Starting an online business

1Research and decide on a business idea

Every great business starts with an idea. If you're still deciding on a concept for your business, you may consider:

• What are you passionate about? What do you have experience doing?
• How can you combine your skills with your interests?
• What specific issues don't have solutions?
• What are pain points that haven't been addressed by current products and services?
• What resources do you have at your disposal?

Once you have your idea, you'll want to conduct research to make sure it's viable. Here's an overview of how to do market research for an online business:

• Gather first-hand feedback from friends, colleagues, and people in your network.
• Analyze competitors and their prices, products, marketing methods, and target customers.
• Conduct surveys and focus groups to understand customer pain points and see how people respond to your idea.
• Research potential funding options.

2Create a website

Any online company needs a website. It's the front door to your business and the gateway to your products and services.

You can make an online website yourself using a platform like Squarespace or WordPress. Or you can pay a designer or developer to create a website for your online business. Your decision will likely depend on your budget and level of customization needed.

If you're comfortable using web design software, for example, you may try building the site yourself. But if you need a multi-page, interactive site and you have the budget, you can hire an expert to lead the process.

3Choose a domain name

You'll need a domain name to launch your website and point customers to a dedicated URL for your business. You can use a domain hosting site like GoDaddy.com to purchase a domain and find the right one for your business.

For guidance on how to choose a domain name, ask these questions:

• Is it identical or similar to your company name? (Remember that [YourCompanyName].com may not be available.)
• Is it easy to promote?
• Is it easy to find and access on desktop, tablet, and mobile?
• Is it memorable and shareable?

4Design your site

Make sure your website is designed to be compatible with both desktop and mobile devices. So if you're on a DIY design or hosting platform, use the mobile-optimized templates and previews to test your website layout for small screens. You can even use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your site is ready.

It's also important to design a website that's intuitive and easy to navigate. Keep copy simple and informative, try to avoid overloading your pages with too many visuals, and ensure the navigation bar is always visible. Taking these steps can help create a better user experience for customers and reduce cart abandonment.

5Integrate a shopping cart

Once customers are ready to buy, you want the checkout process to be as smooth as possible. That’s why you'll need to set up and customize a shopping cart integration on your website.

Ideally, this checkout functionality should:

• Accept multiple payment methods, including credit and debit cards and digital wallets
• Integrate with ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce and GoDaddy
• Process transactions quickly and securely
• Save customer information for recurring purchases
• Offer risk management services to protect your business and customers

6Manage your inventory

Depending on the number of products you offer, updating each piece of inventory on your ecommerce platform can be a time-consuming task. That's why you may use an inventory management solution to track sales, shipments, invoices, returns, and availability from one place.

With an automated management platform, you can see changes to your inventory in real time. This way, you can better regulate your volume of products to match customer demand.

7Consider legality

Be aware of the legal hurdles and potential risks that come with starting an online business. For example, you'll want to make sure you:

• Register your business with the appropriate government authorities
• Obtain any required permits and licenses
• Meet federal and state tax requirements, such as applying for state and federal tax ID numbers
• Comply with data protection standards, such as those set by GDPR

Since these requirements can vary by location and industry, it's important to research the specific legal regulations that apply to your business. You may also consult with a small business attorney to provide guidance.

8Drive traffic

With your ecommerce website set up, you can leverage strategies to drive traffic to the site and start generating revenue.

For example, you can grow your business with social media outreach, affiliate marketing, influencer partnerships, and email newsletter subscriptions. You can also use SEO tactics to get your website listed on the first page of search results.