Setting up a business online is one of the best decisions anyone could make. E-commerce and online shopping continue to increase in popularity both among sellers and buyers, with estimates affirming that as many as 1 in 3 shoppers between 18-25 years old prefer to shop online. So, what are the steps to follow in order to successfully set up an e-commerce section for your website? Read on to find out.

1- Try before you buy

When choosing a company to help you set up an e-commerce site, make sure they offer a free trial version of their software package. Most e-commerce software bundles are similar among them, but it is always best to know what you are paying for, and whether it suits your needs and requirements. Bluepark are an example of a try before you buy ecommerce software.

2- Choose a web hosting company

This is perhaps the single most important decision that you can make when setting up an e-commerce site. The main points to consider are uptime and scalability capabilities. Uptime is the online equivalent of a physical shop’s opening hours. You will want your website to be available at all times, so shop around for hosting packages that can guarantee 100 per cent uptime. Daily.co.uk is a great place to start researching hosting options. In terms of scalability, you need to consider that your e-commerce site may grow in the future, or it may experience a sudden surge in the number of visitors. You need to make sure that your site will not collapse under those conditions.

Additionally, some web hosting companies also offer design services, in case you are at a loss as to how to design your online store.

3- Include a shopping cart

Shopping carts are pre-designed software packages that allow buyers to browse through a catalogue of products and add them to their “virtual shopping trolley”. Consider the number of products that you want to display on your site, as different software solutions allow different amounts of products to be sold. It is also a good idea to allow customers to quickly create an account as they are adding products to their cart.

4- Online merchant services and payment gateway providers

Online merchant services are provided by major banks. Expect to pay a sign-up fee and day-to-day charges.

Payment gateway applications are dedicated e-commerce programs whose main function is to authorise, verify, and process online payments. In a way, they work as an intermediary between the seller’s bank and the buyer’s account. Think of them as the virtual equivalent of the physical point-of-sale machines that you find in most retailers. These applications offer a secure shopping experience, since they encrypt sensitive data like card details, addresses, and account numbers.

PayPal Payments Pro is a one-stop-shop that integrates a merchant account and a payment gateway application. This solution does not restrict shoppers to paying via PayPal, but it also allows them to use their credit or debit card. PayPal Payments Pro is also advantageous to sellers, since its monthly fees are very reasonable, and there are no set up charges.

6- Include a live chat feature

This reassures customers who may have doubts regarding a product or an order, and it also provides an appealing personal touch to any e-commerce website.