▷ How to Create an Online Store (2025) - The First 6 Steps to Creating an Online Store (3-minute read)"
What is needed to create an online store in 2025
Today, creating an online store is quite easy, and so is managing and launching it.
In this article, we will discuss the CS-Cart online store builder software that is used to create an online store and highlight six key points to consider when setting it up.
1. Choose the right product to sell:
Today, this fact is pretty obvious and probably doesn’t need much emphasis, but selecting the "right" product is essential for the success of any online store.
Keep in mind that “right” doesn’t necessarily mean “high quality.” Of course, you shouldn't sell low-quality products to your customers, but in this case, we're talking about uniqueness.
When you open an online store, you'll have to compete with many established brands that already have online stores selling everything under the sun. Therefore, a lot of effort will be needed to sell a product that is already widely available.
To make your online store successful, you need to find the right market niche. Find or create a product that isn’t already sold in every other store and is sufficiently in demand. For example, instead of selling a guitar that can be easily found everywhere, consider selling an instrument that is hard to find online stores and in high demand.
Finding a niche often requires keyword research. Let’s dive into that topic.
2. Conduct Keyword Research
There are two simple ways to do this:
- Use a keyword research tool (such as Ahrefs);
- Perform online research to determine the competition in your market.
A keyword research tool allows you to see how often a product is searched each month.
For example, a similar search might show that "buy guitar" gets 206,000 searches per month, while "buy ukulele" only has 1,600 searches.
This might lead you to think selling guitars is a better option, but remember how much competition you’ll face from other online stores. The keyword research has shown that ukuleles are not only a niche product but also in demand. (With 20,000 interested customers per year, it’s enough to sustain the business.)
The key is to make sure you’re not going to face overwhelming competition.
To do this, you need to check the "keyword difficulty" in your research tool. The higher the keyword difficulty score, the harder it will be to rank for that product.
It’s a good idea to perform a Google search to see how many online stores are selling ukuleles.
If you find that there are a lot of popular online ukulele stores, it might be time to consider selling a different product.
You can dig deeper into your niche. For example, there might be plenty of ukulele sellers, but not many selling soprano ukuleles (a niche that could have enough demand to create a soprano ukulele store).
Alternatively, even if there are many ukulele stores, there may not be enough options in your local area.
3. Build Your Online Store
Once you’ve selected your niche and figured out where to source your product, it’s time to think about “bringing your online business to life” and registering a domain.
For your online store, you need to choose a multi-functional e-commerce platform that’s proven to sell. You should delegate technical support to an experienced team (e.g., cscart.ge), which can help you build your online store and solve any problems that may arise. The CS-Cart platform is versatile and doesn't require programming skills. You’ll be able to manage it yourself, including product placement, order management, page editing, promo campaign creation, and more. As your sales grow, you won’t need a programmer—simply turn on/off features through the admin panel.
If you don’t want to manage the store yourself or are time-limited, it’s better to hire an administrator or content manager (under your supervision) to handle your online store.
4. Online Store & SEO
After completing the above steps, it’s time to devise a strategy to increase visibility. SEO is key to the success of any e-business. You can reuse the keyword research tool to check what types of searches are being made for your product, and make sure you’ve filled out the relevant SEO fields with unique descriptions for your online store.
5. Start a Blog
One of the most effective ways to attract customers is by managing a blog (you are reading one now!) where you can post information related to your products and redirect customers to specific products using links.
For example, on your ukulele page, you can post new playing methods, interesting facts about ukuleles, famous people who play the ukulele, and so on.
This activity is called “inbound marketing,” and if you're not involved in it, you’re likely missing out on a large number of sales.
By running a high-quality blog full of keywords, you will:
- Maximize the chances of your page appearing in search results.
- Highlight your authority in your business field (customers trust sellers who care about their products).
6. Digital Marketing
If your budget allows, it’s advisable to place online ads to promote your online store products. Good options to start with are Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
Thus, the above article introduces the necessary steps required for the formation of a successful online store. Also, through our blog, you can get useful tips for positioning your business online.
