{"id":499,"date":"2020-04-29T01:08:08","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T01:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theokellogroup.com\/?page_id=499"},"modified":"2020-05-02T20:31:32","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T20:31:32","slug":"build-an-online-store","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theokellogroup.com\/build-an-online-store\/","title":{"rendered":"Build an online store"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"build-an-online-store-the-okello-group\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to build your own online store for free<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have been specialists in online stores for over 15\nyears and we thought we would help as many of you as we can to build your own\nonline stores during these crazy times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When building an online store there are some things you will typically have to buy; a domain name i.e. www.iSellChocolateTeapots.com<\/a> and hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain names<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We always recommend buying your domain name from a\ndedicated domain name reseller and then your hosting or services from another\nprovider. That way if you want to move away from any provider, your domain name\nis independent and can be simply pointed to a new provider or location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hosting is the server that delivers your online store\nto all your customers around the world, think of it as the \u2018home\u2019 of your\nwebsite and files. This is one area that is overlooked and very often DIY\nentrepreneurs that are a little tech savvy try to get away with cheap shared\nhosting packages that cost between \u00a335\u200a\u2014\u200a\u00a360 per year ($40\u200a\u2014\u200a$70 USD per year).\nIf you are expecting over 40,000 hits per month, these will NOT serve you well.\nyour site will be slow, Google will rank you low for bad UX (user experience)\nand your online store won\u2019t be as visible as it needs to be for organic\ntraffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You MUST pick the right hosting service for your online store. Think of it this way. Your hosting is like a shop, cheap hosting will have a very small door and a small shop space that is served by slow laggy staff. Good hosting is like an Apple store with \u2018real\u2019 Apple Genius rushing around to delivery shiny new iPhones (or whatever product or service you want to retail), its an all-round much better experience for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can sometimes find great deals and discounts for\nyour first year of good hosting, but after that, it can cost between \u00a3100 a\nyear up to \u00a36,000 a year dependent on the traffic you attract. If your online\nstore is getting 1 million hits a month, expect to pay approximately \u00a3500 \/\n$600 per month on hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESTABLISH DEMAND FOR YOUR OFFERING<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first thing you need to figure out is that there is\na demand for your product or services. talk to as many people as possible. a\ngreat place to get unadulterated, unfiltered feedback is actually Reddit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go and join the network if you haven\u2019t already, get to\nknow the platform and then join the relevant r\/ or subreddit which relates most\nto your services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be bold, just put it out there ask;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. what\npeople think of a store that sell XYZ,<\/li>
  2. would\nthey buy,<\/li>
  3. how\nmuch would they pay,<\/li>
  4. what\nwould make them move from their favourite brands?<\/li>
  5. is\nthere an innovation in XYZ product or service they would love to see, and then\nsee if you can make it happen.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \n
    \"chocolate-teapot-Build-an-online-store-the-okello-group\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    Validating the need is very very important\u2026 So far no one has asked us here at TheOkelloGroup.com<\/a> to make them a chocolate teapot, but we have our fingers crossed!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    VALIDATE YOUR TARGET MARKET<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If Reddit hasn\u2019t offered this information for you\nalready, get an idea of how big your market it, i.e. how many people would\nlikely buy from you AND how often. There\u2019s no point banking on selling 150\nmillion diamond encrusted personalised knitting needles that have been blessed\nby a Buddhist monk for 12 days at sunset for \u00a312 million. You have a tiny\nmarket that would be hard to find and they likely wouldn\u2019t buy an item like\nthat online for obvious reasons\u2026 If you think the above is a workable idea, I\nalso have a bridge to sell you in London (wink wink).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reddit subreddits are usually filled with thousands of\nlikeminded people who love their little subcommunities and are happy to share\ntheir thoughts, albeit rather brutally sometimes, so its a good place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \n

    If you live in a real-world community with your target\ndemographic, create an online poll or questionnaire using google forms to build\na little more market research. Get used to collecting data and using that data\nto make the best decisions\u2026 The success of your site depends on it, so get used\nto it from now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    \"target-demographic-Build-an-online-store-the-okello-group\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Just in case this hasn\u2019t sunk in, building an online store<\/a> without data or a direction clearer that your imagination (take that how you like) is like driving down the motorway (that\u2019s the Highway for you lovely Americans) while sitting in the boot (trunk). Put simply you are heading for an expensive crash, or at least will be paying out more on ads unnecessarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Selling products or services<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Whether you are dropshipping, selling your hand carved\nwooden items or a piece of software, you need to understand the needs your\nstore requires (or work with us to discover this).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Payment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s important that you can take payments from your\ncustomers in the right currency and payment methods, whether that is cash on\ndelivery, credit or debit or even cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fulfilment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    How will you deliver products to your customers, for\ndigital products this is relatively simple. We recommend that sizeable\ndownloads are hosted elsewhere, not directly on your site because if 10,000\npeople are all downloading a 1GB file, your server will not be very happy and\nneither will your customers, whos downloads will keep crashing, ad then when\nthey try to reconnect, they won\u2019t be able to load the site to start it again.\nThe last thing you want is your customer service lines\/chats and emails\nbombarded by 9,965 angry customers in one hour!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It will damage your credibility, cause refunds and probably pee off everyone in the front line of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Using a CDN or Content Delivery Network will mean the content will be available quickly all around the world and adds an extra layer of protection for your digital goods and they are often super secure and high download rates won’t affect your site stability. These services are offered by a number of cloud providers including Amazon’s AWS service, Microsoft’s Azure and few others. Note; there is a cost to these services, usually pay as you use but it can be chunky so be warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If its a posted item, also factor in;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. shipping\npackaging<\/li>
    2. postage\ncosts<\/li>
    3. tracking<\/li>
    4. collection\nor drop off to your postage provider<\/li>
    5. if\nfood, consider its lifespan in transit.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      SEO<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      e-commerce sites are typically larger than regular site\ndue to functionality, as such, they may take longer to load. This is where the\nchoice of platform you use becomes critical. You need to also have the option\nto perform standard SEO tasks and create content easily that is easily read by\nsearch engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Important store features<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      There are some features that are a must if you are\nrunning an online store or drop shipping store, they are;<\/p>\n\n\n\n