What should I know and prepare before starting my online store business?
1. Market
where is the target market of your product? In my opinion here, I always recommend to start your online business in your local location. This will help you to easily manage the shipment and payment for the cash or online payment (credit card and paypal) after your online market is stable.
2. Selling point
Your product must equip a selling point to attract customers to purchase from you. For example: the prices of your online store is always 20% cheaper than the retail shops, the product are highly demand but is not easy to to be purchased at the retail shops, or the products are self-designed products that customers can't purchase them in the retails shop at all.
Shopping Cart System
There are so many online stores and online shopping cart systems on the Internet. They are:
- CubeCart
- Ecshop
- Interspire
- Magento
- OpenCart
- Oscommerce
- PrestaShop
- Shopex
- UberCar
- VirtueMart(joomla)
- ZenCart
- WP e-Commerce(WordPress)
- Tomatocart
Some of these websites are free and some of them aren't. How would you chose and start your very first online system?
These are the options I would recommend:
1. Prestashop shopping cart
2. ZenCart online shopping cart
Both of the these are free online store systems. You can easily install it and do the setup by yourself. If you totally don't know how to install it or use it, you are able to find a lot of step-by-step solution videos on youtube. They are very easy to use, everything about your online store can be easily set up, uploaded, started and managed.
Payment gateway
How you go to collect payment?
why I would suggest you to start your business in local, it is that you are able to ask your customers to make payments through the few options.
1. Local bank transfer - There are many local banks that are excel in the online banking services. You can request your customers to make payments online.
2. Credit card payment- The two shopping cart systems I mentioned here earlier are ready to accept online credit card payments. You just need to ensure that you have the related accounts to accept your customers' any credit card (Visa and Master) payments.
3. Paypal- Once you registered with Paypal, it is recognized worldwide. It is free to register and it is one of the most secured payment methods for both online sellers and buyers.
4. iPay88- This online payment gateway always recommends you to chose Malaysia local payment system, iPay88 online payment gateway. All you have to do is open a merchant account with ipay88. You can complete the full online payments, include credit card Visa and Master and Malaysia local bank transfer ( FPX ) with the real time transaction payment, notice and auto bank end update in your online shopping cart system. This is one of the much more easier method that allow you or your staff to know the order status and arrange the shipment delivery.
Web Design
"Yes i need it" means you have to spend some bucks in the design field. This field will normally cost you from RM1000 ~ RM10000. You have to be well-aware of the highest cost you cam invest in this field spend. The better design you get the more money you will have to spent.
Low budget for the design field? Let's forget about the designs. Most the system has already come with some basic designs that allow you to add in and display your products and information. That is good enough to attract your online sales. Remember: spending a lot of money on website design won't help you to create more profit in selling.
Feedback & Support
These two sections are very important to help you to get more business. Customers normally view your products base on pictures and product description, especially for the first-time website online buyers. Those are not the main key point to help them to make the decision of purchasing your products. Your website speed and quantity of feedback from previous customers are indeed the most useful point to make them feel confident to purchase in your online store.
