Every Christmas, business experts tell us that more and more shoppers than ever are buying their gifts online. However, it’s not just a seasonal thing. Online sales are booming, as people struggle to find enough time in the week to go out and hit the high street. Going to a website and ordering goods delivered to your home is easy and straightforward – and sites now give customers all sorts of interactivity and great looking content. They’re seductive. So, if you run a small business, how can you get a slice of the action? Here’s what you need to know.

What comes first?

Selling online shouldn’t just be something you do on a whim. It needs to be part of your small business plan. It needs to be well-thought out, and you need to have a clear strategy in place.

If you haven’t already done this, or are just starting out, then here are some key things to consider. You need first to take a look at the products and services that you sell, which ones do you want to feature in your e-commerce offering? How do you want to present them? Who are your target customers? Then, there are the questions of how customers will pay for their purchases and how they will receive them. You also need to be thinking about what protections you need to be giving consumers when they pay through your site.

The online shop-window

Online customers have very high expectations now about what they want to see and ‘feel’ through your website. If you’re selling physical goods, for example, clothes, they want to see great pictures and, even video – content they can interact with, focus in on, and examine like they were actually in a physical store.

What this means for you if you’re selling goods online, is that you need a great looking website that is attractive, seductive, and easy to navigate around. You need to be laying out your products in a clear and logical way and take the site visitor on a journey they don’t want to end!

Getting a site together that fulfills all of this isn’t straightforward. But, with some expert knowledge and help, you can get one together in no time. So, think about whether you can design the site within your own company if budgets are tight. Or, if you have some budget available, hire a designer to work with you to get your site up and running. You may also want to think about getting some photography or graphic design help, but you can also save some cash by checking out online resources which you can tap into. For example, with images, check out a Placeit Alternative.

Taking payments

Once you have a great website, which advertises your products and services in the best way possible, then you need to obviously get a facility installed for customers to make a purchase. This means that you need to incorporate a payment gateway. It takes the payments from customers and gets the necessary authorizations. You’ll also need to make sure you have all the necessary banking arrangements in place for your company.