Setting up your own online shop can be a stressful and daunting process. You may turn to sites like Etsy or eBay to get you started, not knowing how to organise your products yourself. On the surface, something like Etsy is great. You create your account, add your products and away you go. Easy, right? The problem is, there’s no personality. You don’t get to be your full creative self. Plus, there’s those sneaky extra fees. This is where having your own ecommerce site comes into play.

Where do you start?

When creating your online shop, you want to show customers who you are and why they should buy from you. You don’t want to look like every other shop on the site, with the same template and colour scheme. And you definitely don’t want to be spending more money than you’re making. Using Ecommerce Website Builder to create your own site, you get full control over how things look and where they sit and it’s easy to refine ads and SEO. Plus, all the money you make is yours to keep!

So with that being said, here’s 5 reasons why you should use Ecommerce Website Builder…

Fully customisable

So you’re not a designer or developer, who cares! You don’t need either of these skills to start your own site. Using Ecommerce Website Builder, you can have a fun design ready to go in minutes. Unlike Etsy or eBay, you can fully customise any of the templates available, until it looks exactly how you like.

Get a website that reflects you, your personality and the items you sell. Everything is flexible and ready to help you stand out from the crowd. Choose your template, make some tweaks, list your products and get selling!

It’s your money

As a business owner, you’re probably aware of the controversy surrounding Etsy and their new reserves system. This means that they can hold a seller's funds for up to 90 days, in case a customer wants to make a return. However, because of this many small businesses haven’t been able to continue working, as they rely on that money to pay bills and make products. Etsy also takes a cut of any money a seller makes – and these transaction fees have gradually increased over the years. Etsy isn’t the only site taking cuts. eBay can take up to 12.8%, plus an additional listing fee.

As a small business owner, it can be hard to make money to live on when selling your own products. Luckily, with your own ecommerce website, you keep all of the money you make – so you can carry on doing what you love, without fear of surprise fees, or withheld funds. With Ecommerce Website Builder, when you choose a package you’re told exactly how much it’ll be every month, so nothing comes as a shock. And all your bills are kept in one place, so you can see how much you’re making and spending every month.

Get noticed

Your website looks awesome. It’s colourful, on brand and full of awesome products, but you’re not making any sales. There’s no point putting in the work to create something you're proud of if no one’s going to see it. With so many other businesses trying to be seen, it’s important to stand out. That’s where Ecommerce Website Builder’s SEO tools can help.

Built-in SEO will help you choose keywords and categories to sort your products, so you reach the right audience and sit higher in Google search results. Plus, promote your shop on social media, including Facebook ads, or shout about it using Google ads. You can select exactly which products you want to showcase and how much you want to spend. Let the orders roll in!

Send it

Shipping is one cost no one likes to think about. As a buyer, the words ‘free shipping’ mean happiness. But as a seller, not so much. As the prices of sending things climb steadily higher, you want to make sure you’re not selling yourself short. Again, you don’t want to be spending more than you’re making.

Ecommerce Website Builder lets you choose from a whole host of shipping options, so you can pick what works for you. Plus you’ll get real-time updates to keep track of exactly where your packages are going. No more lost parcels! And all of this is easily managed in one place, along with a choice of payment providers – like PayPal.

On-the-go

Panic! You’re on the train and realise you forgot to name a product. No drama. Ecommerce Website Builder is accessible on mobile and tablet, so you can edit wherever you are. On the beach or on the sofa, your website can always stay up to date. And all the features are available, exactly as they would be on your laptop.

Finding customers are leaving things in their carts? You can send out vouchers and emails to entice customers to buy. Ask for feedback or just say thank you, all while on the move. No heavy admin needed.

Don’t get stuck

We’ve got all the features you need to create the perfect website and shop for your business, with Website Builder or Ecommerce Website Builder. Choose whichever package suits you for just £1/month for the first 3 months. Sell anything from 500 to unlimited products, pick from stylish design templates, get abandoned cart recovery and so much more. No more stressing about driving traffic to your site, or making sales. We’ll make it easy for you!

Got any questions? Our team of experts are here to help 24/7! Give us a call on 0800 0612 153 or message us via live chat.