How to Make an Ecommerce Business Plan for Your Startup

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Darren DeMatas

January 30, 2024

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So you’ve decided that you want to quit your day job and start your very own ecommerce empire. That’s great!

But before you become the next Jeff Bezos  (and definitely before you quit your job!), it’s worth spending some time thinking about a business plan. In this article, we’ll dive into the key elements of an ecommerce business plan, which is very different than writing traditional business plans.

Ecommerce Business Plan 2020

Why You Should Create a Business Plan

We know that starting an ecommerce business is exciting, and it can be tempting to jump right in without constructing a business plan. READ: PLEASE DON’T DO THIS.

If you haven’t put your ideas, questions and concerns on paper, then you haven’t given your business model enough thought .

Taking the time to write a business plan might seem like a lot of work, but it can save you a lot of time and money in the long run by better preparing you for potential challenges and opportunities that you’ll face as a first-time entrepreneur. Think of it as a roadmap for your new business venture.

It’s exciting to start your own ecommerce business. However, you want to be well prepared and not jump into anything without having a solid, foolproof ecommerce business plan in place.

After all, you wouldn’t jump out of a plane without a parachute, so why start a business without a safety device in place? That safety device is your business plan.

Quote 5 Jeff Bezos Retail Is Details

The business plan is the brainstorming process that ensures your concept and goals are realistic.

This is more than just mental notes. True business plans take your ideas , questions, and concerns and put those in writing.

As you start creating your business plan, you’ll soon understand that it’s more than a single piece of paper with handwritten details on it. It’s a clearly constructed format of how your business will be created, how it will operate, and what you hope the future holds in terms of a successful ecommerce business.

When you write your business plan, be sure to have a target audience in mind. Are you going to look for investors or put a Kickstarter campaign into motion and use this as your descriptive platform? If so, make sure that your business plan contains everything the audience would want to know about your business (and more!). Many traditional funding solutions require a business plan in order to give you capital. However, there are alternative solutions, such as  Payability  that specialize in ecommerce and don’t require credit checks, a business plan, or any complicated paperwork. They can also get you approved in as little as 24 hours.

When your business plan is completed, you should have achieved the following goals:

  • Knowledge:  A greater sense of knowledge of the business aspects.
  • Resources:  The resources you’re going to need to make your business successful, such as partners, money, employees, etc.
  • Road Map: Have clear set goals to take you from the very beginning of your business and onward.
  • Viability: In other words, is your business possible? Will you have enough profit margins to keep the doors open long-term?

Now that you know why you should create a business plan, it’s time to move on to how you can create your business plan and get started putting your ecommerce business into motion.

How to Start an Ecommerce Business Plan

At the very beginning of the planning stages, it’s a good idea to develop a framework for your business model. This business model will continue to evolve as you create each section of your ecommerce business plan, so don’t strive for a perfect completed plan on the first try. You will be making tweaks to the plan of certain steps along the way.

There are many ways to sell products online and different business models  to pursue. Research and learn from successful ecommerce business examples in the market. The exact business model you follow will be one that makes the most sense with your resources, skills, and interests.

In order to create the best online business plan with your product in mind, you need to figure out the following things:

What are you selling?

The first step to creating an online business is to learn the absolute basics of what you can sell.

  • Physical products: Clothing , shoes, home goods
  • Digital products: Software as a Service products, ecourses, ebooks
  • Services: Consulting services, home cleaning

Who are you selling to?

  • Business-to-Business (B2B): You are selling to organizations, corporations, and non-profits rather than individual customers
  • Business to Consumer (B2C): This means you are selling to individual consumers rather than businesses
  • Marketplace: You are acting as a middleman by bringing businesses and (B2B or B2C) customers to one website.

How are you sourcing your product?

  • Manufacture in-house: You make your product or service in-house
  • Third-party manufacturer: You outsource the manufacturing of your product or service to a third-party manufacturer
  • Dropship: You partner with a dropship manufacturer. Basically, this means that they make your product, package it and ship it directly to your customer while your company handles the entire customer relationship.
  • Wholesale : You buy goods or services from other companies in bulk and re-sell those products on your online store

Additional References

  • Entrepreneurship: Business & Marketing Plans
  • Small Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Entrepreneurship Resources
  • Business Plan Resources

Executive Summary

Ecommerce Business Plan Template Executive Summary

The executive summary will be written according to your goals, and it’s recommended that this is done at the very end of your business plan completion. This will ensure that you include all of the important factors about your business and present your ideas in a concise and complete way.

Some of the features you’ll include in the executive summary include information showing that you’ve done your research, you have concrete sales forecasts, and the main details about your brand.

Business Model

When you’re figuring out your business model, you have to consider four different areas:

  • Monetization strategy
  • Product/industry
  • Target market
  • Sales channel

Monetization Strategy

The monetization strategy delves into the methods you are going to use to sell your products.

This strategy will look at different product monetization methods, including white label, private label , affiliate marketing, wholesale, dropshipping, and even selling ads.

Product/Industry

The product industry section is where you summarize your main niche.

For example, “Vegan Skincare Products.”

Target Market

In the target market section, you will write a sentence or so on who your target market, or ideal customer, is in the community.

If you’re selling vegan skincare products, your target customers might be women who embrace the vegan lifestyle and use natural skincare products in their daily beauty regimen.

Sales Channel

The sales channel refers to where you’re going to sell your products.

For example, you might be selling your products on your own website, and this should be entered in this section.

Business Overview

Ecommerce Business Plan Template Company Overview

This next section covers your company overview.

This section of your business plan will cover various features of your company, including the following:

  • Company type
  • Domain name
  • Value proposition
  • Brand traits

The brand name section lists your business name or brand name.

This is an extremely important aspect of your business plan as it’s what will set the tone for everything that follows.

Pick a brand name that’s simple yet unique and is something that can be used in a wordplay manner, if desired, but not pun-worthy.

Company Type

The company is how your business operates. For example, you might label your business as an LLC, S-corporation, sole proprietor, or some other type of business organization.

The best way to determine how you should categorize your company is to speak to your accountant. There are various tax and legal aspects to forming your business in a certain way.

Speak with the professionals in the company and corporation formation field to determine how to label your company and which company type best benefits your business in a variety of ways.

Domain Name

This section is where you list your domain name.

Choose a domain name that is memorable and embraces the overall traits and features of your business.

And, when choosing a domain name, be sure to think of SEO aspects when doing so. You’ll find out just how much all of these things tie together and ensure a frequently-visited website is the end result.

Keep in mind that with ecommerce, the domain name is just as important as the brand name. Maybe even more so!

Value Proposition

A value proposition is a short, crisp statement that will gauge how clear your idea is. Write this section as if you had one minute to explain your business to a potential investor or customer and then practice it over and over again.

The value proposition can be used on your ecommerce store as your company description.

Here’s a good example: Say you’re looking to start a hiking company called Atlas Hiking Co. which sells premium performance hiking shirts. A possible company description could be the following:

Atlas Hiking Co. is a lifestyle hiking company that produces high-performance hiking shirts for outdoor lovers. Our proprietary SPF40 fabric is one of the lightest fabrics on the market, providing mountain lovers with maximum comfort, both from a breathability and sun-protection standpoint. Our product is made in the U.S.A. and a portion of our profits are donated to preserve national parks around the country.

Pay special attention to all the sensory words !

The mission statement in your business plan is the “why” of it all.

For example, why you started the business, why you are selling the products you are selling, etc., can all be added to this section of your business plan.

You can make this portion as simple or detailed as you like. Just make sure to properly and clearly explain your business mission.

The vision part of the business plan is your “how” in the grand scheme of things. It is the dream you have for your company and the path you’re going to take to realize that dream.

When you write the vision portion of the business plan, think long-term. What are you hoping to achieve, not just in the near future but for the long haul of the life of your business?

Look into the future and plan out where you see your business in 5, 10, even 20 years from now.

This will help you construct the rest of your business plan if you know where you want your business to head, now and in the future.

Brand Traits

The brand traits section is a short section in your company overview.

Basically, in the brand traits section you’re going to want to list three to five words that describe your brand.

Think of your brand personality and describe it using a few separate powerful words.

The personnel section lists all individuals, including yourself, who will be involved in the daily operations of your business. You can create a separate section for a full operations plan or add that later.

Some business owners choose to handle all duties on their own or with a partner, while others will hire individuals to fill the following roles:

  • CEO (usually the business owner)
  • Management team
  • Customer service/logistics
  • PR/Social media specialist
  • SEO manager
  • Advertising manager

Competitive Market Analysis

Competitive Market Analysis

Here’s a fact you can bank on: there has never been a successful e-commerce entrepreneur that didn’t understand his/her target market cold.

That’s why this section is one of the most important in the entire business plan. It will force you to understand the industry in which you operate, the overall industry analysis and outlook, the existing competition, and your target customer demographic.

Market Segment

The market segment portion of the business plan will help you to put your ideas down on paper, make them more focused, and get your team together.

This area will include your niche selection, target market, and competitive analysis.

Niche Selection

The niche section  provides an overview of your niche, why you selected it, whether there’s a micro niche included, and the type of niche you’ve chosen.

The purpose of this section is to crystalize the ideas that you have and make sure they are understandable and viable.

The target market section covers an overview of your target market plus describes your market segments.

Ask yourself who your  target customer  is (population size, age, geography, education, ethnicity, income level) and consider whether consumers are comfortable with buying your product category online.

When listing the target market information, make sure to mention your target audience size as this is important for ensuring that your audience will be adequately covered.

Facebook Audience Size

Competitive Analysis

With the competitive analysis portion of your market analysis, you want to list your market leader and direct and indirect competitors.

After you mention who these entities are, you need to list the characteristics of each one, such as domain name, business model, monthly traffic, and pricing range.

However, before you even get started in writing this section, you need to spend several hours researching your target market.

Here are some of the most efficient ways to research a particular market:

Industry reports

Google is your best friend. Look for any recent industry reports on your market of choice. This will give you a good sense of how much growth the industry is experiencing, why this growth is happening, and what are the largest customer segments. In our example of Atlas Hiking Co., we should research the outdoor apparel market.

Outdoor apparel kids hiking hiking gear Google search Trends worldwide 2004-present

Let’s say that through our research of the outdoor apparel industry, we discovered that there was a huge boom in youth hiking apparel. Perhaps parents were increasingly concerned about their kids’ exposure to UV rays while hiking, so they began to spend more money on their kids. We could use this valuable information to guide our business strategy.

There’s only so much you can read online. Go to a nearby store that sells similar products to yours and interview the store representative. The store rep has interacted with hundreds of interested customers, which can lead to thousands of valuable insights! It’s amazing how these insights can translate into a meaningful business opportunity.

Here’s an example:

If I were going into Billy’s Outdoor Store to research the outdoor apparel market, I would probably ask Billy the following:

  • What are your best-selling products?
  • What are your worst-selling products?
  • Find products similar to yours and ask the representative his/her favorite features on products similar to yours.
  • How much are customers generally willing to spend on these types of products?
  • Do customers make repeat orders of any of these products?
  • Do you get a lot of customers that are looking to buy last-minute hiking gear before they go on a hike?

Competition

Create an Excel spreadsheet of all of your competitors. In your spreadsheet, you should have the following columns:

  • Competitor Name
  • Price point
  • Product Description
  • Key Features (e.g., fabric, waterproof, slim fit, etc.)

What is the competition missing? Is there a gap in the offering? Where you can add some additional value?

After conducting the competitor analysis, Atlas Hiking Co. might find that the competition’s hiking shirts offer very few features at a low price point, but no one offers a luxury hiking shirt with additional features at a higher price point.

This is just an example of the types of insights one can gain from market research which can drastically alter your business model.

Keyword Research

By using Google’s keyword planner  and trends pages, you can get a good sense of how in demand your product is and whether it’s trending upward or downward. Google is great for a general idea, just don’t bank on it.

Some other keyword tools you can use for keyword research include Ahrefs, JungleScout, and Viral Launch. Check out this list  for more ideas.

Trade shows

Are there nearby trade shows that you can go to? Again, creating connections with other people in your industry is a surefire shortcut to countless hours of reading on the internet. Trade shows are also a great opportunity to talk to competitors, meet manufacturers, and better understand where things are heading in your industry.

Once you finish researching the relevant industry, you should summarize your findings by answering the following questions:

General Industry

  • How big is the overall industry?
  • How big is the specific sub-industry in which you intend to operate?
  • Where has most of the historic growth in the market come from?
  • Why is this the right time to enter this market?
  • What are the sub-segments that are poised for future growth (e.g., youth apparel)?
  • How crowded is the product category with competition?
  • How is your competition distributing its product (online, retail, wholesale, etc.)?
  • What’s missing from the competition’s product offering?

Products and Offers

Ecommerce Business Plan Template Products and Offers

So we know we want to sell hiking shirts, but how do you research specific products?

But for some of us, we’re not quite sure what we should sell. To succeed in online retail, you need a product that is trending upwards in a growing niche.

Different types of products

Some of the different types of products include the following:

  • Convenience products: Frequent purchase products, little effort on buying
  • Shopping products: Less frequently purchased in between purchases, little more effort and planning, shop around
  • Specialty products: Strong brand preference and loyalty, will buy no matter what the price

The various types of niches include the following:

  • Hobby niches
  • Lifestyle niches
  • Problem niches
  • Weird/embarrassing niches

Existing products

Come up with detailed specifications for each product or service you intend to sell. If it’s a hiking shirt we’re selling, we would want to have:

  • Detailed sketches of the shirt
  • Fabric weight, materials, type
  • Key features (e.g., pre-shrunk, water-proof, SPF 40)

Future product pipeline

What are other products that you have in the pipeline? Perhaps once you’ve successfully sold hiking shirts, you’re able to leverage your manufacturing relationships to provide hiking socks and shorts. Include that information in this section.

The products and services section will cover the various selling categories of items.

These product offerings will include the following:

  • Core product

Each product group will have its own purpose in your sales catalog. For example, tripwire is the product that brings customers to your ecommerce store or online marketplaces  while the core product is your main seller.

Knowing what products you’ll include within each section allows you to have a firm grasp on what your main product will be and how the other types of products will work alongside your main product.

This section will also cover the search volume and Amazon pricing range.

You’ll need to calculate your true costs. You have to make sure you don’t overestimate your margins.

To tabulate your total true costs, you need to write down the costs in the following areas:

  • Target price
  • Supplier cost of the product
  • Total cost per unit
  • Net profit per unit
  • Profit margin per unit

Once you complete the pricing portion, you’ll have everything on one sheet and readily accessible whenever you need it.

Marketing Plan and Operations

Ecommerce Business Plan Template Marketing

So, now you’ve concluded that you have a great business idea, and it’s in a growing market. That’s fantastic – but how are you going to drive traffic to your ecommerce website and get customers to buy it ? And how much can you afford to spend on your product?

Marketing  is everything. It’s important that your marketing efforts match your business model.

If you have a website and no marketing, your site won’t have any visitors. With no visitors, you will make no sales. Then how do you grow and sell your ecommerce business (if that’s your long-term goal)? Even with the best possible products, nobody will buy them if they aren’t directed to them in some way.

In order to come up with a marketing strategy, you need to first know your customer inside out. You should be able to answer such questions as:

  • How old is your customer?
  • Where does your customer live?
  • What is the population of your customer base?
  • What is their education level?
  • What is their income level?
  • What are your customer’s pain points?

With so many channels to reach your customer, which one is best for you?

Once we know pretty much everything there is to know about our target customer, we can shift focus to our marketing strategy. You want to choose marketing strategies that equal positive conversion rates. What channels should you use to grab the attention of your customer demographic? Some of the key marketing channels include:

Paid Marketing

  • Pay-per-click – this online marketing typically involves using Google Shopping campaigns  and managing a product data feed.
  • Affiliate sales networks – Allowing other blogs and websites to sell your product for a cut of the revenue. List the different affiliate sale networks that you plan to promote through.
  • Facebook ads ⎯ Ads posted on Facebook to draw in buyers through social media means.
  • Influencer marketing ⎯ Hiring industry influencers to get the word out about your product through their social media platforms and contacts.

Organic Marketing

  • Social media (Facebook, Instagram , Pinterest, etc.): What is your strategy for social media, and where will you dedicate your attention?
  • Search Engine Optimization : Create and promote awesome content so people find your product organically through search.
  • Content marketing: Figure out how you’ll use content marketing in your business. Consider various article topics that will persuade your target audience to buy your products.
  • Blogger networks: could be organic or paid through affiliate sale programs.
  • Key bloggers: Develop a list of the key bloggers in your product category. For Atlas Hiking Co., this might be an influencer that blogs about the best hiking trails in America.

Finding the optimal mix of these advertising tools depends 100% on your customer segment as well as your product type. For example, a SaaS product targeting millennials will require an entirely different marketing strategy than an e-commerce physical product targeting baby boomers. Perhaps that should be a post on its own for another day!

How much should you spend to acquire a customer?

In order to understand this, we need first to discuss a concept known as customer lifetime value or LTV. In essence, this is a formula that helps you better understand how much an average customer will spend over time.

Here’s  a good read on how to calculate LTV.

It’s important to remember that for new businesses, you don’t have a lot of data on customer purchase habits so it’s a good idea to be more conservative with your assumptions in calculating LTV.

Let’s say, for Atlas Hiking Co., I determine that the average LTV per customer is $300. This means that over time, the average customer will spend $300. Let’s say, on average, if I receive $300 in revenue, $100 of that will translate to gross profit before I factor in my marketing costs (basically, I’m just subtracting the cost of making the shirts).

Knowing that my gross profit is $100 per shirt is a critical piece of information because it tells me that I can spend up to $100 in marketing to acquire a customer and still be profitable!

Some of the marketing options include social media marketing and content marketing.

Think about your business model and then line up your marketing budget. Your marketing budget may include the following items:

  • Sales/branded content
  • SEO/blog content
  • Facebook/Instagram ads
  • Influencer marketing
  • Marketing tools
  • Niche advertising

Choosing The Right Technology

With so much technology and SaaS products out there, it’s important to understand the various moving parts and diagram how they all integrate with one another.

Some of the different elements include:

  • Shopping Cart Platforms  – e.g., Shopify , BigCommerce , WooCommerce , or any open-source platform
  • Hosting – Nexcess , BigScoots , Kinsta , WPX
  • Payment Processo r – e.g., Stripe, Paypal
  • Fulfillment Center – e.g., Amazon, ShipBob
  • Apps – e.g., Zipify, BuildWooFunnels, Gelato
  • Accounting & Taxes  – e.g., Quicken, Xero
  • Marketing Automation – e.g., Klaviyo , Mailchimp
  • Marketing Tools – e.g.  Buzzstream, Ahrefs
  • Customer Loyalty Programs  – e.g., Antavo, Smile

Come up with a detailed list of the different products and services you need to run your business as well as the monthly and per-transaction cost of each of them. This will be important in understanding the impact of these services on your margins.

Matching your business model to your technology is essential, too. Certain website platforms are better suited for specific sales models.

Email marketing is another type of technology that should be carefully considered and matched up correctly with your business model.

Keep in mind that it takes, on average, 6-7 interactions with a brand before someone makes a purchase, so you need to keep using technology to get them back to your website.

As you explore the technology options and find out ways to draw potential customers in and keep them happy while they’re there, here are some key points to keep in mind:

  • What you say about yourself and your products with your website content
  • How you respond to questions on live chat and email support
  • How to make use of chatbots
  • How you connect on social media
  • The information you send through email marketing
  • What bloggers and influencers say about your brand
  • How existing customers review your company
  • How you advertise
  • How you establish loyalty beyond sales

After you figure out your technology methods, you have to come up with a technology budget.

The business plan must also include the operations side of things. Determine who will be your manufacturer, secondary manufacturer, and shipping and fulfillment  provider.

When looking at supply chain costs and options, ShipBob  is an ecommerce fulfillment provider you can consider.

Financial Plan

Ecommerce Business Plan Template - Financial Plan

When figuring out your financial plan, evaluating and pinpointing your startup costs  is essential.

The focus of the financial plan is how long it will take for you to make your money back. You also need to figure out if you need a business loan .

Traffic and conversion rates will help you determine how long it will be until you start making money back.

You’ll also want to use an income statement to detail financial information.

