There are a lot of different ways to make an online store. You could use Shopify, BigCommerce or any number of other paid platforms. What if you don’t want to spend any money, though? We’ll walk you through how to create an online store for free, and what you can do to scale your store once you start making a profit.
Step 1. Decide on a Niche
A niche helps your audience understand what your store is about. It also makes it easier to target keywords and create content that will draw people in. For example, if you sell clothes, your niche might be “women’s plus-size workwear.” If someone asks friends and family for recommendations for women’s plus-size workwear, you want them to recommend your online store as the go-to source for your product.
Niche ideas include:
If you sell services, you can often charge a premium by having a specialized niche. For example, a dentist needing to hire a copywriter for his clinic’s blog can hire any copywriter, but will recognize a copywriter for dental offices as a specialist and will pay more.
Product-based businesses typically use a store name, whereas service-based businesses will often use the name of the servicer. No matter your niche or type of product or service, your name must be easy to spell, memorable and have a domain name and social media handle available.
Step 2. Choose a Platform
Shopify and BigCommerce are the two of the most popular e-commerce platforms. They’re both great, but they also come with a price tag. If you want to start an online store for free, your best bet is to use a platform such as Weebly. It’s not as flexible or customizable as Shopify and BigCommerce, but it does offer a free forever plan.
The free version of Weebly doesn’t let you have a custom domain name, so your URL will look like forbes.weebly.com instead of forbes.com. As you start to make money with your online store, you can move to a paid plan with Weebly, or migrate to a different e-commerce platform for greater versatility.
Step 3. Set Up Your Store
For this tutorial, we’re using Weebly.com, the website builder that lets you create a free online store. It’s easy to get started and doesn’t require any coding knowledge. Plus, you can use Weebly to create a professional website for free if you upgrade to a paid plan later on. Best of all, it’s backed by Square, makers of point-of-sale card readers.
Step 4. Customize Your Online Store
With all of your details input and your selections made, next, it’s time to customize your online. To do this, open the site editor. Then, add your logo and select your color scheme. Select a domain name (e.g., yourbusinessname.com). Customize your header, footer and site navigation. Add, remove and customize any additional web pages (e.g., about, contact). Finally, create your product catalog by adding items and shipping information.
Step 5. Market Your Online Store
Now that you’ve set up your online store, it’s time to start marketing it. This is where a niche comes in handy again. You can use your niche to target specific keywords and create content that will attract your target audience.
Here are some ideas for marketing your online store:
There are many different ways to market an online store. The key is to find the marketing strategies that work best for you and your niche. Experiment with different marketing techniques and track your results to see what works best for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a personal decision and there’s no right or wrong answer. You may want to consult with an accountant or lawyer to see if it’s right for your business. If you decide to form an LLC, follow our guide to setting up an LLC in seven steps.
You’ll need to decide on a shipping method and set up shipping rates. We recommend using a shipping service such as UPS, FedEx or USPS. This will allow you to get the best shipping rates and offer your customers a variety of shipping options. You can also use a shipping calculator to help customers estimate shipping costs.
To track your store’s performance, you’ll need to set up some analytics tools. We recommend using Google Analytics to track website traffic, conversion rates and other essential metrics. You can also use other tools such as Hotjar, Mixpanel and Kissmetrics.
You can create a logo for free using online tools like Canva or Logo Maker. You can also hire a freelance graphic designer to create a custom logo for your store. Popular marketplaces for graphic designers for hire include Fiverr, Upwork and Freelancer.com.
A great way to create a tagline is to brainstorm a list of words that describe your business. Once you have a list of words, try to combine them into a short and catchy phrase. You can also use a tagline generator to help you create a tagline.
The best way to choose a domain name is to think about your target customers and what words they would use to search for your store. You can also use a domain name generator to help you find an available domain name. Once you’ve found a domain name you like, you can register it through a domain registrar.