How To Create Your eCommerce Website in India?

Creating an eCommerce website from scratch gives business owners sleepless nights, and why not? It demands so much time and effort.

Building an eCommerce website is a long process, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Though there’s a lot to do—from getting a domain to designing the website and integrating payment systems—it gets easier when you know where to start.

In this blog, I have simplified things by providing you with a step-wise process of building an eCommerce website. Plus, I’ve listed a few challenges you might face during the process and the best practices to follow.

Stay tuned!

Content Index

Steps To Build Your eCommerce Website

Building your eCommerce website is simple. There are multiple websites to help you create a site that supports your business operations—from order placement to payment collection. Here’s how you can build your website quickly.

Get a domain name and a hosting plan

Companies like GoDaddy and Hostinger offer several hosting plans. You can choose a service provider that fits your needs and budget.

Here are a few factors I considered when selecting a hosting service:

Speed and optimisation: Don’t compromise with page load times. It’s crucial to user experience and site ranking. Also, ensure that the web host has less than 200 ms server response time for optimal performance
Security: Pick a hosting service that offers robust security features such as SSL certificates, access management, automated backups, and more
Uptime assurance: Look for hosting providers that guarantee at least 99.9% uptime to ensure your online store remains accessible to customers at all times

Coming to getting a domain name, choose one that’s short, easy to remember, and, of course, available.

Check out my article on how to choose a domain name to learn more.

Select an eCommerce platform

With eCommerce platforms, you can build your store without hassle. You can use them to create a website, improve user experience, and streamline everyday operations. A few popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Wix, and Woocommerce offer several tools to design your website and customise it to your needs. Here are a few factors Indian eCommerce businesses must consider when selecting their eCommerce platform:

Ease of use: Choose a user-friendly platform like Wix with a drag-and-drop functionality that helps build eCommerce stores without technical expertise
Features and tools: Pick platforms like Shopify that offer integrated shipping solutions and inventory management and allow you to customise the website as per your requirements
Budget: Evaluate the pricing plans of popular eCommerce platforms and choose the one that fits your startup budget. Also, use the free trials to try out the platform before making the final call
Scalability: Choose a platform to support your business growth as you expand product lines and customer bases. Also, choose platforms that support multiple sales channels so you can reach wider audiences

Customise your website

eCommerce platforms offer templates to save time and help you customise your website the way you want. Choose font styles, colours, and layouts that match your vision and ensure the best customer experience.

Here’s what I considered when creating my website:

Homepage style: First, choose a template that reflects your brand. Then, style it with the right images, demos, and gifs. Plus, create the correct copy that explains your product well. For instance, here’s the homepage of a jewellery website that uses a minimalist homepage layout, showcasing its products.

Customer navigation: Make your products easy to find. Use navigation bars to enhance the customer experience. For instance, Myntra has a detailed header that makes finding products super easy.

Product, cart, and checkout pages: Choose minimalistic designs for product, cart, and checkout pages. For example, design a checkout form that asks for the required information instead of a long one that annoys customers, leading to cart abandonment. For instance, Amazon.in has a minimal checkout page that details the delivery address, payment options, total order amount, etc.

Contact info: Put in the necessary contact details like emails or phone numbers so interested visitors can connect if required. For instance, Nimbbl has a detailed contact page. It mentions the necessary email IDs and has a short form that connects you to the experts

Note: If you deal with tangible products (electronics, personal care, clothing, etc.), spend time on your product pages. Add the best descriptions and high-quality images to make the product stand out and engage your visitors.

Set up your payment system

This is one of the most important parts of setting up an eCommerce website. Why? Because you want the transactions to happen seamlessly. Plus, since customers provide confidential information like card details, you must ensure that your payment gateway has top-notch security.

Nimbbl is a secure payment gateway for Indian eCommerce businesses that ensures a fast checkout experience. No unnecessary steps, redirections, or multiple OTPs, just a fast checkout that takes a maximum of 5 seconds. It also connects with popular eCommerce platforms like Woocemerce, Shopify, Magento and Wix.

Nimbbl’s payment links let you receive payments via UPI, wallets, net banking, cards, and more. Just generate the no-code payment links and share them with buyers via SMS, WhatsApp, email, and Messenger to get paid instantly.

