Table of Contents
Overview
Nowadays, to have more opportunities to reach more target customers and increase revenue, more and more businesses tend to sell their products online. Therefore, creating an online store is essential. In this article, we will learn about the functions of the online store as well as how to launch a BigCommerce store from scratch.
What is a BigCommerce Store?
Today, online shopping develops rapidly and becomes a common habit of many people around the world. According to Statista, there are 2,14 billion people all around the world expected to purchase goods online in 2021.
The rapid development of the e-commerce industry has made many businesses tend to create their own online marketplace. Therefore, creating an online store is no exception.
An online store is a website where a business can display products with information and images and customers can order products. This store can operate under several business models, including business-to-consumer, business-to-business, or consumer-to-consumer. You will need a product catalog, a shopping cart, and other items in order to operate an online store.
To create an online store on BigCommerce SaaS, we need to know about the elements of an online store as well as how the online store works.
Web hosting
The main function of web hosting is to host an eCommerce and online store, providing the necessary functions to build an online store. Web hosting features include shopping cart software, SSL protocol, database support, payment processing services, security features, and more.
Domain Name
The domain name has the function of establishing its online presence. The domain name is the store’s online identity.
Shopping Cart Software
This software helps support online store catalogs and order processing. You can hire a developer to create a shopping cart for you or buy it through different vendors.
IP Address
IP address helps you to connect to the server. It also helps to protect customer information through SSL protocol.
Merchant Interface
The merchant interface is functional in processing customers’ online payments. The buyers receive the merchant account needed for their payment system from a bank.
Online Payment Processor
This element allows the store to pay by credit card. The payment gateway will validate the credit card data and process the transaction. Once the amount is correct according to the processing fee, the payment gateway will transfer the money to the online store’s bank account.
Product Catalog
The product catalog provides the customer with a list of available products and a description, type, and retrieval function. Using the product catalog, customers can use a wide range of features such as placing orders, making payments, accessing customer service, providing feedback, and performing other functions.
Tax Calculation
Online sales are possible when tax has been calculated. Tax calculation software is not available on the online store website. You can buy it or some shipping company provides software for the seller to ensure current rates.
Shipping Cost Calculation
After the customer completes the order, the computer determines the shipping fee based on the criteria entered by the online store customer.
Like other eCommerce platforms, BigCommerce allows you to build a store with various BigCommerce features. To know more about BigCommerce, we have conducted a valuable BigCommerce review that is worth your time.
Benefits of a BigCommerce Store
Reach out to many potential customer groups
An outstanding advantage compared to offline stores is that online stores can reach many different customers as long as they visit your store. You can serve any customer far away from you, even abroad. This also saves you money on your marketing budget by eliminating the need to place ads in newspapers, on television, or on the radio.
Provide products according to customer requirements
One of the special advantages of an online store is that software programs can notify you of what you are running out of or whether you are experiencing an increase in demand for a certain item. Thanks to the analysis and tracking of purchases, store owners can easily control and adjust the goods to match the sales level of their business.
Expand your store only on your website
You can create a series of separate websites for each to sell separate types of products. With an online store, you don’t need to expand many kiosks to sell more different items or display a lot of unrelated items that are unsightly. With just a few clicks, customers can find the products they need. Besides, the store owner also saves a lot of money on space rental, electricity, water, and human resources, etc.
Your store is always open and available
Unlike offline stores, online stores can operate 24 hours per day. Online activities are completely tied to nothing. Moreover, even while you sleep, customers can still purchase products in your online store. For customers who are busy with their work all day, online shopping is an indispensable option. They can take advantage of some of their free time to buy products on their phones.
How to Launch a BigCommerce Store
To get started with their online business, store owners need to build a store on BigCommerce. Here is the BigCommerce tutorial which will instruct you how to launch a BigCommerce store quickly and easily:
Step 1: Create your store on BigCommerce
- Firstly, you need to access the BigCommerce website and Sign Up to create a BigCommerce account.
- After that, you fill out your details and Open your store.
Step 2: Customize your BigCommerce store
- Before customizing your store, you have to launch the Wizard.
- Next, set your store name, address, phone number, and email, then click the button Update your store settings.
- On the store Name and Address page, scroll down to set Measurement Units and BigCommerce SEO Details. Remember to click on the blue Save button in the bottom left.
- The next step to building a BigCommerce website design is choosing a BigCommerce theme and uploading your BigCommerce logo from your computer. Your BigCommerce storefront will be more attractive and spectacular.
Step 3: Add Your Products
- Click Product => Add, and a new page where you can add products will appear.
- Next, you have to complete your product details by adding your product description, the name of your product, shipping costs as well as product images.
- Do not forget to Save and then Exit.
Step 4: Set up Payment Method, Shipping Options, and Taxes
- Setting up your Bigcommerce payment methods is so important. You click Set up payment methods. There are different methods they provide that you can choose which are suitable for your business.
- The next step is clicking Ship your products and then selecting the blue button Choose shipping Options. There, you provide your company’s address and create shipping zones.
- The last step in this stage is setting up taxes. You can set up tax rates for different areas, or set your price which is inclusive of tax.
Step 5: Launching your BigCommerce store
- After setting up all of the elements, return to Quick Launch Wizard, and click the Launch button.
- Completing your process by clicking the orange button Launch your store.
The above BigCommerce solutions will help you easily build and update your store. You will save time learning how to build a store by reading this article.
Final Words
In short, this article about how to launch a BigCommerce store will help your business create a store in a convenient and effective way. Setting them up takes only a few steps but can be incredibly profitable in the long run.
More specifically, if you are managing a brand that offers a wide range of products it is possible to aim for BigCommerce website development because this structure can provide better service to your consumers and increase business prospects.
