The main stages of the development of an online store
Have you already passed the stage of “birth” of business ideas, and clearly understood that you will sell in your store? Already chose a sounding domain name? Then go to the stage of creating the site itself.
Creating your own online store is easy. This can be done in several ways:
Hire experts who will do everything turnkey (design, programming, filling of goods, technical SEO-optimization).
Spend a few nights at the computer, looking at learning lessons and create, at best, a mid-level store.
Buy a ready store on the exchanges. All that remains to be done is to place their goods, content, and begin to carry out work to promote the store.
But before you create or buy an online store, you need a CMS (Content management system) or, more simply, a content management system with which you will have to work further.
Choose a suitable CMS for your online store
Engine (CMS – content management system), on the basis of which you can create your own store – a lot. We will tell a little about the three most popular.
1C-Bitrix – paid CMS, the first place in popularity in Russia
Bitrix refers to the industrial level systems – for large businesses. This is a complex CMS, which necessarily requires the intervention of a programmer with certification from developers.
The platform is demanding for server / hosting resources, but opens up the following possibilities to the owner:
Many options for administrators and users.
Simple integration with 1C services (accounting, enterprise, CRM).
Access to a large number of plugins and paid templates.
Serious platform that is well suited for large projects. The cost of creating a store on this CMS is $ 1000 +. Prices for the license platform itself – from 5000 rubles.
Opencart – easy to manage and understandable engine
It is very popular in runet, takes the third place in the rating and is great for projects of all levels.
Platform features are many:
Big Store with a lot of paid and free plug-ins;
It is easy to find programmers for this platform at an affordable price;
Easy to use and manage by the user.
PrestaShop – open source CMS
Flexible and convenient system, widely used for the development of online stores of varying complexity.
This is a development of a European company, and CMS is actively gaining popularity. According to Wikipedia, more than 300 thousand online stores have already been created on PrestaShop.
Platform Features:
A large number of built-in functionality, it is usually sufficient for competent work of an online store.
A wide selection of templates with responsive design (for PC, tablets, smartphones).
The project is easily scaled from a small online store to a large supermarket.
CMS is great if you want to create a project for yourself, convenient and easy to use with the prospect of scaling a business.
Template selection, selection of specialists and preparation of the project for launch
The next step is to decide on the design of the online store. You can choose a ready-made template, or create a unique layout using the services of a designer. It all depends on the funding you are willing to provide.
“It is better to be the first than to be the best” Jack Trout, American marketer
Remember this golden rule when you choose a template and place it on the CMS, or create an individual design for your store.
Hiring a programmer or setting up a store yourself
After installing the CMS and the template, you need to fill the online store with categories, products, create a blog and provide all the necessary functionality. The store should be simple and understandable for the user, it should work and allow you to add products to the cart, pay for them.
“We recommend using the services of a professional web studio that can create a turnkey online store. You will be prepared and set up an excellent tool for business, which you will only manage. ”
This work in a few hours can be performed by a programmer who understands the platform you have chosen. If you want, you can do it yourself by spending a few hours understanding all the possibilities of the administrative part of the CMS. The online store looks beautiful, works properly and is ready to launch? It’s time to move on to its promotion.
SEO optimization and online store promotion
The store has already been created, filled with goods, everything is working properly. Now you need to make sure that people – potential customers know about it.
The very first step to take is SEO resource optimization. If you properly engage in search marketing, you can provide a conditionally free flow of traffic to the site.
