What Is An E-Commerce Website And How To Build One

Your e-commerce website design is vital in your e-commerce business’s success, hence the need for professional developers. Today, e-commerce is seen as the future of retail, thanks to Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, etc. There are lots of things that you need to learn about e-commerce. In this article, we will provide you with all there is to know about e-business.

There will always be constant demand and supply of goods and services. The internet has made the world a global village, and e-commerce is here to make it stress-free for you. The increasing rise of e-businesses has made data privacy laws to become stringent. Before you venture into e-commerce, you should pay attention to the laws required to set up your e-commerce website.

E-Commerce is a type of business model in which sales transactions carried out on the web. All online shopping websites follow this particular model. Any website where you can buy or sell goods over the internet is considered as an e-commerce website.

The major difference between an e-commerce website design and an ordinary business website is in the features it supports. Your business website may only provide information on your products and services so users can contact you for business. Whereas an e-commerce website works the same way, a physical store or shop works. You can purchase goods and make the payment on the platform without having to call anyone for help.

Creating an electronic commerce website is more complicated than your business or company website. An e-commerce website comes with so many features and designs that an ordinary business website lacks. The electronic business transaction has been around since the 1960s when business organizations use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to transfer their business documents.

The first item sold online was a Sting CD, sold by NetMarket on August 11, 1994. Today, it has become so easy for you to buy anything online while lying on your bed. The emergence of smartphones has even made it more convenient. You can search for and purchase any product without having to go there physically. According to the statistical data released by Oberlo.io, electronic commerce will account for 15.5% of retail sales worldwide

One of the main reasons why you need to stay relevant on social media is the fact that it makes your brand more recognizable.

And if your business is being seen regularly, customers would most likely patronize you, even if they weren’t actively searching for any product at all.

Also, consumers can be fiercely loyal – and skeptical – so they’d most likely buy from brands they know and have patronized before.

This means that you have to create an attractive and compelling business profile on your desired social platform(s) and, at the same time, up your content game.

People cherish valuable content and would take their business to a brand that spreads value.

Therefore, being online won’t cut it. You need to post content that can help your audience. It’s merely giving and take.

Simply put, electronic commerce is a type of commerce. The mode of operations is akin to that of the physical retail industry. It differs from that tore in your backyard because the entire process takes place online.

Before starting an electronic commerce business, you need to build your e-commerce website. You can do this using plugins like WooCommerce. Once you are done building your website, the next step is to display your products with the necessary details like price tags and product descriptions. You can place a call to action (CTA) button like “BUY NOW” near the products for your customers’ convenience.

On the platform, customers are asked to place their orders by completing an online form. On the form, these customers provide all the necessary details like the delivery address. On e-commerce platforms, there are different payment methods, such as PayPal and Credit cards. Some electronic business websites agree to cash-on-delivery (CoD). However, CoD is always an exclusive package for verified senior customers. The buyer makes payment upon the delivery of the product to the designated address.

If you are displeased with the product’s quality or a different product was sent to you by mistake, you can leverage the reverse logistics option. You must notify the platform that you want to return the product they delivered to you. The company will have to send a representative of their company to take the bad/wrong product back. You will get a refund for such a transaction.

In an e-commerce business, you also conduct product promotion online. The two most popular means of product promotion is through email marketing and digital advertising. You can place ads on social media platforms that are most preferred by your target audience. You can prepare an email list through which to reach your customers.

1. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is one of the leading e-commerce site builders that you can leverage to scale your online store. It provides you with features like quote management, customer groups, bulk pricing rates, and custom pricing lists. If you want to start high volume e-commerce with advanced features, BigCommerce will be an ideal platform for you.

2. WooCommerce and WordPress

WordPress and WooCommerce are both open-source and, arguably, the leading solution for building e-commerce website designs. A report showed that about 27% of websites across the globe use WooCommerce. WordPress and WooCommerce allow you to design your website the way you want it to be. You can easily install various WordPress and WooCommerce plugins to increase the functionality of your electronic business website.

It doesn’t matter if you plan to start a small or large e-commerce store; with WooCommerce, you will build a top-notch e-commerce store. There are many reasons why the combination of WooCommerce and WordPress is great for building e-commerce website designs. These reasons include:

• It accommodates every budget
• Easy and relatively simple to use
• Several available plugins will help to increase the functionality of your electronic commerce.
• You can sell all kinds of products on it
• The platform works with virtually all payment gateways.
• It holds a huge community of developers, marketers, and industry experts.

