How to start a business online
Prior to the online boom, only the selected few could gather the resources required to start their own business. The starting capital had to be considerable, while outside funding was often insufficient unless you had ties with financial and entrepreneurial biggies.
But with the increasing usage of online deals and eCommerce stores, things have changed a lot. The demands for eCommerce and online businesses have increased exponentially. Even in the last few years, the growth of eCommerce has been significant. From 2021 to 2022, eCommerce sales grew more than 30%, from $52 billion in 2021 to $68 billion in 2022.
To this day, anyone can begin and upgrade an online business, regardless of professional experience or past entrepreneurial background.
Although the entry fence has been reduced, it’s not completely gone. Potential business owners still need to create a differential product concept, calculate the sourcing or manufacturing process and then execute a feasible sales model.
Reasons To Start an Online Business
If you are still in doubt as to whether or not you should start an online business then these advantages will help you in deciding.
It is relatively affordable to start
Many want to start a business of their own but are discouraged by the investment needed to get it initiated. The calculation for lease payment, purchase inventory, and employee budget may seem too much.
However, with an online eCommerce business, all you require is:
- Computer.
- Domain name.
- Website builder or a website designing company
Moreover, starting a simple online business with relatively less starting capital is viable, and you don’t need to bet your life savings to become a successful online entrepreneur.
Significant potential and expansion
When you have a brick-and-mortar (physical) store, you have to handle the limitations of the real world, from real estate expenses to local demand.
When you operate an online company, none of these restrictions apply. You can sell to anyone — whether they live in your area or in another country, and with time— the number of your potential customers will increase because more people are getting comfortable with online buying.
In fact, by the year 2025, eCommerce will account for almost 25% of global retail sales. And, the multinational internet population is also increasing as internet users worldwide are expected to surpass 5.6 billion by 2025.
More people getting digital means more possible exposure for your online shop— particularly if you want to take your business across the border.
Always on
Another benefit of taking your business online instead of just keeping a brick-and-mortar store is that online stores can stay open 24/7, even through lockdowns and other disturbances.
Once your business website is online, you are always open to making a sale. Customers can place an order on your website at any time, from anywhere.
Additionally, your business can yield revenue with less day-to-day involvement as you are not required physically make a sale.
Identify Your Niche and Business Idea
A business niche is your priority — a market section and target customers you mainly cater to. This can be anyone from fashion enthusiasts to amateurs to experts.
You need to choose a niche for your new online business. To find the correct target audience, secure:
- A situation or a problem no one else is solving.
- Readiness to deliver a solution to that problem.
- Adequate discretionary income to afford the solution.
You can find many helpful tips on the internet for your market research :
- Online forums are great to look for what questions people ask and what problems they’re trying to crack.
- Consider keyword research to explore keywords that many people are digging for but don’t have a bunch of competition with other sites.
- Visit your potential competitors’ websites and take note of what they’re doing to supply the demand. Then you can employ what you’ve understood and develop a product for a market that already exists — and do it better than the competition. (https://veroinn.com/)
Write copy that sells
There’s a proven sales copy formula that takes visitors through the selling process from the moment they arrive to the moment they make a purchase:
- Create curiosity with an effective headline.
- Explain the problem your product/service solves.
- Prove your credibility as an expert solver of this problem.
- Add testimonials/reviews from people who have used your service/product.
- Talk about the service/product and how it helps the users.
- Create an exciting offer.
- Seal with a strong guarantee.
- Create urgency to buy the product/service.
- Request for the sale.
Throughout your website content, you need to emphasize how your product or service is uniquely able to solve people’s issues or make their lives more satisfactory. Think like a customer and question”What’s in it for me?”
Design and Develop your business website.
Once you’ve finalized the market and product you’re targeting, and you’ve sewed up your selling approach, now you’re ready for your small-business web design. The key is to keep it simple. This is because you have less than five seconds to catch the attention of your website visitors — or else, they’ll be gone. And the worst part, they might never return to your website.
