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How to Start Selling Online with Ecwid

So you’re ready to start selling online. Now the million-dollar question… where do you start?

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How to Sell Online

Setting up and maintaining an ecommerce store can be a challenging process. From choosing your sales channels to tracking inventory levels, as well as simply selecting a payment provider, there’s a lot to consider. We make e-commerce easy for small retailers at Ecwid. So if you’re looking to sell online, we’ve got everything you need. 

The greatest thing? It’s completely free to get started. And, as you add new products and features to your store with ease, your Ecwid account grows with you, allowing you to add new inventory and functionality seamlessly. We hope you’ll join us on our journey to show you how to do it yourself!

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Products To Sell Online

You’ll need to know what you’re offering before you can sell online. You may be unsure about what you’re selling at the moment. Don’t worry! We can help. 

Here are a few suggestions for determining which product to start your shop with:

  • Use your experiences to develop a product that can help others in your life.
  • Google’s trending list of hot terms is a good source for keyword ideas for dropshipping and building complementary products.
  • Have a concept in mind but don’t have the resources to make it happen? Consider organizing a crowdfunding campaign using platforms like Kickstarter to raise money and create excitement for the release of your product.
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How to Sell Online:
Selling on Social Media

You can sell your products anywhere you can post a photo, but how do you get started? Here are some ideas to help kickstart your online social media sales.

  • Network with others in your virtual community.
  • Check out our guide for how to network at industry events and how to network online.
  • Give your friends a shoutout on social media asking if they’d be interested in buying what you’re selling. People love supporting their friends so that you may get a few orders right off the bat!
  • Post about your product using “shopstyle” photos. This way, it’s easy for people to buy from any platform they have access to. Instagram shopping is turned on.
  • Start with a story or how-to style post that offers advice and then unveil your product at the end of the post. 
  • Use hashtags like #linkinbio if you’re selling on Instagram, which will automatically share the content with our community of millions of shoppers!
  • Post about how other people can buy what you are selling and how they can get in touch with you if interested.
  • Post photos of your product being used by real people. Show how it works and how other people’s lives are better because they have access to your product. 
  • Post-how-to videos and images explain how your product works and how it’s used. We all see how-to videos nearly every day on social media, whether or not we realize it!

Selling on Facebook

As a Facebook integrated partner, Ecwid empowers you to instantly upload your product catalog to your Facebook business page to sell and promote products on Facebook. And with seamless, free Facebook integration, we also make managing your advertising easier too. Any changes you make to your product catalog in your Ecwid dashboard will instantly appear in your Facebook store. 

We provide a true one-and-done solution.

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Selling on Instagram

Instagram is packed with users who enjoy browsing through posts of aesthetically pleasing products. So if you’re selling a stylish product or something that can be used as a prop for a photoshoot, Instagram could be the first step towards getting your products out there!

Does all of this Facebook talk have you curious about how to sell online with Instagram? Once you’ve connected and synced your Ecwid product catalog to your Facebook business page, it’s just a couple more steps to add Instagram to your mix. Shoppers visit Instagram to be inspired. And with Shoppable Posts from Ecwid, your customers can purchase at the exact moment of their shopping inspiration.

Shoppable Posts let you tag featured products from your product catalog right in your posts, enabling social shoppers to make purchases directly in their Instagram apps. Simply link your new Facebook store to your Instagram business profile and submit your profile for approval. Then, when Instagram gives you the green light, you’ll be ready to start tagging.

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Selling on TikTok

TikTok is the most popular app for videos. If you want to sell something that can be shared and enjoyed with friends and families alike, TikTok might be an excellent platform to explore. It’s essential to think about how well your products or services could fit into a 15-second video.

People want to learn how your product works and how it will better their lives. Create an online store using Ecwid to link it to TikTok so that you may promote your items to a broad and varied audience.

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How to Sell Online:
Places To Sell Online

Once you build out your product catalog the first time for either your website or Instant Site, you’ll be able to automatically connect that product catalog to a variety of other sales channels, including social media like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, Google, and even live in-person through point-of-sale systems.

Known as “omnichannel selling,” Ecwid empowers you to sell online across a broad number of sales channels from a single dashboard. Without a platform like Ecwid powering your e-commerce, each sales channel would be its own self-contained store, and you would be responsible for managing the inventory and product catalog of that store separately. Ecwid eliminates the need for extra management by connecting all your channels in a single place.

So let’s say you sell out of an item on Facebook, that information would immediately be reflected across all of your other channels as well (website, Instagram, Amazon, etc.)

Selling on Amazon

If you’re ready to sell online, you’ve probably given more than a passing thought to Amazon. With a marketplace valued at $100B+, Amazon is the world’s largest online store. Roughly 70% of product searches begin on Amazon. 

Ecwid lets you quickly sync and sell your existing Ecwid product catalog across Amazon while simultaneously relieving some of the pressures of Amazon selling through your own branded website, including retargeting shoppers, promoting your brand, and collecting customer data. It’s the best of both worlds.

