If you’d like to set up a website to sell good online, whether that’s wholesale products, homemade items, fashion apparel, or crafts, there are a few different ways to go about it.
Below, I’ve listed out a few of the different options that you can consider. However, before we get into that, I just want to take a second to say how exciting it is that you’ll be setting up your own online store!
You are the cornerstone of a growing small business movement and it’s dreams like yours that will one day result in a lifestyle of independence, flexibility, and ultimately happiness! I feel privileged that you are beginning a small part of that journey on this website.
That being said, let’s dive into the different ways that you can set up your own website to sell things.
Option 1: Set up your website using Shopify
Shopify is the one of the easiest solutions to get an online store up an running. The website builder has a lot of available themes, extensions, and e-store options. I highly recommend it if you are just starting out in the world of ecommerce and want to get going right away. However, the upsides also come with some downsides.
Even though it’s dead simple to set up your own site to sell products and accept credit card payments, the pricing starts at $14 per month and goes upwards of $179 per month.
As you progress and become more experienced with ecommerce and want a more complex and tailored website, it would make sense to hire a developer to set up a private ecommerce website. Ultimately, it will give you greater control over your brand and small business.
Option 2: Set up your website using an alternative store builder.
There are a lot of websites out there like Shopify that will help you set up an ecommerce store. I’ve created a list of a few of them here. Each option like BigCommerce, Volusion, and SquareSpace have positives and negatives.
Don’t forget when you are going with a company to help build your ecommerce website that price can seem like the most important variable, but it’s not! The features that the website offers, the flexibility, tech support, and the community that is working on extensions/themes and answering common questions on google is far more important.
Option 3: Set up your website using WooCom
merce.
WooCommerce is fundamentally different than some of the store builders mentioned above because it runs on WordPress, which is a free open source CMS that requires some customization knowledge in terms of installing and using plugins and possibly altering your website’s theme.
WordPress is a great blogging platform that also has a whole slew of premium themes out there, and a thriving support community. Once you install the WooCommerce plugin on your wordpress website, you’ll be able to manage payments, shipping, taxes, and more in an easy-to-use interface.
If you’re unsure about how to install WordPress and set up the WooCommerce plugin, check out my other blog post which walks you through it!
Option 4: Sell your goods on a marketplace.
Finally, if you don’t want to set up your own ecommerce website, you could sell your goods on Amazon, Etsy, Ebay, or another online marketplace to get started!
This is a great way to dip your toes in the water without going through the hassle of having your own fully-functional store. However, having your own virtual location is a must-need in the long run. Not only will you benefit from google searches of your product, but it also gives you more space to share a bit about your story, your company’s values, and it allows visitors to connect with you through your email list or your social media channels.
At the very least, if you don’t intend to sell goods on your own website, I would highly recommend setting up a simple landing page with an email opt-in using one of these list-building tools. In a best case scenario, your website would also have information about your company and a way for customers to easily contact you.
Conclusion
What solution do you plan to employ for selling goods on your website? What are you actually going to sell? Let me know in a comment below and feel free to link to your site!