So, keep these important tips in mind while designing your business website:
- Select one or two simple fonts on a white backdrop.
- Ensure to keep your navigation straightforward and simple, and match it on every page.
- Only add illustrations or other graphics, audio, or video if they add to your message.
- Incorporate an opt-in call to action offer so you can gather e-mail addresses.
- Keep the checkout process simple– ensure no more than two clicks between the customer and checkout.
- Your business website is your online shop, so make it customer-friendly.
Use search engines to move targeted buyers to your website
Pay-per-click advertising is the most manageable way to get traffic to a brand-new business growing online. It has two main benefits over waiting for the traffic to come to your website through organic efforts.
First, PPC ads display on the search pages instantly, and second, PPC ads let you try multiple keywords, along with several headlines, prices, and selling techniques.
Along with getting prompt traffic, you can also utilize paid ads to find your best, highest-converting keywords. Then you can spread the chosen keywords in your site’s copy and code, to boost your organic search rankings too.
Establish a verified presence of your business
Most individuals use the internet to find information. Provide that info, free of cost, to other genuine sites, and you’ll notice more traffic and better SERPs. The significant factor here is to always add a link to your site with the information.
- Educate the explorers with free, expert content. Write blogs, and articles, make videos, or any other content that people will find helpful. Share that content via online article websites or social media sites.
- Add “send to a friend” or “share” links on useful content on your website.
- Become a dynamic expert in industry forums and social networking sites where your target customers round up.
You’ll acquire new readers. Additionally, each website that publishes your content will link back to your site. And search engines like Google love links from high-quality and relevant sites and will award you in terms of rankings.
Use the strength of email marketing to convert visitors into buyers
When you create an opt-in list, you’re making one of the most useful assets of your online business. Your clients and subscribers have given you consent to send them an email. This signifies:
- You’re providing them with information or product or service they’ve asked for.
- You’re forming permanent connections with them.
- The response is very significant and completely measurable.
- Email marketing is more reasonable and more compelling than print, TV, or radio because it’s very targeted.
Anyone who comes to your site and opts into your subscriber list is a very important lead. And email is the most useful tool to follow up with those leads.
Boost your income via cross-selling and upselling
One of the most essential internet marketing strategies is to create each customer’s lifetime worth. In fact, studies say that more than 36 percent of customers who have bought from your website once will purchase from you again if you follow up with them.
Finishing the first sale is by far the most challenging and the most expensive part. So utilize the profit center of back-end selling and upselling to get your initial customers to buy again:
- Offer products or services that match their initial purchase.
- Send out coupon codes they can use on their next purchase.
- Show related products on your Cart or check-out page after they buy.
Award your customers for their commitment and they’ll become even more loyal.
Learn from specialists and already thriving online business
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel!
The message is short, simple, and impactful. Organize your time wisely and learn from the knowledge of your competitors or other experts who have already made it and are still accomplishing extraordinarily!
Final words
Stick through these steps to start an online business for free. Follow these principles and know that you can not go wrong with the basics!
Contact our website designing company in Delhi to start your business website today!
Whatsapp or call – 8447380262 or +18064028343
Email – inquiry@icowebsolutions.com
Your website is a product and not a project
Over the time we are making websites which generate results. What we have realized in 10 years of working as a SEO company in Delhi is if you treat your website as a project then your website will not generate results you want.
This is the reason why we think of every website we make as our client’s product and not a project.
This view gives a broader picture about your website goals rather than just a beautiful website which reaches no one. The website may be beautiful but might not reflect your company’s vision and might not reach your target customers.
As a result your website never performs to your expectations.
Essentials of a perfect website
- Website should impress your online visitors.
- Website should convert your visitors into sales.
- Website should provide innovative customer experience and WOW the visitors.
- It should reach target customers when they are looking for it.
This is possible only when business owners treat their website as a product. Build your website as a product which gives you loyal customers, retain existing ones, manages your resources.
