E-commerce sales have been booming for years, and they’re only expected to increase as customers seek more convenience and accessibility.1 By learning how to start an online store, you can open a new source of income and tap into an audience of customers who are ready to buy.
Below, we’ll unpack what you need to know before embarking on this new venture.
If you’re still weighing your options or you’re not sure which industry to enter, you can begin by conducting market research to help identify profitable niches. Make use of resources such as Google Trends, industry reports, online forums, and keyword research tools to start this process.
Conducting market research for online business ideas can help you:
Once you’ve conducted this research, think about how you can leverage your personal interests and expertise to meet gaps for demand in your target market or industry niche. From there, you can start to formulate ideas for products and online businesses.
It’s important to take a structured approach and thoroughly prepare before launching an e-commerce business, from setting up your e-commerce site and managing inventory to meeting legal requirements and marketing your big idea.
Below are some of the most important tasks to complete while building an online business.
A professional and user-friendly website can serve as the foundation of your online business. Not only will your website be a virtual storefront for online customers, but it will also help search engines discover your business. That’s why building an online presence is so important for new business owners.
To create a website for your business, choose a website-hosting platform that is easy to use and can integrate with trusted payment processors to ensure seamless transactions for customers.
Consider including these essential features:
Even if you’ve already settled on a name for your business, choosing a domain name for your online store can be tough. You’ll want to select a memorable and relevant domain name that reflects your brand and business. For optimal user-friendliness, consider keeping your domain name short, avoiding hyphens, and incorporating keywords that customers might search for.
To register a domain name, you can use domain hosting sites like GoDaddy and Bluehost to select and purchase it. Consider securing various domain extensions — such as .com, .net, and .org — to prevent other businesses from using them and to help protect your brand name.
Attract and retain customers with a well-designed website that’s organized, user-friendly, and easy-to-navigate with a streamlined user experience. You’ll want to create a mobile-responsive site that is accessible to customers across devices, and incorporate high-quality images, a clean layout, and consistent branding. When designing a site, you can also include SEO keywords in your content and metadata to help search users find your pages.
Once customers are ready to buy, you’ll want their checkout process to be as smooth as possible. That means setting up and customizing a shopping cart integration on your website to facilitate their transactions.
Ideally, this checkout functionality should:
Learn more about how to integrate a shopping cart into your site with PayPal’s all-in-one integration.
Effective inventory management can help ensure that your business maintains the right amount of stock and is prepared to meet customer demands.
Here are a few inventory management tips to help:
There are certain rules and regulations that you must follow as you build your company. Common legal requirements for online businesses include:
Legal requirements for online businesses can vary by location and industry, so it’s important to research the specific regulations that apply to your business. You can also consult with legal professionals to ensure compliance with all relevant laws.
Leverage a mix of marketing strategies to build awareness for your online business and drive traffic to your e-commerce website. You can grow your business with social media outreach, affiliate marketing, influencer partnerships, paid advertising, and email newsletter subscriptions. You can also use SEO tactics to help get your website listed on the first page of search results.
Whether you’re looking to make a big career move or start a side hustle, you can take inspiration from any number of innovative online business ideas. Consider niche business ideas to tap into specific but loyal communities of customers, or build your e-commerce business around your general area of expertise, such as graphic design, copywriting, tech support, or social media management.
Going further, some unique online business ideas include:
Find more inspiration with these small business success stories.
Starting an online business can seem overwhelming—not to mention running one. But you don’t have to do it alone. The PayPal Business app offers a range of tools to help your business easily sell with PayPal and contunie growing.
First, you can open a PayPal Business account and get set up in minutes — with no monthly commitments or hidden fees. You can also use PayPal e-commerce integrations with top platforms such as Shopify, GoDaddy, and BigCommerce.
Once you set up your PayPal Business account, you can streamline your operations with other helpful solutions. Use PayPal Checkout to securely accept a range of payment methods like PayPal, Venmo, credit and debit cards, and digital wallets. Offer PayPal Pay Later to help customers pay in easy installments. And create, send, and track invoices right from the PayPal Business app so you can get paid on time.
In partnership with three expert business owners, the PayPal Bootcamp includes practical checklists and a short video loaded with tips to help take your business to the next level.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. May we use marketing cookies to show you personalized ads? Manage all cookies