This section is used for financial projections, such as forecasting sales, expenses, and net income of the business. Ideally, you’ll want to create a monthly Excel balance sheet showing the following:

  • Projected revenue:  First, come up with your projected number of units sold and then come up with your projected revenue (Projected Revenue = # of Units Sold * Average Sales Price).
  • Fixed expenses:   these are expenses that are fixed no matter how much you sell. Typically, these relate to monthly SaaS subscriptions, employee salaries, or rent.
  • Variable expenses  – these expenses change in direct proportion to how much you sell. Common examples include the cost of goods sold and credit card payment processing fees.

This helps business owners better understand what they need to achieve to hit their profit goals. In reality, projections are usually always off the mark, but it’s good to give yourself some measurable goals to strive for.

This section should aim to answer the following questions about your product offering:

  • How much product do you need to sell per year to meet your income goals for the business?
  • What are the margins on your product? If you sell one hiking shirt for $50, how much do you make after paying your supplier, employees, and marketing costs?
  • What is the lifetime value of a customer?
  • How much can you spend to acquire customers? If you conservatively project that the average customer will spend $300 over time on your shirts, then you can afford to spend an amount less than $300 to acquire that customer using the paid marketing channels described previously.
  • Do you have any big capital expenditures early on that would require you to need to bring in investors?
  • Can you improve gross margins by making bigger orders from your suppliers?

There are various acquisition channels that will help your traffic to convert including:

Your revenue plan will contain a 12-month revenue forecast plan to help you map out each month of earnings.

There are different business earning models you can go through to determine how much you can make with your business.

You want to calculate how much traffic costs. This all depends on the methods you use to gain traffic to your site.

As you determine what your profit might be with your ecommerce business  or ecommerce businesses, there are certain math formulas to use:

  • The profit equation
  • Break-even analysis
  • Units needed to achieve the profit target

You should also consider how you will use fintech companies in your ecommerce business.

What are the key elements of an ecommerce business plan?

The main components of an eCommerce business plan include the executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management structure, product line or service, marketing and sales strategy, financial projections, and funding request, if applicable.

How do I create a budget for my ecommerce business?

Start by estimating your initial startup costs and ongoing expenses. Consider costs like website development, inventory, marketing, shipping, taxes, and any necessary licenses or permits. It’s also important to factor in a contingency plan for unexpected costs.

How do I find the right product to sell?

Research is fundamental. Look at market trends, customer needs, and competitor products. Use tools like Google Trends or social media platforms to understand what customers are currently interested in. Always consider your passion and knowledge about the product too, as this can drive your business forward.

How can I differentiate my product from competitors?

Differentiation can come from unique product features, superior customer service, better pricing, or a compelling brand story. Understand what your competitors offer and how you can do it differently or better.

Wrapping Up Your Business Plan

Careful planning is crucial to get your e-commerce business from the planning phase to the launch phase and to ensure its successful future.

Going through the exercise of writing a business plan will cement your own understanding of your business and your market. It will also position you to take advantage of lucrative opportunities while mitigating harmful threats to your business down the line.

Your turn! Have you written a business plan for your online store? Do you have anything to add? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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Ecommerce Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Growthink Ecommerce Business Plan Template

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their ecommerce businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through an ecommerce business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Ecommerce Business Plan Template here >

What Is An Ecommerce Business Plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a detailed and comprehensive document that outlines the strategies, objectives, and operational blueprint of an online business. It serves as a roadmap guiding the company’s operations and growth within the dynamic and competitive digital marketplace. The plan typically covers various aspects, including market analysis, target audience identification, product or service offerings, marketing and sales strategies, competitive analysis, financial projections, and risk assessments.

Why You Need an Ecommerce Business Plan

Growthink.com ecommerce

Source of Funding for Ecommerce Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for an ecommerce business are bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for an ecommerce business is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan.

Venture capitalists will fund an ecommerce business but not in its infancy. You will need to first achieve sales traction. Once you do that venture capitalists might invest $2 million to $100 million into your business over time.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Below are the 10 sections a sample ecommerce business plan should include:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of ecommerce business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup or do you have an ecommerce business that you would like to grow further.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the ecommerce business industry. Discuss the type of ecommerce business you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

Growthink ecommerce businessman

For example, you might operate one of the following types of ecommerce businesses.

Ecommerce businesses based on businesses model:

  • Drop Shipping: you sell the product on your website and the product’s supplier fulfills it
  • Wholesaling And Warehousing: you sell the product on your website and the fulfill it yourself (through your own warehouse and systems)
  • Private Labeling And Manufacturing: you sell the product on your website and you manufacture it yourself or have someone manufacture it for you
  • White Labeling: you sell the product on your website and have someone manufacture it for you (but unlike private label, your product is not unique; the manufacturer is also creating the product under other brand names)
  • Subscription: you sell the product or service on your website on a subscription basis (customer pays you every week/month/year)

Ecommerce businesses based on customer model:

  • Business-to-Business (B2B): your business is selling to other businesses
  • Business-to-Consumer (B2C): your business is selling to consumers
  • Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): your business provides a platform for consumers to sell to other consumers (e.g., ebay)
  • Consumer-to-Business (C2B): your business provides a platform for consumers to sell to businesses
  • Business-to-Government/Administration (B2A): your business is selling to governments or administrative agencies
  • Consumer-to-Government/Administration (C2A): your business provides a platform for consumers to sell or communicate with governments or administrative agencies

In addition to explaining the type of ecommerce business you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

  • When and why did you start the business?
  • What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, customer milestones, etc.
  • Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

ecommerce business

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the ecommerce business industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards subscription businesses, it would be helpful to ensure your plan calls for offering subscription options.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your ecommerce business plan:

  • How big is the ecommerce business (in dollars)?
  • Is the market declining or increasing?
  • Who are the key competitors in the market?
  • Who are the key suppliers in the market?
  • What trends are affecting the industry?
  • What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
  • What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your ecommerce business. You can figure out your relevant market size by multiplying the amount of target customers by the amount they might spend on a product or service like yours each year.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your ecommerce business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: college students, sports enthusiasts, soccer moms, techies, teens, baby boomers, manufacturing plants, state government agencies, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of ecommerce business you operate. Clearly baby boomers would want a different offering and branding than teens or government agencies.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other ecommerce businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from you that aren’t direct competitors. This includes offline stores or other ecommerce companies that offer similar products or services. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone who needs the products or services you provide will frequent a business like yours.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other ecommerce businesses with which you compete. For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

  • What types of customers do they serve?
  • What products do they offer?
  • What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
  • What are they good at?
  • What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And check product review websites to learn what your competitors’ customers like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

  • Will you provide superior ecommerce services?
  • Will you provide ecommerce business products/services that your competitors don’t offer?
  • Will you make it easier or faster for customers to acquire your products/services?
  • Will you provide better customer service?
  • Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

ecommerce business plan marketing

Product/Service : in the product section you should reiterate the type of ecommerce business that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products and/or services you will be offering.

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the menu of items you offer/will offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your ecommerce business. In general, the place for an online business is well, online. But if there is a physical component to your business, document that here.

Promotions : the final part of your ecommerce business marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

  • Search engine optimization
  • Search engine marketing
  • Traditional public relations
  • Reaching out to local bloggers and websites
  • Advertising in physical newspapers, magazines, radio and television
  • Partnerships with other websites and/or organizations

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your ecommerce business such as warehousing, invoicing, serving customers, procuring supplies, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 10,000th customer, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch a new product or service.

Management Team

ecommerce management team plan

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in the ecommerce business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in ecommerce businesses and/or successfully running retail businesses.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you serve 100 customers per day or 200? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your ecommerce business, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. For example, let’s say a company approached you with a massive $100,000 contract, that would cost you $50,000 to fulfill. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $50,000 now to fulfill the contract. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During that 180 day period, you could run out of money.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing an ecommerce business:

  • Website and technology buildout
  • Payroll or salaries paid to staff
  • Business insurance
  • Taxes and permits
  • Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include agreements you’ve negotiated with developers, manufacturers and/or employees.

Ecommerce Business Plan Summary

Putting together a business plan for your ecommerce business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the online store business plan template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the ecommerce business, your competition and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful ecommerce business.

Download Our Ecommerce Business Plan PDF

You can download our ecommerce business plan PDF here . This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

Ecommerce Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my ecommerce business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Ecommerce Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Ecommerce Business Plan.

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  • Jul 26, 2023

How to create a defensible eCommerce business plan

how to create an eCommerce business plan

Most eCommerce websites are built on a dream, a passion, or a noble goal of fixing something that lacks a proper solution.

But unfortunately, many businesses don’t last more than a few months. A discouraging truth about eCommerce is that 90% of startups fail in the first 120 days.

Suffice to say that in order for your business to survive its first precarious years—and to thrive beyond them—you need a solid business plan.

After all, some of the most common reasons why businesses fail include lack of capital, inadequate management, and a faulty business model. Much of this is a symptom of poor planning. Here’s how you can better plan for your brand’s future and create a strong eCommerce business plan.

What is an eCommerce business plan?

A business plan is a roadmap for how to structure, operate, and manage your business. It includes the important elements that define your company—such as your name, description, capital needs, product categories, target market characteristics, and business goals.

A thoughtful business plan can prepare your store for a successful launch and/or help it to scale in the right ways. In the latter case, an annual business plan review and revision can help you adapt to industry changes and anticipate new trends or consumer behaviors.

Black text on a light blue background that says "Launch your online store" with a clickable link button that says "Get Started"

In a nutshell, a business plan helps you to:

Secure funding. By having a business plan that details the who, what, where, when, and hows of your business—you’ll enjoy an easier time building trust with investors and piquing their interest.

Filter distractions. New trends and distractions crop up all the time in eCommerce, making it especially important to have a plan that holds your business accountable to (read: focused on) particular goals.

Do your due diligence. When you’re first figuring out how to start a business , it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and act on gut feelings. But building a business plan requires you to slow down and perform more thorough research on your target market, product(s), financial plan, and more.

Plan for the long term. Your business plan will help you to better gauge where your business should be in both the short and long terms. It can also act as a compass, estimating the steps you need to take to get from where you are today to where you want to go.

Grow your team. A business plan not only gives you a sense of who to hire and when, but serves as the glue binding your team to one, clearly defined vision.

Grow your operations. Between your tech stack, staff, supply chain, website, and more—there’s a lot that needs to be put into motion before your eCommerce business can take off. Your business plan should outline all of these moving parts, helping you strategically build out your operations.

How to create an eCommerce business plan

An eCommerce business plan is structured similarly to a traditional business plan. However, it will detail things like your website builder, sales channels, fulfillment process, and goals that are distinct to running an online store.

Here’s a breakdown of what you should include in your plan and how to create it:

Write your executive summary

Include your company name, description, and domain

Perform eCommerce market analysis

List the products you’re selling and why

Plot your operations plan

Set out your marketing and advertising plan

Lay out your financial plan

checklist of items to include in eCommerce business plan

01. Write your executive summary

Though this is published at the beginning of your business plan, your executive summary should be written last.

This summary is exactly as it sounds. It connects and introduces all the components of your document for readers who want a brief overview of what your business is all about. It’s similar to a hook or an elevator pitch that compels readers to continue scrolling.

Keep this summary short. Do not exceed one page, and include a brief description of your product or service, growth opportunities, and why your business is set up for success. What do investors or teammates need to know right off the bat?

02. Include your company name and description

In this section, you’ll want to outline the who, what, and why of your business. Rather than going into details about the products you plan to sell (this comes later), talk about your vision for the company. Share your motivations, values, and problems that you plan to solve.

Your description can include things like:

Brand name - Selecting a meaningful name is particularly important for eCommerce businesses since your website domain will be closely associated with your brand. Jeff Bezos famously named Amazon after the world’s largest river because his goal was to create the world’s largest bookstore, but also didn’t want to be tied to books. Similarly, you’ll want to pick a name that you won’t outgrow. If you need some inspiration, give Wix’s store name generator a whirl or check out this guide to eCommerce business names .

Domain name - At this point, you’ll want to have registered a domain name. Use Wix’s domain name search to check if your preferred domain is available. If the domain is taken, you can take one of several steps: contact the site owner directly, tweak your domain (e.g., add a verb like “get” to the front of your name), use a different TLD than .com, or use an abbreviated form of your name.

Background - Your description is a great place to share why you started your business in the first place. What inspired you to create your brand? Who do you plan to serve? What do you plan to accomplish? While you want to avoid waxing poetic here, it’s worth giving your readers an inside look into the history of your company.

Vision - Your vision statement should capture the ideal state of your business. In other words, what is the future that you’re building towards—not just now, but five or 10 years from now?

Mission - Your mission statement , on the other hand, should express what you’re striving and able to achieve now. While your vision statement provides the 30,000 foot view of your company, your mission statement acts as a compass for your team and keeps them motivated to do their best.

google mission vs. vision statements

Business structure - Be clear about whether your company is a sole proprietorship, an LLC , s-corporation, c-corporation , or partnership . If you’re not sure which applies to you or which one to pursue, consult a lawyer or accountant.

Key personnel - Name key team members like your cofounders, CEO, partners, and upper management. There should be no question about who owns the company, and who is responsible for managing what. This is not something just meant for appearances—your team should be well-structured to ensure efficiency and growth.

Core values - Your values should represent how you plan to run your business. Investors and employees will want to know that they’re backing the right horse, not just from a financial perspective but from a human perspective. Your values will naturally make an appearance in your vision, mission, and background, but make sure that your values are clearly stated for readers to refer back to.

03. Perform eCommerce market analysis

Your business plan should include extensive information about your industry and the people you plan to serve. The last thing you want to do is enter the ring blindly or operate based on assumptions alone.

This section should describe everything from the barriers to entry, to how your business fits into the existing landscape, to how much opportunity exists. Remember that you’re the expert here. Not everyone who gets their hands on this doc will have as much insight into the industry—nor the time to research it on their own—so you’ll want to provide all the essential information up front.

Target market - Estimate the number of consumers who need your product (based on real independent research) and how often they may make a purchase. Revisit your buyer personas and describe who you’re planning to target. Is the need for your product growing, based on the climate of your industry? What consumer behaviors have you observed? Are there any doubts or questions that you should address?

Competitive analysis - Identify your top competitors and perform a deep dive into their strengths, weaknesses, top products, pricing strategies, and more. You should know how your business stacks up against these players. For example, many companies manufacture and sell hair and body care products, but Lush built its reputation by taking a stand against animal testing, over packaging, and harsh synthetic ingredients. The company has a clear niche within the cosmetics and bath products industry. They create unique, memorable products that are easy to differentiate from competitors (and fuel brand loyalty). The most important thing at this stage is to be honest in your assessment. Don’t turn a blind eye to areas where your company needs to improve or any risks that you run. At the same time, zero in on any product gaps or niches that your company can effectively target to get ahead of competitors.

Special considerations - As an eCommerce business, you may not simply sell D2C from your branded site. You may also choose to sell on third-party marketplaces like Amazon, sell wholesale, or open brick-and-mortar locations. Each of these may involve a different set of competitors and buyers. Take the time to look into each of these channels separately. Understand how you plan to compete on all of these different fronts (or perhaps now is a good time to define which is most important to start off with).

04. List the products you’re selling and why you’re selling them

By now, you’ve likely mentioned your product several times within your business plan. Still, you’ll want to have a section that clearly lists out your products.

In this section, describe your pricing, product positioning , margins, product life cycle , and key differentiators. You can include pictures and product reviews if you’ve already tested your items in the market. Or, if you’re still in the research and development phase, describe your timeline and progress in detail.

It should be clear whether your products are private label or sourced elsewhere. If you only sell a few items, provide a more detailed description of each. Alternatively, if your catalog is too large to list out, give a more general overview of each product type, plus the strategy behind them.

05. Plot your operations plan

If your business plan is meant to serve as an internal doc for your team to use (or even if you want investors to see where your capital is going), include a section that describes how you plan on tackling logistics and operations. There are tons of things to keep track of on this front, from the suppliers you’ll need to work with to the storage space you’ll require.

Here’s a breakdown of information you can include.

Suppliers - List out your suppliers for raw and/or finished goods. Where are they located? How do you plan on connecting with and managing them?

Production - Are you dropshipping , manufacturing, hand-crafting, or buying your products wholesale? Include details like lead time, contingency plans (for when demand spikes), and other essential details about your supply chain.

Equipment - What hardware and software will you need to conduct business? Include your website builder and other subscription-based tools that you’ll need.

Warehousing - Explain where you plan on storing your products—whether that be your own warehouse or a third-party logistics (3PL) provider.

Facilities - Do you plan on opening a brick-and-mortar location, or will you have a designated office space? Include where your team members will be operating out of and how that might change as you grow.

Personnel - You’ll want to be clear about the chain of command and which roles are filled or need to be filled. Don’t forget to think about any legal or accounting needs, in addition to board members, consultants, and employees.

Inventory - How do you plan on handling inventory management ? This is an area where lots of businesses stumble, so you’ll want to have a clear strategy (and the necessary technology) to keep this in check across all of your sales channels.

Shipping and fulfillment - Do you plan on fulfilling orders on your own or will you outsource this responsibility? Moreover, how will you handle international shipping if your brand plans on selling overseas?

06. Set out your marketing and advertising plan

It’s no secret that you need a good marketing and advertising plan to grow your eCommerce business .

But you may be surprised to know that a staggering 37% of surveyed startup owners said that poor online marketing caused their businesses to fail. Of this cohort, 35% said that a lack of online search visibility was the top reason.

That’s why you don’t want to haphazardly build your eCommerce marketing strategy . Think of—and document—the various components of your strategy:

Social media ads

Content marketing/SEO

Organic social media

Email marketing

Influencer marketing

Promos/discounts

Affiliate marketing

Loyalty programs

Events/pop-ups/trade shows

Radio or TV

Brand partnerships

A strong marketing plan doesn’t necessarily require a big advertising budget. But you’ll want to name your top channels upfront and specify whether these things will be handled in-house or with an agency’s help.

07. Lay out your financial plan

So you’ve got big plans for your business. How will you fund them?

This is where you reassure readers that your head isn’t just in the clouds. While this is probably the least fun to write, the viability of your business (and your reader’s confidence in you) relies on having a firm grasp of the numbers.

If you plan to seek financing, then investors and lenders will want a sales forecast along with your list of expenses (this includes both fixed costs and variable costs) to ultimately ensure that they’re making a sound investment.

Or, if you don’t plan on seeking third-party funding, a financial plan still tells you how much money you’ll need to run your business and helps to protect you from unwelcome surprises. The last thing you want is to run out of money before you can establish yourself—which is one of the top five reasons that eCommerce startups failed in the same survey mentioned above.

Consider including theses elements within your financial plan:

Startup cost

Income and expenses

Balance sheet

Cash flow statement

Break even point

Customer acquisition cost

Key assumptions

Financial projects for next five years

Get cracking on your business plan today

Whether you’ve just dipped your foot in eCommerce or have been in business for years now, you’ll need an up-to-date business plan to run a tight ship. Download our free business plan template today and build a solid foundation for your brand.

eCommerce business plan FAQ

Why do i need an ecommerce business plan.

Having an eCommerce business plan is essential for several reasons. It serves as a roadmap that outlines your business goals, strategies, and tactics, helping you navigate the complexities of starting and running an online store.

What are the main steps included in an eCommerce business plan?

ecommerce website business plan

Allison Lee

Editor, Wix eCommerce

Allison is the editor for the Wix eCommerce blog, with several years of experience reporting on eCommerce news, strategies, and founder stories.

  • Sell Online

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Ecommerce Business Plans: Examples, Templates, & A Detailed Walkthrough

Ecommerce Business Plans: Examples, Templates, & A Detailed Walkthrough

So you have an idea, a product to sell and the drive to get started. You might be tempted to jump right in and start building your business without a formal business plan. Don't.

We've been in the ecommerce business for 20 years, and we've seen thousands of online stores come and go. The number one mistake new merchants make is failing to create a business plan before getting started. If you’re serious about starting an online business – or if you're currently running a business without a plan – you will benefit from a business plan.

The number one mistake new merchants make is failing to create a business plan. Businesses without a business plan are more likely to fail.

