In a more digital age, it’s scarce that those with a physical product or high street presence don’t take benefit of the many channels that permit you to sell online. Selling a product online allows you to reach a wider audience and a new customer base. Statistics show that by 2024 more than 2.14 billion people will have bought goods and services online. Additionally, online retail sales accounted for 14.1% of all retail sales worldwide in 2019, and these numbers can reach 22% by 2023.
When eCommerce is an area you’ve never explored, trying to master it can seem a little daunting—however, it can gain many benefits example, maybe you started with a local business but want to reach a larger audience. Or perhaps you already have an online company but want to explore other platforms where your product is the display.
Whether you’re self-taught, new, or just curious, this guide will give you a comprehensive overview of where and how to sell your products online. So stay tuned because in the following article we cover:
Table of Contents
The Difference Between Hosted and Self-Hosted Solutions;
But first, let’s provide some quick answers to the two burning questions most readers have:
Is It Profitable To Sell Online?
Yes. Statistics show that by 2020 there will be more than 2.05 billion digital shoppers worldwide.
Where Can I Sell My Material Online For Free?
When selling products online for free, the options are limited. The most popular free stages are Craigslist and Geebo. However, they have a restricted audience, and there is a limit to how much you can grow there as an online marketer. So, if you’re interested in making big bucks, let’s consider a few options that will help you open and run a full-fledged eCommerce store.
Where And How Do You Sell Your Product Online?
Firstly, there is no scarcity of websites to sell items online. The difficulty is choosing the ones that best fit your brand and enrich what you already have or don’t have. If you decide to have a physical presence in the store, you should first find the best location to attract potential customers. The same goes for selling online, which takes a lot of research. Our first recommendation would be Shopify right off the bat. It is one of the most important levels to consider before looking at the many platforms available for online selling:
What Is The Difference Among Hosted and Self-Hosted ECommerce Platforms?
Let’s start by saying that you need to set up an entire website where people can see your products. Only your products (as opposed to a marketplace like Amazon or eBay], you have to choose between a hosted website, your website hosted e-commerce platform. To help you with this significant decision and to see the difference between the two, we decided to list the pros and cons of these two hosting options.
Hosted Platforms
A common analogy used to know the difference between self-hosted and hosted eCommerce solutions is buying and renting a home. You are bound by the owner’s wishes when you rent a house. You can live there, but you probably won’t be able to paint or physically change the property’s appearance. In addition, if the owner agrees to sell the business or change ownership, they could lose access or be forced to leave the business. However, the advantages of renting a home are that you can test the waters before deciding to buy, and you can relocate with minimal hassle or expense.
When it comes to hosted platforms, the pros and cons are pretty much the same. A hosted platform like Shopify or BigCommerce is like renting a space to sell your products hosted on someone else’s server. The advantage is that the media are usually straightforward to use, even for beginners.
Self-hosted Platforms
In comparison, your own home (self-hosted) means you have the freedom and advantage to choose quite what you want your home to look at how quickly you want to expand or build on what you have. However, owning your own home is also expensive and means you’re responsible for upgrades and repairs on anything that breaks.
With self-hosting on platforms like WooCommerce and Magento, you run the software from your venue or computer (e.g., WordPress). It gives you a lot more customization options and allows you, or someone you hire, to change the look of your online store. The weakness is that it can be tough and expensive to maintain and understand if you have no experience with the code.