Development of an online store

Development and support of the online store

With the development of e-commerce and the continuous improvement of payment systems, the purchase of the necessary goods online takes  minimum time and effort from the consumer. The seller, in his turn, receives an instant payment for the item and expands his client base. If a small boutique in a mall can provide service to dozens of people a day (within one city, of course), at the same time a fully-customized online store can work with clients all over the whole country and serve the maximum number of users per day.

Creating an online store at a certain point becomes a necessity for retailers, even if they have quite successful actual stores for product sales. Why is it so? If you cut it short, the matter is in the buyers’ convenience and the opportunities of the seller.

Read more: Modern website design

to order an online store

What is an online store and why do you need it?

An online store — is an entire infrastructure for selling goods with minimal cost for the small or medium business owner. In fact, an online platform carries out exactly the same functions as the actual store:

  • offers a catalog of products;

  • provides goods description and their characteristics;

  • accepts payments via built-in payment systems.

The creation of a ready-to-operate online shop also involves the development of a user-friendly interface, instructions, tips and descriptions for customers. The easier the use the site is, the more useful information and features, offered on the site, the easier it will be for the user to get oriented. Accordingly, there is a greater chance, that a customer will return and reorder: if people are happy with the service, they would prefer to go to a familiar place again, than to spend time and effort in the search for other options.

creating an online store

Ordering an online store will be a good idea if:

  1. You have a product, but there is no real trading site;

  2. You already have a store, but you want to go to a new level;

  3. You do not have a warehouse, but you have the necessary contacts and a wish to act as a mediator between offline retailers and online users.

This is not quite full list of situations, in which the development of an online store will be a good solution with minimum costs and maximum benefits: the content of the online trading platform can significantly reduce costs. You don’t have to come up with money for salaries to selling people, consultants, cashiers, to pay for rent of the shop and related expenses.

Read more: Design prototype

development of an online store

Creating an online store: which option to choose

Various situations require variety of tools. Online trading implies the creation of site options for completely different needs. In some cases, the company offers entire catalogs, such as electronics. In other cases, the entire website is developed for a single product. Before opening an online store, it is worth answering a list of questions and formulating the concrete goals — and then the choice of the trading platform type will become obvious.

1. What will be sold on the site?

If you plan to sell goods of the same category (bags, sunglasses, souvenirs) — an online store will be considered single-purpose. If you are ready to offer household appliances, furniture and pots for plants — all at the same time – it will come as an online supermarket.

development of an online store

The «scope» of the website you create will be different, as well as ground rules of its filling. For example, in supermarkets, there are many more sections, filters, and tips for the user. The structure of the site will be significantly more complicated. But at the same time, such an online store will attract more customers with completely different requests.

2. What exact goods will be displayed on the site?

3. How are you going to sell?

  • wholesale;

  • individual sale;

  • both wholesale and individual sale.

the cost of creating an online store

Read more: Promotion channels

The choice of sales type defines many details on the site, which are unnoticeable at first glance. For example, delivery methods options, the minimum and a maximum number of similar products, which are available for purchase per one click. If you decided to order an online shop from our specialists, it is important to make sure the platform functional will match the goals.

4. Who are your customers?

Depending on where exactly you are going to distribute products, online stores can be divided into:

  • regional (for example, Kiev and the suburbs);

  • operating within the country (goods are delivered by mail service, private courier service or a courier to other cities and regions);

  • working at the international level.

Selecting a location also affects some aspects in creating an online store. For example, for the convenience of a non-city resident, place a list of cities and offices of the «Nova Poshta» on the page for placing the order. It will help the customer choose the best suitable delivery option.

to order an online store

5. On what platform do you want to create a turnkey online store?

Today, an online store to order is created using its own CMS platform, open source CMS  code or leased SaaS. CMS (Content Management System) is an information system, that allows you to create, edit and manage the contents of a site.

In the case the company uses its own software, it can entirely set all the necessary feature settings, filters and other details of the site. However, to work with such a system, you need to obtain a license. There will be a programmer required in the company, who will help create all the necessary tools for the platform users and administrators.

Free CMS requires a reduces budget, but at the same time offers a limited list of features and templates for design development.

to order an online store

SaaS (software as a service) is a software product, that is provided to the user without the need to install software. You can interact with the system remotely via Internet.

Rental SaaS allows you to use an already developed product with the ability to set up individual settings, to specify additional features or to use existing tools. It is rather inexpensive and does not require a license. You can stop using the service any time, simply by not extending the subscription.

The choice of platform defines the workload of programmers and designers, as well as the set of features of a trading platform.

creating an online store

Is it possible to buy an online store ready-to-operate?

To buy a ready-to-operate online store, fully customized for business needs — is a solution for companies and individuals,  who do not have their own team of programmers and designers, but there is a desire to bring the business online. The main question, in this case, is the price.

The cost of creating an online store depends on a lot of details: the complexity of the site, its functions, filters, sections, features, provided to the user in his private account. There is no unified fixed price, as all the online platforms are different, and the uniqueness of your offer is a part of success.

Leave a request on our website and our the specialists from our team will calculate, how much the online store will cost in your case, considering all your wishes. By working with KATASIS, you will receive a ready-to-use product and support for the online workstation with real-time support. Help your business make a step up to the highest level!

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