Starting an online store in 2024? Here's what you need to know

Are you facing the challenge to build a profitable online store or expanding your current business into the online world? Or maybe you're a small business owner looking for inspiration and wondering if e-commerce is right for you?
This article will guide you step by step through all the necessary to start an online store and help you choose the tools and solutions that will be most optimal for your needs (and your wallet). Ready? Let's begin!

What exactly is an online store?

When you hear "online store," you probably first think of large ecommerce platforms offering thousands of products. Looking at it from this perspective, setting up your own store can be quite intimidating, especially if you're not tech-savvy and don't have experience in e-commerce. But consider this: by 2027, it’s projected that 23% of retail purchases will occur online. And it’s important to note, these sales won’t just be happening on the ecommerce platforms like Zalando or Amazon. Smaller, independent online stores will also have a slice of the pie.

In fact, any website that facilitates product display, order processing, and payment completion is deemed an online store today. This could range from a straightforward landing page selling a single e-book, to a colossal platform with thousands of products. The key is that both should enable:

• Product detail viewing (price, appearance, description, size, etc.)
• Purchase making and payment finalizing
• Delivery method selection (for physical products)

Why is it worth to create an online store?

Increased sales reach

Running a brick-and-mortar store, even with multiple branches, is always tied to a specific location. Expanding operations to the online world allows you to reach customers with your products anywhere in the world. For example, you can introduce your goods to other markets where they might be much more price-competitive than in your local market. Trust me, there's literally no better way to bring more traffic to your store than by expanding your reach to the global market.

Constantly growing customer base

E-commerce market data is clear - we are increasingly using the Internet and shopping from home. By setting up your own e-store, you have a chance to reach a much larger number of people and continuously expand your customer base.

Minimal initial costs to start an online store

Is it possible to start an online store with no money? Absolutely! With an online store, you don't need funds for renting and renovating a space or stocking shelves full of products. You also don't have to hire employees right away. Depending on the tool you choose, you can launch your online store for free.

Faster sales start

How long it takes you to launch the store will also be closely related to what solutions and tools you decide on. But if you're not planning to build an advanced ecommerce store from scratch, you can start selling in literally a matter of minutes.

No fixed costs and lower risk

When running an online store, the only fixed cost will really be the sales solution (if you opt for a paid option) and any additional tools, e.g., for marketing or invoice handling. If something goes wrong, you can cancel them and close your store at any time without incurring additional costs.

Can anyone start an online store?

Absolutely, yes. These days, even a lack of e-commerce experience or tech-savviness isn't a hindrance. But, your business stands a better chance of thriving if you pick the right tools - ones that fit your needs like a glove. When setting up your online shop, mull over:

• Are you planning to build and manage it solo? Or are you thinking about outsourcing some tasks to an agency?
• How many products are you planning to stock (how vast does your shop need to be)?
• What resources can you tap into, like, can you afford a graphic designer's services?
• Do you have time to get tech-savvy?

Keep in mind, running an online shop will demand your time. Sure, you can use a solution like Easytools to automatically handle customer service, invoicing, returns, and transactional emails. But beyond daily tasks, you'll also need to market your online shop to attract potential customers and let the world know about your wares.

How to set up a successful online store step by step?

Building a successful online store involves juggling legal, technical, and financial tasks, not just crafting and selling top-notch products. It's best to tackle most of these challenges before choosing your store's setup - be it a pre-packaged e-commerce platform or a bespoke solution, these steps will probably be part of the journey.

1. Find a business idea for your store

You probably realize that competition in e-commerce is fierce. The chance of coming up with a completely new store idea and product is quite slim, but consider looking at what's already in the market and simply doing it better. It's also worth trying to target a specific niche.

Where to look for ideas for an online store?

