A successful webshop: here’s how to build one yourself

Q: What does a good webshop need to meet?

There are thousands of webshops. Several factors determine whether your webshop is successful. Think about selling (homemade) products, your unique brand identity, how fast and safe your shop is ... So it is important to carefully consider the different aspects involved in starting a webshop. Put your customer first in this process.

Q: What do you need to have a successful shop?

Besides a well thought-out financial plan, one of the things you need is a good <a href="https://www.combell.com/en/domain-names" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">domain name</a>, reliable <a href="https://www.combell.com/en/hosting/web-hosting" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">web hosting</a>, a visual layout and user-friendly <a href="http://www.combell.com/en/blog/tips-for-a-successful-webshop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">webshop software</a>. These components mainly relate to the ICT infrastructure. In fact, it is important that your own webshop looks professional. So there's a lot involved in building a webshop. Promotion on social media, focus on search engine optimization, excellent customer service and a good shipping and return policy will also ensure a successful webshop.

29 November 2022
Reading time: 10 min
E-commerce

Do you plan to start a webshop either now or in the future? Then you obviously want to expand your online business into a successful online store. Quite right! However, if you're going to make it happen, be sure to do it properly right away. With the e-commerce tips below, you can immediately start a successful webshop.

Successfully running your webshop? Make it a party!

Think of it this way: starting a successful web store is like having a good party: it attracts a lot of people, they like to linger there and come back again and again for more.

But instead of drinks and snacks, a successful webshop offers, among other things, a great user experience, high-quality products and an efficient payment and shipping process. So we dig deeper into those webshop tips. 😉

A user-friendly website ensures a successful shop — Among other things, a user-friendly website ensures a successful shop.

Oh and instead of noisy party numbers waking up the neighbors, a successful webshop creates buzz in another way: happy customers who tell their friends about their great experience (word of mouth!) and return for new purchases.

So if your webshop feels like a vibrant party that everyone enjoys, you're definitely on your way to "webshop success"!

8.5 million Belgians made 170 million online purchases last year

BeCommerce Market Monitor 2022

The importance of a successful webshop

What does a webshop have to meet to be successful? Good question! Starting a successful shop is about a combination of different factors. You better not leave anything to chance.

Especially when you realise that e-commerce is crucial for the economy. To give you an idea: 15% of all purchases are made online! 8.5 million Belgians made 170 million online purchases last year. So start-ups have (barely) no other choice but to go online with their business.

Tips for a successful webshop

Want to make your own online store successful? Then look over the different aspects of an online store. Check off all the essentials. These six free tips for a successful webshop will get you started right away!

Webshop tip 1: Know your target group like no other

Do you fully intend to score with your webshop? Success starts with knowing your target group. You must - logically - know for who you'll start your webshop. After all, the most important person in your organization is your customer.

Are you going to open a webshop where you sell to everyone, or are you only targeting young people? Or maybe just teenagers between 16 and 18 with an interest in sports and online gaming?

Tip

Use personas to define your target group. On our blog "How to set up an online shop" we give you an example of such a persona.

Other web store tips that focus on defining your target audience:

Start market research via social media and online surveys.

Delve into Google Analytics. Use this free tool to analyze who is visiting your webshop and which pages are visited the most.

Webshop tip 2: create a unique brand

A successful webshop needs a strong brand identity. This way, customers always know what to expect from you! 😀 That recognition will make you sound familiar to your target audience.

Well-considered decisions for your online store — Starting an online store? Take well-considered decisions about which and how many products you want to sell.

In e-commerce, you distinguish yourself from your competitors with a unique brand. Your (new) products can be exclusive. Home-made products play an important role in this process. Shoppers value craftsmanship.

By highlighting authenticity, craftsmanship, unique features and the personal story behind your products, you will surely attract customers looking for a unique product or a fun, original product.

But which products do you want to associate your brand with? This is another area where market research comes in handy. Find out which products are popular, in high demand and where you can make a difference with your products or services. With a good product idea, you can stand out from other online stores.

Therefore, limit your range of products. Sell what you are good at and define your offer. By the way, you have to dare to adjust your product offering. It will only serve to strengthen your unique selling point.

Some other web store tips that focusing on your brand identity:

Provide a consistent, recognizable and reliable web shop. Customers want to be able to trust the quality of your shop and products.

Develop a brand identity that customers feel connected to. Positive emotions increase the popularity of your business. For example, come up with a catchy, great company name.

Create well-thought-out shop design. Consider improving the visual style and layout of your web pages or adjust the tone of your communication.

👍 If you take these various tips to heart, you will create a brand identity that suits your webshop target audience.

Webshop tip 3: select a webshop with good user experience

If you start a webshop, you have to invest in a good website experience. First impressions are very important. So make it as easy and pleasant as possible for your customers.

They will have an easier time finding and buying products. A website that is easy to navigate, that loads quickly, is secure and has an attractive design will result in a positive experience for your visitors.

This can increase your online store's conversion rate and ensure returning customers. If they place another order, it increases revenue and earnings.

Randomly choosing webshop software which is more likely to create a poor website experience? Do not! Because you don't want to lose customers, ruin your reputation or slow down the growth of your shop. Discover quickly the different types of webshop software for e-commerce.

Some other web store tips that focusing on user experience:

Make sure your website is prepared for large numbers of visitors. Because many visitors at one time can slow down or even crash your website. Slow websites will make you lose customers.

Check if your webshop software is up-to-date. New versions of software are usually faster and include security updates. Installing updates may take time, but the major advantage will be that your website works at its best.

