Creating Your Own E-Commerce Website

If you have a product or service that you want to market to the public, you may want to consider setting up an e-commerce website. There are tons of tools and resources available to help you create a professional website that you can utilize to attract prospective customers. Statistics show that there are between 12 million and 24 million e-commerce sites around the world. It's known as a popular method to make money online, especially if you have a unique product to sell that is in high demand.

While creating your own e-commerce website, you'll want to keep your customers' needs in mind. Consider researching the prospective buyers and determining their general type of mood that leads them to want to invest in the product or service that you have to offer. For example, if you're marketing gardening tools, you should have a clear understanding of what gardeners are looking for to make their projects run successfully.

There are several key pages that should be included in your website to make sure that readers are able to gain an understanding of the purpose of your site, how your products can benefit them, and who you are as a company. Therefore, you'll want to design your website to appeal to needs of prospective customers and in a manner that they can understand.

Make it easy to navigate through your site, and take advantage of formatting tools, like numbered lists, boldface type, italics, and borders. Try to avoid excessive jargon and get straight to the point. Maintain a conversational tone by addressing the reader as you, while you highlight the key features of your products.

Home Page

This is the main page of your e-commerce website, as it provides a general overview of your company and your products and services. This is where new and returning visitors to your site often go to first before exploring other pages. Keep the overall objective of your business in mind as well as the prospects' wants and needs as you design this page. First impression is always important.

The overall layout of your home page should be user-friendly and inviting to the reader. Visuals can make it easy to attract people to your e-commerce website. Therefore, you should select a web banner that sets the mood and tone for your site. You should include a strong headline and at least one to two paragraphs providing a general explanation of what your company offers.

Links to Related Pages

The home page should have a site menu with clickable links to other pages, which can be at the top, on the far right, or at the bottom. These links should access pages that contain more information about your products and services as well as how and where to buy. The home page can highlight recent news related to your company, new products, and links to special offers. You should also include a link to a contact page and any other important information, such as FAQ page and your privacy statement.

Contact Page

This page has the basic information to help readers know how to contact you. Include phone numbers, email addresses, and fax numbers. A customer may have additional questions about various aspects of your services, like the shipping or return policy. If you have a brick and mortar store, you may want to include the physical address to the main location as well as the hours of operation.

Shopping Cart

If you want customers to make purchases online, you'll need to set up a shopping cart that allows customers to select products and see a list of prices, taxes, and shipping costs. Select either the payment gateway or payment processor. Your payment system should calculate the tax and shipping costs.

About Us Page

This page is where you provide brief history your company and why you're in business. You can include information about the owners and how your business came to be. It's basically a short bio that allows you to introduce your company.