Setting up your own ecommerce site 1FREE DOWNLOAD
How to set up your WordPress site (installing WordPress) One of my personal favourite tools when it comes to building a website for a niche market in which I m operating is called WordPress. It s known as a Content Management System, or CMS, and this means that you can tweak any of the content of the website without needing to understand internet programming languages. WordPress is used by many thousands of websites across the world, and there is a great community developing extra tools and pre-created themes that you can plug straight in to your website to make it look beautiful with very little effort. WordPress is very easy to install, most website hosting providers offer a button that means with just a few clicks you can have this system up and running. This is the Heart Internet website hosting control panel, and as you can see there s a link right there to install WordPress. Some other website hosting providers use a little piece of software called Fantastico De Luxe to install scripts such as WordPress, so if you can t see a link directly to it look for this instead. In this case however we can simply click straight on the highlighted link and start working through the onscreen instructions in order to get the software installed. 2
You don t need to worry about the Installation Directory or Website Addresses here unless you wish to install WordPress to an unusual location, so all you need to do is click the Install Now button. This will kick off the installation immediately and its progress will be updated on screen before your very eyes. It should just take a couple of minutes for WordPress to finish installing. Once the webpage lets you know that the installation has been completed you should have an option to jump straight to your website address, where there will be a couple more fields to complete: Site Title. If you search for a website in Google you ll notice that the results returned come complete with a specific title, as well as a few words of description. You can choose what you want that title to be by adding a short sentence into this field. Make sure it s relevant to what your website is actually about. Username and Password. Do you remember me mentioning that WordPress is a great system because you can edit the content really easily? Well in order to make any changes to the words on your pages you will need to create a username and a password in order to allow you to log in from any internet browser when you do want to make some alterations or add some new stock to your pages. Email Address. There s a good chance that you ll want your website to contain a contact form or some way for visitors to be able to contact you. The email address that you enter here will usually tie in with the contact form to ensure that any queries end up at the right place. 3
Privacy. Finally you will need to choose whether or not you want search engines to be able to find your website. You should make sure that the box is ticked so that search engines will be able to index your pages. It takes a while for Google to discover new websites, so even if you know it ll be a few days before you really want anyone looking at your pages you should still tick this box now. That s all the fields that you ll need to complete. Once you have filled in all the details and clicked the button to continue the process thenwp3 WordPress will complete its final installation, and will allow you to log in to the control panel of your very own website. The login screen should look something like this, and all you need to get in is the username and the password that you created earlier. If for some reason you aren t redirected to this particular website, or the next time you want to access it in order to add some new content to your website, you can always find it by heading to the following address: http://www.mydomainname.co.uk/wp-admin Change mydomainname to the website address that you selected, and then you ll be able to log in as above to be granted with access to the control panel where you can add new pages to your site. 4
Have a look around the menu options on the left and start to get familiar with what WordPress has to offer you. The Pages menu option in particular will be useful, as clicking this will allow you to start adding new pages to your website, for example About, Shop or Contact. With absolutely no design work at all and just a simple installation of WordPress set up your website will already be starting to take shape. Making your website look really unique and beautiful now is a combination of two activities: Adding the actual content to your site, for example information about your company and the products that you have for sale. You may wish to explore the Plugins menu option within the control panel, as the tools that you can download and run on your website through this section include items such as shopping carts and contact forms. Finding a pre-created theme to add some distinctive style to how the actual site looks. There are thousands upon thousands of website themes that you can plug straight into WordPress to dramatically change how your pages will look. Some of these themes cost money, and some are provided completely free. If you search Google for WordPress themes you will find stacks of results, all of which can be used to help to make your website a beautiful reflection of your online selling business. 5
What is a WordPress theme? Perhaps the very biggest advantage to using the WordPress content management system as a means to putting together a website is the enormous number of themes that are ready and waiting for you to use. If you imagine that your website is a house, then the equivalent act of installing a new theme would be to paint it a new colour and adjust the layout of the rooms and furniture within. All themes are different, and with so many available today it s never been easier to find a layout that allows your website to look beautifully unique, functional and attractive. One of the biggest issues with finding a great theme to use to adjust the style of your own website is actually the sheer amount of choice. With more than 86,000,000 results returned in a Google search for WordPress Themes it can be really difficult to know where to start. I m going to introduce you to a few of the websites that I use when I m looking for new WordPress themes, but even those websites can come complete with a lot of choice. That s why it s important to have a think about what you really want your website to look like before you start searching. Having an idea in your mind as to the colour, style and functionality of your site when you start perusing the themes on offer will help you to instantly dismiss those that aren t relevant for your own unique needs. 6
