Ecommerce Project Ingredient List

People often ask, what is the best recipe for ecommerce success? A baking or cooking analogy is a good one for a digital project – easy to understand and relate to. So let’s roll with it.

This post is not about the recipe. Before you get to the how, you need to assemble the ingredients.

If you have ever watched something like ‘Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals‘ you will know that it only takes 30 minutes because someone else has spent hours sourcing the ingredients, washing, chopping, sifting, measuring and all the chef has to do is combine them in the right way.

So before you start building your Ecommerce site, here are some of the ingredients or things you should have prepared earlier. This is just the online shop list, you will need a similar list for marketing later!

This series of articles has now been added to and edited into a 100+ page book. 

Ecommerce Project Ingredient List

1. Value Proposition – “What makes you special?”
2. Budget – How much do you have to spend? How much at the beginning? How much per month
3. Brand – If you are starting out, you need some kind of corporate identity.
4. Domain Name – Even if you use a subscription or SaaS product.
5. Email addresses – at your domain name – it just makes you look more professional. (see 4 – Domain Name)
6. Products – What are you selling? What is your margin?
7. Product Model – Categories, Sub-Categories, Attributes, Tags,
8. Social Media Accounts – don’t wait to build an audience or customer base.
9. Bank Account – with Debit or Credit Card. You will need this for 8 and 10.
10. Payment Gateway – e.g. Stripe, PayPal, Shopify Pay or one local to your area.
11. Ecommerce Platform – e.g. Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento.
12. Ecommerce Tools / Apps / Accounts – for extended functionality. e.g. Facebook pixel, Google Analytics.
13. Content – SEO friendly, brand appropriate content. Including Headlines, Product Descriptions, Photography, videos, banners, call-outs, email text, policies, editorial – articles, blogs.
14. Fulfillment Capabilities – Getting an Order is just the beginning.

Other Useful Things

1. Graphics Software – e.g. PhotoShop
2. Product Photography Resources – In-house or through supplier.
3. Google Analytics or Reporting Software – Many ecommmerce platforms include reporting, but you can never have enough data.
4. Accounting Software – Your ecommerce site is another store and is just as much a part of your business as any other store. You need to understand costs, margin, profitability.
5. Legals – Privacy Policy, Returns Policy, Refund Policy
6. Customer Support – via chat, phone, email etc..

You May also need…

1. Hosting – If you are using something like WooCommerce, you may need hosting.
2. Developers – even if you are using SaaS. To customise designs or functionality.
3. Content Management System (CMS) – To provide a richer customer experience through editorial content.
4. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – Especially if you are in B2B, understanding your customers and where they are in the journey is best

Ingredients for Ecommerce Success Book

From Buyer Personas to Budgets. From Payment Gateways to Platforms. Everything you need to have in place before you begin your Ecommerce Project.

Published in the United Kingdom by Aquitude Press, ISBN 978 0956 7666 3 2

 

$39.99 Original price was: $39.99.$19.99Current price is: $19.99.

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