The e-commerce market is booming thanks to the multiple platforms that allow you to easily create your own online store. It is nevertheless necessary to have skills in various and varied fields (logistics, SEO communication, customer management, etc.) to achieve standing out and attracting an ever-increasing number of customers. So, if you have an idea for an online store, read our guide carefully which will allow you to avoid the obstacles that line the creation of an e-commerce site.
STEP 1: ASK YOURSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Opening an online sales site is a great opportunity. Indeed, demand is growing on the part of Pakistan who is more and more followers of purchases on the Internet because the consumption habits have radically changed in recent years. But opening e-commerce is too often seen as the easy way to start a business. Although the investments are less important than for a physical store, today it is much more difficult to stand out from the competition and appear on search engines like Google. This is why you must take the necessary step back on your will to embark on this adventure and on the merits of your project. We advise you to think about these three elements in order to determine the merits of this project:
- are you motivated enough to open e-commerce?
- do you have the skills to run a web business?
- is your personal life in line with your professional goals?
Before you start, make sure your idea is the right one. What are your motivations? Are you launching yourself out of fashion or is this a result of real strategic thinking?
STEP 2: DEVELOP THE CONCEPT
You are certainly not the only website offering products online! Ask yourself why your customers would buy their products on your particular site:
- It is more visible than its competitors
- It offers products of better quality or difficult to find elsewhere
- It offers attractive price offers
- It is secure and allows rapid dispatch of purchases.
You can also differentiate yourself by your communication policy on social networks or by promoting your products through different media.
Give free rein to your imagination and your desires. The main thing is that you must offer your customers an original, new and powerful concept in order to stand out from the competition!
STEP 3: CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH
In order to validate your concept, it is essential to rely on a complete market study. The best idea in the world is only viable if there is demand. Online stores are fortunate to have a national or even international catchment area, unlike physical stores. But it would be too simplistic to think that your store could reach the entire web market. In fact, in the same way, that a business is visible only to people passing by, a website is only visible to users performing a search on Google where you appear in the search results. This is why your market research must focus on two aspects. The first is a macroeconomic study of your environment. Learn about your competitors, your suppliers and the global market for e-commerce sites. This will allow you to identify niches on which to position yourself in order to quickly emerge on the search engines and the suppliers or service providers with whom you will be able to work (the post office for your parcels, PayPal for your online payment solutions, etc.).
The second is the field study. Unlike a classic creation, here the field is the web. You must seek to understand the consumption habits and needs of your potential customers.
This will allow you to adapt your service offer to their expectations in terms of care and well-being. The information to collect as part of your questionnaire is as follows:
- customer profile (age, professional activity)
- consumption habits (hours, budget, needs, supports, etc.)
- their level of satisfaction
STEP 4: YOUR DOMAIN NAME AND CREATE YOUR MERCHANT SITE
For a commercial site, the choice of the domain name is equivalent to the name of your shop. You have to choose something hard-hitting and easy to remember. Attention, on the internet many domain names are already taken, do not hesitate to be original in the writing and the format of your name.
Check the availability of your domain name.
Who says domain name says hosting, it is the counterpart of the local for a traditional shop. Good hosting is crucial because it ensures good performance of your website and the reliability of use. You must now develop your commercial site (or outsource this development to a web agency).
STEP 5: WRITE YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
This document will allow you to formalize your project and have a financial projection on its potential. It will be essential if you want to make a loan from your bank to convince them to support you in this adventure. For an e-commerce site it is crucial to present the entire communication strategy in order to reassure your investors about your ability to stand out from the competition. When carrying out the business plan you will need to address several crucial points. Remember, you have to convince your investors to trust you. Demonstrate through this writing your way to carry out this concept to the end and then manage its development and by what means you plan to do it.
STEP 6: CHOOSE LEGAL STATUS
The choice of legal status for an eCommerce project is often turned towards three solutions:
SARL (limited liability company): It is made up of at least 2 partners. The company created is a legal person. In the event of bankruptcy, only the amount of the capital of the LLC can be claimed. You cannot see your personal property seized in bankruptcy. The profits of the merchant site are subject to corporate taxation.
EURL (a one-person company with limited liability): As its name suggests, it is an LLC designed for a single partner.
The SAS (simplified joint-stock company): it is also a company, but it offers greater flexibility in the realization of the statutes of the company. The main difference with an LLC is the remuneration of the managers. Indeed, the amount of social charges that the business owner pays on his remuneration is lower in LLC especially if the remuneration is significant. However, in SAS, dividends are not subject to social security contributions, unlike SARLs.
Micro-enterprise: it makes it easier to get started in opening your e-commerce. In other words, you can use this status as long as your sales do not exceed the target amount per year. This status allows you to benefit from flat-rate taxation and to benefit from simplified accounting and tax formalities.
STEP 7: COMPLETE THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
To open e-commerce here are the main administrative formalities: Open a professional bank account and deposit the share capital: –
- Write the statutes
- Prepare the various documents to be sent to the centre for business formalities (CFE)
- Publish a legal notice
The above formalities are those for the opening of a SAS or a SARL. If you open a micro-business, they are simpler.
If your site collects personal data (name, email) and constitutes files of customers and prospects, you must make a simplified declaration.
Finally, the merchant site must comply with certain legal obligations:
- collect customer agreement;
- inform customers of their right to access, modify and delete the information collected;
- ensuring the security of information systems and the confidentiality of data;
- indicate a data retention period.
About the author
DMTwebhosting.com’s Editorial Team prides itself on bringing you the latest web hosting news and the best web hosting articles!
You could also link to the news and articles sections: