To create an online store is easy and takes just 9 steps | CloudCart

Are you ready to embark on the thrilling journey of launching your own online store? We've got a game-changing secret to share with you: You can create and maintain your dream store without breaking the bank! Yes, you read that right. Imagine the freedom of taking charge and doing it all yourself, while saving heaps of money in the process. Imagine being capable of setting up your store just the way you've always dreamed of, without the need to pay premium fees for web designers or developers. Don't just take our word for it - over 2500 satisfied customers have already paved the way and achieved online success.

Now it's your turn to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit and witness the birth of your very own thriving online business. Get ready to make your mark on the digital world!

Here is how you can create your online store with CloudCart in 9 steps

Step 1: Register a domain

Creating an online store begins with this. You cannot do any retail activities and have an online store without a domain. Choosing a domain for your online store should not be underestimated. Bet on a name that best matches the brand name. In this way, customers will easily be able to find the website in the browser search box. The short name in which the letters are visually selected has a better chance of being stored in the user's memory. Keep in mind that adding a key phrase is a big plus. Avoid numbers and dashes that makes it difficult to find the site.

Step 2: Choose the right platform having a powerful bundle of eCommerce tools

This is easy. Choose the right platform for eCommerce, which is easy to be used. More of the small businesses’ owners don’t want to be bothered with coding their own website. To choose the right platform which will maintain your site’s organization, you should have already create a plan containing your future goals and the visualization of your brand. The platform needs to put the idea into practice and to shape a modern and functional website. 

CloudCart meets these requirements. With us you can design your store from scratch. Our platform is designed to help you in all aspects of this endeavor - design, features, marketing and everything else that should provide the customer base with easy and efficient shopping. CloudCart is designed to help you create professional and stylish e-commerce sites because we know that your store is the online face of your business.

Step 3: Upload content, description, and photos

• It's time to work on the basic of your store - its content. Before that, you first need to create a detailed strategy to determine what will be offered on your site.
• At the beginning of everything is the idea - What you want to sell in your online store and to whom. Focus your efforts on the target audience that you want to serve and for which you will adapt your products and message. Create a buyer profile for easier and more accurate strategizing.
• Set the goals of your content - Is it driving more site traffic, or strengthening the brand image? It depends on you and your business perspective. Each goal consists of different means and strategies for implementation.
• After planning it is time for action - Upload your content to the web. CloudCart allows you to add pages to your online store so you can give customers more information about you, your products, and services. This way you can make them feel more comfortable making a purchase.

You can upload more descriptions of the products you already have, as well as their, professional photos. You can add different types, brands, categories and additional information that can be useful for the customer.

Step 4: Choose your design and modify it

As we mentioned earlier, you can create the design of your store, and make it comfortable to use, beautiful and attention-grabbing. You can add video and text on your pages and modify banners, sliders, logos and colors. Creating a design in CloudCart is also available through a ready-made templates. They include header, footer, category and detail pages, contacts. Many of these elements cannot be completely changed. That is why it is important to choose a template that suits the type and niche of the business. Depending on the nature and target audience, choose a design that best satisfies the customer.

In the Select Design section, you will be able to review each option before making a decision. But even if you're not happy with your choice, CloudCart always gives you the option to edit. Start your online store personalization journey by reading this article in our help center.

Step 5: Set your payments

There are two main aspects related to payments that youy have to address in your online company’s website:

• How many clients are willing to pay?
• How will you get the payments in your own bank account?

The more payment methods you offer, the easier for your clients it will be. Therefore they will be able to make actual purchases. There are two main payment methods in eCommerce. The imposed payment and the bank transfer do not require the participation of third parties.

In most of the situations, to offer online payments you should turn to the payment providers. Such companies are:

• Stripe
• PayPal
• ePay
• Virtual POS Terminal Borica
• Virtual POS Terminal PIB
• Virtual POS Terminal OBB
• Braintree
• Instamojo
• Klarna
• BNP Paribas
• TBI Leasing
• UniCredit Consumer Financing.

They require registration and earn a commission from every transaction. In the Payments section of the platform you can select the desired types of payments and providers.  

Step 6: Delivery options

They are as important as the payment ones, so you better set them properly. There are 3 main types:

• According to weight
• According to price
• Both of the above.

In the Delivery section of the platform settings, you will be able to define your preferences. The first step is to choose one of the three mentioned charging options. Formulate an accurate description, determine the region for deliveries and insurance. Enter a price according to the method you have chosen. If you do not have your own car to deliver the items, you can take advantage of suppliers such as Econt, Speedy and Rapido.

Important: CloudCart offers multiple integrations with local shipping providers for every local market in which we have localized our services.

Step 7: Make the SEO optimization precise

The basic SEO optimisation consists of publishing original titles and original content for your products on the site. This will improve your business's chances of better search engine detection and therefore generate more clicks. On the CloudCart panel, Marketing section > SEO > Meta information you will be able to easily optimize the content of the homepage, products, etc. Don't underestimate meta titles because they have the power to significantly increase a store's popularity on the web.

Step 8: Track the abandoned orders

Abandoned shopping carts are the plague of the e-commerce sites. However, you can avoid it by being patient and carefully monitoring user behavior. Our latest super powerful tool that will aid you in your journey to a successful eCommerce business is our CloudCart Analytics. Please, take your time to master it, so you can transform your store into a revenue generation machine.

Step 9: Use the Google Analytics integration, which is part of CloudCart

‍Google Analytics will help you monitor the website and the product pages so you can improve them to get more sales and effectiveness.  

In this blog post we have explained the potential of Google Analytics 4 - the new version of GA, that replaced the older Universal Analytics.

That’s it. You are ready! Now you have your own online store. But now comes the most important step: once you've created an e-commerce site, you need to "encourage" it to generate sales, and this is what will help you:

• Connect your e-shop with social networks and more specifically with Facebook. You can create a free Facebook store with just one click through the platform.
• Use MailChimp so you can inform your customers of the innovations, to invite them to participate in promotional games, or to attract new users.

You already know the most important about creating an online store with CloudCart in 9 steps. It is time to take control of your business and make the most out of it!