Tip

Would you rather not have to worry about updates to your WordPress web shop? Then opt for Managed WordPress. We will maintain everything in for you!

Speed up your webshop with clever caching techniques. With caching, the pages on your web store load faster. Fortunately, Combell has the best caching technologies available, such as Varnish and Redis.

Opt for cloud hosting and increase your scalability. A web store with scalable infrastructure is important because it increases its capacity when needed. So your shop is always available, even when the number of visitors increases. Using cloud servers and temporary extensions of the current infrastructure can help.

Do a stress test. This is how you check whether your successful web store is ready for optimal performance. At Combell, we simulate all kinds of user situations in order to test the responsiveness, stability and speed of your web store under different circumstances. This way, we also detect problematic elements in your code or settings.

Work with a reliable hosting company. After all, providing an excellent user interface is (also) the responsibility of your hosting provider. This includes excellent support, stress-testing to see where there is room for improvement, updating the infrastructure (including webshop software), monitoring to respond to problems ... These are all things you should be able to count on. Lucky break: Combell always keeps an eye on things.

Webshop tip 4 : activating your customers

If a potential customer visits your cheap webshop and actually wants to order something, reward them with an intuitive and user-friendly buying process. For example, no dozens of clicks, shopping baskets that suddenly turn out to be empty ... Consumers should find it easy to buy from a successful online store.

Therefore, tips for a webshop often come down to the same thing: to have consumers find, pay and receive the desired products quickly and easily. On to the next 🙂.

If your buying process is complicated or time-consuming, it can get on the nerves of your customers and cause them to buy elsewhere.

Some other web store tips focusing on customer activation:

Streamline the check-out process. Minimize the number of steps to order and don't ask for unnecessary information.

Make your purchase process visual. Show the progress as well as the total cost. So customers are not surprised by extra costs at the last minute.

Integrate different payment methods and shipping options. The more options your customers have, the less chance you have of shoppers leaving their virtual shopping cart filled anyway.

Webshop tip 5: focus on marketing and promotion

Once you start your shop, you have to start promoting it. There are several ways to do that. This way you attract customers to your shop.

Great news: every Combell customer gets a free Flexmail account. With Flexmail's e-mail marketing tool, you can design professional e-mails and campaigns and send them to the right contacts. Sending newsletters and promotions via Flexmail is a good example of taking control of your marketing.

Quite a lot of time goes into your marketing plan and its realization. Do you have a spare budget or a financial extra? Once your successful webshop is running well, you can eventually work with a marketing agency. They provide online marketing, fluent copywriting, design, new ideas ...

Other web store tips focusing on customer activation:

Use social media. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok ... Use such social media channels to spread the word about your own web shop. You can experiment with paid ads with a small budget. This way, you create online visibility.

Focus on search engine optimization (SEO). This will make your web store easily findable in the search results of e.g. Google. In fact, with a few well-considered choices, you will score much better in search engines in one fell swoop. In this manner, Combell guarantees you the fastest hosting on the market. And fast sites are an important Google Ranking Factor.

Tip

You can create your shop with our budget-friendly SiteBuilder, there you can improve the SEO of your shop.

Old school is allowed! Although for e-commerce using Google Ads is the ideal way to advertise in return for payment (it saves you a lot of time), offline promotion is certainly not a bad idea. Make flyers, put a logo sticker on your car, go networking ...

Webshop tip 6: excel in customer service

A successful webshop excels in excellent customer service. Where things are good, you come back. This also applies to your online shop. Visitors count on a clear return policy (even free shipping), discounts and warranty conditions. Think carefully about how you're going to organize all that.

Other online store tips focusing on good customer service:

Respond quickly to questions, complaints and problems. Eventually, even consider live chat and e-mail.

Have satisfied customers speak up. Convincing customer stories help customers make purchasing decisions. They find out why your own online store comes highly recommended.

Most important tips for webshop success

Since repeating yourself a second time is not a bad idea, here are the most important free tips:

Choose the right products to sell.

Create a unique brand identity that fits your target audience.

Invest in an attractive and user-friendly web design.

Provide a fast and secure shop.

Offer excellent customer service.

Provide a smooth checkout process.

Utilize effective marketing channels, such as social media and email marketing.

Collect and analyze important data to improve your shop and increase sales results.

Provide a scalable infrastructure to increase the capacity of your website when needed.

Choose a hosting company you can count on.

There! Everything read and about ready to start? Then we wish you ... success with your shop!

Design your professional web store at Combell

Frequently asked questions about 'webshop success'

What does a good webshop need to meet?

There are thousands of webshops. Several factors determine whether your webshop is successful. Think about selling (homemade) products, your unique brand identity, how fast and safe your shop is ... So it is important to carefully consider the different aspects involved in starting a webshop. Put your customer first in this process.

What do you need to have a successful shop?

Besides a well thought-out financial plan, one of the things you need is a good domain name, reliable web hosting, a visual layout and user-friendly webshop software. These components mainly relate to the ICT infrastructure. In fact, it is important that your own webshop looks professional. So there's a lot involved in building a webshop. Promotion on social media, focus on search engine optimization, excellent customer service and a good shipping and return policy will also ensure a successful webshop.

What are the requirements of a webshop?

If you effectively want to sell something with your own web store, then there are obviously legal requirements attached to starting a web shop. Beyond these legal obligations, the demands of your webshop lie primarily with your end customer. Therefore, map out your target group. That way it is immediately clear to you what your potential customers are looking for. Perhaps they want handmade products, a wide range of products, free shipping, etc. In our checklist, we go over the different important components of a successful online store.