At their core, ecommerce business plans compel you to think critically about every major component of your online store, allowing you to identify and avoid major problems before getting started. Your business plan will become the cornerstone of how you budget, how you spend, what products you sell and who you sell them to, how you talk about your business, and much more. To put it bluntly, businesses without a business plan are more likely to fail.

Does My Online Store Need A Business Plan?

Yes. Every ecommerce company can benefit from a solid business plan. Here are the main benefits of creating a business plan:

If You’re Just Starting Out: A business plan will help you set clear goals and create an action plan to achieve them. It will also help you realistically estimate and budget for the costs of your new business. If You’re Seeking Outside Funding: A business plan is a standard way to show potential investors why it’s worth betting on your business. Most financing options require a business plan before moving forward. If You’re Considering Going All In: If you’re considering making your ecommerce business a full-time job, a business plan can help you determine if its a viable option.

If you already have a business plan, great! Use the info below to verify that you’re on the right track, and revise your strategy if needed. If you don’t yet have one, here is where you can learn everything you need to know to lay down a strong foundation for your online store. Here's an example of a business plan we made up for an ecommerce store, to give you a sense of what you're working toward:

Ecommerce Business Plan Example

Ecommerce Business Plan template & example

How long and thorough should my business plan be?

For the most part, a business plan for your online store will look quite similar to the business plans you’d see for a brick-and-mortar shop, a restaurant or even a large company. The level of detail you provide for each main point may vary, and that’s just fine; for some people, business plans are 100-page books that cover every possible detail or circumstance, and for others, ten pages is enough to get the creative juices flowing and to establish a basic rubric or guide to follow.

Business plans should feel manageable, helpful and creative, so don’t turn them into a daunting project if you don’t have to!

If you’re applying for a business loan or seeking funding from an investor, the U.S. Small Business Administration recommends a 30-50 page plan. If you’re not looking for outside funding, we suggest starting small, with a goal of a few paragraphs per bullet point. You can always expand as you see fit. Business plans should feel manageable, helpful and creative, so don’t turn them into a daunting project if you don’t have to!

As you move through our suggested outline, remember that unless otherwise specified, you can start with any section you like. While it does make sense to move linearly, if you’re most passionate about the marketing part of your business or you’re an accounting whiz and you want to start with what you know best, go for it! Beginning with the part that excites you the most will give you the confidence and momentum to complete the rest of the business plan.

In most cases, your ecommerce business plan should contain the following elements at a minimum.

Creating Your Own Ecommerce Business Plan

Now that you have an idea of the scope and content of a business plan, here's how to write one for your own ecommerce store. We'll start with the broadest aspects of your business, and then focus in on the important details.

1. Company Description

Start with the basics. Your company description is an overview of your business, providing high-level goals and diving into the details about what makes your company tick. Your company description may include:

Business Ownership

The business ownership section of your business plan will help you sort out who is doing what and why they're qualified to do it.

  • List the owners of your ecommerce business. If the business has multiple owners, list them separately. Make a note of each owner's level of ownership and the responsibilities they've agreed to take on.
  • List the founder(s) of your ecommerce business, and what drove them to start the business in the first place.
  • List the people that are responsible for operating your business (if different than the owners).
  • List the personal and professional qualifications, qualities, and experiences that make your business operators qualified to run the business. (For example, professional certifications, "50 years of combined experience", "river-rafting guide" - whatever gives you credibility!) It's also a good idea to list qualifications that you wish you had but don't, and create brief plans on how to acquire them.
  • List your business model - are you selling directly to customers, or using a business to business (B2B) model?
  • List your type of business - e.g. solo proprietorship, partnership, LLC

2. Products

Now it’s time for the fun part: Describe what you’re actually selling! Start with a high-level look at the products you currently sell along with products you plan on selling in the future, focusing on their specifications and benefits.

  • Main Product Lines: Summarize your main product lines - what types of things does your store sell? Don't list every product in your catalogue, try to restrict it to broad categories, such as "graphic print tees". Emphasize the benefits or competitive advantages of your product lines: You aren’t just selling dresses, you’re selling whimsical or quirky dresses. You can also add a little bit of a “human” element about why you chose those products and what makes them so special to you. Then go into a bit more detail with the following information:
  • Differentiators: There are plenty of quirky dresses out there, so what makes yours different? Perhaps each dress is handmade (or handmade-quality) and fully-lined, which is a huge differentiator in today’s current atmosphere of “fast fashion” or disposable clothing. If they are high-quality, maybe you sell them at a price that’s lower than the typical price point for dresses of that caliber. Maybe you only use U.S. designers and manufacturers. Perhaps you hand-design original fabric that nobody else sells. Try using the “in a world” format to make this section a little easier: “In a world of X, my product does Y.”
  • Product Sourcing: How will you acquire each of the products you listed? List your different product sources, storage locations, and include data on how to get in touch with your suppliers.
  • Costs: This doesn’t need to be a full financial run-down (we’ll get to that later) but should instead provide a basic overview of how much your products will cost, on average, to acquire, and how much they’ll cost for the customers. Consider referencing competitors in this section to make sure your pricing is standard for your industry – or better.
  • Life cycle: How long do your products last? If they are seasonal, when and how will you acquire new stock, and what will you do with the old? How often will your target market expect to see new items? With dresses, for example, people might return often to check out what’s new – particularly as events come up or as seasons change.

Person conducting business plan research

3. Operations

This pertains to the logistics and 'moving parts' of your business - how you're getting your products from the manufacturer to your customers. Don't worry about costs yet - we'll cover that later.

  • Where will your business operate? List any physical locations related to business operations. This may be your home office, a rented space, a new headquarters, etc.
  • List your staff and management team
  • List your product suppliers, or how you will create/acquire what you're selling.
  • List your packaging providers
  • List your storage spaces
  • List your shipping providers
  • List third-party service providers (such as your ecommerce provider, subscription-based tools, etc.)
  • Create brief descriptions of the fulfillment, shipping, and payment collections processes. Now for some nitty-gritty stuff. Your operational plan may feel like the “boring” part of your business plan, but it’s important – and it’ll give your creative brain a break for a little while.

4. Market Analysis

Market analysis will tell you whether or not people will buy what you're selling. It's broken down into three main sections:

  • Audience Segmentation What key demographics are you going to serve? Where do they live, how old are they, how much money do they make, and what do they value? As you think about your target audience, it is helpful to create “Buyer Personas,” which are separate individual characters representing your various demographic sets. If you’ve sold your product already, discuss who made the purchases and what they purchased.
  • Industry Analysis: What does the market look like for your industry overall? Has it grown or changed over the years? Do you anticipate it changing in the future? Are there factors that could impact its growth? You will almost certainly have to do some research for this part. Fortunately, whitepapers and research are abundant on almost any industry, as well as free tools like Google Trends . This is likely to be one of the most difficult portions of your business plan.
  • Competitive Analysis: Provide an overview of who your main competition is in the general sense (ie, “ecommerce shops that sell novelty print dresses and individual Etsy vendors who make dresses to order”) and then list out a few competitors. Identify your competitors’ key strengths and weaknesses, focusing specifically on where you can outshine the competition or add value to the offering. You can also take a quick dive into their presence online: Is their SEO performance stellar? Do they have a huge social media following? Are they neglecting their PPC ads? This section segues nicely into your Marketing Strategy section.

5. Marketing Strategy

Before you launch your store, it's important to spend time thinking through your marketing strategy. This will cover how you acquire, convert, and retain customers through a variety of different channels and platforms (like organic search or social ads), and is one of the most critical parts of your business plan. After all, all of your other planning is useless if you can't attract any customers to your store.

All of your other planning is useless if you can't attract any customers.

The Marketing Strategy is a crucial part of your ecommerce business plan. Your marketing strategy will discuss the following:

  • Content Strategy: While your content plans will arguably be part of your SEO strategy, we’re making it a separate point because your content can shape your marketing strategy as a whole. What “voice” or messaging will you use in your copy? Will you have a blog, and if so, what will make it a “destination” blog in your industry? Will you have an on-site “Resource” section full of tips and how-to’s? Will you be designing a user-generated content campaign, leveraging social media and customer stories? Who will write your content and how often?
  • SEO: Organic visibility is crucial to the success of many ecommerce shops. What will your SEO strategy look like? Will you do it yourself or outsource it to a professional? If you’re keeping it in-house, what tools will you be using and how will you be learning? What will your keyword strategy look like? Provide some information on the tactics you’ll use for on-site SEO (keyword research, meta data, content, category and product optimization and technical elements) and off-site SEO. You can keep your off-site SEO section relatively brief, as the PR section will discuss most of the specific tactics you’ll be using during your off-site SEO campaign.
  • PR: How will you get the word out about your website and products? Will you offer products for bloggers to review or will you write guest posts? Will you be running any “newsworthy” campaigns or promotions? List a few blogs who would be your ideal target blogs in this section, too.
  • Paid Search: If you are planning on running PPC (pay-per-click) ads, what does your budget look like? What sort of competition will you be looking at? Are you going to run a Shopping Feeds campaign as well? What about retargeting or banner ads? If you will be devoting resources to paid ads, explain why they’re a good fit for your business.
  • Social Media: What platforms does your target audience use most frequently? Discuss each one in detail, including information about how you plan to engage your audience on that platform. An example could be: “My target audience loves to share clothing and quirky products on Pinterest. I’ll meet them on this platform by curating a number of boards that cater to their likes, working my dresses into the mix. I will also like, follow and otherwise engage with users who fit my target demographic.”
  • Email Marketing: For many ecommerce shops, email marketing is a cornerstone; it’s nearly as timely as social media, but users will not have to navigate to your social media page or spot an ad to receive the information. How often will you update your new or returning customers on what’s in store for your products? What additional copy will you include to entice them to read the email? How will you encourage email signups in the first place? How will you segment your email marketing list so that each group is getting the type of email most relevant to them?
  • Promotions: How often will you run promotions, and what type will they be? Will you be running any competitions on social media? List one as an example, or share your entire promotional calendar. How will you get the word out about these promotions?
  • Customer Loyalty: How will you encourage repeat buyers? Will you be sending out a newsletter, creating retargeting ads or setting up a rewards program? Will you offer promotions to people who can get a friend to purchase your products? Are there exclusive deals for people who are “in-the-know?” Customer loyalty can be a key component in keeping your ecommerce business sustainable – and having a loyal following will remind you why you’re running this business in the first place!

People conducting business plan research at picnic table

6. Financial Plan

Ah, the dreaded Financial Plan. For many people, this is the most difficult part of the business plan, and frankly, the least fun. However, it’s extremely important. In fact, if you don’t want to write a business plan at all, you’ll still need to do this part. If you’re seeking outside funding, this is the part that should contain the highest degree of detail – investors care about where their money is going and need to be reassured of an eventual return on their investment (or that you won’t default on your loan).

Planning your finances can make the difference between a successful, scalable business and getting caught completely off-guard by unexpected expenses or unsustainable profit margins.

If you’re not seeking outside funding, this section is still critical, and the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Planning your finances can make the difference between a successful, scalable business and getting caught completely off-guard by unexpected expenses or unsustainable profit margins. At a minimum, your financial plan should examine:

  • Office or warehouse rent
  • All costs associated with product acquisition, including the raw cost of the products, shipping and how much you’ll need in stock at any given time.
  • Employee pay – if it’s just you and you’re not paying yourself a salary, it’s still important to note that, along with some information about how long you can expect to keep that going.
  • Web hosting fees
  • Payment processing fees
  • Shipping fees
  • The cost of any custom design work, marketing service or anything else you plan on outsourcing
  • Photography equipment (if you’re planning on using a high-quality camera to take product photos)
  • Computer programs like Adobe Creative Suite or video editing software; if you need to upgrade your computer to accommodate these programs, add that cost in, too
  • Marketing tools (Hootsuite, Mailchimp, etc)
  • Office supplies and daily work-related expenses
  • Travel expenses, if travel is required
  • Shipping supplies
  • Advertising budget

Many people separate this section into “Fixed Expenses” and “Variable Expenses.” Fixed expenses include things like rent, employee salaries, hosting fees and other things that won’t change monthly. Variable expenses include payment fees, shipping fees and other things that will fluctuate.

Bust out the ol’ Excel sheet and enter the amount of money you’ll lose with each product, including raw product cost, shipping and payment processing.
  • Current Assets: Make sure you have enough to cover at least the fixed costs, if not the variable costs. If you’re running your business full-time, you’ll also need enough to accommodate the fact that you won’t have a salary for awhile. Set aside enough money to cover you (and/or your family’s) expenses for six months to a year.
  • Projected Profit and Loss: This is the “meat and potatoes” part of your financial section, if not your entire business plan. Bust out the ol’ Excel sheet and enter the amount of money you’ll lose with each product (you can average this or itemize individual products), including raw product cost, shipping and payment processing. Then add your expected revenue (assuming you listed your costs as a negative number). You now have the expected profit of each product in the ballpark sense, and it’s time to start relying on research, goals and market assumptions to determine longer-term profit. You can play around with numbers, using a couple of scenarios as starting points and changing items like the price of the product or the cost of customer acquisition. You’ll also want to factor in variables like sales, promotions (“free shipping on orders of $50 or more”) and the possibility that you won’t be able to sell a particular product at all.
  • Cost of Customer Acquisition: Given all your data, how much can you afford to spend on acquiring each customer? If each customer spends an average of $75 at your shop but you spend $500 to acquire them, it’s time to rethink your acquisition strategy. That said, many marketing tactics will naturally be pricier up front than the profits you’ll make, but over time it will balance out when a large fan base develops due to your efforts.
  • Break Even Point: Using your profits and loss sheet, determine how much you’ll need to sell before you can break even – and now we’re including the raw operational costs, too. Is this a reasonable number? How long do you think it will take to achieve that goal?
  • Scalability: How will you scale up as you acquire more customers?

beer bottles clinking together in front of sunset

7. Milestones

Now that we’re done with our finances section, we can get back to the fun stuff: milestones! Milestones are important metrics by which to measure your progress and make changes if something isn’t working out. They are also hugely motivating and worth celebrating upon reaching. Set as many milestones as you want, from making your first sale to breaking even. Consider adding things like:

  • First 100/500/1,000 “likes” or follows on your social platform of choice
  • First positive review
  • First write-up on a blog or in the press
  • First sale from organic/social/paid traffic
  • First 50/500/1,000 sales
  • Breaking even!
  • First part-time/full-time employee
  • Moving to a bigger office

List your milestones out and put them in a place where you can see them every day. Get creative if you want, making a “game board” or another visual image and visibly crossing off or moving past each milestone. Keep your larger goals in mind, but don’t be afraid to celebrate even the smallest accomplishments along the way. This is hard work, and you deserve to acknowledge and appreciate every success.

8. Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is the last part you’ll write, but it frames your entire business plan. Think of it as the “book jacket” for your business, introducing key elements and sharing your passion for what you do. Even if you think you have a good understanding of your business at the outset, it’s still a good practice to write this last; it will likely feel more organized and pull in more information once you have the rest of your business plan nailed down. There might also be a particularly salient point or poignant benefit that emerges in the process of writing the plan, and you’ll get to include it here!

The more objectives you establish, the better direction you’ll have, but do keep all objectives funneled toward the singular goal outlined in your mission statement.

Consider adding the following to your Executive Summary:

  • Mission Statement: Why is your ecommerce business here, and who does it intend to serve? How does it fill a need or improve an aspect of your target audience’s life? This is your chance to explain, in a sentence, a paragraph or whatever makes sense for you, how your business will impact the world. Mission statements heavily guide decision-making down the road. For example, does your marketing strategy help further your mission? What about your product selections? Your ecommerce business has a purpose, and keeping that purpose paramount will strengthen your drive, enhance your communication and help you through the rough patches.
  • Objectives: Objectives are similar to a mission statement, but they’re a bit less high-level and more goal-oriented. If you’re starting an online dress shop, your mission statement might be to “outfit women in fun, affordable clothing that inspires confidence, embraces originality and allows women of all sizes and backgrounds to find a community of similarly fashionable peers.” One of your objectives, then, could be, “to become the place people think of when they’re looking for quirky dresses,” or “to develop an online community of women who share a love of fashion and can inspire others to consider the brand.” The more objectives you establish, the better direction you’ll have, but do keep all objectives funneled toward the singular goal outlined in your mission statement.
  • Start Date, Founders, and Current Key Players: Touch briefly on when the business started, who the founders are, and who operates it now. You’ll be providing more detail on this in your Company Description section, but it’s nice to provide a quick “role call” in your Executive Summary.
  • Your Products: Provide more information on what, exactly, you sell and tie it to your mission statement and goals whenever possible.
  • Differentiators: How will your ecommerce business stand out from the crowd? What makes you different as a company? What makes your individual products different?
  • Summary of Growth: If you’ve been selling your products online in any form, this is your chance to brag about your accomplishments. It could be something like, “Became the exclusive provider of X brand,” “sold out our inventory in X months on Etsy,” or “Developed a strong community of 1,000+ on Facebook.” If you haven’t set up your online store yet or sold online before, don’t sweat this part!

Outside of the mission statement and objectives, the rest of your Executive Summary is covered in more depth in other parts of your business plan.

Sticky notes being used to help conduct an ecommerce business plan

Optional: Writing a Funding Request

If you’re writing your ecommerce business plan to receive outside funding, this final part is where you make the ask. Be as specific as you can about what your financial needs are, what you will use the money for and when you will pay it back. Include a timeline if you can. If you’re looking at investors, stipulate the terms of the investment. Finally, make sure the plan is well-presented and visually attractive. This includes formatting it correctly, checking for spelling and grammar, including a title page and a table of contents and saving it as a pdf for proper printing across computers.

Complete your own business plan

If you made it this far, congratulations. Creating your own business plan won't be easy - but success comes to those willing to put in the work. Creating your business plan will let you identify and avoid common problems, and give you a quick and easy source to review the most important information about what your business is and how it operates. You should refer to it often as you create your website, social profiles, and set up your marketing campaign - it's a living document, so don't hesitate to make changes as your store evolves. Or, if you're feeling like you're in over your head, don't feel like you have to do everything yourself - there are experts who can help you plan your business . The most important thing is that you keep moving forward and working to improve your business - success will come with time.

Have any questions about writing a business plan, or have you already written one that worked for your store? Let us know in the comments!

Meg Nanson is a former content strategist at Grow With Studio, a digital marketing agency. With almost a decade of experience, Meg helps businesses find their voice and scale their organic strategies.

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Choose the Right Ecommerce Platform

For years, you’ve purchased items from online businesses or marketplaces like Etsy, eBay and Amazon and thought to yourself, “I could do something like this, too.”

Starting your own ecommerce business may seem intimidating — writing a business plan, even more so.

However, a business plan allows you to validate your business idea, assess your financial position and create a concrete action plan for how you’ll deliver a product from the original source to the end consumer.

In other words, while the business plan might seem like it’s ultimately meant for other people’s benefit — potential investors, business partners or well-meaning family members who keep pestering you to write one — in reality, the business plan benefits you, the business owner, the most.

You’ll shape the vision and mission for your business and map out how you’ll get there. One study by Harvard Business Review found that entrepreneurs who write a formal business plan are 16% more likely to achieve viability than those who don’t.

An ecommerce business plan is a document that outlines your business purpose and goals, analyzes your industry and competitors and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan.

For example, which suppliers will you work with? What types of products will you stock? Who is your ideal buyer? How will you advertise your business? Can you afford to provide free shipping and still make a profit?

Here’s a step-by-step primer on how to write a business plan for your ecommerce store, what elements to include and how to use your own business plan to increase your chance of success.

How to Create An Ecommerce Business Plan

Business plans help entrepreneurs maintain focus on their goals and shape the day-to-day running of a new business. The key elements of an ecommerce business plan template describe blueprints for growth, projected timelines and financial goals — clarifying topics like cash flow, expenses, marketing tools and distribution channels.

Draft an executive summary.

An executive summary provides a concise rundown of the key points in your business plan. In short, it should summarize your chosen industry, business purpose, competitors, business goals and financial position. Executive summaries average 1-3 pages and are ideally under two pages.

What does your business do?

Explain the raison d’être for your startup. What problem will you solve for your customers? Who is the target audience? Where do you want your business to be in one, five, or 10 years?

