Starting an online store is equal parts exciting and overwhelming. It can be tempting to just dive head-first and dig in immediately, but there’s a few things to consider before you begin. Considering these points before beginning your store will help set you up for shining success.
1. Be clear about your branding
Your brand is the face of your business, and it’s essential to have it sorted before starting your store. You should have a clear idea of your brand identity, including your logo, colour scheme, fonts, photography style, etc.
It’s tempting to make it up as you go and see what fits and what doesn’t, but this can also create inconsistencies in visuals throughout your website. Addressing it in order of branding first, store second will ensure your brand looks consistent, professional, trustworthy, and down-right gorgeous.
2. Define Your Products, Prices, and Inventory
Before starting your Shopify store, you should be crystal clear about what products you want to sell, their prices, and your inventory management. Yes, this may mean having a spreadsheet or two!
This information will help you immensely when it comes to setting up your store, optimising your product pages, and setting up a shipping strategy. Particularly when you are collaborating with others on your store, having a clear outline of product names, prices, discounts, bundles, etc. will ensure your set-up process is smooth as silk.
Make sure you also have a solid plan in place for handling your inventory, including how you’ll manage your stock levels and what you’ll do if a product sells out.
3. Look to Your Competitors
Researching your competition is an important step within all aspects of business—better the devil you know! By looking at what other stores in your niche are doing, you can learn what works and what doesn’t. Take note of the features, functions, and design elements that you like and consider implementing them in your store. Additionally, identify any gaps in the market that your store could fill.
Be sure to look outside of your industry/product niche too! Looking at other brands you admire and seeing how they structure their product pages, how their navigation works, what visuals you like and dislike can help spark inspiration for how you want your store to look and work.
4. Set Realistic Expectations for Your Revenue
We all want our store to explode with success as soon as we hit ‘live’, but it’s important to set realistic expectations for your business early-on. While it’s possible to build an instantly successful online business, more often than not it takes a lot of time and effort. Be honest with yourself about the amount of time you can dedicate to your store and what your revenue goals are. It’s essential to have a realistic understanding of your business’s potential before investing your time and money into building it.
Shopify Expert Perth
Whether you’re new to having a Shopify website or a seasoned pro, we can take as much or as little off your hands as you like, so you can focus on what you do best: Running your business. If you’re looking for a Shopify Expert in Perth, Lethal Digital is your agency! Contact us today and let’s start taking your online business to the next level using Shopify!
