With the availability of superior supporting technology and the increase in consumer internet penetration, ecommerce solutions are becoming popular in developing countries. Thanks to this, traditional business owners in these markets are realizing that the greatest platform where they can be promoting their businesses is the internet.
For those who are new to the system, it becomes difficult to keep up with the complexities involved in running successful ecommerce solutions. Here are some of the initial steps you need to keep in mind before you kick start your online business.
Register Your Domain Name
To get good exposure, you need to ensure that your online store has a unique web address. When you buy a domain name, you become the sole owner of the web address.
Your information is provided to WHOIS, which is a protocol used for querying databases.
This information can be viewed by your customers. You can also make this information hidden by choosing a private registration.
Shopping Cart Software
A shopping cart software solution manages the products on your customer’s shopping cart and also manages their queries. It has many aspects which include inventory setup, order management, and product delivery.
Choosing a shopping cart software solution can be difficult with various different solutions out there. Determine which solution suits the best for your business before you buy one depending on different business factors.
Web Hosting
There are professionals who will host your website on your behalf. But, when you’re looking for a customized solution, it can exceed your budget.
This is where subscription based web applications come into the picture. Another benefit of using a web hosting service is that customer support is available 24/7 for help. If you face any issues, the web hosting service will sort them out for you.
Professional Web Design
When it comes to online stores, UI and UX are important factors. If the customers don’t like the appearance and usability of your web page, they are bound to move to some other site. Professional web designers can help design your website and user experience, and these designers can also be availed based on a subscription.
Otherwise, you can even use available e-commerce templates to make your own website. Remember to ensure that your website is mobile and tablet friendly.
Merchant Account
Even if your website and platform is one of the best ones out there, you are bound to lose customers if your website doesn’t support card payments. A vast majority of consumers prefer credit or debit card payments because of the easy procedure and accessibility.
For this, you will need a merchant account to take money from the bank, and a payment gateway to receive that money.
Affordable Ecommerce Solutions For Small Business
You’ll need the help of various vendors and support organizations to keep yourself focused, so are some of the solutions you shouldn’t miss using while setting up your online platform.
There are a large number of e-commerce solution providers in India. Here are a few hosted Indian providers:
- Shopify
- MartJack
- Zepo
- SellMojo
There a lot of technical and business factors that determine whether e-commerce solutions providers apply to your online venture or not. Find out which solution best suits your needs. If you want to create a self hosted store, you could take a look at Magento’s offerings. Shopify is a global ecommerce solutions provider in the hosted e-commerce space.
