With This Checklist, You Implement an Online Store
Carmen Martins11/12/2024
We show you in a checklist what you should pay attention to when creating an online shop.
Table of contents
- Checklist for your online shop
- In addition to the mentioned strategic and operational to-dos, you should also check what legal requirements you should check for your online shop. We give you the first points of contact here. Please note that this is not legal advice. To be really safe, you should seek professional legal support as soon as possible for the final implementation.
- If you want to sell your products online successfully, then you cannot do without an online shop. In our checklist we have shown you what you should consider for the right implementation. You can also find a more detailed checklist on the topic
Almost nothing works offline (almost) anymore! A look at a very current study by Statista shows that around 30 percent of respondents in Germany order their favorite products online at least once a week. The circumstances in recent years have only confirmed this result more, so the way to the online shop should be taken now at the latest.
You don't want to miss the last train now and finally implement an online shop as quickly as possible? Then it's not too late. If you already know the first steps for your own online shop, here is the ultimate checklist, which gives you an overview again.
In this checklist we show you what makes an online shop and how you implement it for yourself. You will also learn, what you need for your online shop and what you should pay attention to.
Checklist for your online shop
In order for you to have a quick overview for the implementation of your online shop, we will summarize the most important to-dos for you in the next steps. If you only classify individual points as important for you, then include these and create your own small checklist.
1. Define your target group
Before you venture into your first own online shop, you should determine exactly who you want to address it to:
- Is your target group more in the B2C or B2B context, on the go?
- Do you also have an international trade, which you want to take into account?
- Should your trade primarily focus on new or regular customers,?
These are the first questions you should ask yourself when it comes to the target group.
In the second step it is important to define what your unique selling proposition is and how you can implement it so that you can reach the right target group:
- What USPs or unique selling points does your online shop offer the target group?
- Exactly how you should implement the shop design to appeal to the target group?
- With which testimonials can you reach your target group?
These points should particularly occupy you when you are considering the first implementation measures for your online shop. Here you can collect initial ideas that may also lead to important decisions that should already be made.
2. Bundle your requirements for shop functions
Just like the target group, the selection of the right software for your online shop is also one of the first steps. Maybe you already have one or the other software in mind or have received recommendations from your circle. But before you decide on one here, you should first weigh up what requirements you want to place on your software.
These could be important features for your online shop:
- Search function: Your customers should be able to find your products in the online shop quickly.
- Sorting function: Users should be able to search and filter for products as flexibly as possible.
- Bookmark function: It helps your customers to find their selected products faster again or to save them for a later time.
- Zoom function in pictures: This allows customers to take a closer look at your products.
- Language options: If your customers should not only be able to order flexibly via desktop or smartphone, then it is also worth considering the language options for smartwatches or speakers.
- Optimize loading speed: The technology is also important, so you should check which software supports you with the correct loading speed, for example.
The choice of the right software for your online shop
Depending on the size of your company, different online shop providers are suitable. As a sole proprietor, you should rely on website builders, SaaS web shop solutions or web shop plugins when setting up an online shop, and on-premise solutions or open source shop systems are also an option for medium-sized and large companies.
- Website builders for your own online shop creation: A website builder is an all-in-one solution that enables users to create their own website or online shop in a straightforward way. And that without any programming skills. Because these website builders (sometimes also called homepage kits) allow users to per Drag-&-Drop to put your own website or online shop together according to individual needs and wishes. Examples of well-known website builders with which you can also create an online shop are:
- PaaS & SaaS solutions to create an online shop:Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) shop systems are cloud-based rental solutions, for which you have to pay monthly, annually or on demand. Most SaaS shop systems contain editors that allow you to create your own online shop using a kind of modular system. Since many SaaS solutions do not require any further programming knowledge, there are SaaS solutions for sole proprietors as well as for small, medium and large companies. Examples of widely used SaaS shop systems with which you can create your online shop are:
- Web shop plugins for setting up an online shop: For many Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress there are also plugins available that allow you to set up a web shop on your website or your blog. Plugins can be easily installed with a click and offer similar functions to SaaS solutions. They are also quite cheap and greatly expandable. The best-known CMS plugin is WooCommerce.
- On-Premise solutions for creating an online shop:With on premise solutions you purchase a license for the web shop software once and host it on your own servers. The creation of the online shop and the individual adjustments are usually associated with a lot of effort. Therefore, both are often taken over by agencies. On premise solutions for online shops are worth it due to the rather high costs especially for medium and large companies, who have enough budget and for whom it is important that the online shop is hosted on their own servers. Known providers of on premise solutions are:
- Open Source Shop Systems to create your own online shop:A lot of technical know-how is required to create an online shop with these open source shop systems. As the developers have access to the source code, open source systems offer the greatest freedom to create an online shop. Notable providers of open source shop systems include:
You can find these and other online shop software with which you can create and operate your online shop in the Shopsystems & Webshop category on OMR Reviews. There you can make a selection for yourselves with a lot of helpful user reviews and experiences.
3. Choose the products for your online shop
When selecting the products for your online shop, you should create a meaningful structure in the range selection. Ask yourselves the following questions beforehand:
- Can your products be sold all year round or do you have seasonal goods?
- In which categories do you want to classify your products?
- How many products do you want to include in your range?