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Selling on eBay

What’s an e-commerce platform without the granddaddy of marketplaces? There was once a time when “sell online” was synonymous with “eBay.” While the e-commerce market has become more saturated over the years, eBay is hanging strong. 

With eBay reporting roughly 179 million active users across its properties and consistently rated as one of the biggest U.S. online companies based on market cap, eBay is an excellent place to be if you’re selling online. Ecwid seamlessly integrates your product catalog with your eBay account to give you access to eBay’s 179 million active users and capitalize on the brand equity of an e-commerce platform that’s been going strong since 1995.

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Selling on Google Shopping

When you start to sell online, it becomes clear pretty quickly that Google matters. Where and how you rank on Google’s search pages can have a lot of bearing on how your online store performs. So naturally, Ecwid makes selling online with Google easier.

In addition to storefronts designed with SEO (search engine optimization) in mind, Ecwid offers free Google advertising integration and tools to promote your products on Google fast and simple. And when we say “fast and simple,” we really mean it—because it’s automated.

Effortlessly drive your products to the top of the world’s most powerful search engine; simply choose your advertising audience and the products you’d like to promote, and we’ll take care of the rest. Now sit back, relax, and track the results in your Ecwid dashboard.

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How to Sell Online:
Building An Online Store

  1. Choosing a platform — Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer. You can start selling online through social media or your own website. The best platform for selling online depends on how you sell and how much work you want to do. For example, if you’re already active on social media, consider how well your products could fit into existing posts across Facebook and Instagram.
  2. Create An Online Store — Use Ecwid to link it to TikTok so that you can promote your items to a broad and varied audience.
  3. Market Research — Before deciding which platform is right for you, it’s essential to ask yourself how you plan to sell and how much work you want to do. For example, selling goods via a social media marketplace may be easier than building a website from scratch. Still, it also means you have less control over how your storefront looks and where people shop when looking for your items. While marketplaces are significant for reaching the masses online, if you need to do retargeting or collect customer data to run your online store, you may be better off building a website on your own.

You have a lot of options when it comes to establishing your online store with Ecwid. Let’s start with the most obvious option. Creating your e-commerce website is one of the most important things you can do for your business, so make sure you choose wisely. You may either use Ecwid on its own or alongside another online shop builder like Weebly, Shopify, Bigcommerce, or Squarespace.

Option 1. Plug Ecwid’s Shopping Cart Into Your Existing Website

If you’ve already got a website and you’re looking for a more robust presence, this is the way to go. Ecwid was initially designed to be a seamless and straightforward plugin for websites seeking an e-commerce solution, and it functions magnificently in this role. Ecwid’s “plugin” function will naturally integrate with your chosen content management system (WordPress, Wix, etc.) and instantly mimic your website’s design to make selling online from any CMS a snap. No additional coding is required.

Option 2. Build An Ecommerce Site with Ecwid’s Hyper-Efficient Instant Site Website Builder

If you want to build a website to start selling online fast, Instant Site is your answer. It’s a website builder, packed to the brim with design tools and pre-set themes to make creating your e-commerce website fast, easy, and almost too much fun. With Instant Site, you’re empowered to build a beautiful, conversion-optimized, and fully functional single-page storefront to sell online without any experience.

Set Up Shipping Methods

Shipping Methods Ecwid has relationships with all the largest carriers. Select your preferred shipping provider, then choose how you’ll handle shipping costs —- free, flat-rate, live carrier rates, or a mix of any. And Ecwid makes it simple to tailor your shipping cost strategy for your store, including a smart shipping calculator for your customers that lets them see real-time shipping rates based on their locations.

Set Up Payment Methods

Choose from more than 50 payment providers to power your store to sell online, like Stripe and WePay, or choose providers like Square to include hardware for offline sales as well. Simply select a provider from the list and fill out the appropriate information to connect your bank account to your chosen payment method. No sweat. Watch this video for an in-depth look at choosing your payment provider.

Create online store

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How to Sell Online:
Advertising

  • Facebook and Instagram — Facebook and Instagram ads drive millions of consumers to buy. And Ecwid makes it easy to set up a Facebook ad campaign, choose your audience, and track how you’re doing in real-time. You can also create an Instagram Story highlight or carousel ad designed specifically for your product catalog to encourage more people to click through from the feed into your online store.
  • Pinterest — If your product lends itself to visual storytelling, you’ll love how easy it is to create a Pinterest ad that drives traffic back to your Ecwid storefront. Pin an item in your catalog, then choose how much you want to spend and how long the ad should run for—all in just a few clicks.
  • Google — When you’re ready to drive traffic from Google, Ecwid makes it easy by automatically integrating with your Google Shopping ads account and giving you control over how much you spend and how many people click through from the ad to your storefront.

