How to Design Your Own Online Store to Sell Your Service or Product
- 1). Setup a website hosting account. Since the site will require e-commerce software, find a host that allows the installation of third party software. Many options are available at various price ranges, so shop around.
- 2). Select an e-commerce software package to run the site. There are dozens of quality packages available. Depending on the web hosting company, only a handful of these may actually be available. Experiment with the available choices, while researching which may best suit the site's needs.
- 3). Install and configure the e-commerce package Web hosts that allow third party software generally use a point-and-click interface to manage the third party software. Locate the package name in the control panel menu, and then select the new installation option. Enter the initial setup options and then save when finished.
- 4). Create a payment processing account. Small sites will often opt for Google or PayPal to process customer credit card payments. In addition, other processors cater to small websites. Explore all available options.
- 5). Configure the payment processor settings. The payment processor should provide some HTML or script that you paste into the settings page of the e-commerce software. Save the settings once complete.
- 6). Customize the product catalog and shipping options. This includes uploading product pictures, creating descriptions and setting prices. The e-commerce software handles this from a control panel interface. The process is primarily point-and-click driven.
- 7). Test the site before deployment. End-to-end testing is required to ensure everything works as expected. Once complete, the site is ready for launch.
Source...