• E-commerce reports - check which products and services are gaining popularity. Try to predict which products might become attractive to customers in the near future.
• Industry groups - join groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Discord where people seek solutions to problems or specific service providers. To find such groups, use Google, Facebook's search function, or services listing Discord servers related to business topics.
• Solve problems - listen carefully to people around you and consider if there are any problems you could solve
• Do it better - think about any poorly performing stores you know, like those with poor customer service or unclear offers, and consider if you can do it better
• Monetize a hobby or passion - make a list of things that bring you joy and satisfaction and try to think of ways to turn them into products or services
• Knowledge and skills - analyze what you can do or specialize in and try to answer the question "how can I help potential customers"
• Internet inspirations - use ChatGPT to brainstorm a list of product ideas. Hunt for articles and posts packed with e-commerce inspirations, ideally beyond your local market.

The final tip might yield broad answers. Yet, view online idea lists as a springboard. You won't be their sole reader, but maybe through these collections and instances, you'll hit upon that one concept worth chasing.

What products to sell?

Today, you can sell virtually anything online, and I dare say there's almost a niche for every product. Below are examples of products that target specific niches and can inspire you:

• WARSAW DOG - designer accessories for dogs and their owners
• Conservation workshops for amateurs
• LGMP - courses and projects allowing everyone to knit their dream sweater
• Interactive map of Norway
• Subscribe to Creativity - subscription cooperation in graphic design
• Coffee Institute - artisanal coffee roastery
• Your Kaya - natural cosmetics and menstrual products with a subscription option
• Commercial offer audit
• Evie Nails Shop - photo sleeves and nail styling products

As you can see, the possibilities are virtually limitless. If you want to see more ideas, especially for digital products, be sure to visit Radar Premier, where online creators publish their latest product releases every week.

And once you choose a specific product to offer, it's important to address the following:

• Quality - even the most interesting, niche product won't succeed if the quality is too low. The chance of customers returning for a product they weren't satisfied with or recommending you to others is very slim.
• Format - after deciding on a product, analyze the market and consider the most optimal format from both your and your customers' perspectives. For example, if you want to share knowledge, options could be an e-book, conventional face-to-face training, a regular online course, or a cohort course.
• Billing model - how long can you retain a customer's interest? Will they have a reason to come back to you in the future? Or maybe they'll opt for a regular subscription and pay monthly for access to your service?
• Product source - are you planning to make the product yourself? Or maybe procure your store’s inventory straight from the manufacturer? Dropshipping could also be a viable option, allowing you to sell and dispatch goods without the need for storage.

2. Validate your store’s potential

Every store concept, including those that augment offline sales, warrants validation. Drawing customers to your brick-and-mortar shop doesn’t guarantee a similar charm online. Likewise, if you have a great product idea, make sure someone shares your enthusiasm and is willing to pay for it. Prior to committing to an online store, navigate through at least the following steps.

Competitor analysis

Are there similar stores online? How do they operate? How many products do they offer? What does their marketing look like - where do they promote their offer? What are their prices? Many of these questions can be answered through Google or Perplexity - while few boast about their exact sales revenue, factors like the number of reviews or photos posted by satisfied customers on Instagram can indicate effective sales.

Target audience verification

To tailor appropriate actions and smartly conduct marketing, you need to know who you want to reach with your offer. It will be important, for example, to understand your recipient's financial resources. Before investing time and money in product development and setting up a store, try talking to potential customers and assess their interest in your assortment. You can do this through the aforementioned business groups, on social media, or by participating in trade fairs.

Demo version of your product

Before spending weeks or months creating the perfect product for your online store, try the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) strategy. It involves creating a very basic, often incomplete version of the product with only the most essential features and presenting it to your potential customers. If there are those willing to pay for a far-from-perfect version, the chances of future sales increase. The MVP stage is also an excellent source of knowledge and an opportunity to gather customer feedback, which will be very helpful in refining the final version of the product.

3. Get your store ready

There are several solutions available for aspiring online store owners. Depending on your skills, available time, and budget, you can choose between online store builders requiring some tech wizardy, classic e-commerce platforms, or sleek, no-code solutions that enable you to start selling smarter and faster.

Ecommerce software

E-commerce software or plugins are often open-source solutions, meaning they are provided for free. To use them, you need to have technical knowledge (or be willing to acquire it) or hire a company or developer to implement it for you.

Setting up a store using these tools can be compared to a DIY kit. It usually starts with a website builder and adding some plugins to it, to enable ecommerce features. So initially, you receive a few basic "building blocks" that you must install on your server yourself, then add templates, plugins, integrations, or sometimes write code to build your desired store on them. Depending on the features you need and how complex you want your e-commerce to be, this process can take several weeks.