Here are the main elements of an executive summary:

The problem statement or business opportunity : Describe a pain point or gap in the market that you are uniquely qualified to fill. (“As someone who used to own a convenience store, I heard many of my customers complain about the lack of healthy food options while traveling domestically.”)

Your business idea : State how you plan to approach the problem (“XYZ is a ready-to-eat meal company that lets travelers order and pack healthy meals ahead of trips so they can avoid eating fast food.”)

Company history : Describe what milestones you have achieved. Are you already working with suppliers? What is your current revenue? (“In 2021, XYZ fulfilled over 10,000 orders, generating $150,000 in revenue.”)

Industry and market analysis : Outline the trends in the market that affect your business, market size, and demand for your product. (“In 2022, the global health and wellness food market was valued at $841 billion and is projected to increase to one trillion by 2026.”)

Competition : Explain who your competitors are, outline their strengths and weaknesses, and make it clear how you will differentiate.

Timeline for key milestones : Project when you plan to achieve goals like breaking even, launching an IPO, or other key milestones.

Financial plan (if you are seeking funding from investors or banks).

What goals does your business want to achieve?

Set short- and long-term goals for your business, such as achieving a certain amount of revenue or testing a new product idea. Business goals can be general and high-level or they can focus on specific, measurable actions (SMART goals).

The most realistic goal-setting approach is to set short-term goals as stepping stones to your long-term goals. For example, your short-term goal to decrease website bounce rate by 25% within 12 weeks might help you reach the long-term goal of growing conversions by 50% within one year.

Timeframes for short-term goals can range from a few hours to a year, while long-term goals generally take 1-5 years to achieve.

What products do you sell?

Outline your product offerings and specify where you’ll source each item. Some ecommerce businesses manufacture products in-house. Others work with wholesalers, manufacturers or print-on-demand businesses to resell their products.

Curate a tight product line that demonstrates your value proposition. Why should someone buy from your online store rather than another brand? Why would someone choose your products over a substitute if you don't produce goods in-house?

Ecommerce companies sell three types of products: goods, services and digital products. Tell your readers what you intend to sell and why. List each item and its purpose. For each, you want to answer the question “why?” Why are you choosing to offer these specific products and services? How do you plan on fulfilling orders?

If you’re offering a service, explain what you do and where. Are you local? Do you travel to your customers? Will you partner with similar service providers in other areas?

How will customers access the item if you're offering a digital product? Will they download software or education videos from your site? Will they pay a subscription or usage-based fee? What about licensing requirements? Mention intellectual property ownership (if applicable) including trademarks, patents and copyrights.

Who is your audience?

Describe your ideal customer. Define your product or service from their point of view. What problems does your product solve for them? What benefits or features do customers look for when shopping for that product type?

Create customer profiles that summarize your target audience in terms of demographics (age, location, gender, etc) and psychographics (pain points, interests, buying patterns). Consider creating customer segments based on shared characteristics if you cater to a wide audience.

Demographic data should include the following points:

Education level.

Relationship status.

Occupation.

Meanwhile, discover your target customer’s motivations, needs and wants as much as possible. Psychographic data should include the following points:

Where are you going to sell your products?

Outline your sales channels, both future and existing. For example, your main point-of-sale might be your ecommerce site. Be sure to include stats on site traffic and conversions so readers know how your site is performing.

Still, you might also offer your products online on marketplaces like eBay, Amazon and Etsy. Explain how each of these channels is performing and how you’re optimizing them for product discoverability and conversions (eg: following SEO best practices, using high-quality images, highlighting user-generated content).

Identify your company overview.

Tell your brand's story , its purpose, and how the company was founded. In addition to the company description, provide details on how you currently run the business. List your business partners and employees and describe the business's legal structure.

The best brand names are memorable and communicate the essence of your business. Brand names gain icon status because they represent an excellent product or service, so don’t obsess over it.

That said, the right brand name can be your brand’s most valuable asset, driving differentiation and speeding acceptance. In fact, 71% of consumers prefer to buy from brands they recognize.

If you’re struggling to come up with a name, try using an online brand name generator as a jumping-off point. Remember, you’re not locked into a single brand name forever.

Business structure

Describe the legal structure of your business. Is it a sole proprietorship, LLC, an S-Corp or a partnership? Consider speaking to an accountant if you’re not sure. Who is in charge of the business? List founders and officers and their contributions (both capital and expertise) to the company. Who works for the company? Include an org chart that illustrates who currently works for the business and the roles you plan to hire for . List their responsibilities, salaries and terms of employment (freelance, full-time, part-time).[

Your business structure]( https://bristax.com.au/business-articles/business-structures/ ) affects how much you pay in taxes, your ability to raise money, the paperwork you must file and your personal liability in the event of business bankruptcy, so this information is important to lenders. Also mention if you have filed or plan to file for any applicable licenses or permits.

Domain name

Register a unique domain name for your business. A catchy brand name is essential because the domain is less likely to have been claimed by another business. Keep your domain name as short as possible and ensure it includes your brand name for SEO purposes.

Your mission describes the fundamental purpose of your business. It should tell people why the business exists and how it benefits its customers. For example, LinkedIn’s mission statement is “connect the world’s professionals and make them more productive and successful.”

However, be careful not to exaggerate. An overly aspirational mission statement is disingenuous and wishy-washy — no single corporation or small business will single-handedly “change the world.”

A vision statement is a declaration of what you want your business to achieve in the future by fulfilling its purpose. It describes your company’s “why,” while the mission statement describes the “who” and “what” of the business.

Your vision statement should define your values as a business (eg: reducing waste generated by single-use toiletries) and future goals (achieving a zero-waste world by implementing a circular economy).

Background information

Tell the story of how you conceived your business idea. Say you’re a former school teacher who discovered your artistic flair from making handmade pottery in your garage on weekends. Describe how your business has grown and changed since you first started it.

Your team and key people

List the key personnel in your company. Aside from the founders and executive team, who keeps the business running each day? Here are a few examples:

Company owner — that’s probably you.

CEO — that’s probably also you.

Management team.

Customer service manager.

Logistics manager.

PR and social media specialist.

Advertising manager.

SEO manager.

Copywriters.

Conduct market research.

Ecommerce businesses face intense competition and are liable to market disruptions because they rely on third parties (suppliers, shipping companies, wholesalers) to deliver a product or service. Knowing the market in and out will help you build a more resilient business.

A market analysis considers your ideal customer (their purchase habits and behaviors), competitors (their strengths and weaknesses), market conditions (industry trends and long-term outlook), and how your business fits into this landscape.

The point of a target market analysis is to:

Identify the most and least valuable markets.

Develop buyer personas.

Find gaps in the market to fill.

Assess the viability of a product or service.

Improve business strategy .

Market opportunities

The first step to identifying your target market is determining your total addressable market (TAM) — the maximum market size for your product or service. Who are your customers? What are their demographic and psychographic traits? When and how often will they buy your product?

The best way to obtain a high-level overview of your customer base is to consult your social media and web analytics. These dashboards show where your customers live, their age, gender, general interests and more. You can also use U.S. Census Bureau data to pad up this information.

Competitive analysis

Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your current and potential competitors. First, find out who your direct and indirect competitors are. You can perform a Google search of businesses that sell similar products or scope out rivals in your local area.

Here’s what you need to know about your competitors:

What markets and segments they serve.

What benefits they offer.

Why their customers buy from them.

Details of products and services, including pricing and promotional strategies.

Search for publicly available information about your competitors. Aside from that, do some of your own primary research. Visit their website and complete an order or visit their physical outlet.

Next, analyze the information. Is there a segment of the market your competition has overlooked? Is there a product they don’t supply? Did you have a bad customer experience when you walked into the store?

Detail your competitive advantage in your business plan. Don’t just list things that your competitors do — that’s not analysis. The competitive analysis section aims to persuade the reader that you are knowledgeable about the competition and that your business idea has a significant advantage over the competition.

Products and services

List the products and services you provide and how customers will access them. If you’re selling digital products, will customers have to stream or download the content? Do they pay a subscription fee to access a content platform or do they pay for each individual content piece? If you’re providing a service, will you provide it on physical premises or will you travel to customers’ homes? Will you sell physical products in a physical store or online? What is your website like? List each product, including a short product description and pricing information.

Develop a marketing plan.

You need a go-to-market strategy if you haven’t already launched your business. How will you spread the word about your business? How and where will you advertise and what is your budget? If you run social media ads, for example, what platforms will you use and who is your target audience? Will you do content marketing and SEO? A thorough marketing plan answers all of these important questions.

Marketing channels

Define which channels match your consumer demographic. Do your potential customers spend time on Facebook or do they prefer YouTube? First, figure out where your potential customers are. Next, create attention-grabbing marketing strategies and use them to reach your customer base.

Paid marketing channels

PPC advertising : Advertise on Google’s search engine and pay only once someone clicks on your ad. You can bid for ad placement in the search engine’s sponsored links when someone searches a keyword related to your business offering.

Affiliate marketing : Embed links to another business’s products in your content and receive a commission when someone makes a purchase using your unique affiliate link.

Social media ads : Run paid ads on social media apps and platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to reach targeted audiences. Ads can use different creatives such as images, videos and GIFs.

Influencer marketing : Work with a popular influencer who will promote your products to their followers. Influencers are paid based on conversions or reach.

Organic marketing channels

Brands must use an organic marketing strategy to build brand awareness and engagement and drive website traffic.

Examples include:

Search engine optimization (SEO) : Optimize your website, web pages and blog posts for maximum discoverability on search engines. This involves doing keyword research for your industry, creating high-quality content that attracts and converts and using keywords in the right places.

Social media posts : Organic social media posts build brand awareness and humanize the brand by providing a behind-the-scenes look at the company and allowing you to share engaging visual content to inspire, educate and entertain.

Blogger networks : Collaborating with trusted bloggers on link exchanges can help you build website backlinks, improving your search engine ranking.

Content marketing : Organic content includes blog posts, white papers, SEO pages, and more. This gives you content to post on social media and improves the discoverability of your website. Websites that publish high-quality content consistently rank higher in search results.

Email marketing : Create email templates for new and potential customers, cart abandonment, promotions and announcements and more.

Logistics and Operations plan

This portion of the business plan covers what you physically need to run your ecommerce company. Basically, it outlines how you’ll manage the flow of goods from the supplier (you or a third party) to the consumer. You cannot start a business without an established supply chain.

Your logistics and operations plan should cover the following:

Suppliers : Where do your raw materials or products come from? Do you work with a manufacturer who produces your product idea or are you reselling products from a supplier, wholesaler or distributor? What is the minimum order value? Do they require payment upfront or after the sale? Do you have a backup supplier in case demand spikes or there is a problem with fulfillment?

Production : Will you create your own products or use a third-party manufacturer or dropshipping company? If you’re creating your own products, where will this be done? What assets and equipment do you need? What are your operating costs?

Shipping and fulfillment : Outline how the product will reach the end consumer. How long will it take you to pack and ship products to customers? Will you use a third-party shipper? Will you ship internationally?

Inventory : How much inventory will you keep on hand and where will you put it? How will you track incoming and outgoing inventory? Do you need warehouse storage space?

Establish a financial plan.

The financial section of your business plan is where you prove the feasibility of your business idea and calculate your startup costs. It includes financial projections and statements that show your business’s current financial position and project where you hope to be in the future. This is one of the essential components of the business plan, particularly if you are seeking investment funding, a bank loan or a business partner.

Income statement

In this document, you’ll forecast the company’s revenues and expenses during a particular period. Total revenue is the sum of both operating and non-operating revenues while total expenses include those incurred by primary and secondary activities.

If you subtract your expenses from your revenue sources, you’ll come up with your bottom line (profit or loss).

Balance sheet

A balance sheet helps you calculate how much equity you have in your business. It summarizes your company’s assets (what you own), your liabilities (what you owe) and equity (money invested into the business plus profits).

A balance sheet enables you to calculate your net worth. All of your assets (machinery, inventory, business premises, etc.) go in a column on the left and your liabilities (accounts and wages payable, business loan repayments, business credit card payments, taxes) go in a column on the right. If you subtract your liabilities from your assets, you get your business’ shareholder equity.

Cash-flow statement

This document shows how much cash is generated and spent over a time period. Cash flow determines whether your business is primarily gaining or losing money. Positive cash flow and profit margins are important because it enables your business to repay bank loans, purchase commodities and keep the lights on.

How to Increase Ecommerce Sales

Explore our collection of free resources designed to help you scale smarter and accelerate your online growth from $1 million to $100 million.

The Final Word

Writing a comprehensive business plan is crucial not only for staying on track in the first year or so after launching your business but also for securing funding, finding a business partner and evaluating the viability of your business idea.

FAQs About Ecommerce Business Plans

Who needs an ecommerce business plan, what are the benefits of creating a business plan, how do i start an ecommerce business with no money, browse additional resources.

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How to Start an E-Commerce Business in 2023: A Step-by-Step Guide

Rosalie Murphy

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Table of Contents

  • What is the Section 179 deduction?
  • Betterment is best for:
  • Wealthfront is best for:
  • What is a charitable donation?
  • What is a lady bird deed?
  • BTC definition: What is Bitcoin?
  • Compare your business loan options
  • Bizee: Easily form your new business
  • What is bill pay?
  • What is a budget planner?
  • Find the right Medicare Supplement Insurance plan
  • Still deciding on the right carrier? Compare Medigap plans
  • What is a W-9 tax form?
  • Net worth defined
  • What is inventory turnover ratio?
  • About Humana
  • Compare Medicare Advantage providers
  • What is a Treasury bill?
  • Still deciding on the right carrier? Compare Medicare Advantage plans
  • What are clean energy ETFs?
  • What is a credit freeze?
  • What is a debt relief program?
  • Universal Orlando Resort
  • Active vs. passive investing
  • What are dividend stocks?
  • Betterment vs. Wealthfront: Which is right for you?
  • What is a credit union?
  • How much emergency fund should I have?
  • Why put a house in trust?
  • How do capital gains taxes on real estate work?
  • Best time to buy furniture
  • What to expect flying Alaska Airlines premium class
  • About Amica home insurance
  • About CLT lounges
  • What is a money market account?
  • 1. Make sure you're ready
  • What is an index fund?
  • About JFK lounges
  • Routes and destinations
  • Microsoft Office Excel budget templates
  • How to get TSA PreCheck for free
  • Are there safe investments with high returns?
  • What is the kiddie tax?
  • Nerdy takeaways:
  • First-time home buyer loans and programs
  • Alaska Airlines frequent flyer login
  • What do Medicare flex cards cover?
  • Where they're based and where they fly
  • What is an LLC?
  • Different types of United baggage fees
  • When to follow up after no response
  • 5 things debt collectors can’t do
  • Is growing your score by 100 points realistic?
  • A few examples
  • 1. The best credit cards aren’t for beginners
  • What to expect flying business class with Copa Airlines
  • First, what type of financial help are you looking for?
  • How to write a two weeks’ notice letter
  • How does mortgage protection insurance work?
  • 6 things to know about United's delayed flight compensation
  • How to calculate interest in a savings account
  • Can you refinance a home equity loan?
  • 7 best-performing AI stocks
  • What is a Universal Express Pass?
  • 1. Shop at stores with rewards programs
  • 1. You have to be a PNC customer to apply online
  • What to expect flying Air Canada economy class
  • 1. Don’t wait.
  • Best-performing clean energy ETFs
  • How Delta seat selection works
  • What is a carry-on bag?
  • Use a fee-free card
  • Betterment at a glance
  • Wealthfront at a glance
  • What is a tax credit?
  • What is a fare class on United?
  • What are a trustee’s duties?
  • 1. The home office deduction
  • Best banks and credit unions
  • 12 passive income ideas
  • How to budget money
  • What is P2P payment?
  • 1. Request your report
  • Roth IRA contribution limits 2023
  • The challenge: Stubbornly high mortgage rates squeeze shoppers’ buying power
  • An overview of Marriott elite night credits
  • Indoor furniture: Winter, summer
  • The best budget apps
  • Best free stock screeners
  • Chase checking accounts
  • What are annuities and IRAs? How do they differ?
  • Where they’re based and where they fly
  • Best-performing U.S. equity mutual funds
  • What is an SBA disaster loan?
  • Universal Studios vs. Disneyland annual pass overview
  • Nonrefundable tickets vs. refundable tickets
  • How it works
  • Create a budget plan that works for you
  • Getting to Cancun
  • What is Instacart?
  • The partnership is ending in September 2023
  • What is a bear market?
  • What does this value mean?
  • How to use the mutual fund calculator
  • What is my net worth?
  • Reserve tickets with your library card
  • Globalist perks
  • What is short selling?
  • What is a growth stock?
  • What are credit freezes and credit locks?
  • Car rental elite status
  • Working with National Debt Relief
  • How does leasing work?
  • What is OpenAI?
  • IRS mileage rates for 2023
  • How much is renters insurance in your state?

1. Define your e-commerce business idea

  • What to expect at the TSA PreCheck interview
  • How the Section 179 tax deduction works
  • How to track your refund status with ‘Where's My Refund?’
  • Accommodation type
  • How to contact IRS customer service
  • Starting an import/export business
  • 1. Find an online payment processor
  • Understanding active and passive investing
  • Small-business funding options
  • How does Apple Cash work?
  • 2023 tax brackets and income tax rates
  • 1. Choose the account
  • Is charitable giving tax-deductible?
  • 50/30/20 budget calculator
  • HELOCs and home equity loans compared
  • 10. La Valette Club
  • What is adjusted gross income (AGI)?
  • United Airlines baggage fees
  • Chase points value when booking through the portal
  • 6 hardship loans for bad credit
  • How does a lady bird deed work? 
  • How to find your way around an airport
  • What are estimated tax payments?
  • 1. Circulate and cross-promote your social media profiles
  • How to find your Social Security number
  • American Express Business Blueprint™ is a good option if you:
  • When an EIN is and isn’t required
  • How does bill pay work?
  • The cost of raising a child from 0 to 18
  • 1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
  • Chase credit cards that enable point transfers
  • Best Medicare Supplement Insurance companies
  • What is EarlyBird Check-In?
  • Avios sweet spots to consider
  • Who is required to fill out a W-9?
  • What day is my February 2024 payment coming?
  • How to Refer a Friend for a Capital One card
  • 1. There are two Merrick Bank credit cards
  • 1. File ASAP
  • The best time to book rental cars
  • Who needs an SR22 insurance form
  • How Treasury bills work 
  • Average retirement savings balance by age
  • What is a credit card bonus mall?
  • What is capital gains tax?
  • How to freeze your credit with all 3 bureaus
  • Spirit Airlines bag fees
  • 1. Start with your 401(k)
  • How to start a trucking company in 5 steps
  • How do credit unions work?
  • 1. Participate in paid market research
  • IRA contribution rules
  • 1. Puerto Rico
  • How much are Alaska Airlines miles worth?
  • How to make money online
  • Find out how much your car is worth
  • Roth IRA income limits 2023
  • Summary of cash advance apps
  • Benefits of an LLC
  • 1. Stay invested
  • How minimum payments are calculated
  • 1. You are preapproved with a mail offer
  • What are the weekly jobless claims?
  • Average Disney World vacation cost per person, per day
  • Take advantage of bank or credit union benefits
  • What is a round-trip flight?
  • Cash-back rewards
  • Mint vs. NerdWallet at a glance
  • How do index funds work?
  • Beware of 'phishing'
  • 2. Stick to the plan.
  • How to choose the best crypto wallet
  • 20 high-dividend stocks
  • 1. Check your calendar
  • Google Sheets budget templates
  • Evaluate your budget and spending
  • How does Bitcoin work?
  • Track your monthly spending
  • How many elite night credits do I need to earn status?
  • Types of SBA disaster loans
  • Chase airline transfer partners
  • Domestic flights
  • Price differences between basic economy and economy tickets
  • Why your car down payment amount matters
  • Average 401(k) balance by age
  • What are the pros and cons of money market accounts?
  • Is MPI required?
  • 2. Get your finances in order
  • When will home equity loan rates come down?
  • 2. Avoid the mail
  • Credit freeze vs. lock
  • 1. Start spending (responsibly)
  • How is inventory turnover ratio calculated?
  • Top credit cards you can use instantly after approval
  • Humana Medicare Advantage pros and cons
  • IRS issues mileage rates for 2024
  • How much does a Universal Express Pass cost?
  • 2. Install a browser extension
  • 2. You'll get a small welcome bonus
  • Ways to improve your online banking security and protect yourself
  • Delta seat selection fee
  • How do tax credits work?
  • Safe, FDIC-insured and government-backed options
  • What LifeLock does and what it costs
  • What is the 50/30/20 rule?
  • How to calculate your home equity
  • NerdWallet's car insurance estimator
  • How does the kiddie tax work, and who does it apply to?
  • What is crypto banking?
  • How do you use a flex card for seniors?
  • What colleges are doing to help
  • How to put your house in a trust
  • YNAB, for hands-on zero-based budgeting
  • Where Amica stands out
  • The biggest costs of raising a child
  • Relief would be targeted
  • How we chose the cheapest companies in Wisconsin
  • 1. Request a balance transfer
  • Strengths of the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
  • The best home insurance companies of 2024
  • How to short a stock in 5 steps
  • What to know before leasing a car
  • What are AI stocks?
  • When you should seek debt relief
  • 1. Set up a payment plan
  • 1. Pay credit card balances strategically
  • Terminal 1: Air France Lounge, Lufthansa lounges and more
  • 1. Traditional or Roth IRA
  • How tax-deductible donations work
  • Rules for borrowing
  • 9. Tyrol Lounge
  • 2. Become a virtual assistant
  • United Airlines change fees
  • How P2P payments work
  • 2. Dispute errors
  • When are estimated taxes due?
  • Does a partial payment affect your credit score?
  • 2. Use a content calendar and schedule your posts
  • Custom furniture: Varies
  • Is an IRA a good choice for your retirement?
  • How much does Alaska Airlines premium class cost?
  • 2. Weighty fees can dip into your budget
  • How to write a follow-up email after no response
  • Hyatt-MGM status matching basics
  • 2. A security deposit makes a credit card easier to get
  • How to get Hyatt Globalist
  • 2. You may need an offer by mail to apply
  • Two weeks’ notice templates
  • What is the cheapest car insurance in Texas?
  • Best-performing growth stocks
  • When to use a credit freeze
  • 2. Pick your travel companion
  • Can you buy OpenAI stock?
  • Why invest in index funds?
  • T-bill purchase example
  • Median retirement savings balance by age

