Now is the best time to start an online store.
From 2021 to 2024, there was a 49% increase in order volume growth in ecommerce, according to Shopify’s Ecommerce Growth Guide. There’s also been growth in first-time orders, return shoppers, and mobile orders. Online shopping is trending upward across the board, which means there’s tremendous potential for new entrants—if you get it right from the start.
These ecommerce tips will help set you and your online business up for success.
18 tips for opening a successful online store
- Find a gap in the market
- Validate your products
- Use a free ecommerce website builder
- Know who your ideal customer is
- Invest in great website design
- Optimize your product pages
- Create a solid marketing plan
- Take amazing product photos
- Create an About Us page
- Set up your email marketing
- Market your business on social media
- Invest in search engine optimization (SEO)
- Make a return policy
- Set up a blog
- Set up business tools
- Offer excellent customer support
- Partner with other brands
- Offer free shipping
To help improve your chances of success, here are 18 essential tips for opening an online store:
1. Find a gap in the market
The first step to starting any business is finding and filling a need. When it comes to ecommerce business ideas, find a niche that isn’t being served or is underserved. Conduct market research, look at trends, and talk to potential customers.
Peter Maldonado, cofounder of the meat snack stick company Chomps, says in an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast that, “Focusing on a very niche community allowed us to make waves and to be known within that small community for a very small dollar amount.”
Casting a wider net would have required the company to raise much more funding. Instead, Peter and his cofounder focused on connecting with relevant influencers to build credibility.
You might be tempted to jump in without researching competitors or running a market evaluation. However, it’s wise to take the time to develop a good unique selling proposition and understand how you’ll provide value in a competitive market. See what competitors on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy are doing well—and not so well. Read reviews to identify trends in frustrations and what consumers are lacking. Take all of this information into account when defining an underserved niche for your business.
2. Validate your products
Prior to investing time and money into creating a product, it’s important to validate its demand.
Validating product ideas can reduce the risk of failure and increase the chances of success, allowing you to assess whether a product will meet a need or be in high demand before you invest significant time and money.
One way to validate product ideas is by getting feedback in the early stages of development. Customer feedback helps you assess customer needs and make changes to the product before it goes to market. Customers can also provide feedback on pricing, packaging, and marketing ideas, which are invaluable to the success of your online store.
Erika Geraertz is founder of the refillable cosmetics company Fluff. “We’re constantly interviewing our customers and I’m actually on video calls with them, asking them what they like about Fluff, and what they like about other brands, or what brands they are watching or following closely, just to gauge what Fluff’s true customer is interested in and their expectations of a brand from content,” Erika says in an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “Often as a founder, you have an idea in your head and it’s really good to either validate that or challenge that assumption by turning to your customers.”
3. Use a free ecommerce website builder
An ecommerce website builder is a cost-effective way to open an online store because you can create a professional-looking website without having to hire a web designer or spend much money upfront.
Even if you lack technical experience, you can typically create a website in just a few hours with a good ecommerce platform like Shopify.
Shopify provides everything you need to launch and operate your online store, including:
- Hosting. Web hosting is the service that enables you to make your ecommerce website accessible on the internet.
- Security. Shopify’s security measures are certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, Service Organization Control (SOC) audited, and transparent.
- Checkout pages. Shopify Checkout is completely customizable, offers secure payment gateways, and results in 15% higher conversions than the competition on average.
- Customer support. The Shopify App Store offers hundreds of plug-ins to help streamline and automate customer service functions.
With an ecommerce website builder, you can scale your small business as big as you want. There are no limits on the number of products you can sell or the amount of traffic your website can receive. You can also accept various payment methods like credit cards, Shop Pay, and PayPal without any complicated setup.
Action: Use Shopify’s fully customizable website builder to create a stunning website in minutes. You don’t need coding skills and can easily get web hosting and a domain name after you’re done designing.
4. Know who your ideal customer is
To be successful, you need to know your ideal customer. Who are they? What do they like? What do they need? Once you know your target customer, you can create merchandise, content, and marketing strategies that appeal to them specifically.
For example, if your target customer is a busy entrepreneur, you might tailor your apparel to transition from day to night or place ads that meet them where they are, like LinkedIn.
Read more: What Is a Target Market and How Do You Find Yours?
5. Invest in great website design
Website design is critical for the success of your ecommerce business for three reasons:
- Your website is the first thing a customer sees. If it’s not well designed, customers will turn away and won’t bother to come back.
- Websites have a major impact on conversion rates. It’s not just about looking pretty.Good, functional web design helps customers find what they need effortlessly, which increases sales.
- A good website helps you stand out from the competition. A well-crafted homepage and product pages can build trust with online shoppers and convince them to buy.
Good web design should translate on both desktop and mobile devices. Because most orders are placed on mobile devices (with purchase volume up 44% since 2021), a mobile responsive theme is important to keeping shoppers engaged.
