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How to Build an E-Commerce Website in 2022

Writer's picture: Christopher PresleyChristopher Presley

Updated: May 7, 2024



Select E-commerce platform


What is E-commerce

The term electronic commerce (e-commerce) refers to a business model that allows companies and individuals to buy and sell goods and services over the Internet. Ecommerce operates in four major market segments and can be conducted over computers, tablets, smartphones, and other smart devices.


Ecommerce website builders are the fastest and easiest way to start selling online. These tools support inventory, payments, shipping, and everything else you need to run an e-commerce site on a single platform.

First Find an e-commerce website builder to launch any type of online business. Whatever you want to sell when you start your e-commerce business from physical products that ship, various services, digital goods like ebooks or music, or even online lessons — e-commerce website builders make it happen.



The 5 Best E-commerce Website Builders:

  1. Wix – Best website builder for most

  2. Web.com – Most powerful fulfillment & inventory features

  3. BigCommerce – Best for rapid scaling

  4. Squarespace – Best for showcasing and selling creative work

  5. Shopify – Best for anyone needing extra support


Buy a Domain Name


If you already have a domain name, it can be transferred to your online store builder. If you don’t have a domain name, make sure it follows these best practices below.


What is a Domain Name?

A domain name refers to your website address. This is what users type in a browser's search bar to directly access your website. A domain name is unique and cannot be shared between different sites. For example, templebranding.com.


Tips and Tricks

  • Aim to make your domain name 6-14 characters in length, making it easier for your customer to remember.

  • A brandable name is memorable, so make sure your domain name stands out.

  • A generic name has two problems: people will forget the name, or they’ll go to a similarly-named company that has a better search engine optimization (SEO) ranking.

  • Make sure that it’s also easy to pronounce, as you want customers to tell their friends about it.


Registrar Domain Name.

Find a domain name registrar is a company that allows you to purchase and register domain names. All domain name registrars are accredited by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a non-profit organization responsible for managing domain names.

Domain names make the internet easy to use for everyone. Without domain names, you’ll have to enter long strings of numbers called IP addresses to visit websites.


Find a Web Designer


A web designer can make the process of setting up an e-commerce site easier. They have specialized in a way to get you set up quickly, meaning you can start selling sooner. When considering a designer, ask them about their timeline, so you can plan your launch date. Ask to see other websites that they’ve built and get references from those businesses. Make sure the designer shares your vision and can create what you’re looking for within your budget.

The 5 Best Domain Registrars:


Bluehost — Best for creating your first website

Domain.com — Best for keeping domain costs low

Porkbun — Best deals on unique domain extensions

Network Solutions — Best for locking down domains for decades

GoDaddy — Best domain registrar for protecting your data

Namecheap — Best domain registrar for tight budgets

NameSilo — Most affordable domain deals with bulk purchasing


Pick Your Templates


Find a Theme that Reaches your e-commerce template vision.

Templates, or themes, are ready-built pages that you can customize to suit your brand and help your site look good without design or coding skills. Think about the following areas when selecting a template:


Tips and Tricks

  • Thorough navigation is essential to an excellent customer experience.

  • Reflect your brand with images, slideshows, and videos

  • Share your story with site visitors

  • Customize templates with fonts and color schemes that match your branding

Customers should be able to tell what type of business you are from at first glance, so make sure the template communicates that.




Add Products


Product pages are among the most critical pages on your site, as they show your customers what you have to sell. Take the time to ensure you display your new products in their best light by including optimized product descriptions, eye-catching images, and easy-to-navigate categories.


Product descriptions

Product descriptions are an essential part of your e-commerce site. They describe the usefulness, colors, textures, measurements, and/or value of the product to your customers and allow bots to index your page for SEO. Avoid cliches, long sentences, and complex phrasing when writing descriptions, and make sure the descriptions answer the following questions:


Answer Questions

  • Who is the product for?

  • What are the product’s basic details?

  • Where would someone use this product?

  • When should someone use the product?


Product images

Website visitors are engaged by visual information, so high-quality product images are essential. When producing photos, consider the following areas:



Tips and Tricks

  • Use high-quality images.

  • Make sure each image is the same size.

  • Add product variation image.


Payment Methods

The right payment method is essential for closing a sale. If the method is too complicated or not trusted, your customer could abandon their cart and not return it. Make sure it also meets your payment processing needs.


3 types of Payments Options:

  1. Redirects - takes customers to a separate site to process payment. (Paypal)

  2. Checkout On-Site, Payment Off-Site - select products and pay when delivered (Stripe)

  3. On-Site Payments Only - gives complete control and responsibility usually suitable for corporations.


Preview then Publish


A successful launch relies on everything on your site working as it should. If a link doesn’t work, payments don’t process, or the site doesn’t look good on mobile devices, it can send customers away and lead to time delays while you fix mistakes. Make sure you test everything before hitting the publish button.


Preview Website

  • Does checkout work?

Do a test run on an order. Can you add products to the cart?

  • Are the store’s functions working?

Click every button and link it to your site.

  • Does the store work on mobile?

Look at the store on a mobile device. Are the dimensions correct?

  • Test your store on different browsers.

Look at the store on as many different browsers as you can like Google Chrome,

  • Set up the store’s settings.

Store settings include things like language, time zone, your address, and contacts



Publish and Launch


Publish and launching your e-commerce website doesn’t equal instant sales. It takes time for search engines to find and index your new online store. You can speed this along by verifying your new store in Google’s Search Console and uploading an XML sitemap, which e-commerce platforms provide for this purpose. A good e-commerce site is more than just a place to sell products. It’s where a business can create an experience that strengthens its brand, draws in new customers, and converts casual shoppers into loyal ambassadors.



Conclusion


Build with the world’s most intuitive platform

Create better websites with mobile-responsive templates, seamless drag & drop, and unlimited customization.

Manage your brand from one place

Sell your products or services, start a blog and make smart decisions with clear analytics

Grow your online presence

Boost traffic and increase engagement with built-in SEO tools, Facebook ads, email marketing, and social posts.

Choosing the right e-commerce platform and having a marketing strategy to create a successful online store can give you a headstart in being an e-commerce success.



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