2. Set up your business

  • What expenses qualify for Section 179?
  • Clean energy ETFs in detail
  • How does capital gains tax work?
  • 7 best hot wallets
  • Information you need to freeze your credit
  • 2. Search your email
  • How does Apple Pay work?
  • 2. Health insurance (maybe) deduction
  • How to calculate adjusted gross income
  • Benefits of crypto banking
  • Where to stash your emergency fund
  • When do you pay capital gains tax on a home sale?
  • 2. Check on your diversification
  • What is a mutual fund?
  • Budget planner
  • Terminal A: The Club (For Priority Pass)
  • Best for Medigap plan options: AARP/UnitedHealthcare Medicare Supplement Insurance
  • How long do bear markets last, and what causes them?
  • Marriott points calculator
  • How does EarlyBird Check-In work?
  • The average total Disney World cost for 2 adults
  • How the new student loan repayment plan differs for other IDRs
  • Average Disney World vacation cost for a family of 4
  • Median 401(k) balance by age
  • Visit on a day with free or reduced admission
  • Why short a stock?
  • What is a one-way flight?
  • Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
  • IRS standard mileage rate for business
  • How to use a credit card bonus mall
  • Identify 'skimming'
  • 3. Include your loved ones in the process.
  • Investing for income: Dividend stocks vs. dividend funds
  • Debt funding
  • Features and ease of use
  • Mortgage payoff calculator help
  • How much money is on a flex card for seniors?
  • Trading in a car with positive equity
  • 1. Brigit: Best for budgeting tools
  • Chase direct deposit requirements for checking accounts
  • Where Amica falls short
  • Making referrals: Caveats and considerations
  • Why you may want to refinance
  • 3. Ask for manufacturer coupons
  • 3. It does earn a lot of points ...
  • When will I get my tax refund in 2024?
  • Other ways to contact a real person at the IRS
  • 3. Call your company
  • Pay with a credit card, if possible
  • NerdWallet’s budget planner
  • How to pick a trustee
  • What do credit unions offer?
  • 3. Transcribe audio and video
  • Chase points value when transferring to partners
  • Contact your servicer
  • 2. Solvang, California
  • How does Bitcoin make money?
  • Put additional cash in a high-yield account
  • Roth IRA contribution limits 2024
  • Outdoor furniture: Summer, fall
  • 9 benefits of getting an EIN (even if you’re not required to)
  • What's the catch?
  • Where can you work for Instacart?
  • Cheapest for 20-year-old drivers
  • Basic economy rules by airline
  • Where to find the fine print
  • How to fill out a W-9
  • Calculating net worth: What are assets and liabilities?
  • Best homeowners insurance companies: Pros and cons
  • 3. Get ready to pay some fees
  • 10 questions to ask financial advisors
  • Pros and cons of mortgage protection insurance
  • How to get an SR22
  • Other alternatives to Mint
  • How much is renters insurance in your city?
  • Reliability
  • Search functionality
  • Ticket types and seat selection rules
  • 2. Add a Roth IRA to the mix
  • AmEx Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Deciding factors
  • How to estimate car insurance costs
  • 8. Primeclass Riga Business Lounge
  • United Airlines cancellation fee
  • Barriers of crypto banking
  • Pros and cons of a lady bird deed
  • How Chase checking account fees compare
  • How to choose the best mutual funds for you
  • State availability
  • How to match status between Hyatt and MGM
  • What day is my March 2024 payment coming?
  • Look for flexible pricing policies
  • How we chose the cheapest companies in Texas
  • When to choose a money market account over a savings account
  • 3. Browse the Southwest Low Fare Calendar
  • Calculating standard mileage vs. actual expenses for business
  • What Universal Orlando hotels come with Express Pass?
  • What is long-term capital gains tax?
  • Can you do multiple Universal parks in one day?
  • Passive investing tends to perform better
  • 4. Contact the IRS
  • Apple Cash vs. Apple Pay: What’s the difference?
  • Risks of using a 401(k) loan
  • About home equity loans
  • How do you get a Medicare flex card?
  • Estimated tax payments 2024
  • 3. Leverage trends that relate to your audience
  • Roth IRA income limits 2024
  • The challenge: Low inventory means slim pickings for buyers
  • Advantages of putting a house in trust
  • General furniture-buying tips
  • Compare cards
  • How to set up bill pay
  • Hotels on points in Cancun
  • How do Marriott Bonvoy points compare to other hotel programs?
  • 2. Wait for the transfer to go through
  • Average 401(k) contribution rates
  • 3. Your first credit card can build your credit — or ruin it
  • 21 most-shorted stocks by short interest
  • When booking cash tickets
  • 3. Make a plan for the down payment
  • 3. Skip the check for your tax refund
  • How to find growth stocks
  • What is an index?
  • 4. Search a coupon database or app
  • Be aware of scams, debt relief downside
  • The best credit card bonus malls
  • 4. Take the opportunity to reflect.
  • Why haven't I received my tax refund?
  • 2. Select a payment gateway
  • 2024 tax brackets and income tax rates
  • 4. Sell stuff online
  • Which P2P payment service should you use ?
  • Emergency cash grants for students affected by COVID-19
  • OnDeck is a good option if you:
  • 3. Balance stocks, bonds and your time frame
  • Is Alaska premium class available on every flight?
  • How much do full-service shoppers make?
  • International flights
  • Major differences between basic economy and economy inclusions
  • How to get free EarlyBird Check-In on Southwest
  • When to use a credit lock
  • What is a good inventory turnover ratio?
  • Humana Medicare star ratings
  • Why is OpenAI in the news so often?
  • Treasury bill rates compared to other Treasury securities
  • 4. ... but the points aren't worth much
  • Use different cards for autopay vs. everyday spending
  • 2. Apply for a medical credit card
  • What are the Section 179 limits for 2023?
  • Before you call
  • Is LifeLock worth the price?
  • Can you change the trustee after selecting one?
  • How to pay off a mortgage early
  • United Airlines standby fees
  • Try a simple budgeting plan
  • What is a hardship loan?
  • 3. Pay off debts
  • Trading in a car with negative equity
  • You decide: Is Bitcoin a good investment?
  • Travel credit card availability
  • SBA disaster loan requirements
  • 2. Blue Ridge Parkway
  • Terminals B and C: Admirals Clubs
  • How to invest during a bear market
  • How many jobs were added in November?
  • Referral bonus annual limits
  • Use military, senior or other discounts
  • 4. Neither card offers perks
  • How to invest in AI stocks
  • What’s included in renters insurance rates?
  • 5. Visit retailer websites and apps
  • Retirement savings by age

3. Source or develop your products

  • 2. Ask for higher credit limits
  • How to do Universal Studios in one day
  • Have a choice? Pay in local currency
  • The Federal Trade Commission’s budget worksheet
  • How do I find my fare class on United?
  • 3. Continuing education deduction
  • 7. Primeclass Lounge
  • Where to find your AGI on your 1040
  • Traditional IRA deduction rules
  • Alaska Airlines vs. competitors
  • How to earn Marriott elite night credits
  • Is an annuity a good choice for your retirement?
  • Amica home insurance coverage
  • Higher Education Act justifies Plan B
  • Best for member satisfaction: State Farm Medicare Supplement Insurance
  • Do you include a 401(k) in a net worth calculation?
  • Should you buy growth stocks?
  • 4. Look at your availability
  • How much is SR22 insurance?
  • 3. Consider other credit options
  • 5. See it as a fresh start.
  • What is short-term capital gains tax?
  • How to unfreeze your credit
  • Passive investing tends to be cheaper
  • 2. Gather personal documents and information
  • Factors that affect the cost of car insurance
  • The bottom line
  • 5. Housesit
  • 3. San Francisco, California
  • Who should make estimated quarterly tax payments?
  • 4. Develop a social media aesthetic
  • How to find your child’s Social Security number
  • Can I contribute to a Roth IRA if my income is too high?
  • Disadvantages of putting a house in trust
  • 2. EarnIn: Best for large advances
  • Frequently asked questions about Chase checking accounts
  • How it can help
  • 3. The APR for transactions could be a debt magnet
  • How to read the fine print
  • 4. You can see the rates and fees before applying
  • How to book a business class ticket with Copa Airlines
  • The risks of short selling
  • Cheap car insurance in Texas by age
  • How to choose a money market account
  • Savings account simple interest vs. compound interest
  • Pros and cons of refinancing a home equity loan
  • 4. Keep track of your tax refund
  • Instant gratification
  • How to decide whether you should be a trustee
  • Loan costs, repayment and alternatives
  • United Airlines pet fee
  • How to try crypto banking
  • How to get a hardship loan
  • Goodbudget, for hands-on envelope budgeting
  • Average mutual fund return
  • W-9 form 2023: What's new
  • Accepting a Capital One referral: Caveats and considerations
  • National Debt Relief at a glance
  • Are Treasury bills a good investment?
  • 6. Check the Sunday newspaper
  • Air Canada economy vs. premium economy
  • Pay with your phone
  • ‘Hummer tax deduction’: Which vehicles does Section 179 cover?
  • Estimate your 2024 IRS tax refund date
  • 3. Decide what pricing model works for you
  • 5. File taxes without a W-2
  • Skip the airport currency exchange
  • A quick guide to popular 2023 tax credits
  • 3. Take as much risk as you can stomach
  • IRA income limits
  • Chase points calculator
  • 4. Ask creditors to update information
  • How do you set up a lady bird deed?
  • 4. Consider buying at a discount
  • 3. Pay off your balance
  • What is the current unemployment rate?
  • Net worth calculator
  • Car rental insurance coverage
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
  • How much do index funds cost?
  • When not to call the IRS
  • Spirit Airlines change fees
  • 3. Fill out the application
  • About home equity lines of credit
  • 6. SkyTeam Lounge
  • The significance of adjusted gross income
  • Other considerations before joining a credit union
  • Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
  • How to earn Alaska Airlines miles
  • 5. Embrace user-generated content
  • Other factors affecting minimums
  • Ways to get good value on Copa Airlines
  • Cheap car insurance in Texas for 20-year-olds
  • Money market accounts vs. other accounts
  • 4. Create a wish list
  • How much interest will I earn on $10,000?
  • 5. Understand the Southwest boarding upgrade perk
  • What to know about National Debt Relief
  • How to find AI ETFs
  • What does inventory turnover ratio tell you?
  • 5. Loyalty earns you more
  • 6. Organize your finances.
  • 2. Solo 401(k)
  • Why invest in clean energy ETFs
  • Capital gains tax rates 2023
  • Are carry-on bags free?
  • How to invest in dividend stocks
  • More ways to take charge of your budget
  • Who can help a trustee with their duties?
  • United Airlines priority boarding fee
  • Are P2P payments safe?
  • Emergency tuition assistance
  • Disadvantages of an LLC
  • Free stock screeners from brokers
  • How to upgrade to premium class
  • 5 things debt collectors can do
  • What you need to work for Instacart
  • Best perks of the Hyatt-MGM partnership
  • Is unemployment rising or falling?
  • Will there be extra Social Security payments?
  • 5. There are no other Merrick Bank credit cards to graduate to
  • Can you invest in OpenAI’s partners?
  • 4. Mileage deduction
  • 6. Write online reviews
  • Credit cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards®
  • 5. Wait until the record drops out of the database
  • Final steps
  • Calculate your reduced Roth contribution
  • Forgiveness would occur in 2025
  • 3. Appalachian National Scenic Trail
  • Are round-trip or one-way flights cheaper if booking with points?
  • Schumer box
  • 5. Credit card fees are avoidable
  • What you’ll need before refinancing
  • Additional functionality
  • Other IRS mileage rate types
  • Diversifying with index funds
  • What determines your renters insurance cost?
  • 6. Pick up weekly ads at the store
  • Think twice about paying for anti-fraud services
  • 3. Become an authorized user
  • 6. Request more time to file
  • How income tax brackets work
  • How much car insurance you need
  • 4. San Diego, California
  • Other hardship loan options
  • 6. Use social media as a form of customer service
  • The challenge: High prices push affordability to the worst it’s been in almost 40 years
  • 3. Empower: Best for fast cash
  • Other considerations for nonrefundable airfares
  • Terminal D: Centurion Lounge, Minute Suites
  • Best for premium discounts: Mutual of Omaha Medicare Supplement Insurance
  • What's next?
  • Figuring out what makes sense for a car down payment
  • Final thoughts on what to do after getting the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
  • What does Humana Medicare Advantage cost?
  • What causes Treasury bill rates to fall?
  • Debt relief through bankruptcy
  • 7. Make an estate plan.
  • Where's my state tax refund? Track your state refund status
  • Selection criteria
  • For passive investing to work, you have to stay invested
  • Try paying in cash dollars
  • 5. The Grain Store Cafe & Bar
  • United seat selection fee
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  • 5. Pay down debt, save for emergencies
  • 4. It packs credit-building features
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  • 8. Look at the product packaging

4. Set up your e-commerce website

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  • 7. Work with micro-influencers
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  • How to sign up for Instacart
  • Other considerations
  • What is a W-9 form used for?
  • 9. Browse store aisles
  • Limit the damage, if it comes to that
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  • 4. Fund your new account
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  • Is Alaska Airlines premium class worth it?
  • How to apply for an SBA disaster loan
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  • 5. Retirement savings deduction
  • Compare the best CD accounts
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  • How quickly do P2P payments post to the recipient's account?
  • Other Roth IRA rules
  • Calculator: How to determine checked bag fees on United Airlines
  • Consumer complaints
  • Form W-9 vs. W-4
  • 7. You can — and should! — pay more than the minimum
  • What else you need to know
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  • Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card
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  • 5. See if you qualify for an income-driven hardship plan
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  • Start taking Instacart jobs
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  • What is naked short selling, and why is it illegal?
  • Finding a lender
  • Widespread acceptance
  • Next Steps:
  • 10. Check your receipts
  • 4. Pay bills on time
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  • 3. Plaza Premium Lounge
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  • 8. Focus on unique or compelling visuals
  • EveryDollar, for simple zero-based budgeting
  • Benefits for all Chase checking accounts
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  • Rewards program rules
  • How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to Avios
  • 5. Find the right mortgage for you
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  • Active funds vs. passive funds
  • See more banking guides
  • Still want a 401(k) loan?
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  • What do P2P payments cost?
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  • 4. Dave: Best for repayment flexibility
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  • Consumer experience
  • 5. The credit protection program is optional
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  • 8. Paying late comes at a high cost
  • You don’t need to have $10,000 to take advantage of compound interest
  • Debt relief through a debt management plan
  • 6. Try negotiating costs on your own
  • Terminal 4: Delta Sky Clubs, Centurion Lounge, Emirates Lounge and more
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  • 10. Pet sit
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  • 11. Use social media
  • Basic economy
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  • Equity funding
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  • Refunds, audits and other considerations
  • 9. Run social-specific discounts or giveaways
  • The challenge: Multiple offers are common, and first-time buyers have less cash
  • How to avoid United Airlines baggage fees
  • How do Instacart shoppers get paid?
  • Who should skip EarlyBird Check-In?
  • How is the job market right now?

5. Figure out order fulfillment

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  • 5. Take off the retirement blinders
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  • 7. Ask an organization for assistance
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  • 9. Getting too close to your limit can sink your credit score
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  • Apple Cash and Apple Pay vs. PayPal and Venmo
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  • How to purchase EarlyBird Check-In on Southwest
  • Qualification
  • When redeeming points and miles
  • How to claim tax deductions using IRS mileage rates
  • What is the average and median retirement savings?
  • Charitable deductions 2023
  • 1. IGA Lounge
  • Compare the best bank accounts for students and kids
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  • Cheapest for 30-year-old drivers
  • Best for nationwide availability: Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Supplement Insurance
  • SR22 without a car
  • Citi Custom Cash® Card
  • 5. Dispute credit report errors
  • Capital gains tax rules and considerations
  • How big is your bag and how much do you need to pack?
  • What is an effective tax rate?
  • 12. Create a podcast
  • 7. Key West, Florida
  • 10. Use social media paid advertising tools
  • Another Chase checking account perk: the Chase Disney debit card
  • Can you lose money in mutual funds?
  • Final thoughts on the lounges at Charlotte
  • Other fine print
  • 10. Dealing with credit card fraud isn’t as difficult as it sounds
  • No-interest financing on Apple purchases
  • If you're curious about the car rental benefits on The Platinum Card® from American Express
  • Got more questions? We have answers
  • Summary of the best banks and credit unions of 2024
  • How to pay estimated taxes
  • If you’re collecting Marriott elite night credits
  • Tickets bought with miles
  • How can I tell when a bear market is coming?
  • The best basic economy airline
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  • Debt relief through debt settlement
  • Credit freeze or credit lock?
  • Delta plane seating chart
  • How much do you hate waiting in lines?
  • Fees to select a seat ahead of time
  • How to reduce taxes owed
  • 7. Business insurance premium deduction
  • TurboTax vs. H&R Block: Which one is right for you?
  • 13. Become a rideshare or delivery driver
  • How to avoid capital gains tax on real estate
  • Empower Personal Dashboard, for tracking wealth and spending
  • Mutual funds: The bottom line
  • 8. Review your living expenses
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  • 6. Get preapproved for a mortgage
  • Third-party ratings
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  • How does the Universal Express Unlimited Pass from a Premier hotel work?

