Starting an ecommerce business is hard work with many steps and decisions that need to come together at the right time. To help, we have put together a comprehensive resource list, compiled from Shopify’s most popular blog posts. These posts have been placed into a logical order based on how you would research, build, launch and grow a profitable ecommerce business.
Choosing a Product
Finding A Product To Sell
The first step to building an eCommerce business is to know what products you want to sell. This is often the most challenging part of starting a new online business. In this section, we will highlight the strategies you can use to find product opportunities, explore the ten best places to look for product ideas, and finally, we will reveal ten trending products that we came up with.
10 Interesting Product Ideas Trending Right Now
Find a product on the Oberlo marketplace
How To Find A Product To Sell Online: The Definitive Guide
8 Strategies for Finding Your First Product
10 Places To Look For Products To Sell Online
Evaluating Your Idea
Once you have a product idea in mind, how do you know if it’s a good idea or not? In this section, we will go through two exhaustive evaluations methods, evaluating both the product itself, as well as the market for your product choice.
5 Strategies To Evaluate Your Product Idea
How To Evaluate Market Demand For Your New Product Idea
How To Evaluate Product Viability
Obtaining Your Product
Having found your product idea and evaluating them in the previous section, you must now figure out where and how you’re going to obtain your products. The next two posts will cover the various methods for acquiring your products, along with the pros and cons of each model.
Alibaba 101: How to Safely Source Products from the World’s Biggest Supplier Directory
Make, Manufacture, Wholesale or Dropship: The Pros and Cons of Each Model
How To Find a Manufacturer or Supplier for Your Product Idea
Research & Prepare
A well-designed website gives customers an easy way to place orders and make payments. You don’t need to worry about manual order entry or processing of payments – your website does it all for you. This eliminates time-consuming errors, reduces the potential for fraud, and ensures that your customers receive their products on time.
Research Your Competition
You’ve found your product, evaluated the potential, and sourced your supplier. It’s time to write your business plan, but before you get into that, you’ll need to research your competition thoroughly so you know exactly what you’re up against.
Tools To Research Your Competition
Writing Your Business Plan
With your competitive research complete, it’s now the perfect time to write your business plan. A business plan will be your road map that helps bring your ideas and thoughts together. A business plan is vital so that you can determine how to best move forward and most effectively compete.
The Ultimate Guide To Business Plans
Why Your Ecommerce Store Needs a Business Plan (and How to Write One)
Registering Your Business
With a business plan in hand, now is a good time to consider your options for registering your business.
The Benefits & Costs of Incorporating Your Business
Setting Up Your Business
Naming Your Business
Aside from finding an actual product to sell online, another difficult decision is determining your business name and choosing an appropriate and available domain name. These blog posts will help you tackle these important tasks.
5 Rules For Choosing A Memorable Domain Name
What You Need to Know About Ecommerce Trademarks
What Should I Name My Online Store?
Creating A Logo
Once you have solidified your name and registered your domain, it’s time to craft a logo. In these posts, we will show you several options for creating a great logo for your new business.
5 Easy to Use Online Logo Makers to Design Your Brand
5 Logo Design Tips for Ecommerce Websites
Understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
You’re almost ready to begin building your online store. However, before you jump into it, you should understand the basics of search engine optimization so that you can optimize your site for Google and other search engines.
Ecommerce SEO Video Series
The Beginner’s Guide To Keyword Research For Ecommerce
Building Your Store
With a better understanding of search engine optimization (SEO), it’s time to build out your store. There are many critical elements. Below we have included a list of our best blog posts to help you write captivating product descriptions, shoot beautiful product photography, and a list of some of the best tools to help you optimize those photos.
- Write Product Descriptions that Sell
- The Ultimate DIY Guide to Beautiful Product Photography
- 18 Free and Paid Online Photo Editor Tools for Gorgeous DIY Product Photography
- 40 Tools and Resources For Creating Beautiful DIY Product Photography
- 10 Must Know Image Optimization Tips
Don’t forget, if you run into any problems getting your store set up, you can always hire help from Shopify Experts.