Things To Remember Building An Online Store

Many details go into building an online store, here are just a few of the most important ones:

Naming

Your store name will be how people find your products online. Make sure it’s easy to read, memorable, and that it matches the look of your brand. If you’re selling on Amazon, choose a name that doesn’t include the marketplace (i.e., “Amazon,” “eBay,” etc.), so it’s clear how people are arriving at your store.

Your brand name could be your persona or a lifestyle (for example, “Randy’sFreshOysterDiet.com”), and you could sell products derived from that brand idea (a cookbook for your weird oyster diet). Or your brand name could be product-focused (FreshOysters.com), and you would sell products related to that focus (fresh oysters, oyster cracking implements, salt, etc.)

Before committing to a name, search on popular social networks to ensure that your top choice (or something very similar) is still available for brand consistency. Then, of course, grab it while you can.

Domain

Your online store’s digital property is everything. Your store name is how customers will find products on the internet — search engines like Google and other sites like Facebook will list your products based on how people are looking for them.

Names like “Amazon” and “Etsy” will be at the top of these listings, so if you’re looking to sell online, make sure your domain name is unique.

Product pages (Images, Descriptions)

Make sure your product pages are clearly labeled and that you have consistent keywords that help people find your products while searching online. With phones taking better pictures than most cameras nowadays, taking quality photos that showcase your products is easy. Simple lighting kits are inexpensive and will give you items the spotlight they deserve.

You should also make sure to provide enough detail for customers considering making a purchase. Don’t feel like you can give too much info and answer the obvious questions even if the pictures show the answer.

Legal pages (Terms, Return, Privacy)

I know this can be the boring part, but you will need to have terms for why issues arise. Be sure to read up on how to create terms of service and how to set up a privacy policy. You’ll need these pages if you plan to sell online. 

When customers place an order through your store, they’re giving you their private information, so make sure it’s clear from the start with how you inform people about how you will use their information.

Also, make sure you have a black and white return policy. Shoppers will feel better about purchasing if they know that it is possible to return the item.

About Us page

This is an easy step to skip, but that doesn’t mean you should. This is where you share info about your company background, mission or story. This page is how people will want to learn more about how you started your business, so make sure to include details.

Your “about us” is your elevator pitch. It’s the very first piece of written content you should create for your website, and it defines who your brand is and what your customers can expect when you begin selling online.

Brand logo

This is how customers will recognize your brand! Your logo will be how they find and remember your products, so you want it to clearly represent the store’s branding and style. The logo should always look great alongside images of your products and website design.

Make sure it is also unique and doesn’t look similar to a competitor’s logo.

Create an Ecommerce Online Store with Ecwid

With an online store from Ecwid, you’ll be able to make shopping for your customers incredibly easy, secure, and fast.

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What is Ecwid?

Read “Ecwid 101” free guide. Learn everything about Ecwid and how you can create your first free Ecwid store. Connect your new shopping cart to Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Start selling online

Ecwid Makes Online Selling a Breeze

Ready to sell online? Get started by registering for your free Ecwid account. You’ll be able to begin creating, customizing, and adding products in minutes—so what are you waiting for?
Your ecommerce journey awaits.

Users Say about Ecwid by Lightspeed

Betsy Enzensberger
Betsy Enzensberger
Several years ago I was in need of a shop site to make selling my artwork easier. Ecwid has provided me with a very comprehensive program. I was able to connect my Ecwid shop to my website, Facebook, and Instagram. I connected my USPS account for seemless shipping. I also began using the Google shopping tools as well as the Kliken advertising option. For someone who is a creator not a tech expert, I found Ecwid to give me an easy-to-use, visually appealing, customizable shop.
Emma Orton
Everything is taken care of, from inventory to orders, so I can concentrate on running my business. Plus the assistance I have received by everyone is just amazing! Thank you!
Kat Johnson
Kat Johnson
Ecwid has been a great solution for our e-commerce needs. We often have restaurant guests who miss out on buying our merchandise in-person, so our online store gives them a second chance! The best part is that Ecwid integrates seamlessly with our restaurants’ websites, making e-commerce a natural extension of our brands.
Erich Durr
Extremely dynamic! With minimal effort building my web, I can focus on sales and marketing and still have a world class e-commerce website. And a special thanks for your free plan. It has allowed me to learn, grow and experiment. Ecwid by Lightspeed, you are truly the best.
Malcolm Dewey
Creating paintings is something I enjoy doing, but selling them is where I need help. I use Ecwid because their ecommerce solution makes selling online much simpler. From creating a shop, adding products to secure payment options Ecwid covers every aspect.
Melissa LeGresley
Melissa LeGresley
I’m so glad I chose Ecwid! My customers love that they can choose e-transfer as a payment option, and I love that I can give instructions for local pick up and so many other customized options to really make the website your own!successfully and in record time, integrate without difficulty or additional payments what our store needed.
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