It s much like trying to find a first product to sell on ebay. Look at anything going and you ll find yourself lost for hours debating the endless possibilities, but narrow your search down to a niche market first and you ll find the choices that much easier to manage. Have you had a think about how you want your website to look and function? Good, then let me introduce you to some of my favourite tools, as well as provide you with a bit of instruction as to how to actually go about installing and turning on a new theme for your website. 1. Featured WordPress Themes One place that you can go straight away to look for WordPress themes is to your own website s WordPress control panel. Within the Appearance menu option is an item called Themes, and here you can search for keywords related to the type of design you re after. 7
You could search for a colour or a word such as shop or ecommerce, or even for a keyword related to your industry such as pets or baby. With a keyword entered just hit the Search button to see a list of potential themes that you can install right away by clicking the Install Now button beneath each option. This simple action can completely change the look of your WordPress website. 8
2. Premium WordPress Themes The themes we ve looked at so far are all free. There are some amazing free themes on the market today, but occasionally you might find that a paid premium theme offers extra functionality and ease of use. You won t need to spend a fortune on one of these paid themes, perhaps up to 50, but that can be money very well spent. Take a look around a few of these premium theme websites now to see how beautiful some of these new website skins look. Elegant Themes www.elegantthemes.com ithemes www.ithemes.com Woo Themes www.woothemes.com Theme Forest www.themeforest.net Just as we searched through the themes within WordPress, so you can use search bars on these pages to look for themes that match the ideas you have in your head for functionality or for design. 9
When you go to look at an individual theme you should be presented with an option to view a Live Demo or a Preview; these options can allow you to see exactly what the theme could look like when installed on your own website. 3. Google Theme Searches Searching for generic WordPress Themes won t get you anywhere on Google, but you can always narrow down the search by looking for something more specific, such as Free Ecommerce WordPress Themes. 10
There may still be a lot of results, but chances are some of those on the first couple of pages will match your requirements. When you do settle on a theme, be it a premium one or one that s free that you found through Google, you will be able to download a ZIP file containing all of the code that ll make the site look as it should. All you need to do to completely alter the look and feel of your WordPress website is return to the Themes section of the control panel within the Appearance menu. Within the Install Themes tab you should see an option to Upload a new theme. Simply click the Choose File button and then browse for the.zip file that you just downloaded. Select it and then click Install Now and wait for a couple of minutes. Once installed all you need to do is to activate the theme in the same way as we did earlier with a theme found through WordPress itself. You may need to try out a few different themes to find the option that suits your idea for a design the most successfully, though the previous and demos available with premium themes can help you to get an idea without needing to spend a lot of money on an assortment of options. Adding a new theme, some content and some extra functionality through the Plugins menu item within your control panel can completely alter your WordPress website. Before you know it your pages will be packed full of useful information and you ll even be able to start selling stock on your very own site. 11
6 big advantages of owning your own website It s amazing how many different e-commerce sites we can use today in order to sell our goods. There s the big ones, ebay and Amazon, but alongside those retail giants are an assortment of alternative auction websites and marketplace venues where we can shift our stock for a profit. With so much choice I couldn t blame you for questioning why you d need to bother with setting up your own website, but in the course of the next few minutes I hope to convince you that this is a worthwhile endeavour. Getting yourself set up with a presence on the World Wide Web has never been easier. There are a load of free or paid tools that you can use to get set up right away, or alternatively the prices to have a site designed by a professional have dropped dramatically in recent years if you re looking for a website that really stands out from the crowd. A reduction in set up costs isn t the only reason why you should consider setting up a website within your niche market though, take a look at a few of the other benefits that you could reap by spending a bit of time investing into establishing your own ecommerce base: You have the final say as to the website address that your visitors 1. will use to find your little piece of the internet. It could include your company name, or a couple of words that sums up the industry in which you operate. Choose your domain name well and you may find that your repeat sales start to increase just because it ll be so much easier for existing customers to find you again. One of the advantages of your own website is the complete lack of 2. competing