The Shopify Themes Store hosts more than 100 paid and free themes, each with its own styles and features.
You can choose from themes created by world-renowned designers, including Happy Cog, Clearleft, and Pixel Union. Every high-quality theme is customizable, user-friendly, and allows you to preview your storefront as you change it.
6. Optimize your product pages
Earn more ecommerce sales by investing in your product pages. A product page shows shoppers what a product looks like, shares useful information about it, and convinces them to buy. Clean design, captivating product descriptions, and customer testimonials are all essentials to include in your product pages.
Page load speed is also critical for converting customers. Shopify stores render 1.8 times faster on average—and up to 2.4 times faster—than stores on other platforms, giving shoppers a smooth experience that encourages them to click Buy.
Get inspired: 19 Best Product Page Design Examples
7. Create a solid marketing plan
Behind every successful online store is a marketing plan. Planning helps you maximize your marketing spend and track your tactics, goals, and costs. Without one, you’re just throwing spaghetti at a wall hoping for something to stick.
“I would say for all founders, especially if you’re digital, that everybody should learn the basics of digital marketing,” says Shizu Okusa, founder of Apothékary.
“This means at least Meta and Google paid search and paid social and understanding how to create campaigns, how to think about audience segmentations, how to think about ad set campaigns versus set campaign budget optimizations, and really being very thoughtful about how to keep any media buyer also engaged.”
Use these guides to learn how to:
- Set marketing objectives
- Choose the right digital marketing channels
- Create an effective brand marketing strategy
8. Take amazing product photos
Take high-resolution product photos when opening your online store. It will help people perceive your products as high-quality and can increase sales.
“[Product photography] is one type of photography that you need, but you also need photography on people so people can really relate and see, ‘it’s going to look like this on me.’ I’m trying as well to have different types of skin colors and bodies to show the jewelry on different types of people,” says Camille Ouellette, owner of Camillette.
You can take the perfect product photos on a smartphone or use an entry-level professional camera like a Nikon D3500. If you’re taking photos at home, the best thing you can do is shoot them in a well-lit area. Your product photos should be in focus, highlight key product features, and show the product from a variety of angles.
Learn: The Complete Guide to Ecommerce Photography
9. Create an About Us page
Your potential customers want to know who you are, what you stand for, and your story. So make sure to create an About Us page that tells visitors all about your brand.
“We put a really big focus on storytelling, sharing the good, the bad, the ugly, trying to be our authentic selves online and then also education,” says Karen Danudjaja, founder of the beverage company Blume.
Karen focuses on being transparent with customers and authentic about the ups and downs of running a business to build trust and community.
Be sure to include a professional headshot, company history, mission statement, and any other information customers may find illuminating. Your About Us page should be designed to match the overall style of your website. Use the same fonts, colors, and imagery to make it feel like a cohesive part of your site.
Get inspired: 18 Great About Us Page Examples That Drive Results
10. Set up your email marketing
Although channels like search can take a while to generate organic traffic, email marketing can start converting leads right away. From day one, invest in building an email list to promote your store.
There’s no need to spend all your time writing and sending emails, however. Make it easy on yourself by setting up a collection of automated email marketing campaigns designed to increase your revenue.
There are many options available, such as:
- Emailing new subscribers and offering them an incentive to shop
- Emailing new customers a post-sale email to upsell and delight
- Emailing visitors who abandoned their cart and reminding them to finish their purchase
11. Market your business on social media
When you’re ready to start promoting your online store, create social media accounts on the platforms your target audience uses most. As of October 2024, there were 5.22 billion social media users around the world (about 64% of the global population).
Post engaging content that will get people interested in your products. Use high-quality images, helpful tips, and eye-catching calls to action to get the most engagement.
Some top social media sites for ecommerce brands:
- Facebook.The world’s largest social media site is also a great place to connect with potential customers.
- Instagram.A visually focused platform where you can share images and short videos of your products in action.
- X. A fast-paced social media site where you can share news, product updates, and promotional content.
- Pinterest. A popular platform for product discovery, where people can save images.
- TikTok.The newest social media platform that’s gaining popularity quickly. It’s perfect for sharing short videos of your products and behind-the-scenes content.
Learn more: How to Market Your Business on Social Media: 15 Easy Ways
12. Invest in search engine optimization (SEO)
Although it takes a while to get going, search engines offer one of the few opportunities to build predictable, compounding web traffic.
An effective search strategy involves several steps, including forming a keyword strategy, conducting more granular keyword research, optimizing your site architecture and performance (e.g., category pages), and building links back to your website.
“There are so many [SEO] apps, tools, and resources. You don’t need to be an expert, especially now with the advent of so many AI tools,” says Jeremiah Curvers, cofounder and CEO of Polysleep. “It’s very easy to build a keyword list based on competitiveness. Look at what your competitors are doing, ensure that your onsite SEO is on point.”
