How to open an online shop?

Where to start developing an online store? The choice is large. It all depends on the tasks, preferences of the customer and, of course, on the project budget. You can:

1. Buy or download a ready-made online store template, exposing yourself to risk;
2. Open and temporarily rent a store in a ready-made construction site;
3. Create an online store from scratch, develop your own business, without depending on licenses and restrictions.

Creating an e-commerce platform using ready-made templates is an inexpensive option, but you adapt your business to the capabilities of the chosen CMS. Creating a store on a template rarely gives the result that the customer expects. This can be considered a waste of time and finances. The main problem with template websites is security vulnerabilities and “factory problems.” If we look at the statistics, 95% of everyday hacker attacks are aimed at well-known ready-made CMS platforms. Opening a store in third-party designers for a rent is the cheapest option to solve the problem. It's like renting a stall at the market to test a business model.

Programming from scratch is the best way to create a working business selling goods online. This approach gives complete freedom when creating and planning a business. Programming without templates from scratch requires more budget than development on a ready-made CMS. But in the long term, these investments are worthwhile.

• Programming without templates has several advantages:
• An individual technical specification allows you to obtain the optimal structure of an online store.
• The customer should not build his plans according to ready-made templates. In business, original projects bring profit.
• Author's design, adaptive layout, useful functions of the personal account attract users.
• Programming from scratch gives you unlimited possibilities for developing different functions.
• A website from scratch is easier to optimize and SEO promote.

Cost planning is the most difficult issue in the process of creating an online store. It’s like when renovating a house, you plan a conditional budget, so as not to stop halfway, you need to multiply it by two. For this reason, based on fifteen years of experience, when publishing prices for creating online shops, we immediately announce the real expected costs. Of course, this sometimes “scares” customers, but it is better to lose a potential client than a deceived and disappointed customer. So, what expenses await you?

• It seems that the biggest expense is the programming process, but this impression is only at the beginning. However, the average budget for developing an e-commerce platform is $12,000․
• Of the fixed expenses, the calculation of which is done from the total turnover, these are payments for the use of payment systems (1.5-2.7% of each transaction) and taxes (in Armenia 1.5-5%). You can take 5% as the average percentage.
• To organize deliveries today it is no longer necessary to have your own staff. The process is easy to arrange with the help of a third party company, adding shipping costs to the final order amount.
• The next constant expense is website content maintenance. There are several options in this direction. Combine content, SMM and SEO work through outsourcing, entrust content maintenance to operators or, if it is a large store, hire a separate employee.
• The optimal way to transfer advertising, SEO services and contextual advertising to one contractor. For an average store in Armenia, the optimal payment for these services (without calculating the advertising budget) starts from $500.
• If you decide to outsource SMM promotion services, then you need to provide the same amount for competent maintenance of pages on social networks and advertising with minimal intensity.