What to Check Before Launching Your eCommerce Business

You are probably excited to get your eCommerce business up and running! However, before you dive in, you need to check to make sure that you take care of a few things first. The following are some of the most important points.

(Please note that although this article primarily discusses selling products online, the same concepts apply to selling services online.)

Good product photos

If you display poor-quality images of your products on your eCommerce site, chances are very good that very few people will find them appealing, and most people won't consider buying them. So invest some time in taking some professional photos. If you’ve got skills with a camera, have a  photo shoot of your products. Make a fun day of it. If you are not comfortable with the camera, ask a friend with a good eye or hire a professional. Presentation is everything, and your product images are going to be your perspective customers’ first impression of your products. So, make sure that you show them in the best light possible. Helpful hint: Clean and simple is always better. You can get creative, but make sure that the setting does not distract from what you’re actually selling.

Good product descriptions

After a customer sees the wonderful-quality photos and you have gotten their attention, they are going to want to find out more. That’s where the product description comes in, and it is just as critical that this part is as close to perfect as possible as well. A product description shouldn’t just reiterate what a product is literally. People can usually figure that out from the photo. A product description is an opportunity for you to tell the product’s story: how it came to be, the thought process behind it. This will give the product more depth of character per se. Especially when it comes to art, having a little backstory goes a long way in getting a customer to invest in a product. The product description is also a place where you can share some different applications for your product that the customer may not have thought of immediately. You want to inspire your customer to use your products in fun ways. The more you expand the possibilities and the more you expand his or her mind, the better your chances are of making a conversion.

Get your keywords

Speaking of product descriptions, you should try as much as possible to fit in keywords that have to do with your product. This will enable search engines to find you better when someone searches for a product you carry. For instance, if you sale luxury shoes, you want to attempt to squeeze in the keyword “luxury shoes” where it would fit appropriately. Make sure to check what keywords people type in most for a certain kind of product, and do your reattach before deciding on your keywords. SEO can be a lengthy process but its rewards are worth it.

Check your inventory

Now that all of your products are looking very appealing and can easily be found by search engines, it’s time to make sure you have enough products in stock. If you are a beginner, you may be guessing, but you want to make sure that you are not over-stocking a product that has fewer chances of selling and not under-stocking a product that would sell out like crazy! It’s a balancing act that you need to master in time.

Payment options

So you’ve got everything else sorted, now you have to figure out how you want to get paid! A lot of eCommerce shops use PayPal. It’s safe, secure and universal. Head over to www.paypal.com to set up an account and integrate it with your store. There are also other fine payment options out there that offer competitive rates and great customer service, so do your research on what will fit you the best.

Conclusion

As a business owner, you have offerings in the form of products and/or services. It is critical that you have a way of selling those products and/or services in the smoothest way possible for you and for your customers. The easier you make it, the greater your potential for selling more of your offerings and if you can be successful initially, you will be able to expand and improve upon what you offer so that you can enjoy even greater success in your business.

Good luck and feel free to point out some of your checklist items in the comments below.

We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a free assessment of your online presence, let's have coffee.