How to opening an online store ?

Opening an online store, like any other new venture, requires the right information and the right tools. So, here's your guide to start one. Online selling is by no means a simple task. To sell products online not only requires making use of high end marketing strategies but also involves lots of planning. 

The following are the various steps that you would need to take in order to open a successful online store 

>>Designing a website 
You can go about creating the website from code up using web designers or simply go for ready made website templates. If you are purchasing website templates, be sure to go for templates that are professionally designed and have the option of shopping carts. Buying templates from providers who offer allied services like template customization, web hosting; SEO etc would be even better. 

Another way You can choose between a local player, established player or a freelancer. Usually, the cost of designing a website varies, a local company may charge around Rs 1-1.5 lakh, an established player may cost Rs 3-5 lakh and freelancers may charge Rs 35,000 to 40,000.

While hiring a company, you should check their previous works/projects and then decide. Local companies are more economical than the big players in the industry. A big fish might have a good appetite but may surprise you in the end with the product, leaving you wondering why you compromised, so choose wisely.

>Acquiring web space, bandwidth and servers                                                 As one needs to upload product pictures, videos or specifications, having the right amount of web space will be a significant enabler in deciding the performance of the e-store and leaving the scope for further portfolio expansion. There should not be any space constraint. Ideally, one might need to have unlimited web space (150 Gb) that will cost you USD 4 to 5 a month (Rs 250/month). Depending on the requirement, one can double this space.

Getting an unlimited bandwidth for the website is also very important. This unlimited bandwidth will ensure maximum speed and website will not take too long to open. Websites having late response time have less visitors. This might prove a prospective sale loss.

>Picking the right server                                                                               Speed, availability, crash and responsiveness are the key elements of e-shop to make it a pleasant or odious experience for customers. No one will like to shop from an e-shop that is not responding or it is very slow or crashes while making payment. Think of a shop in real terms that remains close most of the time or does not has anyone to entertain a query. No one would like to visit that shop again despite the fact that the shop has good products.

A client, typical a web browser or web crawler, initiates communication by making a request for a specific resource using HTTP and the server responds with the content of that resource or an error message if unable to do so. The resource is typically a real file on the server's secondary memory but this is not necessarily the case and depends on how the web server is implemented, making it all the more critical.

Smart Start Tip: Indian servers are good but generally encounter more of downtime (the period for which the system fails to perform its primary function). South Asian servers perform constantly well and the speed is also good.

>Registering domain name                                                                          Getting a domain name involves registering the desired name of the e-store with ICANN through a domain name registrar. This involves going to a registrar, paying a registration fee that costs around USD 10 to USD 35 for that name. This needs to be annually renewed for (usually) the same amount per annum.

Smart Start Tip: Various websites like Godaddy.com, Dotster, etc offers almost all the domain names. Getting a dotcom name costs Rs 450-500 per year and extra Rs 300, if transfered from another registrar.

>>Deciding on shopping carts If you are selling more than a handful of products then having a shopping cart on your site is a good idea. You have three major options of getting yourself an online shopping cart. First one is buying a shopping cart software program; the second is using services of an ASP and the third is programming it yourself. Your best option as a beginner would be to go for ASP services. These services are cheap and come with flexible options. 
Shopping cart software programs are a costly option for beginners and can cost you anything between $ 150 - $ 800.

>>Find genuine wholesale vendors                                 Find genuine wholesale vendors where you buy your products at rock bottom prices for selling on your website.looking online for products to sell using the search engines is probably the worst way to find wholesale vendors for your online store.The truth is that most wholesalers don’t advertise online and rarely advertise at all. They don’t advertise because they don’t want every little mom and pop store contacting them to ask to sell their products. Instead, most wholesalers only want to deal with legit, honest businesses that can sell in sufficient volumes. So survey the wholesale markets physically and source the goods from there. 
Finding legit wholesalers for your store and how to distinguish the true distributors from the scammers so you can buy your goods at rock bottom prices is very easy. And, now the question is where to keep the goods? Either you can keep it in your warehouses or run dropshipped online store. For those of you who do not want to store your own goods, you are advised to run a dropshipped online store without having to carry any inventory whatsoever!

>>Upload pictures and videos                     Uploading pictures is quite easy but the challenge is to retain the quality and actual essence of the product. The main purpose of uploading picture is that the customer is able to see the exact product, so don't try much of visual.

