First of all — congratulations ? welcome to freedom! We are proud of you for taking this bold step to set your business on autopilot. We understand that bringing your business online is a huge step and we are committed to helping you as much as possible in this journey.
I know you have a million thoughts running through your mind. You aren’t sure you’ve completed everything necessary for a smooth launch day. You are worried about what the tickers are that certify your website launch-ready.
The Kitcart website’s launch checklist is your traveler’s map and the pilot’s compass designed to help you get ready for the D-day (Launch day).
Why Use a Kitcart Website Launch Checklist
Even if you’ve already spent hours building your website and loading up your products, there are a ton of moving parts to launching your e-commerce website. Without a checklist to help you, it’s easy to forget something.
1. Get a Custom Domain
This is your first step to launching your website. Having a website without a domain is like owning a house without an address. Secure a .com domain for your brand today.
In the case your business name is already taken, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go back to square one. My Identity can help you find creative names for your Kitcart website. Nekkyhairs, for instance, uses nekkyhair.com for its URL.
Additionally, you can check out top-level domains (TLDs) like .shop or .store. .co You’ll notice that many stores use TLDs because they make for a unique and memorable URL.
2. Pick a Niche
Selecting a profitable Niche is critical if you want to attract the proper people to your eCommerce store and make a better profit.
There are a few things to consider when determining your specialization. Such as passion, You cannot sell a product in which you do not believe, thus it is critical, to begin with, your passions and interests. Also, consider market demand, possible profitability, product availability, and competition.
Check out our blog for more information on picking the right niche for your brand.
3. Add Products
Products are at the heart of your website. You can add or update information about a product such as its title, description, price, categories, stock quantity, weight, and picture in your KitCart admin.
If you are switching to kitcart from another e-commerce platform you can click on the import button to upload the CSV file of the product and within a twinkle of an eye, your website is live.
4. Install Payment gateways
Setting up your payment gateway is an important step toward getting paid by your customers. When a customer checks out, they can choose to pay for their order using any of the methods that you’ve enabled in the Payment providers area of your KitCart admin.
When it comes to receiving online payments, the more it is, the better. your customers want flexibility. To provide them with convenient payment options, you need to add as many as possible payment gateway options that cater to different kinds of regions, cards, and types of transactions.
KitCart allows you to receive Automated Payments such as Paystack, Flutterwave, Stripe, and Paypal which enables you to receive Crypto payments with Bitpay. Also, you can Cash On Delivery (COD) by setting up a display name at checkout and adding additional detail. Manual Payment with KitSend is also available where your customers can pay with a bank transfer online without using a credit card.
5. Shipping Fees
Different factors can affect the actual cost of sending your products to the customers, such as:
- Package weight and dimensions. Shipping carriers like USPS, FedEx, and UPS calculate shipping charges based on the actual weight of the package or its dimensional weight.
- Shipping destination. Your shipping costs will be higher if you offer international shipping in your store.
- Value of shipped products. If you sell high-value products you may want to insure their shipment which will increase shipping costs.
- Delivery times. Some buyers prefer to pay for expedited shipping; this cost is based on where the buyer is located.
After you find a shipping service to use, calculate your shipping costs to make sure your margins can stay high.
Alternatively, you can use the automatic shipping feature on Kitcart. You can use that by loading the ready-made update shipping fees on your Kitcart Admin.
As an add-on, you can connect to connect UPS, Canada Post, or DHL’s API for their live shipping rates for your business, if you own a merchant account with any of those shipping platforms.
6. Search Engine Optimization
Whether you’re launching a new product, building a web presence for your brand, or starting a dropshipping business, when you’re trying to sell online you have an important problem to solve:
How do you get customers to find your store? People who find your online store in a search engine are probably looking for products like yours, so they are more likely to buy something. You can use search engine optimization (SEO) to improve the search engine ranking for your store and help customers find your products.
Check out our blog for more information on to set your website’s SEO in order.
7. Add Navigation Menu
Creating the navigation section on your store helps your customers find what they’re looking for faster.
In the navigation section, you’ll be able to create and edit all of the menus for your e-commerce website. This helps customers easily and efficiently get to the products or information that they’re looking for.
I recommend adding “Home,” “Shop,” “About us” and “Contact us.” The header links offer visitors an easy way to get around to the most important parts of your website. Also the footers can be a great way to pass important informations across, such as shipping and return policies, privacy policies etc.
It’s important to note that you risk cluttering your online store and making navigation frustrating if you add to many items in the menu section.
Check out our helpdesk for more information on to set your website’s navigation menu in order.
8. Design Promotional Banners
Visuals are a vital component of social .media ads that help catch your audience’s attention and get them to engage. It’s likely the first thing your customers see when they visit your website and it’s a guaranteed way to make your website much more interesting.
Ensure your visuals are clear, high-quality, and visually pleasing, so you can draw your audience in to learn about your business.
If you are on any paid plan on Kitcart you can get access to a 100$ design voucher, to purchase several banner designs for your website launch.
Sliders are a good way to get your information across without losing your audience’s attention after only a few seconds.
9. Place a Test Order
By placing a test order, you can ensure that your checkout process and settings for order processing, inventory, shipping, email notifications, and taxes are all correct. You aren’t charged for a test order. You should place at least one test order during your store setup, or whenever you make changes to your payment settings.
10. Promote! Promote! Promote!
“If you build it, they will come” may have worked before the digital era, however, the reality of the marketplace today is that, traffic is the lifeblood of any business.
Then every other time in human history, competition is crazily intense. . According to the Global creative agency, Dentsu 2021 global ad spend report, global advertising spends, reached a total of US$579 billion, based on proprietary data from across 59 markets.
Promote Across Social Media
You can use numerous platforms to reach your target audience, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn to create successful social media ads. ( Build Hype ) Promote on Social Media. Shop now Campaign, Connect Facebook, google pixel.
Grow Your Subscriber List
Here are some methods for doing this:
- Let people know that the first subscribers to your email list will get gifts or discounts from you. Ask for email addresses so that people can get in on the action.
- If you have a blog, use it to broadcast an announcement about your store’s opening and add the subscription form to the post. Ask blogger friends to share your news, growing your subscriber base on your behalf.
- Create a special plug on the store site. Read on below to find out how
Employ all forms of advertising, from influencers to affiliates. Ensure the traffic flow.
Final Words!
You are finally set for launch! Is your store perfect? No. But ready to make your first sales. If you have questions or need any clarification, feel free to ask in the comment section.
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