Why should business owners treat their website as a product and not a project.
If your website designing company builds your website as a project then their focus will be just on delivering a beautiful website.
With product mindset will let your designers focus on customer conversions and customer loyalty.
Project mindset needs regular web designers and developers.
Product mindset needs business owners who are visionaries, planners and execute plans with perfection.
Project mindset will let you focus on documentations and instructions.
Product mindset will allow you to take decisions with research, quality, innovation and flexibility.
Project mindset will let you focus on flashy effects, moving elements here and there and tons of unnecessary features.
Product mindset will let you focus on important features which are really needed and effects that impress your customers and also keep the website fast and healthy.
Conclusion
Business owners should take the ownership of website designing and should become the think tank. As no one understands the company better.
Interview your website designing company and check their mindset before you finalize your website with them.
Looking for a website designing company in Delhi with product mindset? Reach us not at +91-8447380262
New Site Launch by ICO WebTech; A Corporate Gifting Website – Giftour
The web designing and E-commerce website development team of ICO WebTech has successfully launched an ecommerce website; Giftour – a corporate gifting website in October 2018.
This corporate gifting company is engaged in helping the corporate offices with finding gift options for various occasions like; festivals, promotions, events or any other celebrations.
The clients of Giftour can select from a wide range of unique and customizable gift options and place an order directly from the website.
This corporate gifting company also helps it’s clients to get unique Diwali gifting ideas for their employees or clients.
Apart from the web designing and e-commerce development of Giftour, our team also worked on it’s Logo Designing and Content Writing.
For more information about the website visit Giftour.
To view other sites launched by us please visit our Web Design Portfolio.
Contact our web designing team in Delhi to get your eCommerce website now.
How to eliminate delays in business website launch
Is your business website launch delayed. It happens most of the times. But if you have a look there are many stupid reasons why your new website is delayed.
This delays in business website launch can be eliminated by keeping few simple things in mind. But before that here is the
Havoc which delays in business website launch can cause to your business.
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Loosing your ROI
You may be launching your new website or redesigning an existing one but if the launch is delayed then all your time and money invested becomes a huge liability. It delays your ROI which as a business owner I am sure you would not like at all.
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Delay in reaching your target audience
You build a website or redesign your website only for one reason which is to target specific customers online.This could be for sales, blog subscriptions, memberships etc. You always choose a best time to launch you website.
If it gets delayed then you loose that opportunity to your competitors. Your competitors may be extensively marketing their website and if your website is not there ahead of them then you loose your target customers.
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Higher website development cost
Apart from all the other effects your website launch delay can increase your website development cost drastically.
More it is delayed more you pay to the website designing company or you keep paying salary if you have hired a web designer in house.
You may think that you hire a full time website designer for website design work so how it costs to pay him salary if the website is delayed.
If your business website is done on time then you can use the same in house designer to work on other things. For example, special offer landing pages design, emailers and newsletters design, ads design etc. But you can’t do that as he is busy with the website designing.
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Delayed market response
Faster the website is launched faster response you get from your target market. You get more time to eliminated bugs and work on improving your website to move ahead of your competitors.
You also get more time for innovative ideas to implement on your website as per the the response of your target audiences. We call it ‘early bird advantage’.
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Effects on shareholders
Shareholders are specific about timings. Your business website launch delays can have a negative impact on your shareholders.
A lot of investment is made by the shareholders of your company. They would never like website launch to be delayed at any cost.
These economic effects due to delayed websites can’t be estimated but they are huge. It has a significant negative effect on your ROI and profits.. Let’s move on to the reasons behind delays in business website launch.
Reasons for delays in business website launch
Website launches could be delayed for many reasons. Here are some important ones we have shortlisted.
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Poor management of website development resources
You may hire best website designers and website developers. But if these are not managed efficiently then it can cause delays and waste of time and money.
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Frequently changing designs
Sometimes over doing of website design leads to changing it over and over again. This is a major reason why a business website is not launched on time.