These types of solutions will give you practically unlimited possibilities - allowing you to design a store to your liking, customize your online store, and equip it with any features, such as an advanced product configurator. Yet remember, even if you are tech-savvy, some advanced features like inventory management might turn out to be tricky, as they usually require some external integrations.

For whom:

• Individuals with technical expertise or those willing to learn
• Entrepreneurs eager to build and manage their own store without relying on external vendors
• Store owners in need of custom, tailored solutions

Examples of solutions:

• WooCommerce
• PrestaShop
• Magento OpenSource
• OpenCart

Costs: Basic versions of these tools are usually free; costs may arise if you decide to use paid templates, plugins, or integrations, or hire someone to support you in the implementation and ongoing maintenance of the store.

Implementation time: Dependent on the complexity of the store and the level of knowledge of the person configuring it. It can range from a few days to even several months.

Advantages:

• Ability to start a store without any fees
• Ability to customize the store's appearance and implement changes and additional functions as needed
• Independence from e-commerce solution providers

Disadvantages:

• Need for technical knowledge or budget to hire a programmer
• Full responsibility for the security of personal data (and potential lack of security)
• Often a lack of technical support in Polish from software creators

Ecommerce platform

Creators who aren’t tech-savvy often go for a simpler option, choosing ready-made e-commerce platforms. In this setup, you can launch your store simply by logging in, customizing the look, adding products, and integrating various payment and delivery methods. Creating a store using these solutions is typically very straightforward and can be handled by individuals with no IT experience.

However, this approach has its consequences. Ready-made solutions offer very limited customization or the ability to add your own functionalities. For example, you may have little influence over the appearance of the shopping cart, product display (e.g., in case of stock shortages), or the notifications sent to buyers after a purchase.

It's important to note that ready-made e-commerce platforms usually operate on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, meaning that using them involves paying a subscription fee and/or sales commission.

For whom:

• Individuals lacking technical knowledge seeking a simple solution
• Store owners interested solely in very basic, limited functionalities
• Sellers planning to offer a large assortment of products

Examples of solutions:

• Shopify
• Shoper
• Big Commerce
• Wix eCommerce

Costs: From around $10 to over $250 net per month.

Implementation time: Several hours to configure the store + additional time to set up payments (especially if the operator requires a contract to be signed).

Advantages:

• Very easy configuration available for individuals without IT knowledge
• Access to integrations with courier companies, payment operators, etc.
• No need to purchase hosting (usually included in the subscription)
• Access to technical support and platform updates

Disadvantages:

• Limited optimization and inability to add new functionalities
• No control over the details of the purchasing process
• Mandatory subscription fees

Ecosystem for online sales

The third solution for selling online without a traditional store, complex e-commerce platforms, or even a website is Easycart. Our ecosystem enables you to create online shopping carts that make purchasing and payment seamless with just a single click. Here’s how it works.

When a customer finds your product online and decides to buy, the typical purchase process involves:

• Clicking a button to add the product to the cart or to view the cart
• Selecting the quantity of products, payment method, and delivery option
• Filling out a form with personal details
• Completing the payment
• Downloading a digital product or awaiting delivery

With Easycart, you can streamline this process. As a seller, you simply set up your cart with product details and pricing. Once published, your checkout will look something like this. When customers click on your checkout link, they land on a page where they can quickly complete their purchase. Afterward, we automatically provide them with download links and post-sale notifications. The process is similar for subscriptions, but you can also manage subscriptions and access rights seamlessly.

After publishing your cart, just copy the link and promote it anywhere, including:

• Your website, by embedding it under a “Buy Now” button
• Your social media profile’s description or bio
• Social media posts, stories, and reels
• Newsletter content or dedicated emails
• Direct messages on social media to specific customers

This enables you to sell directly from your website, Instagram, or newsletters without setting up an online store.

Plus, our seller panel offers advanced conversion rate optimization tools that require no technical knowledge. You can easily add promotions, discount codes, gift purchases, or limited-time offers to your cart. With 1-click payment processing and a user-friendly cart design, you could boost your conversion rates by up to 64.9%.

