How to Start a Pet Supply Online Business With a Cart
Pets can bring enjoyment and laughter into any home. At some point pet owners may need supplies, toys, and/or medications for their pet. Starting an online store that provides pet supplies allows your customers to purchase items in the comfort of their own home and possibly receive supplies for less money than if they went to their local pet store. Customers may also feel more comfortable ordering online if they have pets that they cannot leave unattended.
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Instructions
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Obtain a domain name for your website. A domain name is the web address people type into their browser to access your site. Domain registration is usually paid on a yearly basis and can cost as little as $1.99 to $14 per year. Conduct an online search for domain providers or use GoDaddy.com as a domain registrar. (See Resources.)
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Obtain web hosting for your website. A web host has servers that contain enough memory to save data on your website, and it handles the traffic of your customers visiting your website. Expect to pay from as little as $3 per month to more than $100 a month for a web host. Purchase an inexpensive web hosting plan first and upgrade if you have more customers than your web host servers can handle.
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Create a list of pet supplies you want to offer in your online pet supply store. You can visit your local pet store to get ideas about popular supplies, or you can look at other pet supply websites to determine what items they are selling.
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Purchase pet supplies for your website at wholesale prices. You can obtain wholesale pricing for pet supplies by going to import/export sites such as EC21.com and TradeKey.com. Some companies may actually drop-ship, which means when customers pay for their products on your site, the company will ship the item to them directly, using your company name.
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Hire someone to design your website. Hire a freelance web designer by going to sites such as Freelancer.com and Guru.com. Ensure that your web designer has experience in e-commerce web creation and shopping-cart software.
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Locate shopping-cart software for your website. Shopping-cart software allows customers to put multiple items in their "shopping cart" and check out by making a payment using your merchant account or a third-party processor, such as PayPal. You can purchase shopping-cart software at your local office supply store or use online shopping-cart downloads, such as Zen Cart. Your web designer will be able to integrate your shopping cart into your website. (See Resources.)
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Advertise your business by purchasing ad space online and advertising in online magazines and forums for pet lovers.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit pet dog feet paw image by Paul Retherford from Fotolia.com
