How To Build A WordPress Web Store: Seven Rules Of A Successful eCommerce Business

This is a guest post by Umair Maqsood, an Internet Marketing Specialist who writes for Jammer Store and on his own tech blog, Tech-licious. Umair shares his experience in building a successful web store in a highly aggressive and competitive tech environment.

Click this image to How To Add A Shopping Cart To Your WordPress Blog

Lots of people are interested in Internet commerce because they want to make money online. That’s not really surprising because web stores are just made for making money.

Building a web store can be easy and cheap to organize and to run, but there are some secrets here too. Today we will share with you what to focus on if you want your web store to prosper.

1. Logistics

First you should build a reliable logistics system. This step includes looking for suppliers and building a chain between your supplier, you and your customer. It is very important to deliver all the goods on time, because most people have no patience for late orders. They use web stores simply because they don’t have spare time to look for and get to a local store – but they don’t like to wait. Your logistic system must be clear and enable your customers to track their purchase online any time they wish.

2. Cool site

Make sure that your web store’s site loads fast and looks good. It is really important to organize the system in a highly logical manner so that customers won’t spend lots of time for registration, looking for a particular product, and placing their order.  Make sure that your sales team will contact your customers ASAP if they encounter issues ordering. Usability problems will scare off all your clients.

Click this image to find out more about the Balita WordPress eCommerce Theme – choosing a theme specifically intended for Web stores makes building them easier.

3. Right pricing

You should keep in mind that a competitive price is the primary factor that attracts customers. You should remember that besides saving time, a wish to save some money is what motivates people to use web stores. It would be cool to provide the lowest price you can, and if it is impossible – try to offer free delivery. Don’t neglect that point because free delivery greatly increases conversions.

4. Unique or rare goods

Try to focus on selling unique or really rare goods, so your competitors won’t have the same products. Offer goods that are not accessible in your country for some reason. If some products are out of stock, clients may be scared off your site. You may want to remove or hide products when they are not available. If you sell rare or unique goods you have to ensure your photos and descriptions are very clear so that potential buyers can tell as much about each product as possible. Provide an easy way for them to ask questions and get quick answers. People only buy when they are have no nagging doubts.

5. Support team and company blog

Your support team needs to be able to answer any questions including how to use what  you sell. Highlight the frequently asked questions or really hot news about your store and products on your blog. You can see an example on the Jammer security blog.

Blogging will boost the popularity of your products. This is really important because your customers will have another resource for answers, learn of additional products they may want or need, and feel your company offers better support. You can also find out through comments on your blog what additional products or issues your customers would like you to solve.

6. SEO and marketing

No one will buy your goods if they never see your site. It is common for successful ecommerce stores to spend a lot of time and resources promoting their store. Don’t forget that you must market, because without this all your previous efforts will produce no income.

7. Customer pays in a way he likes

That must be a financial ideology of your web store. The more payment methods you offer the more sales you will make. Some people prefer PayPal and do not have a debit or credit card; others trust Google checkout; some prefer to use their choice of Master Card, Visa or even American Express or Discover. The more different choices you give them, the more likely they will have money available to spend immediately.

Click image to read How To Put Paypal Buttons In WordPress Blogs

It is not that hard to create a web store and start selling goods. What’s really hard is keeping your store profitable over time. But you can do it if you will make your store more useful for your customers than for you. I mean that great profits for you are not the key. Customer care, service and support pays off in long term repeat buyers.

You can follow Umair Maqsood on Twitter @UmairMaqsood and read his tech blog, Tech-licious.

How to Increase eCommerce Sales:

• Why eCommerce Sales Decline and Fluctuate – And What to Do to Increase Your Conversions and Profits
• Why Having a Brand Evangelist Increases Conversions, Customer Satisfaction and Profits
• Small Business Economy: How to Beat the Recession ~ Tips from a top Gift Store Owner
• How Yahoo Stores Expert Rob Snell Increased Sales by $10,354,767 ~ Yes that is $10.3 MILLION
• Opening an Online Store: Options for Selling Online
• THE Most Effective Way to Increase Sales or Leads
• How to Evaluate a Merchant Gift Affiliate Program ~ This post has tips for evaluating ecommerce stores which are the same things you would do to optimize yours.

Tagged as: Ecommerce, wordpress ecommerce, wordpress ecommerce plugins, wordpress web store