Since the boom of the internet back in the 2001, everybody had since ran to the internet since its the best way of reaching out to the multitude seeking more from it. Millions and Millions from all around the wide world visit this particular place everyday…Google can testify to this. Since there now millions using the internet daily, you can learn how to start a successful online store in 2020 following this simple guide.

While I’m not an expert in “Make money quick online” the reality is that money flow online everyday which is why it would be ideal for businesses to operate on this virtual space which has no limit to what you can get out of it.

The Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 will continuously change what we know about the internet considering how much e-commerce businesses made during this period of lockdown where physical shops were shut tght to avert the spread of the COVID-19 disease. As a matter of fact, the internet had continued to thrive in recent times and it’s now the place to host events, meet people and even read and acquire degree which means there is just no limit to what can be achieved on the internet.

Now comes the important part which is basically getting started with building your own e-commerce store. While that might sound really big to you because you might be thinking you are not a programmer or have no budget to hire one at the moment, don’t worry, that’s what this post is all about building your own online store from scratch and building your business from there.

“Imagine a world without the internet…”

Ret SILO

Well, that wasn’t our portion in this generation anyway and we thank science for such a great achievement which is why it would be a great thing to maximize that potential of the internet by moving your business to the internet and don’t be scared by big names such as Amazon, EBay, AliExpress and any other big name in your country what is essential is to understand some basic things and you can easily move your existing physical customers to order from the internet just in case they’re not nearby for whatever reason.

The scope of this post is within how to start a successful online store and I’ll discuss things you need to get s tarted fast in 2020 while in another part of this post, we can discuss about how to get started with online business in general.

The number one important thing is to maintain your brand name for your online store as that can allow your business to be easily found online by your existing customers. Let’s assume that you have had the name copyrighted, that would even be greater and best for you in all ways possible but that aside, the next thing to consider is the platform to run your ONLINE SHOP ON.

There are numerous store applications out there but again, I will not be talking about any of them but I’ll base this post on self hosted Woocommerce extension for WordPress with which you can have your online store well set up in just a few clicks. So let’s get started shall we.

DO NOTE: I’ll try as much as possible to keep this post as short as possible and comprehensive so that you can easily go through the process yourself without having to face any difficulty along the line.

Since “You can sell and buy right on the internet.” So with this, it would be very advisable for you to read on if you fall to the old category of those that still sell in a brick and mortar shop “No discrimination though, but getting the general public to know more about you is when your business resides in a place where everyone has access to it.” If you can simply define the abbreviation “.W.W.W”  I’m sure you could remember it well.

Now let’s talk about you too can start a successful online store in 2020. There are varieties of approaches towards creating an online market (E-commerce) for your business. It won’t only help your online presence but enable your products become as popular as you might imagine it.

Now that said, you can’t just take your physical goods and throw them in the air…since the internet lives there…well, you follow the visible hut invisible method.” There is usually a way that things get done and this applies to the internet.

Putting your business online for better web presence and better sales starts from you. I say this because you put the passion into it. The passion needed for the success. Believe me, it was only in the 2000 that you might search for the keyword “Wristwatch” and only your website and probably two others would appear on the search result. But now, the competition had gone supercharged making it very hard to get customers sometimes. So find a good Niche, you might focus your attention on a particular area than others this therefore helps not only you but your potential customers.

This is how to start a successful online store

1. A Computer. Every online business owners needs this for their business and therefore will help you set things up and then manage your goods and services in a more convenient manner. And since you can’t carry your laptop with you everywhere you go, you might purchase an hybrid “A tablet.” this resides between a computer and a standard mobile phone. You also need a :

2. A Good Web hosting service. I would define that by pointing you towards your shop. Remember you had to rent the place. The same applies to the web hosting provider. You rent the space on the internet to put your website (Your online shop). Web hosting services aren’t hard to find (You can check our list of best web hosting providers in 2020) and they are great to use and easy to start.

3. E Shop (Cart.) This is the nicest aspect of the thing. You don’t need to start looking around for any. Most web hosting service companies offer this value thereby making it far easy. “Remember I told you the internet is very accommodating…oh I never did….well it is.” Below, I’ll explain more on how to set up your own store quickly.

4. Get some coffee and then sit back to build. To learn more about setting up a e commerce using WordPress, continue your adventure below. (In case you’ve never heard that name WordPress before, it is simply the biggest brother that many websites sits upon. Most of those websites you came about are made with the software. Read more about it here too.)

5. Speak with your bank and acquire a credit card. Create a payment system for your business via “Paypal” and there are in fact many other payment processors online including Stripe. .

6. Start an advertisement campaign. You can opt for Ads on any websites. Create one since its not as expensive as the TV commercials. Sign up on Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat and then get your products noticed by everyone.

7. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) your products: This is a very vital part of it too. Since you might not be relying on advertising every time, then let the Search engine do the job. You remember when I said typing wrist watch into the search engine, Now if your website is well optimized, when someone types that, your website might be among the top rankings and this would enable customers to visit you and then purchase. You can head here to read more on that.

8. Delivery method. You can also sign up with big cargo companies so that they deliver your products to those that had purchased them. Or you can handle this yourself depending on your very budget.

9. Be social. Join social networks to grow your fanbase and become more popular. This won’t only help you have more people that becomes regular customer but those that would criticize and those that would encourage. This would actually help you improve your business patterns.

