Running an eCommerce Shop From Your Home

You can run an eCommerce shop from your home with this helpful guide on payment processing.

The Internet offers the promise of starting, and successfully running, your own business from the comfort of your home. No credit card terminals or point of sale needed, no face-to-face interaction with customers. Just a solid strategy and a good eye for marketing. This guide won’t help you make millions online, but it will teach you the basics of founding a successful business online.

Developing a Website

The first step in developing a website, aside from choosing a domain name, is to decide on which platform you want to use to publish your work. WordPress is an excellent choice for several reasons:

• Premium templates are affordable, and relatively simple to setup.
• Plugins add a great deal of functionality, like helping your search rankings.
• WordPress is compatible with a variety of payment gateway services.
• WordPress templates are often mobile friendly.

Joomla is another great option that offers compatibility, but it’s not as easy to work with.

Taking Payments

You’ll need an online merchant account if you want to accept payments online, and this is where thigns get a little tricky. Many sites tempt customers with a flat rate. For some people, that rate will save money but most will want an interchange-plus account.

You’ll need a bit of coding to get the processor functioning properly too. If you’re not fond of code, you might want to consider outsourcing that aspect to a developer.

Next Steps

Once your items are up, and you can take payments, your next step is marketing. Figuring out how to broadcast your products and services to motivated customers within your niche is a challenge, so be prepared to test extensively to find the right solutions for you.