How to Plan a Website?
The internet has revolutionized the way people do their business. Most notably, it has enabled people to create and build leading online stores. That's made possible with the introduction of eCommerce web building solutions, such as Shopify and WooCommerce. The two web builders are excellent solutions, although the former provides user-friendly themes and infinite opportunities for scalability. While WooCommerce offers full control of the site at affordable costs, although it has a bit of a learning curve. Regardless, website managers need to understand how to plan the eCommerce site and ensure that they have every feature they need to run a successful business.
Read on for further insights on that.
Find your Website’s Niche
Before handling the web-building nitty-gritty, you need first to determine who your consumers are. Hence, ask yourself, "Who is the type of person that you're targeting with your products and services? When you have a clear understanding of that, you can carry on with your web creation process, especially when you select your products, create an online brand, and establishing a marketing strategy.
Put yourself in the shoes of your prospective consumer. What are their pain points, and how can your products be of help to them? Do they spend sparingly, or are they extravagant consumers? Having the answers to these questions enables you to formulate strategic plans in the future. This will be key to success of your store or website.
Consider A Content Management System (CMS)
Creating a website is straightforward using a Notepad or a selected process program like Squarespace or Wix.com. Things get a little challenging when it comes to managing the site. For instance, you'll have to edit the content and sending to the server to make changes on the website. Using a CMS, you can easily create and manage your site's content. To edit a landing page on your website, simply visit the CMS portal on Shopify or WooCommerce, and make unlimited edits to the page without compromising the functionality and features. Besides, you can also integrate third-party software into your online store to improve the user experience.
Know your unique selling proposition (USP)
Identifying your niche is but a step in the website planning process. Another critical thing you need to know is your unique selling proposition. A USP is what distinguishes you from the competition, but also influences rapid business growth. Ask yourself: What's so unique about my products that consumers should leave the ones provided by your competitors? Assess the value your brand offers the end-user. You may have an eye-catching storefront, but that's not enough to make people buy from you. Instead, focus on the quality of consumer services, custom product designs, and an authoritative status in your field to show the customer what benefits your products offer.
Have stock keeping units
Online stores are simply digitized brick-n-mortar stores. Therefore, they require stock-taking tools to manage their inventory better. Using digital stock-keeping units (SKUs) offered by eCommerce platforms allows site owners to keep tabs on product sales through metrics attached to different product variants, such as size, color, condition, design, style, purchase date, among others. Using eCommerce SKUs, you can categorize two differently colored T-shirts of the same design using separate alphanumeric identities in an attempt to gauge which color sells more. Furthermore, SKUs allows site operators to see the product variant that is running out of stock so that you can make an order as soon as possible.