3. Magento 

There are about 190 thousand e-commerce websites that are powered by Magento. It is arguably the most powerful CMS e-commerce platform that is ideal for any business type and size. Magento is an open-source platform, and it provides a minimum of 3000 third-party extensions that ensures your online store is unique and adaptable to all business situations.

4. Wix

As a beginner, you should start on the Wix platform. It is straightforward to use and also comes with a drag and drop feature. Wix offers specific plans made for electronic business websites. Wix’s plans come with unlimited bandwidth, a free domain for a year, visitor app analytics, and up to $300 in advertising vouchers.

You can easily track your orders, inventory, and product pages using the Wix store manager dashboard.

5. Shopify

This is the most prominent e-commerce platform and is used by over 1 million stores across the globe. If you are planning to start a high-volume e-commerce store, Shopify is the ideal platform for you. You can access more than 70 free and premium themes on Shopify, which are easy to use and customize. On the Shopify app store, there are more than 3 200 available apps that you can select from to add features and functionality to your online store.

You have completed the building of your electronic business store. The next important step is to decide on the products you want to sell in your online store. There are lots of things that you need to consider here. First, you have to know the type of products that you are interested in. What products are in demand in your selected market niche? How easily can you source these products or make them by yourself?

You need to conduct market research to identify your target market and know their needs and challenges. When you know your target market’s needs and challenges, it will be easier for you to provide products that solve their problems. Once you have sorted all these out, you can go ahead to design your online store and start selling your products.

If you want to customize your store page, follow these steps below:

1. From your WordPress dashboard, you navigate to Appearance > Customize
2. Once you have done that, select Product Catalog Options > Layout
3. When you get to the next page, there are different options to change your store page’s layout. The options you will see include the following:

• MainContent Width

Here, you can adjust the width of the main content.

• Catalog View

You go here to adjust your product catalog view, and you can select the grid view or the list view as default.

• Shop pagination

With this option, you can set up your shop pagination without coding. You can also select the Default option to set up numeric shop pagination and the infinite option to set up infinite. Pagination provides a seamless experience to your store users who desire to quickly browse through several products without waiting for a new page to load.

• Sidebar position

You can change the sidebar’s position by either placing it on the right side, left side, or no sidebar at all.

• Shop pagination style

You can adjust your shop pagination style to square or circle, depending on your choice.

• Your sale Notification

Your sale notification can be custom ring, default, or none.

Top E-Commerce websites 

Here are the major e-commerce websites in no particular order:

• Amazon
• Alibaba
• eBay
• Walmart
• Etsy
• Taobao

The CEO and founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is the world’s wealthiest man. Jack Ma, the CEO, and founder of Alibaba, is one of Asia’s richest men. This tells you that the e-commerce business is a highly lucrative venture, but you have to do the work.

Before launching your electronic business website, you need to ensure that it is in line with all data privacy laws applicable to your audience’s geographical location. There are specific policies that you must state clearly for your visitors, and they include:

• Privacy Policy
• Disclaimers (about your product, content, or affiliate revenue)
• Terms and Conditions

Building a profitable e-Commerce website design is not a stroll in the park. You need capable hands and experts who understand the working f the industry to help you achieve your goal. MonoChrome Marketing is one of the leading agencies that help online store owners build a highly efficient e-commerce website.
Starting an e-commerce business is not something you blindly jump into without proper research. If you want to be successful in this business, you need to take your time to study the industry and understand it. If you must do it, then you must do it well.

You see? Social media marketing has its uses, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

There is a truckload of other reasons why you should utilize social platforms to take your business to the next level.

And even though the sacred digital art of social media marketing doesn’t require the services of an all-knowing shaman in saffron robes, you may require aid getting the hang of it.

Copying any successful brand won’t cut it.

Every business has unique digital needs, and one size doesn’t always fit all – digitally anyway. So, you should find your own unique business flavor and do away with that generic recipe.

It’s also okay to need help. And that’s precisely why we are here.

We at MonoChrome Marketing are dedicated to finding out what your brand’s digital marketing strength is and tailoring our range of IT solutions to leverage on that.

Our goal is to bring digital life to your business and brand; to use our vast experience – over 15 years – in creative web design and social/digital management to put your brand front and center on the digital map.

Got any questions about social media and digital marketing? Or just want to check us out? You can reach out to us. We are here for you.