One mistake people make when first trying to sell online is over complicating the process and having unrealistic expectations.
In our first article in this mini-series, we introduced eCommerce. We looked at what options you have, and what to take into consideration.
Read ‘How to Sell Online During the Current Crisis’ HERE
People often look for inspiration at websites like Next and Amazon and produce a list of features they think are essential. Although such features are often nice, it’s important to KEEP IT SIMPLE!
These sites have massive budgets and teams of people working on their website. They have all the bells and whistles, but they often come with a cost and the need for lots of the time.
The Basics
If you look at every eCommerce website and strip them down to the basics, all you need to make a start is:
- A place to sell your products
- A product to sell
- A way of taking payments
- A method of getting your products to your customers
At its very core that is all you need to sell products online. Of course, there are lots more to add to a store as you move forward but put them to one side for now and focus on the essential elements first.
When you have a look at all of your ideas you’ve written down, how many of these will actually start generating money and how many really just look nice?
The MoSCoW Method
One way to look at this is the MoSCoW method which is a useful way of putting together a list of ideas for your site and prioritising them:
The method involves splitting all your ideas into the following priorities:
- Must Have
- Should Have
- Could Have
- Won’t Have (but would like in the future)
Take a piece of paper and make a mind map of all the ideas you have for your shop and start to prioritise them. If you have any Post-It notes or a whiteboard, even better, as this list is going to change a lot!
The aim of this list is to focus your efforts and decide what you really do need. It may be hard to break these jobs down, but it is beneficial, and you will see the value of it further down the line. Keep it as a working document that is going to change as your site develops. Great sites don’t launch and then stand still; they are constantly evolving and growing to meet their customers’ needs.
We have put together an example of what we typically see with clients and kept it focused to getting your online store up and running simply and quickly. It will give you a good place to start and ideas of what you need to think about when planning your site.
Click on the image to get the MoSCoW Principle Planning Template
By focusing your efforts on the priorities, you can save a lot of time and will help to bring your site online sooner. Once your site is up and running, you already have the opportunity to generate some money whilst you work on it further, adding new features and products.
