Starting an Online Store

It is very easy to start and create an online store whether it be an online boutique or some other retail business. A store via the internet is generally called an e-commerce online store where the "e" stands for electronic commerce.

First, you want to figure out what you want to sell. You can have online store to sell t-shirts or some other online clothing store, an online store to sell books, an online computer store, or an online store to sell just about anything else. You can also use your online store to allow people to pay for your services whether you are providing computer repair services, nail art designs, legal services, or just about any other service available.

Second, you need to figure out how you want to sell your product. Today's market provides you with many options to creating an online store. You can, for example, have an eBay online store or an Amazon online store. The problem with these options, however, is that you are always promoting the eBay and Amazon services while you are promoting your own. On the other hand, eBay and Amazon are spending a tremendous amount of money on advertising and you get the windfall because your products are also found on those websites. Realistically, you should be using all possible methods to sell your products - eBay, Amazon, and your own store - because the market is very competitive and any advertising will help. When someone purchases your goods from your Amazon store, why not send them a shipping confirmation with a discount code they can use when they purchase directly from your online store?

Building an online store can be easy and affordable. You can use an online store builder such as pageBuzz.com which provides you with a small business do it yourself website solution. That is, you get everything you need for $19.99 a month - the website designs, a shopping cart, a photo gallery, and more.

Third, you need to find a domain name for your store. Your domain name and your website hosting are two different services - you cannot have a website without a domain name but you can have a domain name without a website. Your domain name should be as short as possible and a .com if at all possible. Keep your domain name short because the longer the name, the more likely it is that someone will misspell the name. If you did not purchase the misspelled domain name and have it pointed to your website, then you just lost that potential customer. You should get a dot com domain name extension because when people think of the internet and e-commerce stores, they think of dot com's (e.g., the dot com boom). So, don't try to change people's minds--go with the standard. You can read more about choosing a domain name here.

The domain name registration fees can range from less than $5 to $35. If you are managing the domain name yourself, then you should be paying about $8-10 dollars (in 2009). If you are paying less than about $8, then the company is probably taking a loss on the domain name. This means that you are going to receive a lot of advertisements for unnecessary website services because the company must make up for that loss somehow. So, be careful. Also, if you are managing the name yourself, keep in mind that all the information you enter is public - your name, your address, your phone number, and your e-mail address. If you do not want this information public, then you should purchase the privacy registration. Other than that, you do not need any other services (no business registration, no advertising packages, and no whatever else you're being offered).

If you are having a company manage the domain name on your behalf, then you will likely pay a higher fee because the company maintains your domain name and contacts you with the renewal. It is similar to purchasing domain privacy registration but generally cheaper. Domain privacy registration costs about $10 (as of 2009) in addition to your domain registration fee. If you allow pageBuzz to purchase the domain name on your behalf when signing up for small business website hosting, the fee is $14.95 (as of 2009).

Finally, you need to register your business. You should register your business after you figure out your domain name. While your business name does not have to be the same as your domain name, it is usually easier for people to remember your website if your business name and domain name are the same. Also, since you are setting up an online store, then your business name should definitely be the same as your domain name (although you can leave off the .com in the business registration). Click here to learn more about business registration.

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