You think you have finalized the design but you switch back to your website designers and delay the web development part frequently.
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Lack of communication and coordination within the teams
If teams involved in web development process lack coordination and communication then it will definitely delay your website.
The web design team, web development team, project manager, decision making authorities should have clear and timely communication.
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Shortage of resources
Another reason for delays in website launch is the shortage of resources. If you do not have sufficient experts for different tasks of web design and development then you end up delaying your website development and launch.
These are the important factors to take care off during the planning of your business website development
How to eliminate delays in business website launch
If I elaborate on the above mentioned reasons then it will be imperative that website launch delays can be avoided by improvements in both website technical process and decision making.
Website development process requires strategic planning, setting tasks, fixing deadlines, including buffer time for unexpected issues. Here are some important ways you can eliminate delays in business website launch.
For website design agencies
Being a website designing agency you can follow certain process to eliminate delays in website launch.
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Understand the requirement
As a website design agency you should be clear on what your client wants. Never agree on anything until your are absolutely clear on what needs to be done.
Take you time in understanding client’s needs and don’t worry client will not run away if you look to clear your doubts.
It is always better to be clear in the beginning than to get stuck in the differences later.
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Draft a proper website design agreement or contract
Always get draft a proper agreement for your client to sign. The agreement should focus on the website building requirements, phases, tasks, deliverables, payment terms etc.
This will help you in getting paid fast and let you focus on individual phases of the agreement. Since client will sign a contract or agreement so it will eliminate the delays due to change of requirements in later stages.
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Get the consent from the people involved
Try to get all the decision makers from your client’s side involved in agreement signing process.
If you do not then there are very good chances of addition of different views and opinions during the course of website development. This is a common cause of delayed website launch for many business.
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On time
You need to be on time for delivery of various tasks defined in the agreement. This way you can push you clients for timely feedback.
Delays in completing tasks is not at all good for the reputation of a website designing company at all. You may loose your current client and also the word of mouth publicity which you can get from your clients for timely delivery of the projects
For business owners
As a business owner you would never like to delay your business website launch. Unknowingly Things happen and website gets delayed.
But you can eliminate these delays by just being a little more careful and cautious.
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Proper Planning
Proper estimate for time and money required for your website development will make your life easy once you get started.
If you are looking to get a blog design or a business website or an ecommerce store developed, you must have properly estimated business plan in terms of time and money.
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Research about the website design agency you want to hire
You should be careful when hiring a website design company. There are people in this industry who never fulfil their commitments.
Read more about:
How to choose the best website design company?
How to choose your Website Design Outsourcing PartnerAsk for references and browse through their portfolio.
Read their FAQs. For example
Ecommerce Website Design and Development FAQs
FAQs on Offshore Outsourcing of Web Designing work to ICO Webtech
Our Website Design FAQs
Answers to the SEO FAQs -
Stick to the process
Never loose your focus and stick you the process defined with your website design company. As many companies try to loosen up on the pre-decided process which cause delays in business website launch.
You should review the the tasks completed in every phase of the website development process. Keep your website design and other teams involved in the website building on toes for timely deliverables.
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Too many changes
This could delay your website launch till eternity. You should thoroughly research about your target customers and try incorporate all the changes during the planning process.
Too many changes in later stages is frustrating for you as well as you website designers and developers.
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Timely content
Make sure you provide content to your website developers on time. Content delays is a major factor in delaying your website launch.
You should keep your website images, texts and other type of content organized during the planning process.
If you have hired professional content writers or content creation agency then make sure you keep them on toes for timely delivery.
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Avoid too many decision makers
Whenever you get a new website or revamp your existing website, it is always exciting. This may invite involvement of too many people in the website design and development process.
Conflict may arise due to this and will lead to unnecessary confusion at various stages of website development.
It is always good to decide on the core team members who will be involved in the website building decision making.
Get a business website with us on time and on budget. Contact us today.