Let’s say you want to buy a new phone case today. What will be your next step once you've decided you’re going to buy one? Most likely you'll search for it online, compare prices from different stores, and finally choose a store to buy from. Clearly, having an online presence is no longer an added advantage; it’s essential.

Thankfully, we're living in 2024 and have platforms like Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, and more to our rescue. While all these platforms offer robust features to kickstart your online store, Shopify stands out for several reasons. Its efficient and user-friendly interface makes setting up and managing your store a breeze. To truly maximize your e-commerce store's potential, partnering with an expert Shopify developer is crucial. 

In this guide we're going to talk about what an e-commerce website is and how you can use it to maximize your product sales.

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Why Build an E-commerce Website?

That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Why should you build an e-commerce website? Let’s take a look at it the classic way -  WHAT, WHY, and HOW.

What is it? An e-commerce website is your virtual store that allows you to sell products and services directly to customers online.

Why is it important? With the rise in online shopping, an e-commerce site offers several advantages-

• Global Reach: Your store is accessible 24/7 to customers worldwide.
• Market Size: The global e-commerce market is booming, with millions of potential customers just a click away. This allows you to international markets, significantly increasing your potential revenue streams and market presence.
• Cost Efficiency: Lower operational costs compared to physical stores.
• Customer Insights: Track and analyze customer behavior to improve marketing strategies and user experience.
• Scalability: Easily expand your product range and business operations.

How do I start one of my own? Running a successful e-commerce website involves multiple actionable steps. Read on to find out -

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Choosing the Right Platform: Shopify

Firstly and foremost, choose the right platform. In this guide, as you might have already noticed we’ll be focusing on Shopify. Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform known for its ease of use, flexibility, and powerful features. Here’s why you should consider choosing it -

• User-Friendly Interface: Manage your store with ease, even without technical expertise.
• Customizable Templates: Choose from a wide range of templates to suit your business needs.
• Payment Gateways: Seamless transactions with multiple payment gateway integrations.
• SEO Features: Built-in tools to improve your website’s search engine visibility.
• App Integrations: Access a vast library of apps to enhance your store’s functionality.

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Maximizing Your Shopify Gains

Starting off with your Shopify store, you can utilize a variety of free tools to get things moving. These tools can help you customize your site, improve SEO, integrate third-party services, and troubleshoot issues. However, to truly optimize your store and achieve best results, hiring a Shopify expert developer will be essential. 

Here's how you can start:

• Customization and Development: Initially, you can use tools like the Shopify Theme Customizer for basic customization and Colorlib Templates for integrating free HTML templates into Shopify. However, a Shopify expert developer can tailor templates to perfectly align with your brand identity and develop unique features specifically for your business needs.
  
  
• SEO and Performance Optimization: Free tools like Yoast SEO and Google PageSpeed Insights can help you improve search engine rankings and ensure your site is fast and user-friendly. As your store grows, a Shopify expert can further optimize your SEO strategy and enhance site performance for better user experience and higher rankings.
  
  
• Integration with Third-Party Services: Start by using Zapier to connect Shopify with hundreds of other apps and automate workflows without coding, and Shopify Flow for automating tasks within your store. For more complex integrations, a Shopify expert can seamlessly connect your store with CRM systems, inventory management tools, and advanced marketing platforms.
  
  
• Troubleshooting and Support: Utilize resources like the Shopify Community Forums and the Help Center by Shopify for resolving common issues. Complicated technical issues can be quickly resolved by a Shopify expert - minimizing downtime and maintaining smooth operations.

By leveraging these free tools initially, you can build a solid foundation for your Shopify store. However, to truly maximize your gains and take your store to the next level, enlisting the help of a Shopify expert developer will be crucial. They bring valuable knowledge and experience to help you step up your game and achieve your business goals.

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Finding the Right Shopify Expert Developer

When hiring a Shopify developer, consider these factors -

• Review their past projects and industry experience. Ensure they are proficient in Shopify’s platform, including Liquid, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and SEO best practices.
• Effective and clear communication is vital for a successful project. You want them to understand your vision and work alongside you to help you achieve your objectives.
• Check feedback from previous clients to gauge reliability and quality of work.
• When it comes to Shopify store improvements, Incredible Visibility's developers are reliable and focused on user satisfaction. You can send us a hi to receive your own tailored solutions.

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Building Your E-commerce Website with Shopify

• Clearly outline your target audience, product range, and key objectives. This is crucial for all future actions, including your content plan.

• Choose a plan that fits your business size and budget.

• Work with your developer to choose and customize a theme that reflects your brand. One of the best free themes to start with is Dawn, which is highly flexible and can be tailored to fit your specific needs.

• Categorize your products, and provide detailed descriptions, high-quality images, and pricing information.

• Set up payment gateways and shipping rates for a smooth checkout process.

• Ensure your site’s structure, meta tags, and content are optimized for search engines.

• Thoroughly test all features, loading speed, and the checkout process before launching.

• Use digital marketing strategies like social media, email marketing, and PPC advertising to drive traffic and sales.

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Maintaining and Growing Your Ecommerce Store

Building your e-commerce website is just the beginning. Continuous maintenance and updates are crucial for consistent growth and staying competitive. Here’s how you can do that - 

• Keep your theme, plugins, and integrations updated for security and functionality.
• Track key metrics using tools like Google Analytics.
• Regularly optimize your site and update content to keep your audience engaged.
• Listen to your customers. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, famously opened his very own email for customer inquiries and support. Customer feedback can help you improve your products and also build a loyal customer base.

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Conclusion

If your goal for 2024 as an entrepreneur is to work smarter and drive business results, accelerating the use of e-commerce development in your business can help you unlock your fullest potential. You can also make use of learning from experienced content creators who can help you understand, start and scale your ecommerce business. Shopify has their own channel which puts out some useful content aimed at beginners. But what will ultimately give you a cutting edge is the way you pair all these resources and expertise with your vision. 

At Incredible Visibility, we specialize in e-commerce development, staff augmentation and webflow. With our years of experience and proven strategy development expertise, we can help you create an online experience that will give you a competitive edge in the B2C landscape.

Brief us today to learn more about how our services can take your brand to the next level.