Building an online store is an exciting challenge for many businesses looking to break into the ever-growing e-commerce sector. In this article, we'll cover the basics of building an online store — from opening it, to picking the right platform and sales channels. We'll walk through how to choose which products to sell, look at the tools available to you, review the legal requirements, and cover which delivery and payment methods to choose.
Building an online store: fast and simple
Building an online store doesn't have to be complicated. To get started, define your niche — the products or services you want to sell and the audience you want to reach. Next, pick an appealing, fitting domain name for your store, meet the legal requirements, and register your online store. Finally, choose the right platform and build a user-friendly store.
ESTO Pay Later
Meet our ESTO "buy now, pay later" payment option.
Choosing a platform and sales channels for your online store
There are plenty of popular platforms in the e-commerce world, each offering businesses a wide range of features and capabilities. In this article, we'll look at some of the most popular e-commerce platforms, their strengths and weaknesses, to help you pick the right solution for your online store.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the leading e-commerce platforms, appealing and full-featured for building online stores.
Strengths:
- User-friendly and simple
- Easy to use
- Simple to customise, with a wide range of templates and themes
- Excellent customer support
Weaknesses:
- Extra fees if you use a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments
- Some customisations require knowledge of Liquid
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that turns your website into an e-commerce platform.
Strengths:
- Fully customisable and integrates well with WordPress
- Blends seamlessly into your e-commerce store
- Free (though you'll need a domain and hosting)
Weaknesses:
- Requires more technical knowledge than some other platforms
- Can be slower than other solutions for larger stores
Magento
Magento is a powerful, flexible e-commerce platform used by many large businesses.
Strengths:
- Fully customisable and extendable
- Flexible and easy to use. Packed with features and integrates with many third-party apps
- Lets you manage multiple stores from a single admin panel
Weaknesses:
- Requires more technical knowledge than other platforms
- Higher development and maintenance costs
- May not suit small businesses
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is an open-source e-commerce solution that offers flexibility and customisation.
Strengths:
- Fully customisable and extendable
- Over 3 000 add-on modules and themes
- Flexible and fully integrates into your online store
Weaknesses:
- Requires technical knowledge to customise
These are just a few of the extra tools that will help you get started with your e-commerce site. They're useful whether you're just starting your online store journey or you're an experienced store owner.
What to sell and which tools to use
To set your online store up for success, think carefully about what to sell and which tools to use to manage your product line. Start with competitor analysis and market trend research to spot opportunities. Source your products through wholesalers, manufacturers, or fulfilment providers. Use powerful tools like TradeGecko, Cin7, or Orderhive to keep an eye on stock levels and manage your inventory efficiently.
Legal formalities when building an online store
Before you start building your e-commerce store, you need to be aware of the legal formalities you'll need to follow. Make sure your online store is registered as a legal entity. Depending on your location and products, you may need specific permits or licences to operate. Follow privacy principles and personal data protection rules by putting a privacy policy in place.
Meet our ESTO "buy now, pay later" payment solution.
Choosing delivery and payment methods, and finding your first customers
Your e-commerce journey isn't complete until you've set up delivery and payment options and landed your first customers. Reliable delivery partners are ones that offer a wide range of delivery options to meet different customer preferences.
Next, it's worth reviewing your store's checkout options — how customers can pay for purchases in your online store. The wider the range of payment methods you offer, the more customers will trust your store, since they get flexibility in their choice and can decide for themselves.
First, we'd recommend enabling bank transfers, card payments, and e-wallet payments on your site. If you want to stand out, you could also consider crypto payments. Pay Later options are also becoming more and more popular. Estonian company ESTO offers a wide range of these payment methods, helping customers buy and partners sell. You can find out more about ESTO here – https://esto.eu/lv. ESTO's partner support team is happy to help new online store owners with payment integration.
Continuous growth and success in e-commerce
Finally, when starting an e-commerce business, it's important to be ready to keep learning and growing. The e-commerce world never stops changing, and customer expectations keep rising. Pay attention to customer feedback and continuously analyse your sales data to better understand what's working and what isn't. Look for ways to optimise your online store and give your customers a unique shopping experience that sets you apart from competitors. To achieve lasting success in e-commerce, it's essential to keep updating and adapting your strategy to changing needs and trends.
Managing customer relationships and building loyalty
A successful e-commerce business is about more than just selling products — it also needs strong customer relationship management and loyalty programmes. Use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software to track customer interactions and understand their preferences. Build a memorable, personalised shopping experience that boosts customer loyalty and supports long-term relationships. It's also worth considering loyalty programmes to reward loyal customers and encourage repeat purchases.
Key business considerations when building an online store
Building an online store comes with several important business considerations to keep in mind. First, choose the right platform and sales channels to support your goals and deliver a seamless user experience. Second, focus on product selection and inventory management to meet customer demand and optimise profitability. Third, you need to follow all legal requirements to keep your online store compliant. Fourth, businesses should invest in customer relationship management and loyalty programmes to build a growing base of loyal customers.
Building and running an online store can be a profitable project, letting you tap into a dynamically growing e-commerce market. To succeed, it's important to choose the solution that fits you best — one you feel comfortable managing every day. That said, it's worth noting that only continuous growth, learning, and adapting your strategy to changing market conditions will turn your investment in an online store into long-term profit.