It’s an uphill battle, but it’s one you can fight in the background as your store starts to gain traction.
Learn more: The Industry Leading Ecommerce SEO Guide
13. Make a return policy
A return policy helps to build trust with potential customers and can increase sales. Be sure to include clear instructions on how to return an item, what types of items can be returned, and how long customers have to return an item. Include your contact information in case customers have any questions.
Learn more: How To Write a Return Policy (+ Free Template)
14. Set up a blog
Blogging is a great way to promote your ecommerce site. With the right approach, blogging can effectively drive traffic and promote the lifestyle around your products.
“One of the things that we continue to practice quite a bit, even though we know they’re not read as much as they should be, is blogs. We do a new blog pretty often, again, because we know we’re getting all that SEO content out there,” says Colleen Echohawk, CEO of Eighth Generation, a lifestyle brand. “And so when British Vogue looked up native design or artists, we came up and they sent us an email and we were able to send them all of these products. Of course, you know, you hope you get in the magazine, right? So instead of just being in the magazine, we were on the cover!”
Use your own blog to drive traffic and promote your products. When done effectively, blogging drives search engine traffic, attracts customers, and captures the attention of the media and high-profile bloggers who could write about you.
Get inspired: 15 Blog Examples To Help Kickstart Your Own Successful Blog
15. Set up business tools
The Shopify App Store is full of sales and marketing tools that can help you manage and grow a profitable online store. Explore apps designed to help:
- Sync your store to online marketplaces
- Source products
- Track orders
- Promote and upsell your products
- Automate customer support
- Customize web design themes
You can take advantage of hundreds of free Shopify apps, or pay for premium plug-ins to get even more features and expand your store’s functionality.
16. Offer excellent customer support
Offering excellent customer service is one of the best ways to differentiate your business from the competition. You can offer customer support through live chat, email, phone, or social media.
“Your customer is your biggest advocate. Having a happy customer that comes back to buy again is the most important for me,” says Eran Elfassy, founder of Mackage, an outerwear brand. “As soon as we lose a customer, I feel sad. If we lost customers, I want to know why. What’s the reason we lost them and how can we gain them back? So we literally ask them, ’what is it that we could do better?’”
Be sure to respond to customer inquiries quickly and efficiently. You can also offer excellent customer service by providing helpful resources on your website, like product guides, size charts, and FAQ pages.
Read more: Ecommerce Customer Service: 6 Tips for Online Support
17. Partner with other brands
Partnering with other brands and influencers is a great way to promote your online store. You can partner with complementary brands to cross-promote each other’s products.
For example, you could partner with a baby food company or mom influencer if you sell baby clothes. Or, if you sell home décor, you could collaborate with a furniture company.
18. Offer free shipping
Offering free shipping is a proven way to increase sales and meet customer demands. Island Creek Oysters is one example of a brand that baked shipping costs into the price of its products. Once the store owners did, they saw cart abandonment rates drop to a tiny fraction of what they were when customers had to pay for shipping separately.
Free shipping creates loyalty among customers who appreciate not having to pay for shipping costs. If you can offer free shipping without losing money, it could be a great marketing strategy for your ecommerce store.
Read: How To Offer Free Shipping for Ecommerce
Start your online business today
Now that you know how to start your own online store, it’s time to get to it! Use this ecommerce checklist to make sure you’ve covered all your bases, then get out there and start selling.
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Opening an online store tips FAQ
Is it profitable to start an online store?
It can be, but there are no guarantees. It depends on many factors, including the type of product you sell, the size and reach of your target market, your business model, and your marketing strategy.
How much money do I need to open an online store?
There is no set amount, as it varies depending on the products you sell and your business model. A good rule is to have enough money saved up to cover the cost of inventory, shipping, and six months’ worth of operating expenses.
What are the benefits of opening an online store?
There are many benefits, including the ability to reach a global market, the potential for increased profits, and the convenience of 24/7 operation. You can also encounter some risks, like the potential for low sales, the need for a significant investment of time and money, and the possibility of scams and cyberattacks.
What types of products should I sell online?
The best types of products to sell online are popular and in demand, like beauty products or clothing. You should also consider the shipping costs and ease of shipping when choosing products to sell.
What payment methods should I offer?
Some payment methods to offer in your online store include:
- Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express)
- Shop Pay (When available, users choose Shop Pay checkout 68% of the time.)
- Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Buy now, pay later options (Shop Pay Installments, Klarna, Affirm)
How do I create my own online store with no money?
To make a new online store without spending money, start with Shopify’s free trial to set up your online storefront. Use dropshipping suppliers so you don’t need to buy products before selling them. Grow your store with free social media posts, then use your first sales to pay for Shopify when the trial ends.
