E-commerce basics
E-commerce is an alternative with great potential and a very promising future. The facilities that this purchasing mechanism provides to consumers have made it the favorite of millions of people.
For retailers, entrepreneurs and established companies, e-commerce represents an excellent opportunity to grow their business.
If you want to start your online store, in this publication we will detail the e-commerce basics that you should know.
What is electronic commerce?
This is any commercial operation carried out electronically via the Internet.
These transactions can be made through websites, mobile applications, or social networks. In summary, a buy / sell operation is classified as electronic commerce if it is carried out online, regardless of the platform used.
What are the E-commerce basics?
Before starting your online store, you must know certain basic aspects of e-commerce, essential for you to create a functional and effective business.
Define what you will sell and what your market will be
One of the first things you should do is define what products you will sell and who your target customers will be.
Before diving into the world of online sales, do a thorough research to find a product with sales potential, and based on that information you can determine what your market niche will be.
If you know what you will sell, you have a breakthrough in the entire process.
Select an e-commerce platform
The next step is to choose an online sales platform to sell your product. There are several options that you can select from, but there are two categories that encompass them all.
- There are open source platforms that offer you the ability to modify their source code. This will allow you to configure your online store to your liking and without limitations. However, you will need programming knowledge or hire a programmer.
- You can also opt for ready-to-use platforms. You don’t need to customize the appearance of your website, but you can choose from several default layouts.
You should bear in mind that open source platforms involve more investment of money, but you will have full control over your sales website. On the other hand, ready-to-use platforms are cheaper and easier to use.
Design your website
Regardless of the type of platform you have selected, you must create a suitable design for your online store.
You must consider the image of your product or brand, and offer an intuitive and easy-to-use design. Avoid overloading your website content.
Select a payment solution
One of the essential requirements to be able to carry out electronic sales, is to have a secure system that allows you to receive payment from your customers. To meet this requirement you must choose a payment solution.
A very important aspect at this point is that all online vendors must comply with the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), to guarantee the protection of customer information and their payment cards.
The shipping method for the product
Once the purchase has been made by your customers, you must send them your product. For which you must package it, label it and send it properly.
At first you can take care of this whole process to save a little money. But as your a-commerce grows you can think about hiring the services of a company that is in charge of this process.
Optimize your website
In addition to presenting an attractive appearance, the design of your online store should provide an optimized user experience. In this way, the conversion of users to buyers will be much more effective.
Take these aspects into account to optimize your website:
- Responsive design for mobile devices.
- Efficient and easy product search method.
- Quality content.
- Safe, fast and easy to use payment system.
Returns process
The returns process is vital in the world of e-commerce.
You must have a clear and visible return policy for customers. This builds trust in your audience. Remember that if you provide an effective returns process, the chances that your customers will return to buy will be high.
Integrate your online store with the rest of the business
If you have a physical store or location, or use another program to manage your business, you should consider integrating your website.
In this way you can improve your business processes such as updating inventory, fulfilling orders, etc.