10. Create a support forum for things you sell. This way, when customers have complaints, they easily mingle with themselves there. You can create categories based in brands or companies that you sell their products. This helps more traffic and enables sales rise

11. Give bonanzas. You can do this on annual basis probably or holidays which might be better since more people shop that time. Giving discounts for your products helps you over the competition. This way, your customers visits you and purchase since they can’t do that at such prize in other e-shops, so therefore become their pal.

12.) The most of all, sell great products. Bad products could end you in jail or your company dismantled. Selling original and great products would attract you more customers than you can imagine. This will skyrocket your business.

It’s now time to set things up and become part of the internet. Since everything is way simple and easy to go about, then your very dream can be achieved in a very short period of time. Get started today and don’t be left out.

Setting up your e-Commerce store in just one day

For convenience sake, I’d opt in for WordPress straight up and WooCommerce plugin which will bring in the solution straight up to your business. One o the best ways to start a successful online store in 2020 is to use a comprehensive tool because you don’t want to be wasting your time learning some difficult technology.

To go about this, all you need to do is head to WordPress.org and download a copy of the software. If you use any of the aforementioned Web hosting platforms listed here, you can be rest assured they provide you a one-click install for WordPress and with that, you can easily setup your website with just ease and that’s that.

If you want to install the software by yourself, then you can read my guide on how to create a database here and then you can easily setup a database with which your WordPress software can be connected to. Remember that WordPress is a PHP software so it requires a Database to save all information and data about your services.

Installing WordPress too is very simple and fast. Assuming your Hosting provider doesn’t have one click to install, then you can just do that by yourself by manually uploading the software. So I’ll base this aspect of the post in three parts. The first part will be the manual setup which involves downloading and installing WordPress by yourself without using the One-click install functionality while the second will be based on one click install then we’ll continue with the whole tutorial by the third part. So if you’re done with either part one or two, then you can just skip and head straight to the third-part.

STEP ONE: Downloading and Installing WordPress

This part is simple. Head over to WordPress.org and get yourself a copy of the software and ensure to download it in a folder which will be easy to remember. The next thing to do is to head over to your hosting dashboard and look for Database, MYSQL. The point is to search for anything related to those two words in a search box provided to you in your hosting dashboard or else, just go through their FAQ/Help page and look for information about it.

Then create a Database, Database Username and password all which will be used later on. (You can as well just request your web hosting support do this for you but might come at an additional cost or not it all depends.)

The next thing is to head over to the folder where WordPress is downloaded and then upload the file straight online by either uploading it to your hosting file manager or using a third-party file manager like WinSCP or FileZilla. There are many more online and they all perform great.

Your target folder would be either WWW or Public HTML folder. That’s usually the name in most hosting provider’s file manager which is allocated to you. Afterwards, unpack/unzip the WordPress_xxx.zp (xxx stands for the version number) and put it all the files and folders found in the WordPress main older within the WWW or Public HTML folder. You should have something like the image below in the aforementioned folder.

That’s all. If everything is well placed at the right folder, then you can proceed to step three as step two isn’t for you.

STEP TWO: One click install WordPress

This is a great option from web hosting which allows you to just install WordPress without needing to go through the stress of downloading and manually creating databases by yourself. If this is the route you’ve taken, then all you have to do is just click on the domain name you’re using (assuming you’re using Ionos for example) then the next thing is to look for Create website.

Then you’ll be presented with an interface whereby you can One Click install WordPress and then set it up just like that. It’s straightforward and simple. You can request from your hosting provider about how to go about this or just use their FAQ/Help page.

STEP THREE: Installing WooCommerce

If you followed step one above, the next thing you’ll need to do is to install WordPress by simply visiting your URL, if the propagation is fast enough, you should see a Welcome screen asking you to select your default language on the screen. Then you can just follow the prompt and enter the Database details where ever it asks for it and after just few seconds, your setup will be done.

The next thing is to head to the Plugin page and click on Add New Plugin and from there, search for WooCommerce (It’s usually among the top plugins on the list) and then click on install and that’s all. Activate it afterwards and then go ahead through the step by step setup screen which is very easy and takes you through the process automatically by itself.

The next thing is to look for some nice templates, You can try Themeforest.net here or just use some simple free templates in WordPress repository by heading to Themes and Add New Themes and then search for Woocommerce.

When everything is well set up, then you can start adding products to your store. There are numerous guides and tutorials out there across the internet which can guide you through the process of creating products and maintaining your inventory using WooCommerce. And most of all, it’s open source and 100% free so that’s it.

Now that you have your shop setup, the next thing is to go through best practices to ranking well on search engine and marketing your products and services to your customers all over the internet with ease and that way, you’re set up for a good business growth. Let’s know what you think in the comment section below. I’ll also do well to update this post in the near future so stay tuned.

As you can see, setting up a simple store can be simple and the next thing to know in order to be able to start a successful online store is to know what your audience wants as opposed to spending money on products which might never be bought. So a little bit of a research and you’re good to go.

You should also know about internet security and how to manage yours as this will ensure your service doesn’t get hacked out as well as secured transaction portals and payment gateways. Really to start a successful online store in 2020 can be promising or a business minded person so far you follow the rules or break them to create even better rules.