Lucy Miller
March 9, 2025
Reading time: 7 Minute
Do you have a great idea for an online shop, but not sure how to become a reality? Would you like to sell your handicrafts online, but not sure where to start?
Don't worry – we are here to help.
Regardless of whether you want to sell homemade greetings, large work of art, homemade jewelry or something completely different, it has never been easier to start your own online shop. You never know – invest your time well and make your goals clear and it could be a lucrative side business.
Timing is also correct to start your new company. Since the social distance is probably nearby for a while, this could be a great opportunity to take advantage of their additional time to invest in this e-commerce idea that has been getting away for months (or years). Here you can find out how to start.
Select your products
If you already have an idea for an online shop, this probably means that you know (or at least have a rough overview) what you will sell on it. Of course, this could be all – it depends entirely on your interests. Vintage fashion, handicrafts, florist services, used books … The list is literally endless.
If you have an idea, it is time to check how to sell your product. Here are some questions that you might want to ask yourself …
- Does my product solve a problem – and if not, can I make minor changes so that it is?
- What do other online shops do – especially those who sell me a similar product?
- Is my product wide enough to attract many people, or should I be very specific to try to use a niche?
What you have to be most clear about is exactly what your business uses. If you make it clear about the value of your product, this means that the messages on your website and your general passion shine through much more likely. And if this is the case, you have a much greater probability that potential customers will beat this “Now button” button.
Secure a niche
A semester that you probably hear a lot when building your online shop is a “unique selling point”, also known as the USP. This is the only thing that gets your offer out of the crowd and enables him to use a unique need or a market that other online shop owners may overlook.
It may seem strange at first, but it is much more likely that you will find sales than if you sell a familiar product in an overcrowded market. If you can shorten the competition, people will finally find their way to them and continue to buy.
To determine what your USP is, try to summarize your product in a catchy sentence. Make sure it summarizes exactly what it is and why it is unique. Imagine this as your elevator elevator for new customers and use it when people ask you to describe what you do. And make it as easy to understand as possible! Nobody likes to be confused, but if you have a convincing topline for your online shop, understand and visit it much more frequently and -crucial -.
Decision on branding for your online shop
Your branding must be reflected in every aspect of the news on your website. This means that your design, your logo and your copy (also known as the words on your website) must be noticeable and clear enough so that the user understands what your offer is immediately. You must ensure that these important aspects of your online shop complement each other and convey your key message.
Of course, this may not be the easiest thing – especially if you concentrate exclusively on the product and are not used to creating sales copies or designing a convincing user trip. If you have no background in a user-oriented design, SEO and/or content marketing, you may have to receive additional help here. More on that below …
Find customers by marketing their online shop
An important one! You may have the best website in the world and a useful, beautiful and/or convincing product, but if nobody finds your website, you will not make a sale.
There are many ways of marketing your online shop and increasing your likelihood to bring customers over the (virtual) door. You have to pay attention to all following:
Social media
Create pages on Facebook, Instagram and Tikkok, where you can create a supporter by publishing pictures and videos of your product and ensuring that you interact with similar brands. Social media can be one of the best options with which you can get in touch with the customers and enables you to easily contact you. Make sure you react quickly and clearly so that you know that you are a trustworthy website!
SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the web strategy that determines how high you place in search engines like Google. SEO is a constantly developed medium, which means that it can be difficult to stop constantly changing nuances. One of the basics is that the keywords that potential customers are looking for are contained on their website.
With the help of a professional SEO agency, you can improve your business profile in an online search engine so that you can find it much easier by customers. The higher the list you are on pages like Google, the more likely a potential consumer will click on your website. It is important that you pay attention to this when building your online shop.
PR
PR may be something you can think about, but if you have the time to look at it, it can be an incredibly useful tool. Have you successfully built your shop and would like to advise others to do the same? Do you have a niche about which other people might be interested? Would you like to talk about the introduction of your online shop during social distancing and how the context helped your company? Make sure that your profile is uploaded to places where journalists may look for comments for your pieces (how Cision) And make sure that you are always available for comments in news and features. When people see the name of their company in the press and link journalists with their website in their stories, they are on a winner.
Deplied shipping costs
With a clear idea of which products or products you sell, you should be able to work out the rough weight of the package or the packages that you have to complete when it comes to sales. As soon as you know this, you can list domestic and international shipping prices or your website.
If it will cost a large amount of money to send to the USA (for example) to the USA, you could decide that it is not worth it and that you will only sell in the UK. It's totally fine – after all, it's your business!
Selection of a hosting website
Would you like to create your own website and give yourself complete creative control? In this case, a hosting site such as WordPress or Squarespace or Shopify could be a good idea. These giants of the industry have e-commerce plug-ins through which you have total control. You also have topics that you can choose that are specifically geared towards online shops, which makes the building and maintenance of your website quite straightforward.
Of course, all of this may seem like a problem – especially if you are not used to working with websites or designing things yourself. If this is the case, take a look at websites as before Etsy This can organize your shop for you. The craft platform has millions of users. Hosting your shop here increases the likelihood that you can find you on a website you are already using.
Decision on your payment platform
While you are planning to sell articles to the public via your online shop, you have to make sure that the user experience (also known as UX) is as seamless as possible. This is part of the web design, and one aspect of your online shop, which has to pay attention to this, is the phase in which people pay.
Fortunately, there are various plug-ins and platforms with which you can create a seamless payment experience. The options include Strip And PayPalThe systems that are designed for simpler e-commerce payments. If you plan to use a website for your online shop, you should check whether these platforms work for you.
Of course, you don't have to use a website that you have created yourself. If you believe that creating a website for hosting your online shop is too much work or that you don't have time to wait, try an e-commerce option like how and how Shopify instead. Shopify is a subscription service with which you can use the sales platform so that you do not have to pay for web hosting yourself. Over a million companies worldwide use it so that they can be assured that it works trustworthily and (just as important).
Get additional help
Remember you don't have to do everything yourself. In any case, you should think about designers, copywriters, SEO specialists and web developers you can do to help you, especially at the beginning. Think of people you know in your wider network, but also on websites like looking Fiverr For creative people looking for projects. If you have experts on board, make your life easier and do your online shop to succeed, even if there is an initial investment in the work required. We promise that it is the easiest way to have your hard work paid out!
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