For whom:

• Individuals without technical knowledge starting their first online sales
• Experienced sellers aiming to increase store conversion rates
• Those looking to launch sales quickly
• Creators seeking simple, effective solutions

Costs: Free until the first sale; thereafter, a commission based on monthly turnover. Read more.

Implementation time: Set up a fully functional "store" in about 15-20 minutes

Advantages:

• Start selling within minutes
• No need for contracts with payment operators
• No domain registration or hosting required
• Dedicated tools to boost conversions (up to 60%!)
• Excellent technical support and customer service :)

Disadvantages:

• Not ideal for selling a large number of physical products

4. Understand the legal framework

Starting an online store involves navigating through various legal requirements, which can vary significantly from one country to another. Generally, operating an online business requires some form of registration and compliance with local commercial regulations. Depending on your business structure, this might include obtaining business licenses, adhering to online selling regulations, and fulfilling tax obligations.

However, it’s crucial to understand that specific regulations are based on your country’s laws. For instance, some countries might require additional certifications or licenses for selling certain products online, such as food or health-related items. Others may have strict rules about data protection and customer privacy.

What do you need to do?

• Research the specific legal requirements for online businesses in your country. This information is often available on government or legal websites.
• Consider consulting with a lawyer who specializes in e-commerce or business law to ensure you are fully compliant with all local regulations.

Cost?

• Costs can vary depending on the legal requirements in your country. Basic registration fees might be minimal, but other compliance costs, such as for licenses or professional legal advice, can add up.

Remember, while the internet offers a global marketplace, each country has its own rules that govern e-commerce. Staying informed and compliant is key to setting up a successful online store.

5. Purchase a domain and hosting

Important! Some solutions, including Easycart, do not require you to purchase a domain and hosting. Be sure to check this before proceeding with this step.

Domain

If you plan to build your own store or use an e-commerce platform, you need to secure a domain. Practically speaking, a domain is the address of your store, which your customers will enter in their browsers to reach your site. Ideally, it should be consistent with your store's name and easy to remember. For example, if you want to create a store called "I Have an Idea," you might be interested in the domain www.ihaveanidea.com. The choice of the domain's extension depends on where you want to conduct sales. The most trusted extensions are .com, .org and .co (especially for startups).

What to do to make such a perfect domain "yours" and to ensure that entering its address in the browser takes users to your store? You need to use the services of a domain-selling service, such as TheCamels or OVHcloud and check if the domain you are interested in is available. If so, you must purchase it from the operator and pay for its use. Annual costs start from just a few dollars.
Source: https://thecamels.org/domains/

Hosting

Hosting is space on a specially configured server that will handle the internet traffic on your site and in your store. It's somewhat like renting storage space from a hosting provider to keep everything related to your site. Depending on how large a store you plan to create and how many products you want to offer, you will need hosting with the appropriate performance and specific parameters (a sufficiently large "warehouse" with the right service and security).

To choose the best option, you can use the site https://www.hostingadvice.com/how-to/best-international-web-hosting/ where you will find a ranking of currently available hostings.
Source: https://www.hostingadvice.com

What do you need to do?

• Think of a domain name, check if it's available, and purchase it
• Purchase hosting (if the solution you are using does not offer it)

Cost:

• Domain: from around $1 to $30 USD per year
• Hosting: from around $10 to $100 USD per year

6. Create terms and conditions and privacy policy

The next step you need to take to comply with the regulations is to create terms and conditions and a privacy policy for your store. Regardless of how many and what kind of products you offer, if they can be purchased through your site, store, or even a social media profile, you must prepare and provide your customers with both documents.

The three most popular ways to prepare terms and conditions and a privacy policy are:

• Create the documents yourself based on templates from the Internet
• Use the services of an external company
• Use a document generator such as Easylegal

The first option is definitely the most risky solution and I strongly advise against it. By creating documents yourself, or worse, copying them from another store, you have absolutely no assurance that you will cover all important aspects and achieve full compliance with the law.

