how to create an online store from scratch
We received lots of questions on social media about “how to create an online store from scratch†so we decided to create this step by step easy to understand guide on how to build an online store.
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Following this article, you will be able to create an online store without any needs of coding knowledge.
You may probably noticed that we have several options to create an online store so we are going to share details of each options on its own part.
To create an online store there are plenty of options available:
· Self Hosted Online Store Builders
· Install-able eCommerce store builder scripts
· eCommerce WordPress Plugins
In this guide, we will go through Self Hosted Online store builders which are easy to install and configure.
we will also cover free install-able eCommerce scripts, but we don’t cover eCommerce WordPress plugins because it is a very long story and needs another separate article which will be added very soon on our blog.
Attention: If you want your online store live at the end of the day, then read this article till the end carefully.
Self Hosted Online Store Builders
Self-hosted online store builders are software that are hosted on their own servers. It means you don’t need any web hosting account or anything else to have an online store. you only need to get a domain name and you are ready to go live. You don’t need any coding, design, and setup knowledge. They cover all the things needed.
There are plenty of online store builders available on the internet. all you do is signing up for a paid or free trial account and then it will create an online store for you as well as a management panel, which is highly secured and only you can access them by logging in with your private credentials.
they will provide you with a management URL where you can easily add products and name a price for them. The second thing you need is setting up your payment gateway.
It is also easy to setup and they have already added those options into your admin panel, so all you do is adding products, setting up prices and delivery details (obviously not for downloadable goods).
In this article, we are mentioning some well known and high-quality online store builders. You can even try all the features of them without paying a penny. to find out what matches your demands click on special try links available in this article.
 Pinnacle Cart is developed by a group of Internet marketers with over 20 years combined experience in the Internet and marketing industry.
They brought their expertise in marketing and business development together to provide the online business owners an entry to Internet sales that gives them the chance to capture the online market without becoming experts in the field of web development, online marketing, web hosting and web delivery.
This amazing online store builder software specializes in E-marketing solutions to enable businesses to reach global audience in order to effectively and efficiently reach new customers.
This eCommerce app is really easy to understand and has an easy to setup interface, a GUI friendly environment which will make you feel comfortable while setting up your online store.
It has a free DEMO which will enable you to create a test online store and then decide if you want to stay or not.
You can go live after 14 days of its trial period if you wish to stay with them, otherwise, you will risk nothing because they won’t charge for their demo accounts.
Pinnacle Cart is rated #1 eCommerce online store builder according to zippy cart, For more details please read Pinnacle Cart Review.
Video Overview
Shopify is also one of the best eCommerce solutions available. It will allow you to set up your online store in minutes after signing up.
It lets you organize your products, customize your storefront, accept credit card payments, track and respond to orders, all with a few clicks of the mouse or even few touches of your tablet.
with Shopify, you don’t need to be scared of anything because this store builder is really easy to use and has an easy to understand interface.
Video Overview
3dcart is an online shop builder that offers web design, marketing and hosting services. 3dCart was founded in 1997 and its Headquarters are located in Florida, USA.
It is an easy to use store builder with thousands of features, you can create a stunning online store with Pre-Made designs easily.
This Amazing Store builder accepts over 100 payment gateways so you don’t need to be worried about your payment gateways.
3D cart also lets you design and create your own online store easily and it also enables you to try your store for 14 days, then they will ask you if you liked their service or not, if you say yes they will ask you to chose a plan and get your domain name to go online for real customers.
You can Read Detailed 3dCart Review for more information about this online store builder.
Video Overview
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How To create an online store using Install-able eCommerce Scripts
Using Install-able scripts it is really easy to create an online store, all you do is getting a hosting and a domain name. Then you will download the install-able packages for free and upload it back to your hosting account. The installation is really easy out there and can be installed as you install software on your tablets or your personal computers.
So you need a hosting and a domain name to get started with this section and as we know most of the hosting providers will give you a free domain with your hosting purchases, there are several hosting providers available and if you need a free setup please don’t hesitate to contact us using our contact section.
Here are some of the well known Install-able scripts:
How to Open an Online Store Step by Step:
In this section, I want to mention some other essentials of building an online store.
Choose Your Niche
Research some keywords on Google Adwords Keyword Tool to see if the products that you want to sell have searches and demand or not.
Keyword Tool will show you how many people are searching the chosen phrases.
