This is the third stage of creating an e-commerce store, after choosing a product, intensify research, writing a business plan, and getting prepared.
There are 4(four) stages of setting up your business:
- Naming your business
- Creating a logo
- Building a site
- Understanding SEO(Search Engine Optimization)
1. Naming your business:
When it comes to starting an eCommerce business, choosing a great store name is a crucial first step towards building a memorable and profitable brand. It's important and also challenging to find the right name when setting up your online store to help it stand out from the crowd.
There are 4 (four) things that should be put into consideration when choosing a catchy business name.
I. The name should be a free domain name:
Before you decide on a name to choose make sure it’s not in use already and it’s a free domain online. This will make it unique, and make your site easily accessible. Also, you should make sure that's it's a name that you can trademark. It's worth it to check USPTO.gov -- or a new site called Trademarkia.com -- before settling on a name.
II. Your store name should be synonymous with your brand:
The challenge here is to come up with a name that reflects your niche and the type of products you're selling, without your business name mirroring your competitors. By definition, if you want to be different you have to ‘zig’ when others ‘zag’. But make sure the name is not too generic.
Whichever store name you chose, it needs to work well with your logo and overall site aesthetic
III. Choose a Domain Name that Helps Your SEO:
SEO is critical for an online store. It is how you will drive organic (i.e. free) traffic.
Also, it's a good idea to check your business name idea on popular eCommerce sites to make sure the names are available to you, and so that customers don't confuse you with another existing business.
IV. Test it out on Google AdWords:
One of the great features of the "find keywords" tool on AdWords is that it will list similar search phrases, along with how many global and local monthly searches each are getting. Some AdWords searches with the name you are considering can ensure there isn't a slightly different name out there that might get more attention on the Internet.
If you want to get advanced, try to come up with a name that could be eventually used as a verb, or lends itself to the creation of your own "language." People who go to TED, the conference for Tech, Education, and Design, now call themselves "TEDsters."
Think it through to come up with a name that sticks.
2. Creating a logo
Creating a unique logo for your business is the next step in setting up your store.
You should know that your logo is the face of your brand. Logos embody your brand in the minds of your customers. Without one, they have nothing to latch onto.
DesignBuddy analyzed the world’s top brands and what their logos have in common. Here are some key insights from the research, which you might want to consider when designing your logo with one of the logo design tools below:
- 95% of the world’s top brands logos use one or two colors.
- 41% of those brands use stylized type as their logo.
- 93% are simple enough to be recognized at much smaller sizes.
A simple and versatile logo is the best logo. Association, says flag designs should be simple enough that a child can draw them from memory. The same is true of logos.
Here are 4 (four) things to consider when creating a logo
- The logo should reflect what your brand stands for
- Discover new design inspirations
- Pay attention to color
- Understand handwriting fonts
I. The logo should reflect what your brand stands for:
You want your logo to communicate your brand’s personality. And in order to do that, you first need to understand what your brand’s core personality is. Once you have a clear idea of what makes you unique and what your brand is all about, it will be much easier for you to make design choices that complement and complete that picture.
Ask yourself if it’s a softer brand or a tough brand in terms of its tone. What is the way it wants to project itself amid its market and customers? All such details must be ready beforehand. Such information will serve you as a guide to create your logo design. You will pick your logo elements considering the information about your brand.
II. Discover new design inspirations:
This is usually the hardest part of creating a logo. The following methods will make it easier.
Brainstorming- it is about getting all ideas out (even those really really bad ones) and writing them down. Even a horrible idea can spark a conversation that leads to a genius solution. When it comes to brainstorming your logo, don’t be afraid of thinking out of the box and being a bit different.
Get more people involved- Bring in people from every department or even friends and business partners. The more perspectives, the better.
Check out your competition- The best place to borrow ideas? Your competition! Check out what's already out there, what works well with your audience, and what you should avoid. Be sure to clearly set yourself apart from your competition. If all the other businesses in your industry are going monochrome, maybe you should opt for some color to stand out. If everyone else is traditional, maybe a fun and modern logo will attract attention.
If you’re looking for some places to check out great logo designs, here’s a list:
- Logoed: Logoed’s simple, single-page scroll lets you browse a frequently updated collection of stunning logos.
- Logospire: This vast collection of user-submitted logo designs will help get your creative juices flowing.
