How to Create Your First Online Store

Vladimir Peshekhonov is the founder of Ecommerce Works. He specializes in creating online stores and implementing CRM and process automation. He has over 18 years of experience in IT, including 10 years in e-commerce.



An online store is typically a website that automates the process of selling products. However, many online stores also automate other processes, and in the case of dropshipping, almost everything is automated.

If you sell handmade products on Instagram and want to streamline the ordering and payment process (for both you and your customers), an online store is the solution you need.

As the head of a company specializing in online store creation, here's what I want to tell those launching their first store:

Try it yourself if you have some time

In some cases, you can create a store on your own. While some developers strongly oppose this, I always recommend that beginners experiment with the free plans offered by e-commerce platforms. This will help you understand how everything works from the inside. We don't know if such a store will take off, but you'll understand what to discuss with developers and how to set tasks for them.

Important things to understand when submitting a request to a contractor

Creating a turnkey online store

There is no such thing as a "turnkey" store. It simply doesn't exist. Therefore, the price quoted for such a request will either be a range (from 100,000 to 1,000,000 rubles) or inflated. Developers will have to include all possible functionality in the estimate, including unnecessary ones. The solution is to write a technical specification (TOR).

Technical specification

You will need to write a TOR or at least participate in this process. This is the only way for each specialist working on your store to read all the necessary information in one place and understand what they need to do, what is good and what is bad for your store.

Can you avoid participating in all this?

You can:

  • if you have someone responsible for interacting with us who understands your business and its processes almost as well as you do;
  • if you have a truly simple, standard task, a TOR, a brand book, market research, and a bunch of other materials.

In all other cases, without your participation, we, the developers, will do what we understand. The result will be your risk.

How to write a TOR?

The TOR should include everything that, in your opinion, is essential for the project's success. Whether it resembles GOST standards or a social media conversation is not as important; the main thing is that it contains enough information. By the way, it's normal to involve the contractor in writing the TOR.

If the TOR is too large or too short, we will create our version for work. Don't be alarmed by this, but don't forget to check and supplement our version.

Key questions we will ask

About the market

  • What is the theme of the store?
  • In which countries is the target audience located?
  • In what languages will the store be available?

The answers to these questions will determine the choice of payment and shipping solutions, the writing of texts, the need to involve a translator, and the overall scope of work.

About the products

  • How many products do you plan to sell in the first 1-3 months? How many in the first year? We need this to understand what solution to offer you and how it will need to be scaled.

For example, if the store is being built on the InSales platform, this will determine the tariff.

If you need our help with filling in the products (and professionals do it quickly and well, believe me), we will clarify:

  • where to get information about them;
  • whether there are price lists (if they can be uploaded, the work will be twice as cheap);
  • whether there is an export from the supplier with prices and stock levels (then the store will have fresh stock levels and fresh prices every day - customers are happy, and you have a predictable shipping situation);
  • whether you plan to use dropshipping (direct delivery of products to the buyer from the supplier) - this affects the choice of platform. Product information can be taken directly from the dropshipping supplier or aggregator, for example, Oberlo for the Shopify platform.

About the design

Here are the questions you will need to answer:

  • Do you need a unique design?
  • Maybe there is a ready-made online store template with modifications?
  • Is there a template + color scheme?
  • Is there a logo and color scheme?
  • Will a ready-made template work? Will it need to be modified?
  • Do you need to customize your color scheme in the template?
  • If you want a unique design, what problem will it solve?

For beginners, the ideal option is a ready-made template + color scheme customization.

Clients often ask for either a unique design or a deep redesign of a ready-made template. In this case, there is a significant risk of "endless revisions." We will do what you ask, but remember that some of these clients never launch their ideal dream store, spending several quarters sending us revisions and eventually closing the project. Design is good, but it's not the most important thing in an online store.

About payment

Think in advance (or consult with the contractor) about the payment methods on the website - the choice of specific methods strongly depends on the market.

The main types of payment in the CIS are:

  • in parcel terminals, pick-up points, or upon receipt;
  • by card;
  • to e-wallets;
  • by bank transfer.

In the USA, the main payment methods will be:

  • PayPal;
  • by card;
  • upon receipt.

In Israel:

  • upon receipt;
  • by card.

When planning a store, you will need to build a complete chain for processing money, for example, up to the ability to pay suppliers with it, and calculate the total commission and time for processing payments.

Payment methods strongly depend on the niche and product. Digital products will be paid for with cards and from wallets, products with fitting - with cash and cards upon receipt, food or socks subscriptions - with recurring payments.

Work on this issue yourself - most store developers can only provide a list of ready-made modules or create a new one.

You need to choose a bank or payment aggregator, agree on the terms with them, sign a contract, deal with online cash registers, and resolve the issue of integration with accounting.

This applies to all legal online stores. All these tasks are on your side. Once you have chosen and concluded the relevant agreements, the developers will help you connect all of this to the store.

Delivery

Automatic calculation modules allow you to show the cost of the product, including delivery. They also help in choosing a courier, printing labels, and providing the customer with a tracking code.

What are the options:

  • courier delivery;
  • delivery to pick-up points, parcel terminals, post offices;
  • self-pick-up from warehouses.

There are a lot of courier companies, from international to local, so there are many aggregators that allow the client to choose the right one based on the timeframe, cost, distance, convenience, and working hours. This means that you connect one aggregator, and the client chooses the method that suits them from the available ones.

There are dozens of companies on the market with ready-made modules. We can provide a list of options, but you will need to choose specific ones.

In Israel, it will most likely be regular mail, and in the USA - courier delivery: DHL, UPS, FedEx, and TNT.

Let's summarize with a checklist - you can use it to check if you are ready to order the development of your store.

Market

  • What is the theme of the store?
  • In which countries is the target audience located?
  • In what languages will the store be available?

Products

  • Where to get information about the products?
  • How many products are planned?
  • Where is the supplier of products located?
  • Is dropshipping planned?

Texts

  • Do you need texts written for the store?
  • Do you need texts written for categories?
  • Do you need text translation?

Design

  • Requirements for the store design?
  • Unique design?
  • Modification of a ready-made template?
  • Ready-made template + color scheme customization?
  • Do you need a logo created?

Payment/Delivery/Integrations

  • What payment systems do you plan to use?
  • In what jurisdiction is the legal entity - the recipient of payment?
  • What additional integrations will be needed?
    • CRM
    • Inventory management system

Creating a store at first glance is perceived as a simple technical contract, ordering something from IT specialists and achieving timely delivery.

In reality, a working online store (like any business) is a set of processes. Here is a far from complete list of them:

  • Attracting customers;
  • Communicating with potential customers;
  • Transferring/assembling orders;
  • Delivery control;
  • Receiving money;
  • Withdrawing money;
  • Paying the supplier;
  • Handling returns;
  • Online cash register/receipts/accounting;
  • Working with the assortment;
  • Selecting suppliers;
  • Launching promotions;
  • Hiring employees;
  • Selecting contractors.

And dozens of other tasks that you have never done in your life before.

Therefore, launching an online store is like learning several specialties at once. When creating even a small store, we spend dozens of hours a week on consultations.

In the process, you will either feel like a student during exam season or let something go

How to Create Your First Online Store
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