Using A Pre-built Platform
The advantage of using a pre-built platform like WordPress and Wix is that they offer you readymade templates – designed according to the kind of online business you wish to run -Incorporate Your Business.
For instance, if your online business is to do with fashion, then the template will be one that is colorful, has appropriate space for a lot of visual content, including a page to place shipping orders.
You will not have to waste time and resources on building this website from scratch, rather you can just play around with the ready-made template to make it more apt for the design you had in mind, and add in all the information.
Building a website from scratch:
However, many often vouch for the custom-made platform option. Since you can visualize and design your whole website – exactly the way you’d imagined it in your mind.
WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify, Zepo, and KartRocket are some of the favored options for those looking to create websites for their e-commerce to Incorporate Your Business.
Now, you have to keep in mind that it is your website which represents your whole brand visually – the frontrunner to the entire online business. Hence, no amount of detail is too little – from the color to the font and images – everything should tell a small part of the story to your brand.
To this end, there are a few things you need to consider while launching your company’s official website:
You need to decide whether you wish to self-host it or hire a professional to oversee and run it, on a daily basis.
You need to make sure that multiple posts – be it details about the services your e-commerce business offers or plain pictures of your products. That is uploaded and shared on your website, every day.
Payment Gateways
You need to set up payment gateways for your online business to become profitable. As it will allow the processing of credit cards, debit cards, net banking, and cash card transactions through the e-commerce website helps to Incorporate Your Business.
In order to be granted a payment gateway for your e-commerce business, you need to submit the following documents:
- Bank account in the name of the business
- PAN card of the business
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Memorandum of Association
- Articles of Association
- Identity proof
- Address proof
- Website terms of use
- Website privacy policy
Once you have submitted all these documents. You will be provided with a payment gateway for your online business, using which you can enable your online payments.
Some of the popular payment gateways are PayPal, PayU, and RazorPay.
Logistics
This step is essential to carrying out a successful e-commerce business in India. Logistics refers to the process of shipping an order to a customer or transporting an inventory to a merchant. This process also keeps track of the shipped goods which are in transit, until they are delivered to the customer in question.
To this end, logistics management involves the practice of locating and identifying distributor companies, to collaborate with. Most owners of e-commerce businesses prefer to outsource their logistics to a third-party company working in transport and storage.
Figuring out the logistics is crucial for your e-commerce business. Since it means that you now have an effective and steady-fast way to keep track of the products being delivered- at every step. This will help in preventing products from going missing and help you respond to customer queries regarding the expected delivery, successfully.
Once a customer completes his or her order on your website. You will be sent a notification through the help of inventory software (which most e-commerce businesses use). Once the notification is confirmed, then you need to ship the product in question.
Third-Party Company
To this end, you can tie up with a third-party company that deals in supply and distribution. So that when a customer makes a purchase. The third-party will also be automatically notified and they can send the package out quickly. This is the more organized process, but usually applicable for when your online business becomes slightly bigger. And you gather enough resources to tie up with a distribution company in the first place.
However, if your company is smaller. For example, if you're running your website from your home or a separate office and store inventory there. You just need to package the product in question and send it to the buyer directly. This will save you the extra cost of having to outsource your delivery process to a third party.