“E-commerce” simply means buying and selling products and services online. If you want to accept payments on your website or set up an online Store to sell things, it’s time to get started with e-commerce. In this lesson, you’ll learn what e-commerce is, how to start using e-commerce, and two types of e-commerce solutions you can consider.
E-commerce basics
E-commerce is another name for “selling things online.” Different businesses may use e-commerce in different ways, ranging from accepting payments on a website to creating a full online store.
As you evaluate e-commerce options for your business, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- How many items do you want to sell? If you just want to sell a few items, a simpler e-commerce approach might be good for you. If you have a large catalog of items, you may want a solution with advanced features, like inventory management.
- Where do you want to sell your products or services? You can sell your offerings in several places online, including your website or on marketplaces, like eBay or Amazon. Whatever you decide, you’ll want to make sure your e-commerce solution supports the places you want to sell.
- How do you want customers to browse and discover your products? Unlike in physical stores, customers can’t touch, smell, feel, or try on your items online. Can you bring your products and services to life using photos, written descriptions, and videos?
Option 1: Add simple selling functionality to your existing website
With this option, customers shop for your products or services on your website, but are directed away from your site to pay through a payment processor. After the payment is complete, your customers are taken back to your site.
With this approach, you don’t need to deal with the complexities of processing payments or setting up a full online store. This might be a good choice for you if you have a limited catalog of products or services or just want a simple way to accept payments online.
Option 2: Create a dedicated e-commerce site
With this option, customers stay on your website for the full shopping experience. They can browse, add multiple items to a cart and then purchase them all within your site.
In a more advanced setup, customers can also create accounts, save payment and address details, and use site search and coupon codes. And as the business owner, you’ll get access to a back-end system with order management and reporting.
This more complex option is good when you want to give customers a robust, customized shopping experience.
E-commerce solutions run the gamut from simply accepting payments for your site to offering a full online store with photos, videos, a shopping cart, and more. What will work for your business depends on how many products or services you’re selling and the type of shopping experience you want your customers to have. Whatever you decide to do, you won’t have to go it alone: There are many partners that make everything possible — from accepting online payments to creating a full online store.
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