A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting an eCommerce Business in 2024
In my many (many) years as a web design and former design agency owner, one of the biggest traps I've seen new business owners and startups fall into is wanting everything to be absolutely perfect before launch day. And not just in a “let’s make sure to spell check the copy” kind of way. No, more in an “analysis paralysis”, perfectionist kind of way. Here are some of their trademark behaviors:
They get stuck on minute details that won’t affect their initial sales or long-term success.
They put off launching while they worked on extras that could have easily been added in Phase 2 (or 3… or 5… or 10) of the project.
They research and research and research but never actually make decisions.
They stall out because they’re afraid they missed something.
And if you’re wondering why you clicked on a blog post about how to start an eCommerce business in 2024 and landed instead on a little side story about people who’ll probably never launch, here’s why:
Because I want you to see how simple it is to just do it.
One of the things I love about Squarespace is how easy it makes it to just jump in and start selling. You can’t put off making sales while you wait for your website to be ready for you. You need to start selling ASAP. The rest can come later.
Taking a Lean-Agile Approach to Web Design & Development
Let me tell you how my little minimalist heart just sings at the sound of the words “minimally viable product.” When others hear it and think “barebones”, I hear the cha-ching of that cash register ringing.
An MVP product is one that starts lean so that you can:
Keep initial investment costs in check.
Get feedback before adding on new features.
Start seeing revenue right away to fund and finance the implementation of those features.
It makes sense in product development and app development and all sorts of other areas so why not web design?
So here we are: how to actually make it happen.
The Step-by-Step Guide to Starting an eCommerce Business in 2024
I could write a college textbook-sized document that covers all the things you could ever need or want to do on your website at some point but these are the things that you need to launch your MVP site. You know, the one that’s going to start making you money ASAP before you even crack open a book. We’ll dig into each of these things in detail in a bit but here’s our shortlist of absolute must-haves:
The Right Website Subscription
A Domain Name
3 Basic eCommerce Settings (Money, Taxes, Shipping)
Simple Content + Images
Legal Policies
With these things set, just add your products and you’ll be ready to sell!
Now let’s dig into each item in more detail:
The Right Website Subscription
There are two parts to this: the right website platform + the right subscription plan.
Now, it’s no secret that Squarespace is the MVP of MVPs. It’s my eCommerce website builder of choice and it should be yours, too. Some people will tell you (falsely) that if you’re in eCommerce you’ve “got to be on Shopify” and - sure- that’s an option you could totally look at.
However, as both a longtime Squarespace Circle Member and a Certified Shopify Partner I feel like I’m uniquely qualified to speak objectively about both platforms. I’ve built sites of all types and sizes on both and yet still choose Squarespace 9 times out of 10 for the sites I work on. Here’s why:
Ease of Use - I’m guessing you didn’t get into business to also learn how to code something as simple as a landing page or contact form. You’re most likely going to be the one managing day-to-day things on your site and I don’t want you to go mental trying to do so.
More Commerce Features - Yep, you read that right. On Squarespace, you can offer more product variations and sell more product types all without the need for paid plugins.
Limited Monthly Costs - You’ll find no one that hates feeling nickel-and-dimed more than me so the type of thing that really grinds my gears is when you pay a monthly fee to a service provider only to quickly realize that in order to do what you really want you’ll need to sign up for 8,342 additional paid apps. Welcome to the Shopify experience: where the world is at your fingertips so long as you’re willing to string together multiple third-party apps with questionable security levels in order to do the one thing the platform claims to be able to do well: sell stuff. With Squarespace, everything’s built right in with the exception of a few very specific optional add-ons making it easy to not just sell but to run your entire business without the need for multiple additional paid apps.
(For more Squarespace vs. Shopify comparison notes check out this post: Squarespace vs. Shopify: Which is Best for Small Business?)
So now that we’re all on the same page with Squarespace, it’s just a matter of picking the right plan. I break down all the options in detail here but here’s the TL;DR:
Choose Basic Commerce ($27/mo) if you’re just getting started and are in super cost-saving mode. You can switch plans at any time so you can always upgrade later. This plan is probably also sufficient for smaller sellers whose primary income isn’t generated online.
Choose Advanced Commerce ($49/mo) if your eCommerce website is the centerpiece of your business. The advanced tools really are what’s going to help you compete most effectively and they come at a pretty reasonable premium over the Basic plan.
