How to Make a Store Website
Your online web store will give Internet users the option to go online and find deals on products and services that they may be interested in. Creating an online store for your customers can be a lucrative way of making money since your online business will have low overhead costs: you are not paying a mortgage or lease for a physical storefront. Your site must be professional and organized so that your customers will trust that they are shopping with a reliable web store.
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Instructions
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Choose a name for your web store. Your web store name should be catchy and easy to remember and spell. Purchase a domain name for your web store. A domain name is the web address people type into their web browser to reach your web store. Domain registrars charge between the $1 to $14 per year.
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Take pictures of the merchandise for your website. The merchandise should be well-lit with attractive packaging. The customers will not be able to touch or handle the products, so the images must be professional and easy to see. Use a digital camera and Photoshop if necessary to create the same background for your products.
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Write out the content for the website using word-processing software. Include information about your company and descriptions of the products as well as answers to potential questions the customers may have. Check the punctuation and spelling to maintain professional content.
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Open a PayPal or Google checkout account to accept payments. PayPal is a form of merchant account that charges a transaction fee and percentage of each sale. Contact your local bank to apply for a merchant account if you do not want to use PayPal. Once customers pay for the items, the funds will either go to your PayPal account or directly into your checking account if you opened a merchant account with your bank.
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Choose a web template or an e-commerce store service. Web templates are websites that already created that require you to upload images and prices for your products. E-commerce services like Yahoo and Intuit charge a monthly fee and allow you to upload images to your website. They will assist you with advertising and maintenance on the site. Hire a freelance web designer from a site like Guru.com if you want a custom website.
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Download shopping cart software for the storefront of the website. Shopping cart software operates similarly to a shopping cart used in a store. Customers can click on the products they are interested in, and the software calculates the amount that they must pay. Shopping carts are either free or paid. If you choose shopping cart services like those of Intuit or Yahoo, shopping cart software is not necessary.
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Purchase a web hosting package for your website. Web hosts own and maintain multiple servers that handle your content and traffic to your site. If you choose e-commerce services like Yahoo or Intuit, web hosting is not required. Web hosts can charge between $3 and 100 per month. Choose a web host that offers the least expensive package with the most space and features.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit grocery store image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
