Having an online store is a must-do thing to enter the eCommerce industry. Among various platforms to host the website, Magento 2 is usually recommended for merchants to start an e-business.
Wondering why we suggest Magento 2 and how to build the online store? This post will provide a detailed description of this platform and a guide to starting the online store.
Let’s begin!
Overview Of Magento
Magento is the most popular platform for eCommerce business. The total revenue of stores on Magento has reached $100 billion this year.
Magento 2 makes it easier for merchants to manage the store. From building content, setting up email campaigns, and measuring the revenues, everything can be done on this eCommerce software.
It also supports a wide range of businesses from B2B to B2C so firms can sell products to different types of customers without having to switch to another platform. This also supports the expansion of the business in the future.
Magento also offers a free version named Magento open-source. There is a wide community with more than 300,000 developers to support merchants. Any concerns that arise during this operation stage would be solved easily by asking for advice from people in this community.
Steps To Start E-business With Magento 2
1/ Choose a domain name
A domain name is the home address of the website.
It is also a key element to the success of the online store. Here are 2 criteria to define a good domain name:
SEO-friendly
If customers find the website from Google search results, what they first see is the domain name so a good domain name can attract customers to click. Hence, this can promise 2nd and 3rd visit to the store and future orders from them.
Besides, the domain name should include 1-2 keywords related to the goods and services offered at the store. This enhances the SEO score and the pages stand a higher chance of being placed on the Google ranking.
Using the right domain name extension is also essential. Merchants should use .com as it is the most popular extension. Consumers have become familiar with this extension and they would not be afraid that the website can contain dangers like integrating viruses or stealing their personal information.
Brand uniqueness
The domain name can help customers to distinguish one brand from another. Having a unique one can make it easier for visitors to remember the shop and avoid mistaking it for other stores offering the same service or providing the same products.
Avoid choosing a name that is similar to other existing online stores. Also, try to create an easy-to-spell and short name so customers find it easier to memorize.
2/ Start Magento 2 installation process
This is not something that merchants need to do. The only thing that they do in this process is to find the right Magento solution provider. While this step may sound simple, we know that failure to decide on the right agency could lead the whole online store to failure.
Some advice for choosing the appropriate partner to build Magento 2 store is to spend time looking through their profiles, past projects, and information about the staff.
Also, try to send an email to these providers to see if they reply to the email immediately and show a customer-centered attitude. Any problems or dissatisfaction with any elements on the website need to be tackled on time.
If the staffs show a slow speed in answering customers’ requests then it would take more time to solve these problems and the total cost can also rise.
3/ Choose a Magento 2 theme
High responsiveness:
This characteristic is important for convenient shopping across devices. Customers now use at least two gadgets including one mobile phone and a laptop. Hence, it is important to make the shopping experience comfortable regardless of the type of device they are using.
Extensions included
Are the extensions included are useful and enough for the store? If the answer is yes, the theme is the perfect solution for the business.
We advise merchants to avoid buying extensions separately which is more costly than developing the theme with all the features needed.
Customizable
It is hard to use the available themes immediately so merchants should choose one that they can change some certain elements like color, fonts, layout, and navigation panel,…
Live Demo
Firms must take this time to check if the site can work well or if the theme truly matches your expectations.
Reference from others: It is also essential to ask for recommendations or reviews from past customers who have used the theme.
4/ Design the store layout
Now it is the merchants’ turn to work on the design of the store.
Change the color palette, and fonts, and reorganize some parts of the website so that the final website can match with firms’ expectations. Also, merchants can choose to send the website to some customers if they want further customization.
Adding a navigation panel is another thing that merchants should not forget. This element is essential to save time for consumers and bring a better shopping experience. Ensure the sorting filter work at its best by listing out as many characteristics as possible.
The more specific the search results are, the more convenient it is for customers to find out the products they need. Sometimes, consumers can change their minds about the purchase when scrolling through the search results so optimizing the finding time can also enhance the number of online orders.
5/ Work on the product pages
We are coming to the final steps and this is one of the key steps to determining a high-quality shopping site.
The products should be provided with accurate information. If there are any mistakes later discovered when the store has already started selling the products, this could cause big trouble for the store and dissatisfaction from buyers.
For instance, a product that is designed for adults but somehow appears in the kids’ section. Then, customers purchase the products to realize that they do not fit. This can cause distrust from customers and they may never return to the store.
Products display in physical stores is vital to the store’s success. The same way goes for Magento 2 websites. Visuals are the key to attracting customers to purchase products online. Equipping high-quality images can make customers find it easier to imagine the product.
For a brief description, try to make it interesting and short at the same time.
The review section is a must-have feature for any e-business. It can work as a valuable source for new customers and the store can use this feedback to improve its service and products.
6/ Start operation
The last step is here. Check things once again carefully and if everything is perfect, merchants can now start selling online.
Magento 2 Features
Multi-source inventory
This feature works best with the store having several branches. Merchants can now manage the number of inventories in different locations. It is easier for customers to purchase products as they can buy from multiple inventory storage.
This is also a competitive advantage to a physical branch. If customers arrive at the store just to find out the product they need has just gone out of stock, they would be very disappointed and merchants missed a chance to sell.
Magento 2 PWA Studio
The number of people having a mobile phone has reached 90% of the population.
Original websites are not so mobile-friendly. Magento 2 has fixed this issue by introducing PWA Studio which offers merchants a chance to bring an app-like experience to website users.
Page Builder
Magento 2 is also a budget-friendly solution. It no longer requires a front-end developer to assist in building the content system on the online shopping site
Merchants do not need to know any technical knowledge and they can now establish new pages, add more products, and publish content updates easily with page builder.
Easier checkout steps
With fewer steps to checkout, there is a lower likelihood that customers would dismiss the shopping cart due to the lengthy process to order. By bringing a better shopping experience, higher online sales are coming to the store.
Wrapping Up
Magento 2 is the perfect choice for starters in the eCommerce industry. We hope that our post has guided merchants in knowing how to start e-business on this platform.
All businesses are rushing to bring their store online as the pandemic makes it harder than ever to sell offline. So if you do not want to miss the opportunity to begin the online store, start planning today!
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