sellers operating within the same space. Even with an ebay store the temptation for a customer could be to return to the main ebay website to see if they can find a better deal. Get a buyer onto your own web pages and there won t be any other sellers taunting them with lower prices or different products, the stock that you list on your site will be all that they see unless they leave to search for another site. 3. Some potential clients of yours may still have reservations when it comes to buying products online, particularly through a website such as ebay which, to some, is still seen as a place where people are just trying to part with junk. We know that this isn t the case, but having your own website can really increase the professionalism of your business. There s an unspoken feeling that if you are responsible enough to manage a little slice of the internet then you ll be responsible enough to manage an order. 12
A bit of careful consideration as to what you put on your website 4. can also help you to receive more traffic, and therefore more sales. Search engines such as Google love to see high quality content on web pages, so adding a blog about your niche market or some articles providing information could really help your website to stand out. If you start making sales through your own website then you won t 5. have so many fees to worry about. Using a service such as PayPal or Google Checkout will leave you with transaction fees of around 3-4%, but compare this to the possible 17.5% of fees that you ll be paying on Amazon and it shouldn t take long to realise that this is a good way to make a serious amount of money. Finally having your own website can be a great way for you to attract 6. more attention to the products that you are selling either through your own site or on other ecommerce listings due to the extra marketing opportunities that it provides. You may find it easier to secure more useful web links to a website rather than a sales page, and you could also use your website to create your very own marketing list of former customers to keep them informed of any upcoming offers. It s important to say at this point that I don t think you should give up on websites like ebay and Amazon just to focus on your own website, but rather that creating your own web pages can complement the success that you are already seeing on these other sites incredibly well. I m a firm believer in diversifying your income generating potential, and the process of setting up your website could be the next step to help you achieve that aim. 13
How to purchase a domain name in 3 easy steps. The different websites that you can use to purchase and register a domain name will all look slightly different so for the sake of providing you with an example I m going to show you how to register a domain name with one particular company, in this case 123-Reg because I use this company on a regular basis. All you need to do is follow these next few simple steps and you will be in possession of your very own domain name! 1. Load the website of your chosen domain name registrar I have just entered the domain name for the 123-Reg registrar, and this is the website that I am greeted with: 14
2. Enter your chosen keywords or phrases into the Domain Search text box Formulate those words into a viable domain name and to see if that potential domain name is actually available, or if someone else has already taken it. I am first going to try the domain name www.bestrunningshoes.com. As you can see, I have entered that key phrase into the Domain Search box on the 123-Reg homepage. I have chosen not to include hyphens within the domain name, for example, www.best-running-shoes.com, as hyphens tend not to make effective and memorable website addresses. 3. Search for your domain name All that remains for me to do is to click the Search button, as shown highlighted below, to see if I am able to purchase this particular domain name. 15
It may take a few moments for the results to be revealed, but before long you will see a page that looks something like this: Lots of red writing; that is not what I want to see! Where the writing is green I am informed that the domain name is available, but where it is red it seems that some other individual or organisation has beaten me to it and already purchased the name. The.com and.co.uk variations of www.bestrunningshoes are already taken, meaning I need to go back to my list of keywords and consider some alternative suggestions. Alternatively I can scroll to the very bottom of this page of results to see some Suggested Domains from the 123-Reg website. These will be domain names that are similar to the one that I was trying to secure. 16
I am not really interested in any of these suggestions, so by scrolling back up to the top of the page I can find the Search bar once again, and try entering some different key words or phrases. 17
It can be difficult not to feel disheartened if you discover that the domain name you really wanted is already taken but don t be put off. Unless your potential domain name is very weird or very unique it is rare that you ll get your first choice first time. Remember that there are millions of domain names already registered so it s likely that you will need to adapt your keywords to get what you want. I hope I can set your mind at ease by letting you know that this is: a) A very common problem. You aren t the only one with access to tools such as Google s Keyword search, so other people will inevitably be on the lookout for those same keywords in domain name form. b) Not a serious issue. Having your keywords in your domain name will certainly help you to increase traffic to your website. However adding additional words in and around that keyword or phrase will not harm your chances at reaching the top spots in a search result. So, why not try adding some of the following filler words into your domain name to see if they are taken. Just remember to keep the finished product as short and as memorable as possible! THE STORE SHOP HQ MY TOP YOUR These are just a few ideas, you can always come up with your own. But consider how these could be incorporated into a domain name: - www.yourbestrunningshoes.com - www.bestrunningshoeshq.com - www.thebestrunningshoe.com The sky really is the limit! Let your imagination roam freely as you come up with potential words to fit into your domain name. Just make sure you always go through that five point check list that I went through earlier to ensure your final internet address will still be effective. 18
