features.

Conclusion

Ready with your business plan? All set to create your mark by building an E-commerce website that not only sells products but also wins customers for a lifetime. StoreHippo has everything you need to give wings to your dreams of ruling the ecommerce world.

So, what are you waiting for? Put your entrepreneurship hat on and set up your online store right away. Explore the 300+ inbuilt features on StoreHippo online store builder to give a winning edge to your business

Have queries? Book a free demo with our experts right away!

Note: This blog was first posted on  Dec 08, 2014 and has been updated on Jun 22, 2020.