subject: Starting An Online Store: Eight Basic Steps [print this page] Getting yourself the cheapest domain registration or the cheapest webhosting package (but a reliable one) is not enough but rather, you should choose a service which would allow you more control over your shops presentation, interface, and maintenance. Hosting your own website provides a few benefits like being able to improve your websites content anytime you wish.
8 Steps to Help You Start an Online Store
Here are few steps that can help you start your very own online store.
(1)Make sure to gather everything you need.
Opening an online store does not only have to start with landing on the cheapest domain registration as you would need more than that to be able to make the most out of the Internet selling industry. You would need the following:
A good domain name would cost about $10 a year (cheapest domain registration fee usually offered)
A reliable web host more or less costs about $72 a year
A dedicated IP address about $2 a month
A shopping cart script
A gateway for payments
(2)Set up your own website.
Once you have your domain name registered and pointed at your web host, you should now set up your own website. You can even use your shopping cart script as your starting website.
(3)Start installing your shopping cart system.
You can install your shopping cart system using tools like QuickInstall or Fantastico in your websites control panel. There are many articles on the Internet for guiding you through this step if you are not familiar with it yet.
(4)Customize your online shops website.
Your websites interface is important. It is especially important to make it easy for customers to browse through your website and be able navigate through each page smoothly. For a start, your websites design is an added plus to your business.
(5)Set up your products or categories.
Make sure that you also take time to create an online catalog for your products and services. Categorize your products if you sell various types of items for your customers to easily find the products they are interested in.
(6)Make sure you handle fulfillment and shipping seamlessly.
Make sure that once you have all your products imported, you should set up your fulfillment section. For the different options on payment, you can use different payment gateways like Paypal or 2Checkout. For shipping, you can specify the shipping costs for different items, different places, or simply just post a table that shows the different shipping rates.
(7)Add other customizations and a shopping cart module
Learn to utilize modules. Most web hosts have these add-ons especially when you sign up for an Ecommerce web host package. You can use these modules to add discounts or special offers.
(8)Value maintenance.
Always check your shop reports to see how your online store is doing. Make sure you have the latest patches and regularly check for any glitches or bugs in the system and let your web hosts technical support team know.
Remember that choosing the cheapest domain registration cost or the cheapest web host is not always the best way to successfully set up an online store. Make sure that the services you need are accessible and that you are enlisting the service of a good domain registrar and web host.
by: Patricia Clanton
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