HOW TO BUILD ANE-COMMERCE SITE

Guidelines

O In the age of the internet, e-Commerce is attracting more and more customers. An online store is becoming a crucial element to any business plan, but starting one up can seem to be a monumental task.

1. Decide What You're Selling. 

O You should consider narrowing your scope to capture a niche market, however, not so narrow that it's hard to find customers.

O For example, if you are thinking of selling books, selling vintage books might be a better option.

O If you are serious about your online store, you will probably spend a lot of time constructing and tweaking your website and especially marketing it, so choose something you have some interest in.

2. Decide What Kind of Store You Need.

O  You need to decide what kind of store you need. There are a ton of options out there, so before you choose you should sit down and decide exactly what features you do and do not want in an online store.

OThere are 3 main types of sites you can choose from, which are as follows:

1. If you're looking for something more low maintenance and don't want to deal with the hassle of supplying and shipping your own inventory there are numerous large websites (such as Amazon) that will let you set up a more specialized store selling their products for a commission.

2. If you want to supply your own inventory and you're willing to pay a monthly fee Yahoo! Merchant Solutions is the most popular route.

3. If you want to supply your own inventory and don't want to pay a monthly fee, or you want to get your feet wet before committing so a monthly program, you should look for a site that 100% free (no monthly fees, transactions fees or hidden charges), and has an upgrade option. 

3. Set Up Your StoreO This is where the work comes in. You'll need to get

all of your details together and sit down and fill out all of the necessary information. Enter all your products, payment options, shipping options, applicable taxes, etc.

O Check and double check them; it doesn't matter how good your site looks if the customers can't use it.

O You need to make sure it is professional and aesthetically pleasing, however, you also want to make sure it is easy to navigate and find products. You should organize all of your products into intuitive categories and sub categories.

4. Market Your Store

O An online store is not like physical store where people will just pass by on their way to other things even if you aren't advertising.

O You will need to make sure to use a lot of keywords in your store text and create many backlinks (links to your store from other sites) in order to drum up traffic and move your way up the search engine results.

5. Maintain Your SiteO Now that you have your store all set up

and a steady stream of customers, make sure to keep it maintained! You want your customers to keep coming back, so update your inventory and featured products regularly. You'll also want to update your keywords to make them more effective. 

Questions:OA 16 yr. old girl want to put up a

business through online, which site do you think can help her and what product can you advise for her?

OA single mother of three want to put up a business also through online. But the problem is, she has no idea on how to use the computer and internet. As a student, how can you help the mother to get started?