50 Point Checklist to Starting an Ecommerce Business

Are you thinking about starting an eCommerce business? It’s a great way to reach a global market and connect with customers worldwide. But before you get started, there are a few things you need to do to set yourself up for success. Use this checklist to ensure you’ve got everything covered before launching your online store.

First, you’ll need to choose a niche for your eCommerce business. That will be the products or services you’ll be selling. Once you’ve chosen your niche, you’ll need to choose a platform for your eCommerce store. There are many different platforms to choose from, so do your research to find the right one for you.

After choosing your platform, you’ll need to set up your eCommerce store. It includes adding products, setting up shipping, and configuring payment methods. Once your store is up and running, you’ll need to promote it to drive traffic and sales.

This checklist covers everything you need to do to start your eCommerce business. Follow these 50-point checklists to help you ensure you’ve got all your bases covered before you launch your online store.

Checklist before launching an eCommerce

SEO: On-Page SEO

1. Have a keyword in the URL (not mandatory but helpful),
2. Take care of title tags,
3. Take care of meta description tags,
4. Install an SEO plugin if necessary,
5. Create and declare a sitemap,
6. Find long-tail keywords to drain qualified traffic,
7. Optimise your product sheets for engines and the user: minimum 100 words, no supplier description, and duplicate content,
8. Optimise images for SEO,
9. Simplify URLs,
10. Optimise internal links,
11. Take care of the description of the categories.

Avoid Friction and make Google Friendly Website

1. Avoid the slide on the home (it makes scroll difficult),
2. Clearly display the price on your products,
3. Avoid surprises (hidden shipping costs, etc.),
4. Display your products correctly: image/video (be original),
5. Make the shopping cart visible and always accessible,
6. All products information should be visual clearly,
7. Easy payment processing option,
8. Highlight your guarantees and facilities,
9. Highlight your recognised customers,
10. Create robust assurances (satisfied or refunded twice as much),
11. Simplify and test your shopping tunnel so that it has a “good number of steps”,
12. Be able to buy without creating an account,
13. Optimise the display speed of the site.

Promotion and Social Media Marketing

1. Add a blog with  relevant articles,
2. Create a partners showcase page,
3. Include a popup or a space for the newsletter,
4. Create Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages,
5. Add a price comparators page,
6. Create an account in various marketplaces,
7. Have a presence on the forums of your target niche.

Site Design and Navigation

1. Be compatible with mobiles and tablets,
2. Propose additional articles on your product sheets,
3. Propose to follow up on the thank you page (after purchase)
4. Offer quick access to the top sellers,
5. Propose an easy-to-understand menu (illustration of product types, for example)
6. Make AOCs visible (call to action button)
7. Tell visitors that they may track through cookies.

Site Analysis and Monitoring

1. Monitor pages that generate traffic leakage,
2. Find and highlight the most sought-after products that create the most sales,
3. Configure, monitor, and optimise conversion rates,
4. Configure, monitor, and optimise your shopping tunnels,
5. Find the popular pages and use them to boost the rest,
6. Have a provider available for your e-commerce

Digital Marketing

1. Send a summary email after purchase (take advantage of the promo)
2. Restart abandoned shopping carts,
3. Reward loyalty with discounts,
4. Use e-commerce marketing tools to push your visitors to action,
5. Use OrixLab service to improve your site and marketing,
6. Think about reviving sleeping customers,
7. Make offers on social networks,
8. Use retargeting.

Starting an eCommerce business can be a daunting task, but it’s doable. You can launch a successful eCommerce business that will reach your target customers and achieve your desired sales goals by following these steps.

These 50 points can help you deepen your research and preparation before embarking on the big bath. However, you will also have to think about the continuous development of your sales, with adapted marketing strategies and a constant assessment of their impact on your turnover, inventory management, etc.

Do not forget to read our blog regularly for more advanced information on the management and development of your online store.