Blog

What's included in this blog?

Your current website

Setting up an ecommerce aspect

Ecommerce laws

Search engine optimisation

So, you have a bricks and mortar shop looking to expand into the digital world or you are looking to set up a brand new online shop; the possibilities can seem endless. Let’s keep it simple for you so you understand what is required and how you can achieve it.

Firstly, whatever stage your business is at, whether you have a website but no ecommerce section on it, whether you have no website but you have an offline shop or you have an ecommerce website but need to change it…the platform that you choose for your online shop has a big impact on your profits and the stability of your business.

This might make sense except for one thing – what is an ecommerce platform? Basically, an ecommerce platform is a software application used in the digital world that allows an online business to manage their website, their sales and their operations.

This includes inventory management, warehouse fulfilment, CRM, custom website design, integrated mobile commerce and many more functions that allow you to run your shop as you would in your bricks and mortar store.

To run a successful online shop, you will need a good platform, and if you are not too techy there are services such as Shopify and Magento and free platforms such as Wordpress and Joomla which require some technical knowledge.

You need your products. A list of each product with its features, price, descriptions and high quality product images - here is another blog we have written about how to write killer ecommerce product descriptions. You need information about your competitors – look at their websites and see how they are selling online, look at the design of their online shop.

It is wise to learn the law about setting up an online shop. There are ecommerce specific laws designed to protect your consumers and it is crucial that you follow these whilst online trading. Some of the laws include –

• VAT rates and charging VAT
• Exporting and doing business abroad
• The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations (PEC Regulations) 2003
• The Consumer Rights Act (CRA) 2015
• The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
• The Data Protection Act 1998 and upcoming GDPR enforcement
• ICO Cookie Law

Once your ecommerce website is built, your next step is to get it seen. The easy part of getting the website up and running is done, but getting visitors to it is a big step. There is not point having a fancy website if it gets no visitors. The most solution for this is Search Engine Optimisation – your website showing up on search engines such as Google. Social marketing is also crucial in this day and age – getting your website name out there on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube is a big trend for online shops.

For more information on how we can assist you with your social media following call us today on 01902 239010. We have helped businesses with Website Design and SEO in Wolverhampton, Website Design and SEO in Walsall, Website Design and SEO in Birmingham and Website Design and Seo in Telford.