- Brand New: Brand New is a blog that covers designs and redesigns of new and notable brands across all industries.
- LogoLounge: This blog lets graphic designers upload their latest logos. LogoLounge is perhaps best known for publishing a series of books showcasing artwork that’s been featured on the site.
- Logo Design Love: Graphic designer David Airey curates this design blog reviewing logos and marketing designs from all over the world.
III. Pay attention to color:
Color is more fundamental to a person’s perception of visual stimuli than many people realize. Studies have even suggested that color can affect your users’ mood, making it crucial to their buying decision.
With that in mind, let’s go over the psychological effects of certain colors:
Red: Red stands for excitement, passion, and anger. It's a great choice if your brand is loud, youthful, and wants to stand out.
Orange: Orange is much less used than red but it's just as energetic. This is a vibrant, invigorating, and playful color.
Yellow: If you want to look accessible and friendly, yellow is the right choice. It gives off a cheerful, affordable, and youthful energy.
Green: Green is extremely versatile and can work for any brand. It's especially perfect for anyone who wants to establish a connection to nature.
Blue: Blue is a very classic and common choice. It is calming and cool and symbolizes trustworthiness and maturity.
Purple: Purple can be your ticket to looking luxurious. Depending on the shade, purple can be mysterious, eclectic, or feminine.
Pink: If you're going for girly, nothing works better than pink. But that's not all! With shades like pastel rose, millennial pink, or neon magenta, pink can give your logo a grown-up and cool, but still youthful and feminine look.
Brown: Brown may sound like a strange color choice at first, but it works perfectly for rugged and masculine vintage logos. It can give your brand a handmade, unique, and aged look.
Black: If you are looking for a sleek, modern, and luxurious look, black will be a great choice. A minimalist black and white logo is the way to go if you want to keep it simple.
White: You want your logo to look clean, modern, and minimalistic? Use lots of white in your logo. As a neutral color, it works in combination with all other colors but adds a clean, youthful, and economical touch.
Gray: Gray is the ultimate color if you want to achieve a mature, classic, and serious look. Darker shades look more mysterious, while lighter shades are more accessible.
IV. Understanding fonts:
Many designers just do not pay attention to the selection of typefaces and chose them randomly. The fact is that typefaces speak about the personality of a brand. For example, a typeface used for a toy company’s logo will most likely be a handwritten typeface. This is because the children are the target customers and you want to project your brand as a child-friendly business.
They offer a quirky and authentic feel that is sure to delight any customer. They are especially effective when used as the font of your tagline. If you've opted for one of these font styles, then this tip is for you. Often the use of caps for handwritten fonts makes them seem less authentic, so take that into account.
3. Building a store
Building a business of any sort is work. Coming up with your product idea, and sourcing or creating your products is a big early step you’ll have to tackle. But the work of website building itself can potentially be done within a day or two.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s required to build a website from scratch for an eCommerce store:
- A domain name
- A web hosting provider
- An integrated payment processor
- A platform or tool to build your store
- Initial capital to create your products
- Packaging for product shipping
There are tons of eCommerce platforms but I'd recommend Tradift and WordPress.
-Creating a store with Tradift
Tradift is an eCommerce store platform that helps you get your store online. Tradift is a unified platform that offers:
- Free domain name
- Online store and blog
- Payment integration
- Shipping automation
- Discount codes for your store
- Multiple themes and templates
- 14days free trial
- Round the clock tech support
-How to create a store with Tradift:
Creating a store with Tradift is very simple and doesn’t require a tech genius. It can be done in 4 (four) easy steps.
A. Create an account: The first step is creating an account on Tradift website.
B. Choose a template and customize your store: Tradift have varieties of templates to suit your taste, you can also customize your template.
C. Upload your products: uploading your product is the next stage of setting up your store with Tradift.
D. Choose a payment plan: Tradift offers a range of plans to help you select the one that fits your business best. Learn about Tradift lite plan.
Learn more about opening a store with Tradift
4. Understanding SEO (Search Engine Optimization):
SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” In simple terms, it means the process of improving your site to increase its visibility for relevant searches. The better visibility your pages have in search results, the more likely you are to garner attention and attract prospective and existing customers to your business.
- Know what your customers are searching for
- Understand other ways people may be searching for the same thing
- Find popular and engaging topics in your field
- Create content that aligns with ‘search intent’
