Does the term ‘ecommerce’ scare you? Some merchants and entrepreneurs are totally terrified by the sheer enormity of setting up a retail website and have literally thousands of questions as to how they should go about it. Actually, all you need to know in the very beginning are a few basics and from there you can take your storefront as far as you want to go. If you are one of the many who are thinking of starting an online business venture, take the time to ask these questions. You’ll never know until you ask. For starters, here are a few basics.

Do I Need a Professional Web Development Company?

Here is a question that is hard to answer because every business has varying degrees of needs. But, unless you are a huge superstore like Walmart, K-mart, J.C. Penny’s or Amazon, there really isn’t a need to hire the big guns just yet. You can take advantage of the best ecommerce website builders, platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, 3dcart and Volusion to build a site that is user friendly and will convert quite easily. There are literally thousands of free templates available for the taking and with the right ecommerce website builders you can have a storefront that rivals the top selling online merchants.

What Do You Need to Get Started?

The very first thing you need after a product line is a domain name. Until you have a name there is no way to build any kind of site whatsoever, ecommerce or personal blog. When you are setting up an ecommerce site, bear in mind that the competition is stiff so your name should suit your industry. Do you already have a brick-and-mortar establishment? Use that name if it’s available and if not, try to get one as close as possible to your registered trade name. This keeps everything locked up nicely in a tight little package to help you corner your share of the market.

What Are the Most Important Features to Make My Site a Success?

One ‘feature’ that isn’t immediately recognizable to the average visitor, unless there is a problem of course, is your hosting service. Make sure that you run with a company that has 24/7 tech support, guaranteed uptime and plenty of bandwidth so that your pages load quickly. Bear in mind here that you get what you pay for, so don’t look for those $1 a month deals unless you are looking for $1 a month service. Make sure to check out different types of hosting accounts such as Bluehost, Flywheel, SiteGround and WP Engine. You will want hosting services like these because they have all the ecommerce features, some unique to each provider, that you will need to make your site a success.

These are just a few of the basics, but the point being made is that there is nothing to fear about stepping out into the world of ecommerce. If you have questions, ask! Check out the various hosting companies and ask questions before deciding on a host. Looking for website templates? Try WordPress that also, by the way, has a wonderful forum of knowledgeable users all too happy to answer your questions. You won’t know anything until you ask, but the one thing that is for certain. You can’t run a financially lucrative website until you get it up and running – so ask away. Good luck on your endeavor and welcome to the ecommerce community!