When it comes to the number of products, it is also worth considering the possible use of PIM systems in which you can store important product information such as marketing data, media files or design data. These questions could help you decide on a PIM system:
- Where do you get your goods? European manufacturer, China, wholesaler?
- To what extent do you want to set your prices?
- Are your products individualizable?
- Do you want to create product descriptions with informative content?
The return area is also important for planning and categorizing your products in the online shop:
- What is the normal return rate for the product group you have chosen?
- What amount of effort should be expected in processing returns?
Online shops also offer you the opportunity to use product reviews and high-quality produced product photos and videos. Also think about whether you want to invest in this effort.
4. Don't forget your customers
If you've already thought about which target group you want to direct your online shop to, then the first step has already been taken. But it is important that you always keep your customers and their feedback in mind, this works, for example, like this:
- Usability: Ensure a user-friendly online shop.
- Customer feedback: Ask your customers for feedback and have them rate you.
- Display all reviews transparently in the shop.
Use the feedback from your customers and incorporate it directly on the homepage of your online shop, for example. (Source: justspices.de)
You should also approach dissatisfied customers and accept their criticism at first. It is also important that your customers know how they can best reach you personally:
- Customer hotline: Display your phone number on the homepage
- Integrate live chat
- ,Offer contact options via WhatsApp and FB Messenger To maintain the customer relationship sustainably, it is worthwhile if you offer
customer loyalty programs or implement an additional blog for your online shop.5. Check the payment and shipping options for your online shop So that your products also arrive safely and promptly at your customers, you should check exactly which shipping options you offer in your online shop. Here, some suitable
shipping software offers support, which you can also find on OMR Reviews.Checklist for your e.g. the following points:
Do you want to ship your goods yourself or hire a
- fullfillment provider bauftragen?Do you want to bring the packages to the post office yourself or prefer to have them picked up?
- Do you have the right
- box sizes in stock?Decide whether you want to go for a
- shipping service provider or would rather offer several options.As here at snocks.com, you can display your payment and shipping methods directly in your online shop.
Once the product has arrived at your customers, the circle is not yet closed. Naturally, it can quickly happen that something has broken on the way or your customers are not as satisfied with the product as imagined. Here you should keep an eye on the following points about returns:
Who should pay the return postage, you or the customer?
- How do you want to protect yourself against payment defaults?
- Checklist for a legally secure online shop
In addition to the mentioned strategic and operational to-dos, you should also check what legal requirements you should check for your online shop. We give you the first points of contact here. Please note that this is not legal advice. To be really safe, you should seek professional legal support as soon as possible for the final implementation.
1. Legal Notice
As with every website, your online shop should also contain a legal notice. This should be easily findable and accessible (for example in the sidebar). Your imprint should contain the following information:
Name of the person or company and address that can be served
- Authorized representative person (for example CEO or board of directors)
- Professional supervisory authority with address (for trades with official approval).
- 2. Data protection
Since you regularly store the data of your customers with an online shop, a data protection declaration should be integrated on your site. It is best to team up with data protection officers who can give you more detailed advice here.
Pay u. a. on the following content:
What data is stored for what purpose?
- Do you use analysis software?
- The data protection notices can be summarized under a link and must be easily findable
- 3. Terms and Conditions
The terms and conditions should also be included and visibly stated in your online shop. It is important here that you do not simply blindly copy these from another website, as this can then be a copyright infringement. You should regularly update your terms and conditions. Get legal support for this.
4. Payment
When it comes to your payment modalities, from a legal point of view, at least one payment option should be specified for which no additional costs are incurred. It helps if you explain and summarize your payment methods in detail in the ordering process and on an additional information page.
Conclusion: These steps should not be missing from your checklist for an online shop
Empfehlenswerte E-Commerce-Plattformen & Shopsysteme
Auf unserer Vergleichsplattform OMR Reviews findest du weitere empfehlenswerte E-Commerce-Plattformen & Shopsysteme. Wir stellen über 230 Lösungen vor, die speziell auf die Bedürfnisse von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen, Start-ups und großen Konzernen ausgerichtet sind. Unsere Plattform bietet umfassende Unterstützung in allen Bereichen des Online-Handels, von der Produktpräsentation bis hin zur Kundenverwaltung. Nutze die Gelegenheit, verschiedene E-Commerce-Lösungen zu vergleichen, und berücksichtige dabei echte Nutzerbewertungen, um das perfekte System für deine individuellen Geschäftsanforderungen zu finden:
If you want to sell your products online successfully, then you cannot do without an online shop. In our checklist we have shown you what you should consider for the right implementation. You can also find a more detailed checklist on the topic
here.Keep your
target group in sight and don't forget about it once you've finally set up your online shop. Rely on customer actions or loyalty programs so that you can quickly turn your new customers into regular customers.Also from a technical point of view you should take note of a few things. It is important that you first think about what
requirements you have for your online shop and which software could fulfill these in a second step. Also make sure what shipping and payment options you want to offer your customers and whether these are also correct from a legal point of view . rechtlicher Sicht korrekt umgesetzt werden.
Author
Carmen Martins
Author
Carmen Martins
Carmen ist Content Marketing Managerin bei OMR Reviews. Zuvor hat sie Content-Themen für einen Lebensmittelgroßhändler verantwortet sowie einen MA in Public Relations absolviert.
