If you are thinking about starting to sell online, you may feel a little disoriented and unsure of what you need to do to start the project. It is true that it can be a little complicated to go from a physical store to a virtual one, but we will help you lay the foundations, starting from two main branches:

01. Logistics

First of all, let's think about the organization and operational part of your business. To do this, the following must be taken into account:

• Products It almost seems like a very obvious part, but you must be very clear about what products you will sell and under what category they will be organized. For example, if your store is electronics, it could be organized like this: Cell phones, Computers, televisions, etc., and within these main branches the specific products and brands would be broken down. This will help you a lot when you start entering all your information, as it will take less time and you will do it in a very organized way.
• Prices. Another thing that seems very basic but is often forgotten is the final price of the products. You should think about this before entering your figures: Do these amounts already include VAT? Are shipping costs covered?
• Shipping Related to the previous point, you must think about how and with what packages you will make your shipments. Additionally, see the prices that each one handles and analyze the most profitable one for you, according to the volume of your deliveries.
• Payment methods. Something almost as important are the payment methods you will have. Will you accept bank transfers? Payments by Paypal? OXXO? Convenience stores?

02. Technology

Within the technological aspects, we recommend that you review the following:

• Hosting and domain Is the domain you want for your store available for purchase? Remember that if you can't get the .com you could try a .com.mx or simply .mx extension, depending on your preferences.

You might be interested: .com or .mx domain, which one is best for me?

• Design. Once you have the domain and hosting secured, the second part is to think about the web design. How do you want your store to look? Something minimalist or very colorful? You can search for references on Google or with your competitors.
• Web design. If you don't have programming knowledge, you could start looking for companies that offer web construction services. Usually they themselves will offer you complete hosting + domain + design + development services, so it would be worth quoting so that they can carry out your project without major complications.
• Renovations. One last thing to keep in mind, but no less important, is the annual domain and web hosting renewals, since if you do not do them, your site will be suspended.

If you don't have hosting or a domain yet, try paginaMx! A Mexican provider offering hosting options, domains, professional emails, and much more.

If you already have a finished website, with its respective domain purchased, and with hosting secured, you are probably wondering what the next step for your business is.

And while the first steps to get started are very clear, things become a little ambiguous after they are completed, however, here we tell you what you need to start managing your store in a simple way:

1. Be proactive

Don't wait for customers to come to you, find them! A very simple way to do this is by installing a chat on your website. This way, you can schedule specific greetings or messages that encourage your visitors to start a conversation with you and begin a purchase.

2. Be flexible

If you have a website where you charge for your products or services, offer your customers different payment methods and models, as well as warranty or return periods. This will help you generate more sales as you will provide security and confidence to your customers by showing them that their needs are the most important thing.

3. Check your inventory

If product sales are your thing, make sure you always check that your inventory is up to date and stocked. There's nothing worse than seeing a lot of sales go to waste because you don't update your page often.

4. Social networks

One of the best ways to get noticed is through social media. Create a Facebook page, an Instagram business account, a Twitter account, or a YouTube account, depending on your needs. These are all quick and free processes and will help you get a lot of exposure and generate more traffic to your page.

5. Try Digital Marketing

There are many online marketing tools available today that could be useful for your business. These include Hubspot, Mailchimp, and Google Ads. In the same way, you can do digital marketing from the social networks you have already created, Instagram and Facebook are always a very good option. The big advantage is that you will need a large budget.

6. Write a blog

Write a blog to keep your audience interested and updated on your business activities or news. This will also help you gain new audiences without having to pay for it.

7. Search online directories

Online directories are directories that list different providers of products and services. In other words, they are websites where you can find different categories with links to third-party websites. You can find many of them where registration is free.

If you want to know more tips for your online business, visit this link.

Terms and conditions are a set of rules and statements that users of your online store will have to follow and agree to if they wish to make purchases from your site, as they govern the activities of visitors to that site and their relationship with the owner. In other words, terms and conditions are an agreement between the website owner and its users, detailing the policies and procedures carried out by the site and also providing the owner with the ability to protect themselves from potential legal exposure.

