{"id":22721,"date":"2024-11-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=22721"},"modified":"2025-05-21T21:51:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T04:51:56","slug":"how-to-build-online-store-become-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/how-to-build-online-store-become-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Start an Online Store & Build Your E-Commerce Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Busting out of the \u201ctraditional\u201d career path and creating a shop that enables you to become your own boss can be thrilling<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, this road is famously not without its ups and downs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are the taxes to figure out. (When did we get so bad at math?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s being responsible for your own schedule. (Starting at noon is fine, right?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then<\/em> there\u2019s translating your wonderful idea for a brand and business into an online store<\/a> that delivers on modern consumer demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, we live in a time when getting an e-commerce shop off the ground is pretty doable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, we know launching your product ideas onto the web and into a vast pool of potential customers can be done in just a handful of steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which we\u2019ll walk you through. Right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 Steps To Create an Online Store and Become Your Own Boss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Starting an online store can be an exciting path, but for best results, it’s essential to have a clear plan to guide your journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this section, we’ll walk you through 10 crucial steps for building a successful e-commerce business \u2014 from the very foundation of drafting your business plan to finally launching and promoting your store once it\u2019s up and running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: To Build an Online Store That Will Last, Draft a Business Plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first part of starting a successful business<\/a> \u2014 and subsequent e-commerce shop \u2014 is developing a business plan<\/a> that fully outlines what you\u2019re going to sell, who you\u2019re going to sell it to, why, and how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guiding document isn\u2019t just critical for keeping you and any future staff accountable and on track, it\u2019s also super valuable if in the future you decide you want to strike out and seek funding from interested investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mock<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even if you already have an established brand and have made some sales, a fresh business plan is a great idea as you venture into the entirely new environment of online sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve got a solid plan in place, you should be feeling nice and prepared to make things a reality by setting up your online store and starting to sell your wares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Select Website Builder, Web Host, and Domain Name<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some key ingredients of an online store, or any website for that matter, include: a hosting provider, a domain name, and a plan or platform that will actually allow you to build the dang thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your web hosting<\/a> provider will store your website\u2019s files, your domain name<\/a> provides an address where customers can find your store (ours is dreamhost.com for example), and your online store builder of choice will make it easy for you to, well, build your online store without any design or development experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend going with WordPress<\/a> for your e-commerce website builder. If you do, you probably also want to consider a hosting plan built specifically for WordPress. These plans are specifically designed for the platform, and the servers they operate on are optimized as such. Our shared WordPress hosting plans<\/a> at DreamHost, for example, are ideal for new WordPress sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of hosting providers also offer domain registration. Again, at DreamHost, we can also help you come up with, and register your domain name<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With those important choices made, let\u2019s get into the nitty gritty and start getting that store spun up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: Build Your Online Store<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many WordPress hosting plans come with the platform built-in or ready-to-go with a simple one-click installation option. However, in some cases, you may need to install WordPress manually<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However you get it set up, once you\u2019ve got WordPress up and running, next you\u2019ll want to activate a robust online store platform from WordPress\u2019 many plugin<\/a> options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choosing Your WordPress Add-On Builder<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are two main paths we recommend here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First comes Ecwid<\/a> by Lightspeed, a modern, cloud-based ecommerce platform tailored for small to medium-sized businesses. It offers quite a simple setup process and better seamless integration with anywhere else you already sell \u2014 from existing websites to social media channels to marketplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our favorite benefits of Ecwid? Oh there are plenty:<\/p>\n\n\n\n