Starting An Online Business - The Basic Steps
Online businesses are not really different from any other type of start-ups; the same rules apply. What makes an "offline" business successful is the same for an "On-Line" business. To get you started, here are some of the essential steps you'll need to take.
Hosting
You will need to find a Hosting Company to upload your site to. This usually involves a low monthly fee. There are free hosting sites, but they usually make their money by advertising, which can detract from the message you are trying to get across. Having a banner across the top of your web page, advertising something not related to your product, can be off-putting for your customers. You can research the best deal for you by typing "Hosting Companies" into your web browser.
Find a Good Name
A good name will be short, memorable and easy to spell, so that it can be easily typed into the browser with the minimum of mistakes. Your domain name should reflect what your business does, so that customers can click onto your site.
What is your Business Model?
The first thing you need to do is to decide what you are going to sell, and who you are going to sell to. This is often the hardest thing to decide, unless you already have a great idea, or an existing business. The saying is "get rich in your niche", which means the more you can specialize in one area, the better chance you have of being successful.
Here are some options to think about:
Take your existing "brick-and-mortar" business online
- Be a re-seller.
- Sell products
- Sell services
- Sell information
- Sell advertising
Think of a good offline store: it's attractive, has the right image, and is easy for customers to find what they are looking for. Your online store should have the same qualities. It should be easy to navigate, and should reflect the image you're trying to project. Good offline stores also offer easy check-out, accept credit cards, and have a good return policy. You should do the same.
When you start looking for ways to build your On-Line store, you'll find a variety of options available to you. Make sure you understand what they mean and you won't make costly mistakes, or waste lots of time doing the wrong things.
e-Commerce "Solutions"
If you don't already have a Web site, consider using a ready made e-commerce site, or store. Most will allow you to choose a design template and will then create product and category pages that already include a shopping cart. The software generally includes a database so that adding products and updating product information requires no knowledge of HTML. Again, you can either license the software outright, or rent it by the month from an ASP.
Shopping Carts
A shopping cart enables your Web site to take orders. These are companies like Paypal, One Shopping Cart and Clickbank. You often have to copy and paste to your Web site 'HTML code', which is provided by the shopping cart you are using once you give the information on what you want to sell. The code will create buttons and boxes that will allow your customers to select colors, sizes and quantities, place an order, and check-out.
Shopping cart software can either be licensed for a one-off fee, or rented by the month from an ASP (application service provider). When it is licensed, you will either receive a CD-ROM containing the software, or be able to download the software from the Internet. It is then up to you to provide a Web host, and maintain your product details. Updates to your products will be made on your own computer, and uploaded to your Web server. When shopping cart software is rented by the month, it is installed, hosted, and maintained by the ASP on their server. You will pay a monthly fee to use the software. To update product information, you simply log-on to their service and save your changes.
Getting Started
Whether you decide on creating your own site, or using a ready made 'turnkey' site, the most important thing is that you get started. Getting started is often the hardest part of any project. Procrastination is the easiest way to ruin your business, and everything is easier once you take that first step.
Good luck in your new venture! Social Bookmarking
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