Having a terms and conditions section is an important aspect whenever you provide a service to other people or organizations, or if you plan to offer a service that will be available to a large number of people (such as in online stores or applications) and they should be defined according to the specific needs of each page (an online store requires terms that are different from those of an informational page).

What should I include in my Terms and Conditions?

As we mentioned before, Terms and Conditions will be different depending on the type of page you have, however, these are the most common and essential elements for online stores:

1. Owner of the website, the offer and the link to the Terms

As with all agreements, the Terms should clearly state who owns the website and what the website offers. If the website is operated by a legal entity, it is important to state the full and accurate name of that entity (and not the business name used for the business). It is also important to define what is offered on the website and state that the Terms are a legal agreement that governs its use.

2. Who can use your site? What are the requirements for creating an account?

You should define who has the right and who is allowed to use your site and its services when relevant, or what the requirements are for opening an account. This, for example, if you sell products or services that are not suitable for minors.

3. Returns and refunds policy

Companies selling products online must present their product return policy and refund policy. This is important to comply with consumer protection regulations. Some companies include this information separately, followed by instructions and requirements for completing returns or refunds.

4. Warranties and liability for services and products

Websites that sell products include warranties provided by the site operator and must comply with local consumer protection laws.

5. Ownership of intellectual property, copyright and logos.

To protect the audiovisual content and products of the sites, it is important to include a section indicating that they are the property of the author and that the clients of the website do not have rights over said materials.

6. Customer service and contact information

The terms are expected to contain contact information that allows users and customers to receive customer service and correspond with websites and their operators.

To give you an idea of ​​what else the Terms and Conditions section may contain, you can visit different websites, or check out this post, which includes a list of generators that will surely save you a lot of work.

Have you ever wondered how to sell more on your website? If you offer services or products online, you can start with a simple step that doesn't require large monetary costs or advanced programming knowledge. We're talking about improving your customers' trust so they're more likely to make a purchase or take a specific action on your site.

Offers personalized communication

In traditional stores, when a customer arrives there is always a person dedicated to answering their questions and facilitating the sale, this is the same thing that we should simulate on a website to encourage our visitors. (According to a Survey conducted by IMShopping in 2009, customers want a person to be available to help them through the purchasing process, even if it's done digitally. One way to easily simulate this is by using a chat, since today, the most effective method of person-to-person communication is instant messaging. This is because people (and especially younger people) prefer a more casual and quick conversation that doesn't make them feel as involved as a phone call.

Companies are also using chats as new sales channels since many of them offer the opportunity to integrate emoticons, photos, videos and even files into your messages, thus not generating resistance and giving customers confidence.

How do online chats work?

Most online chats for websites offer the possibility of integrating several support people who can start a conversation with website visitors at a given time, or simply access various data of interest for each client (for example, the URL they are visiting, their IP, etc.).

When any of these clients write to the chat, the operator(s) will receive a notification in the administration panel and will be able to interact with them in real time. Chats can usually make sounds to give notifications, save responses, send files, photos or videos and can be managed from a computer or through a smartphone application, which makes them very practical to use from anywhere.

Another advantage of how chats work on websites is that you can program them to respond even when you are not there, providing 24/7 support.

