It’s 2019 and you surely don’t need another expert telling you that having an online shop is good for your business. You already know that.
Today I will try and tell you just HOW important it really is.
Online shopping is exponentially growing by the year and now encompasses 21.8% of the world’s population. This number is expected to reach the 30 percentile by 2021. Just last year eCommerce websites amassed 11.9% of all retail sales worldwide and the potential for more seems endless.
Types of eCommerce Sites
Before we dive into the categories your online shop can fall in, let’s first take a look at what can you sell
– Physical goods — be it jewelry, consumer goods, or the latest fashion trends, you can sell practically everything on the Web.
– Digital goods — we live in a highly digital world and many businesses prefer to focus on products like software, e-books, video etc.
– Services — digital marketing agencies, insurance companies, and hosting providers all find eCommerce very profitable.
The easiest way to categorize eCommerce websites is to divide them by the nature of their trade. Here is the easiest way to remember them:
– B2B (Business-to-Business) deals with transactions between businesses.
– B2C (Business-to-Consumer) connects companies with consumers.
– C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) trade between consumers with the help of a third-party platform.
– C2B (Consumer-to-Business) include the products and services consumers offer to businesses.
– B2A (Business-to-Administration) signify the trade relations between companies and public administration.
– C2A (Consumer-to-Administration) similarly depicts a business model where consumers connect with public agencies.
Choosing your business model and determining your goals early will significantly help you with the next step.
What is the right eCommerce platform?
There isn’t a single online shop builder that you can call “best”. That’s completely understandable as different businesses have different needs and requirements so what is best for one, might not really cut it for another. Still, there are some top choices that head most popularity rankings.
WooCommerce is a free plugin of the most popular CMS in the world, WordPress. People who have enjoyed working with WordPress at least once, know just how intuitive and easy-to-navigate it is. WooCommerce is no exception – you can add the plugin and launch your shop in a matter of minutes.
You can check our WordPress-optimized hosting here.
OpenCart is an eCommerce platform designed specifically for online shop building. OpenCart is a very flexible application and even if you are a newbie at this – the learning curve is quite low.
WebHostFace also offers OpenCart-optimized packages.
Magento is a solution that mostly caters for bigger businesses and larger enterprises. While startups and SMEs can also take advantage of Magento’s extensive features, a little technical background might be needed until you get used to it.
Check out our Magento Hosting deals.
Regardless of which platform you find best, the next step for your future online shop is the most crucial.
How to build an eCommerce website?
Business owners who decide to try their luck in online sales have two very reasonable concerns in mind:
1. I have no experience in building a website and might find it hard and confusing.
2. My business is just starting to grow and I don’t have a lot of money to invest.
Luckily, a solid hosting provider can solve both those issues. But what makes a web host solid? What should you look for?
For starters, any host out there can slap a default Apache configuration on a web server and start filling it with clients. A good hosting provider understands that eCommerce websites have particular needs in terms of software and resource allocation. So their servers are specifically configured to meet those needs and to ensure all online shops operate at optimal speed.
24/7 support might be a standard in the hosting industry nowadays, but quick and knowledgeable support is an entirely different thing. You need to look for a Support Team that is trained and skilled in the chosen application and there is no better way to confirm their know-how than testing them for yourself.
Speaking of which, our 24/7 busy bees from the Support Team are always waiting to impress you, so you can go ahead and test them in our Live Chat.
And the best thing of all…
Opening an online shop shouldn’t necessarily cost a fortune.
We understand that starting a new venture is scary enough without the added investments. So all new eCommerce packages with Webhostface are now 80% off, with rates as low as $1.38/mo.
Yes, you heard that right! Less than a $1 a month guarantees your eCommerce websites the environment and support they need to evolve.
Go ahead and try — your business fully deserves it!
bryant machowski
27 Jan 2021good article especially for those wanting to make money.