A Domain Name
Hot tip before we jump into all things domain-related: if you pay for your Squarespace subscription (above) annually you can register a new domain name FOR FREE for the first year! This will not only save you a few bucks, you’ll never have to figure out how to log in to your “web host” ever again. Because it’s Squarespace. And it’s all just right there. 🧘♀️ZEN
Ok, now on to picking a domain name. I have two slightly contradictory pieces of advice on this front:
On one hand, your domain name is super important. Probably more important than your business name or your product names or your brand colors or anything else.
On the other hand, just pick something and keep on trucking.
In this post, I give a bunch of my been-there-done-that advice on domain names but since we’re going for simple here, my number one piece of advice on domains is this:
Go for the .com version! Vanity domains are becoming slightly more ok but if you absolutely can, find a .com domain that you can live with instead. People will get your vanity domain wrong, like, 96% of the time and that’s annoying for them and bad for you.
Beyond that, I just recommend keeping things as short and easy to spell as possible!
3 Basic eCommerce Settings (Money, Taxes, Shipping)
eCommerce doesn’t have to be scary! There are 1,001 settings and features and options but what it boils down to when you’re just getting started is:
Have a way to get paid
Make sure you’ve got your tax situation on lock
Put together a simple shipping strategy
That’s it. Everything else is secondary or can be added on and taken care of later.
Money - Create a Stripe account so that you can accept cards plus Apple Pay and Afterpay. One account, all the payments. Simple. (More here.)
Taxes - Put ‘em on autopilot.
Shipping - Don’t be stubborn. Just offer free shipping already. Here’s my #1 most recommend strategy in detail!
Simple Content + Images
This is one of my 3 Mistakes New Online Sellers Make: they say too much. Yep, that’s right. Most eCommerce newbies feel the need to write way more than they need to for their websites when the truth of the matter is that people don’t read websites, they SKIM them.
Bottom line: the best sites are simple, straightforward, and highly skimmable.
Most e-commerce sites need only a few static pages (such as an about page and an FAQ page) but I often see newbies give more real estate to the history of their company than they do to what they’re actually selling. This is a huge mistake and has the unintended side effect of reducing sales, which makes people think e-commerce isn’t worth it. The truth is, we’re often getting in our own way when it comes to sales.
A good rule of thumb for web copy is to write out what you think you need to say, then cut it in half... and then cut it in half again. Upside: less to write and faster to launch!
When it comes to the images on your site, it’s also important to keep things simple. Here are two of my best simple image tips:
Don’t worry about minute details in stock photos that may not be exactly right. For example, I once had a client say that a stock photo (that was otherwise perfect for their fitness brand) wasn’t going to work because the brand of weights shown in the image wasn’t the same as the brand they own 🙃 I guarantee no customer is going to notice a thing like that! Images are just there to set the mood and visually contribute to a bigger story. Find ones that work but don’t sweat the small stuff.
Selecting images that are consistent in style is one of the best ways to make stock images look less… stock. Select images that have the same overall colors and tones or the same photographic style, such as all black and white images.
You’d also be surprised at how few photos you’ll actually need on an eCommerce website - aside from product photos, that is! A few well-chosen images for banners and backgrounds on your static pages and you’re in business!
Legal Policies
I know, I know: if the tiny print is really as important as it is, why isn’t it at least in a larger font?! 😂 Jokes aside, you really need to make sure your arse is covered in case something goes sideways. Chances are it won’t but just think of the legal policies on your site like buying insurance; you get it on the off chance that something does go wrong.
My #1 go-to for website policies is Termageddon because it’s an affordable way to make sure that I’m always covered. The policies are auto-updated any time a data privacy law changes (which is actually pretty often these days) which really aligns with my desire to make things as simple and streamlined as possible. Set things up once and you’ll be covered forever.
You may also like: Legal Checklist for New eCommerce Businesses
Putting It All Together
Now that you’ve got the basics taken care of all you need to do is add products and you’re in business! Your MVP website will be a true MVP! The most important thing you can do is just launch. That’s it. Getting started is the hardest part but with these few basics taken care of, you can start selling right away while you turn your attention to the rest of your business. By launching quickly:
You won’t be stuck obsessing over teeny, tiny, meaningless details that won’t affect your ability to sell now OR see success in the long run.
You can feel confident in selling online and add additional features funded from those first sales.
You can build on the strong foundation you have when the time is right.
Time to launch your MVP eCommerce website!
