How to Start a Free E-commerce Website
If you want to offer an Internet shopping experience to your customers, consider creating an e-commerce website for your business. An e-commerce site enables you to provide an online store where visitors view your items and pay for them using an electronic shopping cart. Traditionally, a Web store is built with an HyperText Markup Language (HTML) editor program, but you have the option to use a free, e-commerce website builder that automatically codes everything you need.
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Things You'll Need
- Your own URL
- Your own Website
- A Good Email account (Google or Yahoo)
- Good Wholesale Source
- Good Customer Service
Instructions
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Point your browser to a free e-commerce provider such as Free Webstore, Vendio, eCrater, Highwire Commerce or Webnode. Click the "Sign Up" button on your preferred provider page and follow the onscreen instructions to register your account. If using Highwire Commerce, scroll down, click the "Get your own store" button, and then click the "Sign up" button under the "Facebook" option, which is the free version of the e-commerce website builder.
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Configure your website to get your online store running. After logging into Highwire Commerce, for example, click the "Settings/General Settings" menu at the top of the page and enter the required information, such as your preferred business URL address, in the text fields provided.
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Design the pages of your Web shop using the available tools in your account. For instance, click the Vendio "Stores" link in the menu bar, select "Template" and then view the website designs that appear in the window. Click the "Preview" link under a selection to see how your store looks in this format, and then click the "Select this template" link to apply it to your own site.
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Set up the e-commerce features of your store including the presentation of your goods and the allowable payment methods. To illustrate, click Free Webstore's "Manage" link in the control panel and select sub-menu options, such as "Categories," to create categories for your shop and "Products" to enter essential data including the description and price of your items. Further, click the "e-commerce" control panel link and select "Checkouts" to choose the payment options, such as PayPal, that you accept.
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Click the "Save" feature to preserve your work, and then click the "Publish" option to publish your e-commerce website to the Internet. See your provider's "FAQ," "Help" or "Support" page if you need assistance with these tasks.
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Tips & Warnings
The Vendio and Highwire Commerce providers include paid versions of their site builders, which allow for more features such as a customized domain name and more bandwidth. Click the "Pricing" link on the top of the page to find out more.
Dont get ahead of yourself
Be prepared for rough times
Business goes in waves
Dont spend too much