If you need more insights I suggest you download the following eBook
Choose from one of the above Online Store Builders
There are hundreds of online store builders but most of them are worthless because some of them are hard to set up or the fees are too expensive. So I suggest the top three eStore builders from the list above.
Get a free trial before paying for any online store builder
All of the above online store builders come up with a free trial which will make you set up an online store easily without any payments. but if you chose to stay with any of them it only requires you to set up your payment method and then pays the fees and go online with a real domain name of your online shop.
When people ask how to create an online store I suggest them to go practical and create their own online stores without paying, and by getting a free trial of the above online store builders it will be far better than asking my opinion.
Setup your payment gateway
There are hundreds of online payment systems, you can use 2Checkout, Paypal or skrill but researchers show that you can set up an online store with PayPal without any advanced knowledge and it is one of the most used methods.
All of the above Store Builders comes up with easy setup of your Payment methods so you can only authorize them to use your PayPal, Skrill, authorize.net or any other payment methods.
If you don’t have any products Try Whole Sale or DropShip Providers
If you don’t have products or a warehouse don’t worry because there are lots of dropship providers, they can take care of your orders, all you do is giving them the address of your customer and they will send them the product ordered on your site
For example, if a customer orders a projector from your online store you can give the delivery address to the DropShip provider, and they will send the projector to your customer without any delays.
All you do is getting benefits for doing nothing, for example, the DropShip provider gives you a projector for 300 USD and you sell it for 400 USD that is one of the easiest methods for earning profits online.
I suggest SaleHoo because they have trustworthy suppliers.
Choose an engaging theme from Pinnacle Cart, Shopify, or 3D cart
Another important thing is choosing a good looking and professional template for your online store and all of the above online store builders comes up with professional themes and templates.
If you still don’t know which theme to choose, contact us with the title (how to create an online store) and our eCommerce experts will help you set up the whole process professionally.
Get Webhosting and a Domain for your BLOG
If you want to sell online it is better if you set up your own personal blog and it will help you get more customers by writing blog posts about your products and teaching your audience on how to do certain things.
So for setting up a blog, you need a web hosting and a domain name, nowadays you can get one for as little as $1.99 per month.
I suggest iPage as it is easy to use and easy to set up.
Create some advertising Campaigns
selling online is fun, but finding the right customer isn’t that easy if you are new and don’t have a brand or well-known products so you will need to start some campaigns on Google and see which campaign profits the most.
You can start campaigns after finishing all your setups and when your store is live. You can go to adwords.google.com to get started with advertising on Google.
Create Your Store without paying for online store builders
If you want to create an online store for free then you should get a cheap hosting account which costs you almost $1.99/month and then chose a free online store builder scripts like TOMATO Cart and ZEN Cart and then install them easily with just few clicks from your hosting dashboard, most of Hosting providers have easy script installation wizard.
The wizard will ask you some simple questions about your store name and payment method and then it will automatically setup your online store.
I suggest iPage as it is a cheap option with lots of features and free online store builder scripts.
Share your Ideas on comments. dont forget to share this post and now that you know how to create an online store then Have Fun Creating Your first Online Store right now.
If you still don’t know how to create an online store then contact our team of eCommerce specialists using the sites contact form in the first line write “how to create an online store“, then describe which kind of store you want to start and they will send you free information right into your inbox.
Thanks for sharing such a great guide, I tried all three shopping carts, and I don’t really know which one to go online because all of them has great feature, could you please at least suggest one specific shopping cart platform for me?
I suggest you to get a free try of each one, but if you want the best to pay for I personally suggest shopify.
Awesome Guide
Thanks for sharing useful information about How to create an online Store from Scratch. I haven’t used pinnacle cart, 3dcart or any other platform But I have a good experience of buildabazaar. I had made my own online store within 7 to 8 hours. It also has different budget plans that you can choose from it. Even it has also good navigation’s and easy to use.
Thank you for your great article, It is really helping, and I would like to follow this guide and create my own online store using pinnacle cart or shopify.
I would try both and see which one is better.
Thank you A.A, for sharing up this informative blog post with us about the ways to create an online store from the scratch. Your post is interesting and helpful. Cheers !
amazing articles looking forward to more informative blogs.
such great and easy to apply article, it will for sure help starting an online store easily with no special knowledge needed, thanks again for great tutorials.