6. Market your e-commerce business

  • Loyalty program
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  • If you’d like to do Universal Studios Orlando in one day
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  • Receiving your refund
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  • What's the difference between a bear market and a market correction?
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  • The bottom line: Set realistic expectations
  • Final thoughts on EarlyBird Check-In with Southwest
  • What you can learn from the average 401(k) balance
  • More reading for active investors and traders
  • After deciding
  • Universal hotels with free Express Pass, recapped
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  • If you’re waiting for your TSA PreCheck interview
  • Are you ready to lug a carry-on through the airport?
  • 8. Office supplies deduction
  • How to apply for an EIN
  • Don’t count on the Plan B yet
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  • If you're considering a transfer of Chase points to British Airways
  • Is Hyatt Globalist status worth it?
  • Fees for in-flight refreshments
  • How do TurboTax and H&R Block compare with other providers?
  • 15. Rent out items
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  • Methodology
  • Things to consider
  • 6. Deal with collections accounts
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  • Frequently asked questions
  • Is it better to travel light?
  • Finding long-term solutions
  • So, can you get a refund on plane tickets?
  • What's the difference between a bear market and a bull market?
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  • Free funding
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  • 16. Use cash back apps
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  • Air Canada's economy class, recapped
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  • 7. Klover: Best for no-fee advances
  • The bottom line on bear markets
  • Are wages increasing?
  • How families can do Disney World on a budget
  • 7. Find a real estate agent
  • Carry-on vs. checked bag final thoughts
  • 9. New Orleans
  • Is a Chase checking account the right choice?

How much does it cost to start an e-commerce business?

  • Do-it-yourself debt relief
  • 9. Credit card and loan interest deduction
  • PocketGuard, for a simplified budgeting snapshot
  • Other changes to income-driven repayment in the works
  • Consider booking open-jaw flights
  • Priority boarding and security access
  • How to use Alaska Airlines miles
  • Chase hotel transfer partners
  • How to lower your renters insurance cost
  • When to choose basic economy
  • Humana Medicare Advantage service area

Tips for starting an e-commerce business 

  • 7. Use a secured credit card
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  • 10. Washington, D.C.
  • 8. Go shopping!
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  • Can you fly to other U.S. territories without a passport?
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  • 8. Get credit for rent and utility payments
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  • 11. Business travel and meals deduction
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  • Will unemployment rise?
  • Do you need a passport to fly in the U.S.?
  • Final thoughts on United Airlines baggage fees
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  • 12. Start-up costs deduction
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  • 10. Get a mortgage
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  • 9. Add to your credit mix
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An e-commerce business sells goods, services and funds over the internet. Starting an e-commerce business is a lot like starting any company: You’ll need to create a business plan, get licenses and permits and set up dedicated finances. You’ll also need to choose an e-commerce website builder , source your products and market to online customers.

Follow these six steps to get your e-commerce business up and running.

Square

The first step in starting any business is to hone your idea. Online business ideas can include selling physical or digital products as well as professional services. Whatever you choose, you’ll want to define your e-commerce business model and write a business plan that outlines your niche.

During this process, you’ll start to ask a lot of questions: How will you get your products or services to your customers? What sort of licenses or permits do you need? How much will it cost to get your business up and running — and how will you foot that bill? Your business plan should answer these questions and provide a road map for the coming months.

More resources to help shape your idea:

What is e-commerce? Understanding how it works  

Our picks for the best business plan software

Can your business idea actually make money?

Once you've solidified your e-commerce business idea, the next step is to set your company up for success.

Bizee

This includes back-office steps like:

Choosing a business structure . There are benefits and drawbacks to each of these entity types, so talking to an attorney may be helpful as you choose the one that’s right for you.

Naming your business. Consult your local secretary of state's website as well as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to ensure that you're not choosing a name that belongs to another company. Check to see if your potential business domain name is available as well.

Applying for an employer identification number (EIN) . You can get an EIN from the IRS for free online or by mail, fax or phone. Not all businesses need an EIN, but having one can help you separate your personal and business finances.

Opening a business checking account . NerdWallet recommends all business owners have a dedicated bank account for their business.

Getting licenses and permits your city or state requires. This probably includes a business license, and if you perform services, you may also need an occupational license. Check your state or local government website for requirements for your area.

Answers as you set up your business:

Do you need a business license to sell online?

What’s the difference between an LLC and a sole proprietorship?

Our picks for the best free business checking accounts

Next, you'll need to source the products you're going to sell. If you’re selling physical products, you may need to make them yourself or work with a manufacturer.

A key decision at this point: Are you going to order products in bulk and keep inventory in stock? If so, you’ll need to think about storage space and raising capital to order goods upfront. However, you’ll have the power to ship items yourself.

Other businesses choose to rely on dropshipping , in which products are manufactured or sourced at the time the order is placed. In general, dropshipping may keep your overhead costs lower, but it can be more difficult to manage since inventory levels and shipping will be out of your hands.

Other options for sourcing e-commerce products include:

White-labeling, or ordering items in bulk from a manufacturer and then branding them with your company’s identity.

Print-on-demand, or paying a third party to print your company’s designs on merchandise like T-shirts, mugs and posters. Print-on-demand normally functions like dropshipping, in that a customer places their order, then the manufacturer creates the product and ships it directly to the customer.

Retail arbitrage, or buying discounted items from retail sellers and listing them in your own store at a markup. 

If you're selling professional services, you might just have to describe and list what you offer on your business website. Still, you’ll need to figure out how much to charge and decide how many clients you can see each day or week.

More to help you develop products:

16 e-commerce business ideas

How to find products to sell on Amazon

How to make money on Shopify

Your e-commerce website will be your storefront. It’s where your customers will learn about you and your business, browse your products and make purchases.

The easiest way to set up a website is to use an online store builder . These platforms can walk you through the process of launching your website, from buying a domain name to managing your inventory to taking credit card payments.

Popular e-commerce website builders include Shopify , Squarespace , Square Online and BigCommerce .

If you’re a very small business or just experimenting with online sales, a free e-commerce website builder may be a good place to start. But to list unlimited products and access more robust suites of tools — which can help with things like shipping label printing, order management and sales analytics — you’ll typically need to spring for a subscription.

In general, many online store builders should be simple enough for someone without web development experience to navigate. But most offer the option to pay a professional designer or developer if you don’t want to build the website on your own.

The best e-commerce platform for you fits into your budget and is appropriate for your skill level.

Choosing the right website builder:

Our picks for the best e-commerce website builders

Wix vs. Squarespace: Head-to-head comparison

Shopify vs. Square Online: Head-to-head comparison

Order fulfillment is the process of getting customers’ purchases in their hands.

Most e-commerce website builders offer shipping label printing, which is the first step in the fulfillment process. Some also offer the ability to add shipping costs onto customers’ orders at checkout.

If you choose to handle order fulfillment yourself, research shipping rates so you have a sense of how much it’ll cost. Look for an online store builder that can help make the shipping process easier or research shipping software providers like Shippo .

Note, too, that e-commerce may connect you to customers across the world. If there are places you’re not willing to ship to, make that clear on your website.

If you don’t want to manage order fulfillment, you can outsource it to an e-commerce fulfillment center or use a service like Fulfillment by Amazon. Fees for fulfillment services vary depending on the size of your products, how far they’re traveling and how much you’re shipping.

More to help you manage orders and inventory:

Our picks for the best inventory management software

What is just-in-time inventory?

Shipping services that integrate with WooCommerce

Now that you've started your online store , you're ready to start serving customers — as long as they can find your products.

Your small-business marketing strategy might include:

Omnichannel commerce , in which you list your products on third-party marketplaces like Amazon and Instagram. Some e-commerce website builders can help facilitate this.

Influencer marketing, in which you pay popular social media creators to plug your products. 

Social media content or paid social media ads.

Optimizing your business website for search engines.

Sending email campaigns to past and future customers.

Many e-commerce website builders include some marketing features, which can help you do things like create social media ads or send emails to customers when they’ve abandoned their carts.

But if you want to develop more sophisticated campaigns, consider investing in marketing software . These tools can help you create email templates and campaigns, text customers, keep track of how individual customers are responding to your emails and more.

More help with marketing:

20 free marketing ideas for small businesses

Online marketing strategies and tips

Content marketing for small businesses

The cost of starting an e-commerce business can vary widely depending on what you’re planning to sell and in what volume. Your expenses may include:

Your e-commerce website. Subscription plans for online store builders generally start around $25 to $30 per month when billed annually. You may also need to spring for a domain name if your e-commerce website builder doesn’t include one — and make note of annual fees to keep your URL registered. 

Payment processing fees. In general, the company that provides your payment processing will take a cut of around 3% from each online sale. 

Stocking up. If you plan to order inventory in bulk, be prepared for significant upfront costs — even before you’ve started generating revenue. Inventory financing may be able to help you bridge the gap.

Order fulfillment. In general, you’ll pay a third-party service to fulfill each order, with rates varying depending on item size and weight. The more customers buy at once, the less you’ll have to pay per item. Order fulfillment services may also include warehousing, for which you’ll pay a per-item storage cost. 

Warehousing. If you’re buying more inventory than you can keep in your home or garage but not using an order fulfillment service that provides storage, you may need to spring for warehouse space of your own.

General costs of running a business. These could include monthly or annual fees for accounting software , business insurance , any employees or contractors you plan to hire and more. You may also need to set aside money for small-business taxes .

As with launching any business, starting an e-commerce business can feel overwhelming. Here are some tips for managing the transition.

1. Start simple

If you’re not certain e-commerce is the right path for you, set up an online store with low overhead first. This may mean starting with the free version of an e-commerce website builder, ordering a small amount of inventory or selling only one or two types of products. 

Starting small can limit how much startup funding you need and make it easier to pivot if your first idea doesn’t land. As your business starts to get traction, you can trade up to a more robust e-commerce platform and expand your product line.

2. Cultivate a loyal customer base

Your e-commerce business needs customers who appreciate your products enough to buy them more than once and, ideally, customers who will promote them to their networks.

Establishing a strong brand presence on social media can help you build a following. But the more information you can gather from your customers, the more you can market directly to them, whether that means creating an email marketing campaign, sending discount codes through text message or letting them know where your booth will be at an event in their region.

3. Invest in multichannel selling

Loyal customers may be willing to visit your website frequently. But to reach new ones, you might have to meet them where they are — which might be on Amazon, Instagram, TikTok or elsewhere. Start with the platforms where your customers are most likely to be, launch those integrations and then see how they perform. You can add platforms later if they fit into your business strategy. 

Keep in mind that selling in person is a channel, too. Craft fairs, local shops and industry or trade events may help you connect with new customers while generating some revenue.

A version of this article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

On a similar note...

How to Write an eCommerce Business Plan + Template

Two female and two male entrepreneurs working in a small office on taking and fulfilling online orders. One is reviewing their business plan to see if their eCommerce site is on track.

Noah Parsons

10 min. read

Updated November 13, 2023

Free Download:  Sample eCommerce Business Plan Templates

If you’re starting an online eCommerce business , it’s tempting to dive right in and set up your digital shop. After all, eCommerce businesses are often less expensive to start than physical businesses and the risk may seem lower. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. There’s still risk involved and money you may lose if you don’t start your business the right way.

So if you want your business to be successful you’ll want to start with a business plan first. Not having a business plan is one of the primary reasons businesses fail and it’s an easy first step that you can start for free.

Businesses that do take the time to plan are actually proven to be significantly more successful than those that don’t.

  • Why write an eCommerce business plan?

If you’re looking for funding from investors for your eCommerce business, you’ll definitely need a business plan. But, business plans aren’t just for entrepreneurs who are looking to raise money for their business. There are many other reasons why you should consider writing a plan.

  • Strategy. Writing your plan down will help you clarify your business strategy and figure out key aspects of how your business will run. You’ll think about your marketing plan, fulfillment, sales strategies, and more.
  • Test ideas. Business plans can help you figure out if an idea will work. A plan will help you figure out which ideas will be profitable and which will struggle to make money.
  • Know your numbers. Developing your financial plan as part of your business plan will help you understand what it’s really going to take to start an online business. Running the numbers will help you determine profitability and what it will take to get your business up and running.
  • Market research. Your business plan will help you answer questions about who your customers are and how you can best get your product in front of them.
  • Marketing and advertising. Getting your eCommerce business running online is just the first step. Now you need to bring customers to your website . Having a plan and knowing how much it will cost you before your start will improve your chances of success.
  • Business plan competitions. An often overlooked way of getting money for your eCommerce business is business plan competitions. There are thousands of them every year that include cash prizes. With a solid business plan, it’s usually free to enter.

A business plan can help you develop your strategy, test your idea , figure out how much money you’ll need to get up and running and identify potential roadblocks. It’s a critical step that will ensure that you don’t waste time or money as you get your business off the ground.

  • How to write an eCommerce business plan

Every business plan follows a fairly standard format, but for eCommerce you will need some extra detail in the marketing and fulfillment sections. Here’s an outline of what you should include. 

If you’re ready to get started you can also download a free template for your eCommerce business plan .

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Executive Summary

Every business plan needs an executive summary . Usually, you write the summary last, after you’ve fleshed out all the details of your plan. The executive summary isn’t a repeat of the full plan—it’s really just a brief outline that should be 1-2 pages at the most. 

When you’re getting introductions to investors, you’ll probably just share your executive summary to start, and then share the full plan if an investor is interested. 

Your executive summary should summarize your vision for your online business, the products you’ll be selling, a short description of your target market , and highlights of your management team and financials. If you did a market analysis, don’t get into tons of detail, but cover enough that a casual reader will understand what you’re trying to accomplish.

Opportunity: Problem and Solution

The first chapter of your eCommerce business plan describes your opportunity. That’s a description of the business you are building and the problem you are solving for customers. 

Every business needs to solve a problem for customers. For your business to stand out and be successful, you’ll ideally fill a gap that other companies haven’t filled yet. 

Even if you’re selling the same types of products as other companies, your eCommerce business could offer a better shopping experience, lower prices, or better customer service. The problem you are solving then is that customers can’t get good customer service or low prices from other companies in your industry. They will come to you, instead, because you do offer those things.

You can also solve problems for customers by offering a product they’ve never seen before. Perhaps you’ve developed a new line of kitchen utensils that are designed for older hands and wrists. Or maybe you’ve invented a new line of soap that is more sustainable than traditional hand soap.

Target Market

Arguably, the target market section of your eCommerce business plan is one of the most important components. Your target market describes the types of customers you hope to attract. Trying to please everyone is bound to be a failure—instead, focus on a specific group of people or type of person and build from there.

For example, maybe you’re trying to sell to young professionals who value good design. Or, maybe you’re targeting new families who are looking for sustainably made, affordable kids toys.

When you’re writing the target market section of your business you’ll describe exactly who your ideal customer is, what their demographics are, and how large your target market is.

There are a lot of details that you can include in your target market section of your eCommerce business plan, and we’ve got a great article that covers everything you might want to include .

Marketing and Advertising

For an eCommerce business, getting the word out about your business is critical. Unlike a physical storefront that potential customers might walk or drive by, an online store needs to figure out how to get customers to its virtual doors.

In the marketing and advertising chapter of your business plan, you’ll want to detail your marketing plan for your business – how are you going to get customers’ attention? How will they know you exist?

Here are a few tactics you may want to consider:

  • Content marketing. Start writing blog posts that your potential customers may find interesting so that you can attract prospects to your business. Also, consider guest posting on other blogs that your potential customers might read.
  • Social media. These days, most consumers expect that the companies they shop at will have some form of social media presence. Pick the networks that you plan to be active on and determine a strategy that will engage your potential customers.
  • Traditional PR. Traditional PR isn’t dead. If you can get popular publications to cover your company launch and your products, you’ll be able to drive new customers to your door.
  • Advertising. Online advertising will almost certainly be in your plans. The good thing about online advertising is that you can measure its effectiveness and fine-tune things as you go. Depending on your business and how much cash you have on hand, you may consider traditional off-line advertising as well.
  • Email marketing. For many eCommerce businesses, email is a core strategy for driving sales. If you have a content marketing plan, you can use that content to drive email subscriptions. You can also offer deals to build your email list, such as free shipping or discounts on orders.

Successful eCommerce businesses are all about ensuring that their operations are running smoothly and efficiently. Use your business plan as your chance to figure out what your operations plans are ahead of time before you jump in and get started. This is where many businesses can get tripped up, so taking the time to get your operations set up properly is worth the up-front investment of time.

Areas you’ll want to cover include:

  • Locations. Even though your business may be online, you’ll still need to run the business from somewhere. Perhaps you can run the business entirely remotely, but potentially you may need some office space for employees or warehouse space for product storage. Think about where these locations are located and what it will cost to keep them running.
  • Suppliers. You’ll need suppliers for raw materials if you’re making products and you will also need suppliers if you are reselling products. Use your plan to figure out who you’re going to work with, what their purchase terms are, and what kind of delivery timeframes they can provide for you.
  • Production. If you’re assembling raw materials into products, you’ll need to know how and where you will be producing your products.
  • Storage & fulfillment. If you’re not drop-shipping from products from a supplier, you’ll need to store and ship your own products. Your business plan should detail where and how storage and fulfillment will take place and what the costs will be. Don’t forget to think through how you’ll handle returns and exchanges.
  • Technology & payment processors. All eCommerce businesses need technology to function. You’ll want to think about the platform you’ll use for your online store, what functionality you need, and how you’ll accept payments. 

Company & Management

This chapter of your eCommerce business plan describes the structure of your business and who is running it. If you’re going into business with other people, you should establish a partnership agreement. Your plan will need to explain how your business is structured and who owns what portions of the business. 

You’ll also want to include a company description that includes details on the management team and the highlights from their resumes. Potential investors will be looking for experienced owners and managers to get an eCommerce business up and running, so this section of the plan should explain why your team is qualified to build the business into a success.

If you aren’t looking for outside investment, this section of your eCommerce business plan is still important. You should think about the different positions you’ll need to fill and who is going to do each job in the business. Even if you don’t plan on hiring employees right away, having a plan for who you’re going to hire and when will be enormously helpful when the time comes.

Financial Plan

Finally, your eCommerce business plan will need to include a financial plan . Investors will want to see a sales forecast , income statement (also called profit and loss statement), cash flow statement , and a balance sheet. If you use a tool like LivePlan , you’ll be able to build out your financial forecasts relatively quickly, even if you don’t have experience with business numbers.

Even if you’re not working with investors or getting a bank loan, you should run your numbers. This is arguably the most important part of your business plan. You need to know if the numbers work for your business based on your forecasted sales and planned expenses . 

It’s much better to find out if you need to make changes to your business model while it’s all just an idea on paper rather than a business that you’ve already invested money in.

If you need additional help, we’ve created a guide to creating the financial statements you need to include in your business plan .

  • Ecommerce business plan templates and examples

If you want to see how other eCommerce businesses have created their plans, check out our free library of eCommerce business plans . You can download all of them in Word format so you can jump-start your own business plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Content Author: Noah Parsons

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Check out LivePlan

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Home » Building Online Stores » Ecommerce Business Plan Template: How to Make a Business Plan

Ecommerce Business Plan Template: How to Make a Business Plan

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ecommerce website business plan

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As the Benjamin Franklin quote goes, “by failing to plan, you’re planning to fail” – and it’s a sentiment that’s just as relevant today just as it was in the 1700s.

Particularly if you’re an ecommerce business.

After all, one research project (a collaboration between Forbes, Huffington Post, and Marketing Signals) suggests that a whopping 90% of ecommerce businesses fail in the first 120 days of their existence. So how can yours avoid being part of that short-lived majority?

With an ecommerce business plan, that’s how.

So read on – we’re walking you through what ecommerce business plans are, and why you need one. You’ll find a complete ecommerce business plan template below, too – so you can start planning for your own online enterprise’s future, today.

What is an Ecommerce Business Plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a document that outlines your online business’s objectives and strategy. That’s a summary of both your goals and how you plan to achieve them.

A good ecommerce business plan should identify all the potential challenges your online enterprise will face as you chase profitability, scalability, or simply sustainability. They’ll lay out the groundwork, too: including an analysis of the market you’re planning to enter, and the customers you’re intending to target.

And, of course, an ecommerce business plan should get specific. How will you source your products? Which tactics will you use to market them? How will you fund your fledgling business, and maintain cash flow when times get tough?

Though they’re also useful for keeping you on track with your goals, ecommerce business plans are vital for attracting and securing outside investment, too – so it’s important you get yours right.

Food products are an excellent option for selling online, and you find a list of examples here . But remember, you need to factor regulations and food safety requirements into your business plan.

Why Create an Ecommerce Business Plan?

