More and more people want to be their own boss and are looking to start their own business. Advances in technology and the Internet make it a lot easier than it used to be.

Many people choose to start an Ecommerce business. Some are looking to promote their existing brick and mortar business on the web. Others are starting from scratch and want to start selling products. If you want to be successful in your new business, it’s important to have the right knowledge and tools at your disposal. 

What is Ecommerce?

Any commercial electronic transaction conducted on the Internet falls under the umbrella of Ecommerce. It is the fastest growing, one of the most valuable industries, and an increasingly popular way of making money online.

People love to shop online because it is easy and immediate and they don’t even have to leave the comfort of their own home. This is one of the reasons Ecommerce has become a booming business. Are you ready to start your own Ecommerce business? Here’s how you can get started.

Start with a Plan

All business models must begin with a plan. Your plan should include a budget that takes into consideration unanticipated contingencies.

It will be well worth your while to take the time to put your ideas down on paper so that you will be better prepared. Your chances of success are greater if your plan includes a process with definable steps. You should get the following out of your business plan:

• A full understanding of all the resources and tools you will need for your business
• Knowledge of what you already know and what will require more researching or planning
• You should have a better idea of the viability of your business after conducting the appropriate market research

Choosing and Purchasing Your Domain

Choosing your Ecommerce domain name is one of the most important decisions you will have to make for your business.

How you will be driving traffic to your website? When deciding on your domain name, you need to take Search Engine Optimization (SEO) into consideration.

Make a list of several names you like just in case your first choice is not available. You can type your desired domain name into a domain search tool to find out if it is currently owned by someone else or if it can be yours. Some helpful tips when deciding on a domain name are:

• Make it relevant to what you are selling so that it makes sense and helps with SEO
• If you are new to online selling and looking to build a brand, use the name of your product or business
• Shorter names are better because they are more easily remembered
• Use keywords in your name if search is a priority

Choose Your Platform

The best Ecommerce platform is one that is easy-to-use, flexible, integrates with an existing site if you have one, and allows you to set up a new site easily if you don’t already have one. Your best choice of a platform should be one that:

• Easily integrates plugins and themes to customize the appearance of the front of your site and functionality on the backend
• Is in the top million sites by traffic
• Continually updates for better security and functionality
• Is free, built by volunteers, and is open source
• Has over 60 million installations   

The platform that meets the above criteria is WordPress (WP). WP is a content management system (CMS) that allows you to edit and change the appearance of your website without having to write code. With the right plugins, themes, and add-ons, WP is a powerful and robust-Ecommerce platform.

Your Hosting Package

The host is the server that stores your website so that users can access it online from all over the world. The hosting package you choose needs to be safe and reliable so that you can provide a top-notch online purchasing experience for your customers.

Even though your customers can’t see your web hosting, the experience they have on your website is entirely dependent upon which hosting package you chose. If your site is slow or the buying process is not smooth, you will lose customers.

Choosing the right hosting package for your needs can increase sales and improve SEO. You also want to make sure that the package supports your business.

There are many different types of WP hosting options available such as Free, Shared, Managed, VPS, and Dedicated.

Business hosting bridges the gap between the higher level plans and the basic shared hosting plans. It provides a high performing hosting environment that is easy to use. It also offers additional tools.

For Ecommerce sites where you are selling products or services, need built-in Ecommerce features, a private SSL certificate, unlimited domains, unmetered bandwidth and disk space, email accounts, and cPanel server management, the business plan is your best choice.

Like anything in life that is worth it, starting your own Ecommerce business will take hard work if you want to be successful. However, the rewards you will reap will make it all worthwhile.