Selling online is simpler than many people realize. You need to focus on a way to promote your inventory and make it easy to accept payment and fulfill orders. A selling platform will be an important component if you want to learn how to sell online. With the right platform, you can get help on the front and back-end of the infrastructure.
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What is a Selling Platform?
A selling platform is one of the most critical components to learning how to sell online. You have to go above and beyond a standard website. The platform is an e-commerce website builder where you can build, customize, and run your online store. Various tools will help you with the various components so that your customers can shop with ease.
If you’ve done any kind of online buying in the past, you know the experience you want to offer. You want to make it easy for people to browse your inventory, add items to the shopping cart, and check out. The easier you make it, the less you have to worry about cart abandonment.
Important Features to Consider
There are several features you’ll want to consider. While you’re most likely going to want all of the features, some will be more important to you than others – and this will help you navigate the many platforms.
Customization
You need to stand out from the competition. The best way to accomplish this is through customizing your online store. Think about the colors, the fonts, and more. By integrating a theme and offering a unique experience, your shoppers will be more likely to establish loyalty with your online store.
Mobile-Friendly
More and more people are choosing to shop from their mobile devices. It’s convenient to be able to order on the go – and you need to recognize this. Once you choose your website domain name and such, you have to start building your website – and ensuring that your e-commerce website builder will create a mobile-friendly version is critical. It can be the difference between shopping with you and shopping with one of your competitors.
Easy Checkout
No one wants to go through countless screens to check out. The simpler that you make it, the more likely people will enjoy your store – and visit again. Some systems will allow you to capture key information from your customers along the way, including signing them up for your monthly newsletter or allowing them to create an account to simplify checkout further for the next time that they shop.
Integrated Payment Processor
An integrated payment processor simplifies the checkout process even further. It provides options so that people can check out quickly and safely. The funds are taken from them and provided to you.
Inventory Control
Many platforms allow you to gain even more tools – such as ways to help with order fulfillment. You don’t want to sell more than what you have in stock. Otherwise, shipping times can be higher and reviews can be lower. Some platforms allow you to maintain an inventory of what you have in stock. If you have 10 of something, it will know once you have sold 10. That way, once the 11th one is ready to be purchased, it will identify that it is out of stock. Some will even provide reminders once you reach a certain threshold so you know that it’s time to order and increase your inventory.
Top Selling Platforms
More and more people are choosing to buy online as opposed to visiting a storefront. This means that you have to consider how you’re going to offer the best possible online shopping experience. The platform that you choose matters – and some are more popular than others.
Understanding what each online selling platform has to offer will make it easier for you to achieve your desired level of success.
Some popular platforms to consider include:
- Drupal
- Squarespace
- LemonStand
- OpenCart
- 3dcart
- Volusion
While it can be overwhelming to review all of the platforms, it’s an important process. Further, you’ll want to consider using other platforms based on the market that you want to tap into. As you push toward global domination, you will want a robust solution to help you every step of the way.
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