Last year in the UK, billions of pounds were spent online through e-commerce websites. Also, current forecasts suggest this number will continue to rise as the popularity of such businesses increases.
There are many reasons why we favour going online; not only is it fast, convenient and far less effort than traipsing through the highstreets, it’s also easy to do at home on our tablets, laptops and other devices. These are just a few examples of the positives, but there’s also the fact you can turn your business ideas, products and services into something profitable.
With all this in mind then, if you’re considering a web-based entrepreneurial venture, but are wondering just how to start an e-commerce business, then you’ve come to the right place. At TNT we’re proud to say we work with a number of e-commerce sites and sellers; so we’ve put together this useful tips piece to guide you through what you need to do when starting an online UK business.
What is an e-commerce business?
To start with the basics, ‘electric commerce’ or ‘e-commerce’ as it’s known, is defined as the trading of goods, services or other products via the internet. This covers online shoppers, where retailers sell goods via their website directly to their consumers, but also it can be for B2B buying and selling.
Why are they so popular?
As aforementioned, the popularity of e-commerce primarily stems from the convenience customers – and indeed retailers – get from it. However, they also allow a business to clearly exhibit what they have to offer through images and other media, and also include all the relevant details shoppers need via their landing page content.
What’s even better about e-commerce though is the relatively low running costs for the owners; compared to having to pay for owning or renting a unit or building for an actual premises. There’s more flexibility for growth as well, as you only need to expand your online space as opposed to having to find a bigger location.
On top of this, unlike a high street shop, an e-commerce business can operate around the clock, 365 days a year and is available online to worldwide markets. Which almost goes without saying, can be incredibly profitable.
How to setup and start an e-commerce business
So here’s how to go about the process:
A thorough business plan and thorough research
As with any business, having a clear idea of what you want to sell is essential, but you need to look at what makes for an effective e-commerce site. Spend some time researching your rivals and see what their websites a) look like and b) what unique selling points they’re offering. With this information you can tailor your plan and website ideas accordingly to provide something better and hopefully more appealing to customers.
Decide how you will manage it
Not all of us are blessed with amazing IT skills and you do need a certain degree of computer literacy – especially when it comes to areas we’ll look at later like web design and using software. While there are tutorials and ways to learn, if time is of the essence you might want to hire someone to manage your site. However, this also depends whether your startup budget can stretch that far.
Choose a domain name
If possible you should select and register a domain name that’s the same as your business. However, if it’s unavailable or your company name is longwinded, consider shortening it or using other spellings. This is because you’ll ideally want a memorable and easy to type url, also depending on where you intend to trade, consider if you’ll choose ‘.com’ or .co.uk’? You can find providers and registrars online to purchase and register your domain name.
Make sure everything is official
Before you begin trading you also need to have the right legal structures in place. Depending on what type of business you’re setting up you might need a licence, you can find out more about this here via these Government guidelines. If you think your e-commerce company will turnover ‘more than £82,000’ you also need to register for VAT. Lastly, as you’ll eventually store customer information, you also need to keep in line with the UK Data Protection Act.
Find the right host
The server you build your website on needs to be capable of handling all your data comfortably, otherwise it might take a long time to load, or worse start crashing – which your customers certainly won’t like. Shop around and spend a little more on a server that can scale up capacity when needed, so its speed and performance isn’t affected even during busy periods.
On-brand design
Next comes the hugely important aspect of what your site looks like. As previously mentioned, the web-wise amongst you might be able to construct your own site from scratch, however if not, there’s no need to panic. You can find ready-made template sites you can customise to match your brand (colours, logos images etc.). There’s also the option to pay a designer to make your website for you and create it exactly to your specifications or under their expert guidance.
Shopping options
Something you need to have though is a shopping cart checkout system that is easy to use, safe and can deal with a number of different cards. So be sure to look for this before you select a template.
Have secure online payments
As an e-commerce business and ‘a merchant of any size accepting credit cards’ you’ll also be expected to provide secure payment facilities and adhere to the standards set by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). They detail a number of ways you can maintain payment security on their website here.
Important onsite content
The essential information you must have is your address and contact details, your terms and conditions and privacy policies. Furthermore, your products must be priced accurately and clearly labelled if out of stock – as you don’t want to mislead your customers.
Content marketing and social media
When it comes to sharing and promoting your site, regular blogs and sharing information via social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linked in etc.) can be very effective. These are a useful – and more importantly free – way to showcase your products and services. The key here is to be consistent, regularly update them with interesting and unique content and make sure you always link back to your main site.
Test, test and test again
Before you start officially trading though, it’s worth testing your website first to work out any kinks and look for any bugs and user issues. Offer your family and friends access to a staging site and ask them to browse through and note down any problems they have. Then – should they encounter any – go back to the design stage and get them fixed or changed.
Stock up
Once everything is up and in perfect working order, you should turn your attention to supply. Start stocking up, as you need to be ready for when those purchases start rolling in. Again, where you store these depends on how much you can afford, it might be in your home or you could rent a warehouse or unit nearby to your location.
Fast and effective deliveries
A big part of e-commerce is of course your deliveries. Much like how fast and effective your website is, your customers will also appreciate a speedy, quality delivery service. You can manage this yourself, however this can be incredibly hard work if you’re a small to medium-sized enterprise; so a smart move is to use an established delivery company like TNT. We have specialist services and solutions for e-commerce businesses that allow you to upload multiple orders at once to our systems, which we then quickly dispatch for you.
Any alternatives?
If the thought of having to tackle the above has filled you with fear, there are always other e-commerce alternatives to consider. You can become an online seller through existing platforms like eBay, Etsy and Amazon and basically set up your business on their existing profiles. The pros are that it’s really easy to do and that TNT also work with such sellers; the cons include the fact that you don’t have as much control over your company and won’t be as on brand in terms of design as a personal site.
Looking to the future
Whatever choices you make, whether you handle everything alone, work as a team, or use external help when creating your e-commerce business you’re in a strong position thanks to the ever-growing popularity of online selling. Remember though to always respond quickly to any customer queries and issues to ensure positive feedback, and as a final tip, invest in some retargeting software to entice customers back to your website. Other than that, good luck with your new UK e-commerce business.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