If you decide to use the support of an external company, the cost of preparing terms and conditions and a privacy policy will vary depending on the type of store, whether you create user accounts, what products you offer, etc. Choosing this option gives you much greater assurance that in case of any disputes, your documents will properly protect you, and you are acting in accordance with the law. However, this still does not solve the issue of document updates - with each change in the regulations, it will probably be necessary to incur the cost of updating or preparing new files again.

Using a reliable terms and conditions and privacy policy generator ensures compliance with the law and should also keep the documents automatically updated with any changes. Typically, you just need to provide some details about your store, and it's all set. This method is undoubtedly the most cost-effective in terms of both money and time. For instance, with Easylegal, the costs of maintaining legal documents, publishing them on your site, and automatic updates for regulatory changes, are all included in the Easytools suite cost.

Important: The privacy policy and terms and conditions of the store should be linked in a visible place in every online store, so that customers have easy access to them. They usually appear in the footer and are linked in the shopping cart at checkout.

What do you need to do?

• Commission, generate, or write the terms and conditions and privacy policy of your store by yourself
• Prepare both documents in a format that allows linking them in the store's footer or sending them directly to the customer

Cost:

• Preparing documents yourself: your time
• Commissioning an external company: from about $100 upwards
• Easylegal: starting at $29 a month (this price includes access to the entire Easytools suite).

7. Choose your online payment options

Accepting online payments is a crucial step in setting up your online store that you can’t skip. Whether making a payment in your store is easy and whether the payment page is trustworthy can be a critical factor in the success of your sales. Today’s customers value convenience above all and expect the ability to make payments online in their preferred way. The most common methods include:

• Online banking
• Credit card payment
• Digital wallets (e.g. Google Pay or Apple Pay)
• Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)

Depending on the type of inventory, you might also consider adding alternative payment options such as traditional bank transfer, cash on delivery, or installments.

To offer these payment options to your customers, you can sign a contract with a chosen payment operator, use payment gateways offered by e-commerce platforms, or if you're using Easycart, utilize Stripe without the need for additional agreements. When selecting a payment operator, consider:

• What payment methods do they offer?
• How quickly can you withdraw the money you've earned?
• What are the commission rates and what do they include?
• How long does it take to initiate cooperation and what conditions must you meet?

Important! The last point can be particularly crucial - some operators have very precise requirements regarding how your store should look and operate, what your terms and conditions and privacy policy should include, or what the legal form of your business should be. If in doubt, launching payments and signing a contract can take several weeks.

8. Manage your online sales documents

Another aspect that every online store owner must handle is accounting and documenting sales.
The approach to managing these tasks varies depending on the business type, its legal structure, and specific regulatory requirements such as VAT compliance or the necessity for a cash register.

Broadly speaking, managing document flow in any online store typically involves:

• Issuing and delivering sales confirmation documents to customers, such as invoices for businesses and receipts or invoices for individuals.
• Recording sales and financial transactions and complying with local tax authorities.

For guidance on what sales documents to issue in your online store, consider consulting local regulations or expert articles tailored to your region.

Practically, running an online store requires robust accounting practices, including issuing and managing invoices, handling corrections and returns, recording income and expenses, and managing inventory for physical product sales. To streamline these processes, you might consider:

• Automated billing software, which can simplify invoice creation and management.
• Online accounting services that cater to e-commerce businesses.
• E-commerce platforms with integrated accounting modules.
• Specialized services for tax and billing like our Easytax, included in the Easytools package.

These tools can help lighten your workload, allowing you to focus more on growing your business while ensuring compliance with both international and local financial regulations.

Selling online without a ecommerce website

An alternative option that allows you to offload some (but not all!) of the issues discussed in the first part of the article is selling without building an online store. I discuss the two most popular options below.

Marketplace

Marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, or eBay connect creators and sellers, providing immediate access to tens of thousands of users, which can significantly ease marketing efforts. This option eliminates the need to worry about domain, hosting, and configuring your own store. However, using a marketplace usually involves paying a high commission for the ability to list products. Additionally, we are completely dependent on the marketplace provider—if they change commission rates, or if they cease to exist like the once-popular Polish marketplace DaWanda, we could lose all our sales overnight.