Nimbbl also offers ready-to-use payment pages that you can use to provide customers with multiple payment options. Even if your website is under development, you can use these custom payment pages to collect payments. Plus, you can track all your transactions on the Nimbbl dashboard. Nimbbl also provides payment routers, payment offers, and international payment services.

Set your shipping and return policies

Did you know that 41% of global online shoppers abandon their carts due to high shipping charges? So, draft your shipping policies considering customer needs and demands. Will you charge a flat shipping fee, offer free shipping, or charge based on the package weight and destination?

Also, finalise the return process and policies to save you the RTO (Return To Origin) hassle. Higher RTO rates cost you double for repackaging, quality checks, and logistics. So, make sure you set clear policies to reduce RTOs. Here are a few ways to mitigate RTO:

Implement systems to double-check customer addresses to minimise delivery failures
Establish transparent return processes that are easy to follow
Communicate clearly with your customers. Keep them updated on order status and provide them with the tracking details to ensure they are available to receive the package
Offer flexible delivery options like different time slots, door-step pick-up and delivery, scheduled delivery, express deliveries, etc.

🔖To learn more about RTO, check out this Complete Guide on RTO and How to Reduce it

Preview and publish

Before you publish your eCommerce website, check these:

How’s the navigation?
Do all links and functions work correctly?
Is the payment process hassle-free?
Is the site mobile-friendly?

Test everything before you hit publish. Double-check the store settings, test the website from different browsers, and fix issues promptly.

What Are the Struggles of Building an eCommerce Website?

An eCommerce website has several components, making it a daunting process. From product listings to wish lists, orders, managing returns, checkout, payment gateway integration, and whatnot.

Here are a few challenges (including a few from Reddit threads) you might encounter when creating your website:

Managing inventory: Tracking stock across warehouses, handling stockouts during flash sales, real-time inventory updates, managing returns and refunds, etc., requires much effort. Ensure you chalk out a plan and get the right tools to handle inventory properly
Payment gateway integration: Integrate a payment gateway that offers multiple payment options, is easy to integrate, and ensures fast and successful transactions
Handling taxes: It is necessary to stay updated with the GST rates that vary by product category and state. You must understand the inter-state and intra-state tax calculations and the tax reporting requirements to avoid legal troubles
Security and data protection: Handling sensitive customer information like card numbers and CVV codes requires robust security measures. Choosing platforms that offer data encryption and SSL implementation and have advanced security expertise that secures the website is critical

Tips To Build and Run Ecommerce Websites Successfully

Now that you know how to create eCommerce websites and the probable challenges you might face, let’s wrap up with a few tips.

Avoid coding eCommerce websites ground up

I thoroughly researched, talked with eCommerce business founders, and gone through several Reddit threads, only to find that the most crucial tip is never to build your website from scratch. These websites are complex and need specialised logic around handling specific product types. Plus, it takes a lot of time to make the website functional, and still, underlying issues will impact user experience. So, better to choose eCommerce platforms.

Choose responsive layouts

70% of Indians shop using their mobile phones. So, choosing mobile-responsive layouts is a must. I have come across several websites that have great desktop versions, but using them from mobile is a pain. Half the functions are not supported, pages are slow loading, and finding information is troublesome. So, optimise layouts to work well on smartphones, tablets, and desktops.

Implement SEO best practices

Optimise your website copy. Use keywords and write detailed titles and descriptions for your web pages. Optimise images with alt tags, use high-quality photos, fix broken links, improve site speed, and ensure a high technical SEO score. If you choose Shopify as your eCommerce platform, implementing SEO gets easier as the platform offers built-in tools to help you index and rank your website.

Establish support channels

Make it easier for customers to contact you anytime they need. You can integrate WhatsApp Business API and in-app chat, implement chatbots, and set up automated responses for standard queries like return policies, how to place an order, order tracking, and more.

Conclusion

An eCommerce website is not just for selling products. It’s a powerful tool to establish brand identity and credibility, enhance customer experience, and convert casual visitors to brand advocates. So, invest in creating the best eCommerce website by selecting the right eCommerce solutions, shipping partners and payment gateways.

Getting started with your search for the right tools and technology? Explore Nimbbl to sort out your payment gateway!

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