Building an online shop is confusing, mainly if you are a novice. You may need help figuring out where to start. You do everything in random order. This could lead to some steps requiring to be included. We’ve put together a handy checklist for new store owners to ensure they’re prepared for success.
What is an Ecommerce Checklist?
A checklist of actions that must be followed to launch an online shop successfully is called an ecommerce checklist (or ecommerce website checklist). It will help you think about the processes and assets you should streamline before launching any store.
Why an Ecommerce Checklist is Important
Most people use checklists for everyday tasks like grocery shopping, disaster planning, etc. Lists help us ensure we don’t miss any steps or forget anything. A similar ecommerce checklist can ensure that the launch of your store is as smooth as possible.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs are overwhelmed by the steps they must take to get started.
What should I choose as a theme? What is the best place to put images? Should I put a cart icon on every page or only on the product pages? What apps and design elements should I use to supercharge the store? How do I set up a payment gateway?
You can easily overcome the feeling of overwhelm by creating an ecommerce checklist. To help you set yourself up for success, here’s the list many of our featured entrepreneurs used when launching their Shopify stores.
Add a Custom Domain
Picking a unique domain name for your store will help you build brand recognition and make it easier for customers to remember the web address.
A domain tool can check if your desired name is unavailable. You can purchase your custom domain through Shopify if it’s available.
You don’t have to start from scratch if your business name has already been taken. , a business-name generator, can help you come up with creative names for an ecommerce shop. Little Boy Blue, for instance, uses shoplittleboyblue.com for its URL.
You can also check out top-level domains (TLDs), such as—shop and. store. Many stores use TLDs to create memorable and unique URLs.
Create Standard Pages
An excellent online store should have a few pages that provide helpful information about your business. Visitors will be interested in your background and how you founded the company. Some visitors will look around your site to find out more about the products you list.
Make sure that you have the following:
Home Page: This page is the most important on your website. Your homepage is essential for establishing the look and feel of your shop and ensuring that customers can easily navigate to other pages. Your homepage should include links to your product and category pages.
About Page: Here, your customers can learn more about your company, its origins, and your brand values. Your brand story is a great way to tell your customers what you stand for. Use these templates for your About Us pages to get inspired.
Contact Page: This page lists the ways customers can contact you. You could list your physical address, a map of your location, a phone number, and an email.
FAQ page Answer the questions of many customers who ask similar questions about your product or service by creating a FAQ page. You can include topics such as how long it takes to ship or your return policy. Check out the Shopify store Allbirds FAQ section for ideas on the type of questions you can include.
Terms and conditions: What’s included in your product or service? What legal policies have you put in place to protect your business?
Privacy: The page discusses how you use customer information. Lawyers can often guide how best to phrase your privacy policy to comply with the law.
Ecommerce SEO is a must-do
Google is the most popular place for customers to start their search. It’s essential to ensure your website appears when your customers search for keywords related to your services or products.
Ecommerce SEO is a multi-step process that involves:
Keyword Research: Find out what terms your customers may use to search for you.
Keyword Optimization: Use keywords you select in the product description, category descriptions, and meta title descriptions.
Optimize your images: Use image meta descriptions and “alt attributes” to increase your chances of ranking high for specific keywords.
Schema Markup: By using schema markup, you can increase your chances of having rich snippets appear at the top of Google’s search results.
Create sitemaps: Create sitemaps and submit them to Google so that crawlers can navigate. This will allow Google to categorize your web pages.
Optimize Website Performance: Choose the Right Host, Invest in CDN, and Compress your Image Files to Make Your Website Load Quickly and Improve Customer Experience.
Use content-based marketing: Use guest posting to get links and rank your high-value pages.
Check out our beginners’ ecommerce search engine optimization guide for detailed advice.
Email marketing: How to Set it Up
Email marketing can be a fantastic way to attract and retain new customers. Shopify offers a variety of email apps that will help you create nurturing sequences for your customers. This will ultimately lead to more sales. Set up the following emails using an app like Klaviyo or Shopify.
Welcome Emails – Introduce your brand and set expectations with customers early.
Abandoned Cart Emails – Remind customers of the items they have in their cart.
Emails of confirmation for orders: Let your customers know that you have received their order.
Cross-sell emails- Promote products that complement the immediate purchase of a customer.
Shipping Notification Emails- Keep customers informed about the status of their orders. Postables, a greeting card company, does this to reduce post-purchase stress and increase customer trust.
Installing an Analytics Tool
The key to optimizing your store is analytics. You can find out what products your customers prefer when they are most likely to purchase, and much more with the correct data.
Most store-building services include analytics and reporting to track conversion rates and traffic. Many ecommerce companies also use third-party tools, such as Google Analytics.
Combining analytics tools can help you better understand the customer journey. This will make it easier for you to decide how to increase sales.