Benefits of a chat on your website

1.  According to Total Retail, business owners who take the time to talk to their customers are 48% more likely to increase average purchase and three times more likely to retain customers.
2. Pre-made answers: Depending on the nature of the question, you can provide an answer and solution to your customer's problem.
3. Customer Satisfaction: You improve your customers' shopping experience, so they are more likely to return to your site and make another purchase, and you could even get recommendations from your customers to their friends and acquaintances.
4. Analytics: Most live chats have the ability to analyze and record the pages that have the most visits, giving you valuable information so that you can develop a sales strategy or make the best decisions that will help you sell better.
5. Speed ​​and Practicality: Using an instant messaging system will save you a lot of time between responses and you will be able to easily make a sale.
6. Automation: Most chats offer the option to automate your messages, so you don't need to be present 24/7 to be able to contact your customers.
7. “Triggers”: Depending on the chat you're using, you might even be able to "schedule events" that trigger specific actions. For example, you could program that if a customer visits the same page twice or selects a specific product, your chat will send them a special message prompting them to take action, ask a question, or complete their purchase.
8. Get valuable contact information: A live chat can collect valuable data from your site visitors, such as their phone number, email, and name. This will help you build a database of potential customers you can contact in the future.
9. Free and Premium Versions: Most chats offer a free version that you can upgrade if you need access to more advanced features.

In conclusion

Having an online chat on your website will help you talk to your site visitors at the exact moment they have questions, providing immediate assistance and answers. This will help you provide a 100% personalized experience and increase your chances of making sales. You can customize and manage them very easily and find them with free or premium versions.

If you are wondering how to sell more and which chats could help you, visit this link.

What is an e-commerce, why and how should I create mine? E-commerce, also known as “online store” or “electronic commerce” in Spanish, is a method of buying and selling goods, products or services over the Internet. It is a system that allows you to sell using an Internet connection as a medium.

This method of sale has become very popular among customers around the world due to the rise of the Internet and the growing willingness to buy or make transactions online, as well as the advantages that this model offers to both sellers and buyers. Here we will tell you a little about them:

Advantages of Ecommerce or Online Store

1. ¡You will have more clients! This is because thousands of people in your area, city, country and even the world have an internet connection, so the possibility of selling your products increases exponentially. In the same way, you can receive payments instantly thanks to payment systems such as Paypal or transfers using credit and debit cards.
2. 24 hour availability: Unlike a conventional store, an e-commerce does not have opening or closing hours. Instead, it is open and functioning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And the best part? You don't have to keep an eye on it all the time! This is because most of its processes are automated.
3. You save money: You don't need to pay rent when your store is online, so you'll save a good amount of money with this type of business.
4. More sales: Your product sales will increase because you will be able to reach a much larger audience without having to make a great effort and without spending as much money as you would with a traditional business.
5. Scalability: The number of customers you can sell to at the same time will increase; in a physical store or business there is always a limit to the number of customers you can serve, while in an e-commerce, the system can process several users at the same time without any problem.
6. Versatility: An e-commerce allows you to make and implement different sales strategies to increase your income. The first step for you as a beginner could be to apply coupons and discounts in your online store. This is done in a very easy way and can serve to encourage your potential customers to buy from you for the first time. (If you want to know about other strategies applicable to your ecommerce, don't miss our next post!).

How can I start my ecommerce?

If after reading the advantages that e-commerce offers you, you are already convinced to start your online business, here are the steps you should follow to get started:

If you will develop it on your own

1. Find and buy your domain. This will be the name that your store will have and with which users will be able to find it. In other words, it will be your URL and it can end in .com or .com.mx. You can check domain availability and prices here
   (If you don't know which type of domain is better: .com or .com.mx, we recommend this article.)
2. Get a Hosting plan. We recommend you do it at PaginaMx, as they have different reliable packages that will adapt to your needs. Many of them include a free domain! So if you have already checked the availability of yours, don't wait any longer.
3. Install WordPress and WooCommerce. These two systems will save you a lot of time and are quite easy to use. You will be able to start selling almost immediately.
4. Optimize your site. This will help your loading speed to be adequate and avoid possible “bounces” from your potential customers.

If you need an expert

1. If you don't have the time or desire to create your own e-commerce, contact us! At FIGAND software we have a team of professional designers and programmers who will help you build your website, from searching for the domain to integrating payment methods, shipping systems, chats for customer communication and SEO optimization. In addition to this, we offer you a guarantee so that you can always rest assured that we will deliver the best product, with prices and plans that suit your needs.