There are plenty of benefits to creating a comprehensive business plan for your online store:

  • Gaining a deeper understanding of your business – your blockers, biggest assets, and most lucrative opportunities.
  • Understanding the state of the market, and where you want to position your ecommerce store within it.
  • Planning for what’s ahead – getting to grips with industry trends, and how they might affect your burgeoning business.
  • Testing how viable your ecommerce store’s idea and concept is, and any weak points inherent in the premise.
  • Assessing the outlay required – be it time, effort, or money, this is useful for understanding the scope of the work that lies ahead.
  • Obtaining funding – business plans are, after all, super useful for selling the idea of your online store to potential investors.
  • Clarifying your strategies for marketing, logistics, and finance, as well as exactly who your target audience is. Making your business idea a little more tangible – it’s starting to feel real now!

Ecommerce Business Plan Template

Ready to start penning your plan?

Read on – the ecommerce business plan template below offers a handy framework to get you started.

Executive Summary

Like a blurb on the back of a book or an abstract at the start of an academic article, an executive summary is designed to give time-poor readers a concise, compelling overview of your ecommerce business plan’s contents.

While your executive summary should take pride of place at the top of your business plan, you shouldn’t write it until the end. That’s because you’ll figure out more about your ecommerce store’s plans, ambitions, audience, and strategies as you flesh out your plan – and you’ll want these to be reflected in that punchy, persuasive first statement.

So what should an executive summary include for an ecommerce business, exactly?

Here’s a quick (non-executive) summary:

  • What your business does
  • What goals you want to achieve
  • What product or service you’re selling
  • Where you’re selling
  • Who you’re targeting
  • Who your competitors are
  • How you plan to make money
  • How you’ll implement the business plan that follows

Remember, an executive summary needs to be crisp, clear, and to the point. Don’t waffle on with overlong or unnecessary analysis – you’ll lose your reader’s interest!

Company Overview

With your reader now hooked, it’s time to explain exactly who you are, what you do, and why you do it.

A company overview should include:

  • Details of your products/services – what are you planning to sell?
  • Your company’s key details – your name, tagline, logo, and any top-level branding information.
  • Your key individuals – your founder(s), CEO, and COOs.
  • Its legal structure: have you set up as a partnership, or a Limited Liability Company (LLC)?
  • Your vision, mission , and values. Beyond making money, what does your ecommerce store stand for? What do you believe in – and what higher purpose gets your staff up and out of bed in the morning?

Market Analysis

Next up in your ecommerce business plan, you’ll need to provide a detailed analysis of the market you’re entering into. This is crucial – after all, if there aren’t any existing market gaps for your business to service, it’ll struggle to make an impact.

Your market analysis should include an exploration of:

  • Market size
  • Current competitors
  • Any gaps, opportunities, and threats

To do all this, a SWOT analysis is a pretty good place to start. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s a form of situational analysis that can help you understand the nature of your business vis a vis the competition.

Customer Research

Who are you planning to sell to? It’s a key question you’ll need to know – and that any potential investors will demand to know – before your ecommerce business gets off the ground.

So, your ecommerce business plan needs to get specific about that sweet slice of the pie you’re targeting. That includes a deep dive into the demographics – specifically, your prospective customers’:

To gain this info, you can conduct market research into the portion of the market most interested in – or most likely to buy – your products or services. That could involve running focus groups, or sending out incentivized surveys.

Advice from the Experts

Top tip: for an even more granular way of conceptualizing your potential customers, create buyer personas . these are fictional depictions or real consumers, with pain points, goals, likes, dislikes, and demographic info all fleshed out..

By tailoring all your messaging to one or more of these personas, you can increase the effectiveness of your comms.

Marketing Plan

Next up? Details about how you plan to spread the word of your business.

This will include which communication channels you intend to prioritize, which marketing strategies you’ll implement, and which milestones and metrics you’ll use to measure it all.

Your marketing plan should make clear:

  • Your marketing goals
  • KPIs: such as engagement rates, traffic, conversion rate
  • Key channels: email, SEO content, paid SEM marketing
  • Your key marketing tactics: will you focus on social media, or plow your resources into influencer marketing? Perhaps a blend of both?

Need some digital marketing tips to add clarity and clout to your marketing plan? Our comprehensive guide has you covered.

Logistics Plan

You know how you’re going to entice your customers to buy from you – but how will you actually get your products to their doorstep once they do?

This is what your ecommerce business plan’s logistics section aims to explain. It’ll include:

  • Where you’ll source your products
  • How (and where) you’ll store those products
  • How you’ll deal with orders
  • How you’ll fulfill orders – in-house, or via a 3PL (third-party logistics) supplier?
  • How you’ll handle deliveries, and which shipping provider you’ll partner with
  • How you’ll deal with returns

3PL suppliers like ShipBob store, sort, pick, pack, and ship your goods – so they can be a fantastic option if you’re a growing business, and outsourcing the fulfillment process makes sense.

ShipBob screenshot

Financial Plan

As it so often does in the world of commerce, your business plan all boils down to this –  the money .

Your financial plan describes how you’ll first fund your business, then keep it afloat. Here, you’ll set out your fiscal stall with a series of projections around cash flow and income. The goal? To convince investors (and, on some level, yourself!) that your business has legs.

Your ecommerce business plan’s financial chapter should include:

  • How you’ll fund your store’s start-up costs
  • How you’ll price your products
  • How much profit you’ll make on each product sold
  • Financial projections
  • Income statement
  • Balance sheet

Do I Need a Business Plan?

Yes. Yes, you do.

It can be easy, as a business that only exists online, to get complacent – to assume that you don’t need a business plan.

‘Business plans are a traditional document,’ you think. ‘They don’t have a place in the world of modern ecommerce businesses.’

Well, guess what? They do – regardless of what you call, or how you classify, your business. But there are certain types of ventures where a comprehensive business plan will be especially useful. Among these are:

  • New ecommerce stores
  • Businesses seeking investment
  • Businesses looking to expand into new markets
  • Ventures attempting to increase their share of an existing market

Even if your ecommerce store falls into none of these categories, a business plan is always a good idea. It’ll clarify and crystallize your professional goals, hold you accountable to your ambitions, and keep you on track to making your dreams a reality.

In this article, you’ve learned exactly what a business plan is, and why it’s vital for commercial success – particularly for brands of the ecommerce persuasion.

You’re also well-versed in the structure and contents of an ecommerce business plan:

  • Executive summary
  • Company overview
  • Market analysis
  • Customer research
  • Marketing plan
  • Logistics plan
  • Financial plan

What now? Well, it’s time to get researching and writing. So remember – keep it simple, keep it tight, and make sure it reflects the heart and soul of your business (and all that passion you feel for it, too!).

Putting together a business plan is exciting. It’s that tangible, real expression of your goals and vision for your ecommerce store – so it shouldn’t be a chore. Go enjoy it!

How can I write an ecommerce business plan?

Can i hire someone to write my ecommerce business plan for me.

Hiring someone to pen your ecommerce business plan for you will cost anywhere between $5,000 and $25,000. You can recruit them from most of the platforms where creatives dwell: such as Airtasker, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com.

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As the saying goes, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” So, if you wish to build your own eCommerce empire, having an eCommerce business plan is crucial to your success.

Why Should You Continue Reading This Article?

But maybe you have no idea where to start. Of course, you don’t want to leave out something important. In this article, we’ll show you how to build an eCommerce business plan and discuss how to write it in a well-crafted, simple way from scratch, for your eCommerce small business and what are the key elements that should be included in it.

Let’s get started!

Why You Need an eCommerce Business Plan

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe” So, planning is almost everything you should start with.

ecommerce website business plan

Although it can be hard work to put together a comprehensive eCommerce business plan, it’s such an important step for the below-mentioned four reasons:

  • Establishing a Clear Roadmap:  Well-written strategic planning will help you set clear goals and set an action plan to reach them. It will also help you to set priorities and realistically estimate the time and effort needed to achieve them.
  • Being Ready for Any Sudden Changes:  Change in the eCommerce business world is happening quicker than ever before. And this increases the value of planning. Having a data-driven business plan gave managers a dashboard to work with navigated sudden change.
  • Securing Funding: If you are looking for a loan or an equity investment for your startup, getting a business plan document right is essential because an organization that will provide the money wants to make sure that you know what you are doing and have a clear path to profit.
  • Avoiding Costly Mistakes: If you are considering setting up a small business with limited resources, having a startup business plan helps you know exactly what resources are needed to avoid wasting resources down the drain and to make the most of them.

Before You Start Planning: 3 Key Questions to Answer

To build a well-written online business plan sample, you need to answer the following questions:

  • What Are You Selling?  Are you selling physical products (i.e apparel, home appliances, etc.), digital products (i.e online courses, ebooks, software, etc.), or services (i.e marketing services, consulting, car repair, etc.)?
  • For Whom?  Do you sell to individuals (B2C) or organizations, corporations, and non-profits (B2B) or are you are a part of a marketplace acting as a broker just like affiliate marketing?.
  • Who Are Your Suppliers? Do you manufacture your products in-house, or outsource a third-party manufacturer? Do you partner with a dropshipping manufacturer or do you depend on wholesale?

With great data comes a great business plan. Answering this line of questioning will give you an initial overview of what your business is and it’ll be like a starting point.

How to Structure a Business Plan for Your Online Store

Let’s agree from the start that the business plan will not be perfectly completed on the first try. It will continue to evolve as you create each of the planning stages and you’ll be making edits along the way.

For an eCommerce business plan example, there are six basic sections it should include, Let’s delve deeper…

6 Steps of eCommerce Business Plan

Let’s delve deeper…

1. Executive Summary

Any e-Commerce business plan should start with an executive summary of just one sheet summarizing each section of your business plan. Although it is placed at the beginning, it should be the last section to be written.

The executive summary is the first thing your prospect investors would read, and it creates the first impression of your project. So, make it simple, easy to understand, and attractive.

The executive summary should include:

  • Business ideas presentation
  • Business model
  • Products and services
  • Target audience and target market
  • Management team
  • Success factors or the points that differentiate your company
  • Financial strategy

2.  Company Overview

This is the next section that includes detailed information about your business and identified the competitive advantage of your online store. It covers some features such as:

  • Brand Name and Founder’s Name: Your online store name and who is behind it.
  • Brand Traits: List just 3 to 5 words that describe the brand that you want your online store to be identified with.
  • Domain Name: It’s the URL. It should be short, simple, memorable, and doesn’t include numbers.
  • Company Type: How your business operates.
  • Value Proposition: It’s a brief statement that shows how clear your idea is.
  • Mission Statement: The reasons behind your business’ existence.
  • Vision: The goals that you want to reach long term. They must be realistic and ambitious so they can be motivating.

3. Market  Analysis

Conducting market research around your eCommerce small business idea is essential. It tells you whether or not people will buy what you’re selling.

Market analysis is broken down into 3 main sections:

A. industry analysis:.

Industry analysis outlines the industry size facts and statistics bode well for your eCommerce business. It answers questions like:

  • What does the market look like for your industry overall?
  • Has it grown or changed over the years?
  • Are there any expectations of growing up or slipping down in the future?
  • Are there factors that could impact its growth?

Industry analysis is likely to be one of the toughest parts of your eCommerce business plan, but fortunately, research and white papers are abundant in almost all industries, besides free tools like Google Trends .

B . Market Segment:

The market segment or audience segmentation helps you to create your “Buyer Persona” which represents your target audiences’ various demographic sets (gender, age, geography, education, income level, ethnicity, etc.). The market segment includes both your target market and niche selection.

It’s important to provide an overview of your niche, whether there’s a micro-niche included, and why you chose it.

C. Competitive Analysis:

Competitive Analysis provides an overview of who is your market leaders are and direct, indirect, and potential competitors. It also identifies your competitors’ key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, focusing particularly on where you can defeat the competition or add unique value to your business.

eCommerce Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive competitive analysis includes 4 key phrases that are:

  • Identify Your Competitors
  • Select a Competitive Analysis Framework
  • Collect Data on Your Competitors
  • Write Your Competitive Analysis Report

4.  Marketing Plan

By now, you’ve covered almost all your company-related aspects, your customers, and your competitors as well. It’s time to talk about how you’re going to reach your customers and drive traffic to your eCommerce website.

The marketing plan describes the planned promotion strategies, business growth strategies, pricing strategies , sales strategies, and how much can you afford to spend on your marketing efforts. To come up with a well-defined marketing strategy, you need to deeply know your customer inside out.

It’s important to keep in mind that every potential customer is different, and there are many organic and paid marketing techniques that you can use to reach each of them. From SEO, social media, content marketing, and email marketing to influencers, these proven techniques will surely  acquire customers and drive traffic to your online store .

So, this stage is all about defining:

  • Which marketing channels are best for you to reach your customer?
  • How much can you afford to acquire customers to your online store?

5. Operations Plan

Operational planning reflects the task flow of your eCommerce store and how they’ll be divided. It includes your daily tasks as an online store owner. Some basic things should be established, such as your work schedule, your daily tasks timetable, your location, and your product stock.

Your tasks will include:

  • Offering support
  • Managing the stock
  • Managing returns
  • Negotiating with suppliers
  • Dealing with unforeseen events
  • Promoting your store
  • And much more

List all of your daily tasks and how your routine will be to make sure that everything in your business plan will be under control. If you are a startup and you’re the only person in charge, it’d be hard to manage all tasks. So, it’s important to have initial planning on paper, and then make small modifications down the line to hire a staff and management team.

6. Financial Plan

For many people, this is the most difficult part of a business plan. However, it’s extremely important. It outlines the major costs for an eCommerce business that include the cost of goods, internet connection fees, salaries of the staff, etc.

If you’re seeking to get outside funding, your financial statement should contain the following documents:

  • Summary of Funding Requirement: It’s an outline showing why you are applying for a loan, the cost for raw materials and operational machines, and how much money you need.
  • Use of Funds Statement / Income Statement: It shows how profitable your business would be during a given period and describes how you plan to use the funds you’ll get.
  • Business Budget: This displays cash inflow and outflow statements over a specific period of time.
  • 3-Year Profit and Loss Projection: It’s assumptions that are stated clearly and in detail to communicate your vision of the company’s future and how you anticipate achieving that vision.

5 eCommerce Business Plans’ Mistakes to Avoid in 2022

As for eCommerce owners ( whether it was for fashion, services, etc.), there are some methodologies they use to approximately estimate future turnover, profitability, and more.  But unfortunately, most of these estimations and expectations are frequently distant from market reality.

ExpandCart gathers the most common mistakes that usually happen when you put an eCommerce marketing plan into work, Let’s show you around! 

Mistake #1  |  Selecting the Improper eCommerce Platform

Whether you’re just getting started with your eCommerce shop or have been running one for a while, a not-suitable eCommerce platform can boost your eCommerce business plan or awfully put it to an end! 

After you’ve created a sample business plan for an eCommerce startup, you’ll need to think about several things when selecting an eCommerce platform, including:

  • Your financial situation
  • Whether you prefer a template or bespoke design, we can help.
  • What type of experience do your consumers want?
  • What items do you intend to sell?
  • How do you intend to grow your company?
  • What tools your platform needs to integrate with?
  • How much control do you desire over your website?

The last thing you want is to pick a platform that restricts your company’s development, doesn’t interact with your existing systems, or doesn’t provide the amount of control and flexibility you want.

An improper eCommerce platform can result in a variety of problems, including income loss, decreased conversions, less traffic, security difficulties, bad design, and more. This major error might force you to spend even more time, money, and effort modernizing your platform or moving to a new one entirely.

Take your time while deciding on the best eCommerce platform for your online eCommerce as this will affect the whole performance of your eCommerce business plan. 

Mistake #2  |Skipping Environment Check

Before drafting an eCommerce business plan to launch or boost your e-commerce website, it’s a crucial step to start assessing the viability of your ideas before anything!

And here, we don’t mean broad market studies, but rather a comprehensive test using a limited version of your site, that will assist in ensuring in the field that you are gaining traction in your market. You must be able to tie your business strategy to the fact that you have already made your first sales even before you daft your eCommerce business plan. 

Aside from the checking and validation component, an initial test will help you to get useful feedback from your consumers and discover for yourself the major roadblocks or places for progress in your business.

You’ll be in a better position to carry out your company plan and generate realistic and plausible financial projections once you’ve completed it.

Mistake #3 | No Clear Brand Message or Identity

A good product alone won’t perform as good branding! 

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that your things will sell themselves. To build a successful business, you’ll need to develop a strong brand identity that is both approachable to your target audience and favorable to viral brand awareness. If you’ve done your research, you should have a good notion of what your target audience wants and how to communicate with them. Then it’s only a matter of maintaining a consistent and firm message.

A strong brand identity boosts client loyalty and your chances of gaining global brand recognition.

Mistake #4 | Shallow Website Content 

If your eCommerce business relies on organic traffic to attract clients, then the material on your website should be crafted with the user and SEO in mind.

Many organizations make the mistake of considering content as an afterthought, failing to see that each piece of content represents a chance to increase traffic and convert clients.

You need to provide content that is relevant to your target audience, optimized for search engine traffic, and entices consumers to buy your items, from your homepage to your product descriptions.

Investing in SEO and CRO-friendly content is worthwhile, whether you engage with an SEO service or do it yourself. This entails using the correct high-quality keywords for your niche and crafting material that is designed to convert.

Mistake #5 | Mistargeted Audience 

What else could you possibly require? You have items, a company strategy, and a website. Unfortunately, having an offer and a venue to pitch it isn’t enough to be a true eCommerce success.

One of the most common blunders a business owner can make is failing to precisely define their target demographic and spend time learning what makes them tick. You’ll need to do some serious market research to make sure that:

  • Your target audience has a genuine necessity for your product. 
  • You know how to express your offer in a way that they will comprehend. 
  • You may create a marketing plan that prioritizes your target audience.

Identifying and specifying your target audience can help you develop an atmosphere that they will remember and a brand message that will tempt them to buy and re-buy, and hence, a successful eCommerce business plan! 

Final Notes

We are living in a world of fast-paced digital transformation. Almost all businesses are thinking of building a strong online presence. Being prepared and having a well-crafted business plan for your dream eCommerce website helps you focus on what exactly you want your business to be in the future and provides a map of how to get there in no time.

Remember! Creating your own eCommerce business plan won’t be that easy, but success comes to those willing to put in the work and if you did it right, you will witness a great increase in sales and revenue . You can seek help from experts who can help you plan your business effectively.

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How to Write an eCommerce Business Plan + 3 High Profit Ideas

ecommerce website business plan

Well, first, you’re going to need a plan.

Creating an eCommerce business plan is an essential step that no one should ever skip. It will help you identify your goals, define your target audience, and develop a strategy to meet your objectives.

And it can even help you secure funding to get your business idea off the ground.

Many successful businesses, including big brands like Amazon, started with an eCommerce business plan.

Just look at eCommerce legend Jeff Bezos: In 1994, he worked on Wall Street and saw the potential for selling products online. He raised funding from friends and family by convincing them of the potential profits with his eCommerce business plan.

It’s obvious that the eCommerce industry is still growing rapidly.

There are still plenty of opportunities for you to build a profitable and sustainable online business by following in the footsteps of successful eCommerce businesses and developing a well-thought-out plan.

And that’s precisely what we’ll cover in this guide.

You’ll learn how to create a business plan that sets you apart and gives you the best chance of success and high profits. As a bonus, we’ve also included three high-profit potential business ideas so you can get started right away.

Let’s dive in.

  • Online retailing
  • Private label dropshipping
  • Subscription-based store
  • Dropshipping
  • eCommerce marketplaces
  • Social commerce
  • Wholesaling

Step-by-step process of how to write a business plan for an ecommerce store

Business idea 1: clean beauty box subscription, business idea 2: ethical fashion social commerce, business idea 3: wholesaling massage equipment, putting your ecommerce business plan into action, types of ecommerce businesses.

Before we get to the step-by-step, let’s quickly review the types of eCommerce businesses you could start.

The eCommerce market is set to generate $6.5 trillion in 2023 , and many different types of businesses contribute to the thriving industry.

1. Online retailing

ecommerce website business plan

First up, we have the classic online store. This is like a virtual version of your favorite brick-and-mortar shop.

Shoppers can browse products, add them to their cart, and checkout online. It’s like shopping in your pajamas but without the shame of being seen in public wearing them.

How the business works:

You set up a fancy website with product descriptions and pictures that make shoppers want to buy everything. Then, customers browse the site and add items to their digital shopping cart.

