It’s no secret that the popularity of e-commerce and m-commerce has risen sharply in recent years and is a trend that is set to continue.
Selling online can be a semi or wholly passive way to earn a living, depending on what you want to sell and how you wish to do so.
The trouble is, anyone new to online selling can easily make mistakes that could cost them lost revenue or even be detrimental to their brand’s perception.
The following explains a few important points you need to know before you open up an online store:
1. You Must Have A Mobile-Friendly Website
More people are buying their goods and services online via a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet. With that in mind, you need to make sure your website works well on both desktop and mobile screens.
The easiest way to achieve that goal is by having a responsive design. If you use a hosted platform like Wix or Shopify, the chances are high that you’ll already be using a responsive design.
Otherwise, pay a web designer to convert your design into a responsive one.
2. You Should Offer Plenty Of Payment Options
Another consideration to make is offering plenty of payment options. Some people new to e-commerce wrongly assume that all consumers will have or want to use PayPal.
You need to provide proper card payment options on top of digital wallet payment acceptance choices.
For example, you could consider online payment processing by Inoviopay or perhaps another provider like Stripe. Make it easy for your customers to pay you, or they might go elsewhere.
3. You Need To Promote Your Site
Your work isn’t done when you’ve finished building an online store. You still need to promote it so you’ll have a constant stream of visitors and buyers.
Thankfully, the process of promoting your online store isn’t as hard as you might think.
For example, you can use online platforms like Google Ads to display links from relevant product and service searches to your website.
Plus, you can look at other options, such as collaborating with prominent brands or people online for cross-promotion ideas.
4. Your Site Security Must Be A High Priority
Cybercrime is a growing problem, and you need to make your site security a high priority.
There are several ways you can do that. For example, you can ensure your web host has an SSL/TLS certificate installed.
Another thing you can do is have a security expert stress-test your website and try to discover potential security vulnerabilities. Lastly, enforce robust password criteria on your customers.
5. Don’t Assume All Sales Are Legitimate
Last but not least, you should never assume that all purchases made on your online store are legitimate. Sometimes, cybercriminals use cloned credit card details and intercept packages delivered to unsuspecting victims.
Ensure your website has an automated way of checking all financial transactions. Specific compliance solutions can also flag up potential risky transactions and allow you to put orders on hold until you verify them.