Social Media

A simple way to sell products and services via social media is through direct contact with buyers. Typically, a creator without an online store actively manages their account on platforms like Instagram, TikTok or Meta (formerly Facebook), showcasing and offering their products directly. To make a purchase, customers usually send a private message to settle the details, after which the seller provides payment information. Importantly, this form of sale does not exempt you from the necessity of establishing a business or from the informational obligation, i.e., the necessity to create terms and conditions for your "store".

Social Commerce is also gaining popularity, enabling comprehensive sales directly within a social media platform. In such scenarios, the buyer can view the product and complete the payment without leaving platforms like Instagram, Meta, or TikTok. This method streamlines the shopping experience, although the availability of such direct sales options varies by region.

When is it worth considering selling online without setting up a store?

• Desire to test an idea - if you have an idea for a product or service but want to make sure that customers will indeed buy it, you can start selling in the form of MVP (Minimum Viable Product). And only when it turns out that the product has found its customers, focus on creating the target store.
• Limited resources and budget - if you don't want or can't afford to spend time and resources on setting up your store and promoting it, Social Media and marketplaces are an intermediate solution that allows you to start selling with less effort.

Launch your online store in 2024 - best practices

Regardless of which solution you choose to create an online store or simply to sell online, there is a set of rules that you should follow if you do not want to lose potential customers.

Transparency of return policy

You know the saying that bad news is worse than no news? In the case of return policies, the customer should have the easiest possible access to information about how returns work, especially within what time and how a purchased product can be returned. And let's be honest, placing information about returns only in the terms and conditions and forcing the customer to scroll in search of it is not easy access. Invisible or even lack of information about returns will definitely not make the customer blindly decide to purchase. They can, however, cause irritation and worsen the buyer's experience.

It is therefore worth adding a separate subpage with information about returns in the footer or even placing a brief information and link to the full return policy on the product page.

Clear and accessible information about shipping rates

According to Baymard Institute research, one of the most common reasons users abandon shopping carts is hidden costs they were unaware of earlier - such as shipping costs. The same principle applies here as with the return policy - information about how much shipping costs should be visible at first glance.
It is best to place it on the product page, or at least on a dedicated, easily accessible page linked in the footer.

Creating accounts only when really justified

Forcing a user to create an account during shopping may seem like a tempting option - since we've already captured their attention, why not ensure the possibility of contacting the customer in the future. However, this is a very negatively received practice - in the aforementioned Baymard study, the necessity of creating an account causes even 1/4 of customers to give up on the purchase.

Does this mean that you can never ask a customer to create an account? Definitely not, but it should only be done in justified cases, ensure that registration is simple and convenient and (if possible), create the account only after the purchase has been made.
The user may be interested in registering if having an account gives them access to:

• Order history and the ability to track the current order
• Loyalty programs and special offers
• One-click payments without the need to fill in purchase data in the future (this is how it works in Easycart)
• The ability to save card data or delivery data, so they do not have to re-enter it with subsequent purchases

No unnecessary elements at checkout

If you decide to build your own store, you probably care about its attractive appearance. However, I must disappoint you, the shopping cart should be primarily clear, readable, and contain understandable messages. Unusual design, animations, too many elements, or fancy content will distract the customer from the task they want to accomplish - finalizing purchases. In this case, the principle "beauty lies in simplicity" applies, and a simple, seemingly uninteresting cart with the right elements and functions will ensure you higher conversion than fancy, unusual solutions.

It's time to start selling online

Setting up an online store has never been easier. Today, you’re equipped with amazing no-code tools that allow you to create in days what used to take months. YHowever, before you start building your e-commerce from scratch, consider a leaner approach. Test your product and assess its relevance to your business niche. Also, evaluate your ability to build your online store’s visibility. Even if you manage to easily create your online store using the best ecommerce solutions, the success of your online store depends on how many people learn about it.

Alternatively, you can start without a website by simply creating a checkout page and linking it to your Instagram bio. Once it gains some traction, invest your time in designing your website, choosing an online store platform, and actively promoting your store through various channels. This approach can save you tons of time and even more money. And remember - there was never a better time to start ecommerce business. Good luck!