>>Inserting video                                             Inserting video can prove beneficial for businesses like fashion and lifestyle. Don't forget to give the description of the model, her height, weight, waist and other relevant information required. A video should be made keeping in mind that it should project a 360 degree view.

Thumbnail is a very important aspect of sales because it is the first glance that a customer has on the product. Thumbnails are small pictures that provide a brief and concise description of product.

Smart Start Tip: Simple background such as white or black will give maximum contrast and prove to be time and money-saving. A white or black background (according to colour scheme of your product) will give a true outline and an elegant look.

>>Uploading product description                 Providing accurate description of a product is very necessary. It gives a clear picture of the product to the customer, as he/she cannot feel it. This will make it easy for them to take risk and buy from your e-shop. Detail of shipment and other terms and conditions have to be clearly defined for making mutually understood and beneficial choices.

Smart Start Tip: Interactive features like sharing, mailing, reviews, recommendation, etc, can ensure more value to the product and improvement in the overall customer experience.

>>Deciding on how to accept payments Credit cards are the best way to accept payments. So make sure that your online business has facilities to accept credit cards. Paypal (paypal.com) is perhaps the best payment gateway and has no initial joining fees. 
Payment options other than credit cards 
Internet checks Internet checks are as popular as credit cards when it comes to paying online. Internet checks are comparatively safer and are best if your customers are from international desti

>>Create a secure payment policy                    One needs either a credit card or a PayPal account to pay for the domain. It will allow you to claim and get the domain name immediately on application. Having a payment option alone will not ensure profits, one needs to make sure people believe that they will not be cheated and that their transactions are safe.

>>Promoting your online store No promotion equals to no sales. You can promote your store using online marketing strategies like search engine optimization, email marketing, banner advertisements and affiliate marketing among others. 

>>Getting The Search Engine Rankings is top

When it comes to search engine optimization, most newbie webmasters are at loss when it comes to increasing their search engine exposure and getting backlinks for their site. In fact, there is a common misconception that large ecommerce companies have an unfair advantage when it comes to search because they have powerful websites with a huge staff of SEO gurus.
The truth is that any website can rank in the search engines if you know what you are doing and are willing to put in the work. The online stores can ranks #1 for 20-30 keyword terms, #2 for 10 key word terms and on the front page for countless other terms.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to boost your search engine rankings, you just need the key words and links with large number of visitors.

>>Assuring your Customers 
The customer is the king and just as in any other type of business here again you need to give your customer what he wants. To do this you got to be sure of your customer’s preferences. Basically you need to address the following doubts that your customers are likely to have in their mind while buying online 

a.) Is my credit information safe? 
b.) How will the products be delivered to me and how long will it take? 
c.) Are their any additional costs associated with the item? 
d.) What kind of guarantees come with the product? 
e.) Are there any discounts if I purchase multiple goods? 
f.) What kind of customer service does the online shop have? 
g.) What happens in case the goods are damaged or of low quality? 
These questions in particular and many more questions in general can arise in the minds of your customers depending on the type of your products and your online store reputation. You can address these issues by providing valuable information in your FAQ section. 

>>Acquiring an SSL certificate                                              An SSL certificate ensures e-retailer's and customers' safety by protecting the information that's flowing to and from your website. It encrypts names, addresses, passwords, account and credit card numbers and hackers and other online criminals can't read them. An SSL certificate serves as an electronic passport. It establishes the website's authenticity and credibility and enables the browser and web server to build a secure, encrypted connection.

The VeriSign Trust Seal is a dynamic, animated graphic that displays web pages secured by VeriSign SSL certificates and websites authenticated by VeriSign. Similarly, PayPal allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet.

Both VeriSign and PayPal are secure options of payments, both provide SSL certificate to the client, which ensure no eavesdropping by encrypting important information of both the parties. Both provide a bundle of operations like net banking, credit card, shopping cart, buy button, etc.

Smart Start Tip: This kind of payment feature is gaining popularity but is subject to area and reach. It increases cost too. People in India are reluctant using their credit/debit card online. To ease that, most online companies have started taking payment on delivery, which is proving to be successful.

>>Clearly Specify The Terms & Conditions
 With so many online stores vying for customer ‘footfall’ and offering discounts, competition is tough in the net world. Further, it is very easy to cause customer dissatisfaction with poor store layout, payment problems and unclear terms of services. It is therefore imperative to specify the shipping terms, the returns policy, etc so that there is no ambiguity in case of a sale gone wrong. Having said this, make sure that the terms and conditions are not unreasonable so as to scare away prospective customers.