Purchase your domain name It might take a while but eventually you will come across a great domain name that isn t taken yet. You may even get lucky and find that the first keyword or phrase is actually available for you! No matter how long it takes, your next step is to actually make the purchase of your domain name. I have discovered that the internet address www.bestrunningshoeshq is not taken in either the.com, or the.co.uk variety. This is the domain name that I will be purchasing. 19
As you can see, the 123-Reg website has automatically put ticks in a few of the boxes in the Registration/transfer column. These are the addresses that it suggests I should purchase, however I am going to stick with the.com and the.co.uk variations. You may just want to purchase one or the other of these two Top Level Domains (i.e.com OR.co.uk) but I would suggest you purchase both. The reason being that sometimes although people can remember your domain name they can t remember if it s a.com or a.co.uk. This way it won t matter which one they input as you can mirror your websites to match both domains. I ll explain more on this later! Also, if you purchase both you instantly stop copycats setting up a similar site and taking your hard-earned traffic. If you want to add further Top Level Domains such as.info or.tv you can always come back and purchase additional ones at a later date should you find that your website is becoming increasingly successful. Ok, so I have now un-ticked all but the two domain names that I am actually interested in so I am ready to click the add to basket button shown highlighted below. The basket to the right hand side of the screen has now changed to show the two domain names that I have requested. 20
A new ok, let s continue button has also appeared below the add to basket button. Click this button to continue with the process of registering your first domain name. Immediately I am presented with another option: No matter what domain name registrar you choose to use, it is likely that they will try to sell you some extra bits and pieces. On this screen 123-Reg are offering me what is known as WHOIS privacy for an extra 4.99. Essentially when you register an email address anyone is able to run a WHOIS check at to see exactly who owns the domain name. This information will contain some of your contact information. In reality WHOIS checks are performed quite rarely. I use WHOIS when I want to check out wholesale suppliers to make sure they are who they say they are and that their website details match their registered details but you can be quite confident that your details are unlikely to be looked at if you are a regular website owner. As such, I personally would recommend clicking the ok, let s continue button, rather than the add WHOIS privacy button but, of course, the choice is yours. 21
There are even more extras offered to me when I click the button to carry on with the process, however I am not interested in these services right now so can move straight to the continue button once more. Remember, you can always add extras to your domain names at a later date so don t worry too much about the advertised services here for now. All we re interested in at the moment is getting you a domain name registered. You will need to input your details next to complete the process. If you have used this website before you will just be able to click the sign in button at the top of the page, but for newcomers you must create a new account. 22
The information is typical for the registration of any online account, and includes basic information such as your name, contact details and postal address. Make sure you complete all of the starred fields as these are required. Finally you must insert a tick into the checkbox shown below stating that you have understood the terms and conditions (don t forget to read them!) of the website, before clicking the continue button once more. Once you have registered and/or signed in, a new page with your personal details will appear. These are the details related to the specific registration of the domain name and will commonly be the same as the contact details that you completed in the previous section. As before, once you have completed the required fields click the continue button to continue. 23
We have now reached the payment stage. This next page will show you a summary of your basket, including all of the domain names that you have opted to purchase. At this point you can also amend how long you could like to lease a certain domain for by clicking on any drop down menus that you can see, like the one shown highlighted in the following screenshot. The little cross to the right hand side of each item in your shopping basket can be used to delete a selection if you decide that you no longer want it. However if you are happy with your selections you can now click the continue to payment button in order to input your payment information. 24
There are four ways to pay for your domain names: Direct Debit: the money will be taken straight from your bank account. Credit/Debit card: the money will be taken from your chosen bank card. PayPal: you can log in with an existing PayPal account and make the payment through it. Direct Debit: Set up a direct debit with 123-Reg that will ensure your domain names are automatically renewed when they are due to expire. Any of these methods are perfectly valid, so simply select your option and enter the appropriate banking details before finally clicking the Purchase button found at the bottom of the form. Congratulations! You have purchased your very own domain name. You will be shown a confirmation screen, and an email will also be sent to your account with a receipt for the payment for you to print off for your own records. 25