Imagine you have newly created your online store. After more than a week, you still have no sales.
There are many factors to remember when starting an online store, and these details can be the main console that makes or breaks your business.
However, having a powerful eCommerce launch checklist in place will help you avoid mistakes and bad situations in the future.
You have several ideas running through your head. I’m not sure if I finished everything that was needed for a successful launch. Have all your products loaded correctly?
This handy store launch checklist will help you relax and stay organized.
The following checklist will help you decide which items are most important to prepare for opening your online store.
- Set a custom domain.
- Create your standard web pages.
- A picture illustrates a thousand words.
- Optimize your checkout and payment options.
- Choose sales channels carefully.
- Develop a plan for SEO performance for e-commerce.
- Create email campaigns.
- Modify your tax and shipping settings.
- Install the appropriate software.
- Before launching the store, try it out.
Set a custom domain.
Using a custom domain for your website builds your brand and makes it easier for your visitors to remember your URL.
To find out if your business name is available, you must first perform a domain name search. If so, and the name has not already been registered as a trademark by another company in your field. One of the most known domain providers is Godaddy
Create your standard web pages.
It’s essential to have a few pages where visitors can know more about your business. We suggest that online stores include the following landing pages in their sitemap:
Home page: Your website’s home page is the most important. A well-designed homepage should convey your company’s mission and distinctive value proposition. It should also include links to the product and category pages in your store.
About page: A strong About page should tell your company’s story and what it stands for. It should also include trust components to prove that your store is legitimate and trustworthy.
Contact page: On the contact page, be sure to provide your phone number, email, and physical address (if applicable). To prove your credibility, explain how customers can contact you.
Terms of service: This page explains your legal basis, what is included in your services, and what is not.
Privacy: As data violations are becoming more and more common, it is highly recommended to work with a counselor to develop a clear privacy policy for your e-commerce company.
A picture illustrates a thousand words.
An online store lists a number of products that differ in type, kind, color, material, and structure. Online shoppers are never in the mood to buy a particular item. The image grabs their attention and prompts them to click for a better view. By zooming in on product images, the buyer can better understand their suitability for their needs. Always ensure that the consumer views at least four to five angle images; Otherwise, you risk losing the client if you do not upload high-quality images.
Optimize your checkout and payment options.
Since everyone has different preferences, giving as many payment methods as possible is one of the best ways to prevent abandoned shopping carts.
Consider including the following payment methods:
Prepaid cards, credit and debit cards, and bank transfers.
stripe, value, amazon, payment services, paysky,kashier, Fawry, paytabs, meeza, and paymob are examples of digital payment gateways.
Choose sales channels carefully.
Take into consideration the following:
- Make a blog page for your products and post content on it regularly.
- Create a presence on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, and other similar platforms.
- Follow influencers in your niche and read their followers’ comments to understand what they’re passionate about and how you may incorporate it into your products.
- Create a list of branded and non-branded hashtags that you may use in your social media posts.
- Get your products and brand features featured on price comparison websites, review websites, relevant forums, communities, and Quora, among other places.
- Showcase your website on handmade and crafts marketplaces, on-demand production marketplaces, specialized marketplaces, classified listings websites, daily deal sites, Yellow Pages, and other sites.
Develop a plan for SEO performance for e-commerce.
If you are starting an online business, you will need to make sure that when buyers search for terms related to your product, your website will appear first. This allows you to produce free, high-quality traffic regularly.
But eCommerce SEO is worth investing in because 44% of people start their online shopping journey with a Google search. Also, 37.5% of all traffic to eCommerce sites comes from search engines.
And here appears the huge role of meta description in attracting customers to your online store, it’s one of the critical factors in SEO. It not only helps users understand the content of your website but also helps search engines read and understand what you are trying to say.
Example:
Note the location of the meta description on the SEO page:
Create email campaigns.
One of the most effective strategies for creating and maintaining a positive relationship with customers is to use email marketing. If you haven’t made an effort to implement email marketing in your e-commerce company, you are probably wasting money.
Modify your tax and shipping settings.
You should double-check that your tax and shipping rate settings are correct for the products you sell. If you don’t charge enough, you may inadvertently eat up your earnings.
Before launching the store, try it out.
You should thoroughly test your e-commerce site before launching it to remove flaws and inconveniences of online shopping. Also, do continuous A/B testing to see what makes your customers happy and what leads to conversions in your store.
zVendo is a One-Stop-Shop eCommerce Website Builder solution that will help you create the best experience for your customers.
If you’ve just launched your online store or have questions before launching, feel free to contact us at zVendo.