Once they’re done shopping (or their bank account balance tells them to stop), they go to the virtual checkout and pay for their items using various payment options.

You then receive the order, package the items, and ship them to the customer’s doorstep.

What you need to get started:

A website: You can’t sell your amazing products without a platform to showcase them.

Products: This might seem obvious, but you can’t sell nothing. You’ll need to determine what you want to sell and source those products from suppliers.

Not sure what to sell? Get some inspiration from our list of 50 Best Dropshipping Products That Will Make Money in 2023 .

A catchy name: Your store needs a name that stands out from the crowd.

A way to accept payments: You’ll need a way to accept payments from your customers. Luckily, there are many options, from PayPal to credit card processors.

Marketing know-how: If you build it, they won’t necessarily come. You’ll need to get the word out about your store through social media, ads, and other marketing channels.

2. Private label dropshipping

ecommerce website business plan

Private label dropshipping is a way to sell products without having to deal with the hassle of manufacturing, packaging, and shipping.

You find a supplier who creates products but is willing to ship those products to your customers under your own brand and handle the whole fulfillment process.

You find a supplier willing to add your personal touch to the product by adding a label with your store’s branding, colors, and logo when they ship it to the end customer.

You then list the products on your website and start marketing them like crazy. When a customer places an order, your supplier receives the order and ships the product directly to your customer with your branding intact.

You don’t have to worry about keeping inventory or shipping products yourself.

A niche: You’ll want to find a niche that you’re passionate about and has a market demand. This could be anything from fitness gear to skincare products.

A supplier: You’ll need a supplier to create and ship products under your brand. Look for a reliable supplier with good reviews willing to work with you to create your perfect product.

Your own branding: This is where the fun begins! You’ll want to create your own branding for your products, including labels, packaging, and marketing materials.

A website: You’ll need a website to showcase your products and take customer orders.

Marketing know-how: You’ll need to promote your store and products through social media, ads, and other marketing channels. Get creative and have fun with it!

3. Subscription-based store

ecommerce website business plan

Next, we have the subscription-based eCommerce business. These companies offer recurring services or products, like a monthly box of snacks, a curated selection of beauty products, or even a monthly delivery of socks (yes, really).

You offer your customers a subscription to receive your products regularly, whether weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Customers sign up for your subscription service and select their preferences, such as product type, quantity, and frequency of delivery.

Then, you curate and package the products and ship them directly to your customers on a regular basis. This creates a steady stream of recurring revenue for your business and keeps your customers happy with a regular supply of their favorite products.

A product: You’ll need a product people can’t get enough of. This could be anything from gourmet coffee to monthly skincare kits.

A subscription model: You’ll need to figure out the subscription model that works best for your business, such as monthly, quarterly, or annual subscriptions. You’ll also need to decide on the pricing and perks you’ll offer to subscribers.

A website: You’ll need a website that showcases your products and allows customers to sign up for your subscription service.

Discover how to boost sales at your store in our Complete Guide to eCommerce Optimization .

A way to curate and ship products: You’ll need to figure out how you’ll curate and package your products and how you’ll handle shipping and logistics. You can either do it yourself or partner with a fulfillment center.

Marketing know-how: You’ll need to promote your subscription service to attract and retain customers. Reducing customer churn will be one of your biggest marketing objectives.

4. Dropshipping

ecommerce website business plan

The dropshipping model. This is where a business doesn’t actually hold inventory but instead takes orders from customers and then purchases the product from a third-party supplier who then ships the product directly to the customer.

First, you set up an online store and find a supplier willing to dropship their products for you. You then add the supplier’s products to your store and set your own prices.

When a customer places an order, you forward it to the supplier, who then ships the product directly to the customer. So you don’t have to worry about managing inventory or shipping products yourself.

You get to focus on promoting your store, attracting customers, and providing excellent customer service. Plus, you don’t have to buy inventory upfront. So you can test out different products and niches without risking a lot of money.

Does this sound like the right business model for you?

You can learn how to get started in our guide, How to Start a Dropshipping Business in 7 Easy Steps .

An online store: You’ll need a website or an e-commerce platform to showcase your products and process orders.

A reliable supplier: You’ll need to find a supplier willing to dropship their products for you. Do your research and find a supplier who offers quality products and reliable shipping.

Products to sell: You’ll need to choose products you want to sell in your store. Finding a niche you’re passionate about and selecting products in high demand is essential.

Marketing know-how: You’ll need to promote your store and drive traffic to your website. This could involve social media, SEO, or even paid advertising.

Customer service skills: You’ll need to provide excellent customer service and handle any issues that may arise. Remember, happy customers are the key to success!

5. eCommerce marketplaces

ecommerce website business plan

An eCommerce marketplace is like a digital shopping mall, where multiple vendors come together to sell their products on a single platform. It’s like having your own little storefront in a bustling virtual bazaar.

You find a platform to list and sell your products. Customers can browse through your marketplace store and purchase products.

As a vendor, you get access to a large audience of potential customers without worrying about setting up your own eCommerce website.

The marketplace owner typically takes a percentage of each sale as a commission, while the vendors handle the fulfillment and shipping of their own products.

Products: You’ll need to decide what products you want to sell and ensure they meet the marketplace’s guidelines. It’s important to do market research on what products are popular and in demand.

Check out our list of 30 of the Best Low Cost, High-Profit Products to find a winning line for your business.

A platform: You’ll need to find a platform to list and sell your products.

A store: Once you’ve registered, you’ll need to set up your store. This will involve creating a profile, uploading product images, and writing descriptions.

Marketing know-how: To be successful in an eCommerce marketplace, you’ll need to invest in marketing your products. This could involve advertising on the marketplace, social media, or other channels.

Customer service skills: Finally, you’ll need to provide excellent customer service. Respond to customer inquiries promptly, process orders quickly, and resolve any issues.

6. Social commerce

ecommerce website business plan

Now, we have the social commerce model. This is where social media platforms are used to sell products directly to customers.

So instead of scrolling through cat videos and memes, you can now buy that cat-shaped phone case you’ve been eyeing. It’s like online shopping and social media had a baby.

The social commerce business model is all about using social media platforms to sell products directly to customers.

As a business owner, you’ll need to set up a social media account on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. This is where you’ll showcase your products, interact with customers, and drive sales.

When a customer sees a product they like, they can make a purchase directly through the social media platform. Some platforms have built-in shopping features, while others require customers to click a link to an external website.

Once the customer makes a purchase, you’ll need to process the payment and handle shipping. Some social media platforms offer built-in payment and shipping options, while others require you to handle this on your own.

A product: You’ll need a product to sell. This could be something you make yourself, source from a supplier, or dropship.

A social media account: You’ll need to set up a social media account on a platform that makes sense for your business. Instagram marketing, Facebook ads, and TikTok are all popular options.

Great visuals: Social media is all about eye-catching visuals, so you’ll need to invest in high-quality photos and videos of your products. You might take these yourself or hire a professional photographer.

Discover more ways to boost sales and strengthen your brand in our list of 19 of the Best eCommerce Strategies for Today and Tomorrow .

Payment and shipping systems: You’ll need to have a way to process payments and handle shipping. Some social media platforms have a built-in payment and shipping features, while others might require you to use third-party services.

A social media strategy: Finally, you’ll need a plan for using social media to promote your products and engage with customers. This might involve posting regular updates, collaborating with influencers, or running paid advertising campaigns.

7. Wholesaling

ecommerce website business plan

eCommerce wholesaling is all about buying products in bulk from manufacturers and selling them to retailers or other businesses at a discounted price.

Think of it as buying a big bag of candy from the store and then selling individual pieces to your friends for a profit (except in this case, the candy is more practical, like office supplies or electronics).

You buy products in bulk from manufacturers at a discounted price. Then, you sell those products to retailers or other businesses at a higher price, making a profit.

Let’s say you’re selling office supplies. You might buy a whole bunch of pens, paper clips, and staplers from a manufacturer at a lower cost per unit than a retailer would pay. Then, you sell those products to retailers at a slightly higher price, but still lower than what they would pay if they bought directly from the manufacturer.

Negotiating skills: You’ll need a big ol’ bag of business savvy and a knack for negotiating deals. You’ll also need a solid understanding of the products you plan to sell and the market demand.

Negotiating lower pricing with suppliers is one of the best ways to boost profits during an economic downturn. Check out our guide, 10 Proven Strategies to Grow Your eCommerce Business During a Recession , to discover the other ways you can thrive when consumers tighten their belts.

Suppliers: You’ll need to find reliable suppliers who can provide quality products at a discounted price. You can search for manufacturers online, attend trade shows, or even ask around in your industry to find the best suppliers.

Storage space: Once you have your suppliers lined up, you’ll need a place to store all the products you will buy in bulk. You can rent a warehouse, set up a garage or basement storage area, or even use a fulfillment center specializing in eCommerce wholesaling.

Marketing know-how: You’ll need to find ways to promote your products and attract customers to your eCommerce business. This could involve creating a social media presence, running targeted ads, or networking with other companies in your industry.

Want to know more about the different types of eCommerce businesses and how they work? Check out our detailed guide to learn more.

Starting an eCommerce business can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. You’ll find it much easier if you have a plan to follow.

In this section of the guide, we’ll reveal the step-by-step process of writing a business plan for an eCommerce company.

If you’re new to eCommerce and want to know more about the basics and how to get started, check out our guide, How to Start Selling Online from Home (and Actually Make Money) .

Step 1: Executive summary

The executive summary is the first section of your eCommerce business plan. It should provide an overview of your business, including your mission statement, goals, and objectives.

Here’s a great example from the Company Shop Group:

ecommerce website business plan

Your executive summary should also include an overview of your products, target market, and marketing strategies. There is a lot to cover, but keep this section brief and concise.

You can go into more detail in the following sections.

Step 2: Company description

In this section, you should provide a detailed description of your eCommerce business. This should include your business structure, legal status, location, and the products or services you will offer.

You should also include details about your management team, their experience, and their roles in the company.

Step 3: Market analysis

Now it’s time to analyze your target market and the competition. You should provide information on the size and characteristics of your target market, their needs and preferences, and the potential demand for your products.

You should also provide a detailed competitive analysis. This should include the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you plan to differentiate yourself. A competitive analysis in this scenario is defined as a systematic evaluation of industry peers, involving the thorough examination of their market strategies, product portfolios, financial performances, and operational approaches. This method provides businesses with crucial insights into the competitive landscape, enabling them to identify opportunities, mitigate risks, and formulate effective strategies to enhance their market position and overall competitiveness.

Step 4: Product line

This section should provide a detailed description of your products. You should include information on the features and benefits, pricing strategies, and any unique selling points.

You should also outline your product development process, including how you will source and manufacture your products.

The SaleHoo Directory is the perfect place to look for suppliers.

And you can check it out risk-free with our 60-day money-back guarantee.

Step 5: Marketing and sales strategies

In this section, you should outline your marketing and sales strategies. This should include your branding strategy, social media strategy, email marketing strategy, and any other marketing channels you plan to use.

You should also outline your sales strategy, including your pricing, sales channels, and targets.

If you are unsure what data you should be tracking and what your targets should be, check out our guide, 9 eCommerce Metrics That Will Help You Run a More Profitable Online Store .

Step 6: Financial plan

The financial plan is one of the most critical sections of your eCommerce business plan. This should include a detailed financial analysis, including your startup costs, projected revenue, and expenses, cash flow projections, and break-even analysis.

You should also include any funding requirements, such as loans or investments, and how you plan to use the funds.

Step 7: Operations plan

Now, it’s time to outline your eCommerce logistics and operations plan, including your website design and development, order fulfillment process, customer service strategy, and other operational processes. You should also include details on your suppliers and vendors and any legal and regulatory requirements.

Step 8: Management and organization

The management and organization section should provide information on your team and organizational structure. You should include details on your key personnel, their roles and responsibilities, and their experience in the industry.

Step 9: Conclusion

The conclusion should summarize your eCommerce business plan and highlight the key points. You should reiterate your mission statement, goals, objectives, and any unique selling points.

Bonus: 3 high-profit ecommerce business examples

So that’s our step-by-step guide on creating an eCommerce business plan.

But we’re not done yet.

As a bonus, we’ve also compiled three high-profit business ideas to inspire you.

In this business model, you could curate and deliver monthly boxes of high-quality, non-toxic, organic beauty products to subscribers. The subscription service could offer different box sizes and options, such as skincare-only or makeup-only boxes, to appeal to a wider range of customers.

Potential profit:

While the potential profits will depend on factors like the cost of goods, pricing, and your business strategy and marketing plan, it has the potential to be highly profitable if executed properly.

You can generate recurring revenue and build a loyal customer base by offering a subscription-based service. It can be highly profitable, especially if you can keep your costs low and provide value to your subscribers by offering unique products that are not easily available in regular stores.

How to start this business:

To start this business, you would need to research and source a variety of clean beauty products from different suppliers and wholesalers.

Then, you’ll need to create a website to showcase your subscription service and allow customers to sign up and manage their subscriptions. You’ll also need to establish partnerships with shipping companies to ensure the timely delivery of the beauty boxes.

Marketing will also be vital to reaching your target audience through social media, influencers, and other digital channels. You’ll also need to offer exceptional customer service and maintain a high level of quality for your beauty boxes to retain subscribers.

Another potential business idea for a social commerce brand is to create a line of sustainable and ethical fashion products marketed and sold primarily through social media. This could include using environmentally friendly materials, supporting fair labor practices, and minimizing waste and carbon emissions throughout the supply chain.

There is huge potential for a sustainable and ethical fashion social commerce brand to generate significant profits. According to a report by McKinsey & Company , there is a growing demand for sustainable fashion among consumers.

Younger generations are willing to pay more for products that align with their values. In addition, social media platforms provide a unique opportunity to market and sell products directly to consumers, which can reduce overhead costs and increase profit margins.

You’ll need to build a strong social media presence on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Use visually appealing content, including high-quality images and videos, to showcase your products and brand values.

Partnering with influencers and micro-influencers in the sustainable fashion niche to promote your brand and products to their followers could be an excellent way to increase your reach. Consider offering them exclusive discounts or free products in exchange for featuring your brand on their social media accounts.

Use social media as your primary sales channel by integrating shopping features directly into your posts and stories. This could include tagging products in your posts or adding swipe-up links to your stories that take users directly to your online store.

Offer exceptional customer service and a seamless online shopping experience to build customer loyalty and generate positive reviews and referrals. Consider implementing a loyalty program that rewards customers for repeat purchases and social media engagement.

Wholesaling massage equipment can be lucrative, especially considering the growing demand for wellness products and services. Your target market will be massage therapists, spas, and other wellness eCommerce businesses that offer massage equipment.

The massage industry is predicted to generate $19 billion in the US alone in 2023. So it’s a sizeable growing market you can tap into.

The amount of profit the business can make depends on multiple factors. But you could generate significant profit if you have a competitive pricing strategy and offer high-quality products. That's why it's always important to think about pricing when running a competitive analysis for your business.

A wholesaler’s average profit margin is less than a retailer’s, but you’ll be turning over much larger quantities of products per sale.

Look for reliable suppliers that can provide quality massage equipment at competitive prices. You can connect with manufacturers to find potential suppliers.

You’ll need more funds to get this business idea off the ground, so determine how much capital you’ll need and explore funding options such as loans, grants, or investors.

Establish relationships with massage therapists, spas, and eCommerce store owners to create a strong network. Attend industry events, participate in social media groups, and offer promotions to attract new clients.

There’s no better time to start an eCommerce business. And with a good business plan, you’ll increase your chances of success and speed up growth.

But you’ll need reliable suppliers no matter which type of eCommerce business you choose to start. That’s where the SaleHoo Directory comes in.

You can find millions of products from over 8,000 vetted and trustworthy suppliers. Sign up and start contacting reliable suppliers today.

And if you have any questions about eCommerce, don’t hesitate to contact our 24/7 customer support team .

Was this lesson helpful? Let us know!

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Ecommerce Business Plan

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So apparently everyone is jumping in to start an ecommerce business. Considering you already have your star product or service ready, you must be very thrilled to launch your business and make your first sale.

However, wait. Is your business plan ready? If you haven’t marked writing a business plan as the most important task on your checklist, you need to do that right away.

We know writing an ecommerce business plan is challenging. As a business owner of this new challenging enterprise, you don’t have much time. But this detailed guide with step-by-step procedures is likely to make the entire process of writing easier for you.

Don’t waste a minute further. Let’s dive right into the topic.

Key Takeaways

  • Elements like executive summary, product or service, operations, marketing and sales plan, management team, and financial plan come together to make a compelling business plan.
  • Determine marketing strategies for your ecommerce business and lay a clear action plan for building a solid brand image.
  • Clearly establish your value propositions, business goals, and objectives to form relevant strategies for your ecommerce company.
  • Make financial projections and consider various progressive and aggressive scenarios to establish the feasibility of your business idea.
  • Identify the gaps and loopholes in your planning and make changes to your business idea accordingly.

Why do you need an Ecommerce business plan?

A business plan has many more advantages apart from helping you get approved for a business loan. Here are a few potential benefits of having one for your ecommerce company:

  • Goals fulfillment: You will have to juggle multiple roles while running your ecommerce store. A well-crafted business plan will offer a roadmap to your business while helping you realize your business goals.
  • Business strategies: A  business plan simplifies your business strategy and helps put the strategies for sales, marketing, and operations in perspective.
  • Market analysis: A business plan strengthens your stand in the market by compelling you to conduct a detailed market analysis of the industry, competitors, and potential customers.
  • Test ideas: An ecommerce plan will help you realize the gaps and errors in your planning. This allows you the luxury to make changes in the business model before investing your money in it.
  • Simplifies the finance: A well-structured business plan lays a clear financial plan for your ecommerce business. The figures will help you understand the profitability, costs, and expenses of the company and its viability in monetary terms.

There’s much more to it. A business plan is like a beam of bright light that will make walking through the woods easier. It’s a living document that will evolve as the business grows.

Key components of an ecommerce business plan

Wondering what goes into making a perfect ecommerce business plan? Well, these are the key components you shouldn’t be missing.

  • Executive summary: The executive summary will highlight the key details of your entire business plan.
  • Business overview: This section will include a brief business overview along with its value proposition, objectives, mission, and vision statement.
  • Market analysis: This section will define your potential customers and competition. A detailed industry analysis and competitors analysis will lay a foundation for important business strategies.
  • Products and services: Define the products and services you will sell to your ideal customer. Also, offer a brief description of each product.
  • Sales and marketing strategy: Highlight your sales and marketing plan to attract your potential customers. From content marketing to social media- include every detail of your strategies here.
  • Operations plan: A well-defined plan that will help you run a smooth online business. Clearly defined process for inventory, order fulfillment, sales, storage, etc.
  • Management team: A brief introduction of your company’s management team and their expertise in the field.
  • Financial plan: Includes detailed financial forecasts and key reports like balance sheet, cash flow, P&L, and investment plan.

There is no definite format for business plans. However, a comprehensive plan accounts for all these components and makes it effective.

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan: A Complete Guide

From undertaking thorough market research to creating a marketing plan- uncover every detail on writing an effective plan for your online business with this guide.

1. Get an Ecommerce business plan template

Crafting a stellar business plan is a challenge. However, it can be the most precious reward for your business if you manage to write it comprehensively.

The process of translating your business idea into a business plan is lengthy and time-consuming. One is likely to leave behind an important detail or two without any definite format.

This is why you need an Ecommerce business plan template to write your plan in a structurally organized format. A template will help streamline your thoughts, organize the vision, and bring your ideas to life effortlessly.

Let’s not look elsewhere for a perfect template. Upmetrics business plan template is intuitive and is enriched with relevant examples that can be easily used as a reference while writing your plan.

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2. Write an executive summary

Executive summary is a concise rundown of key points that summarizes your business plan. Though presented at first, it should be written in the end after you have walked through all the other aspects of planning.

Consider it as a document that will offer a brief insight into your overall business. Investors will read this part and gauge the viability of your business idea. If they find it fascinating and intriguing enough they will read it further in detail.

Add brief details of your ecommerce business, target market, problem, solution, service model, business goals, and financial figures in this section.

Adapt a narrative tone to make it interesting and keep it highly informative. And, most importantly keep it within a limit of 1-2 pages.

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ecommerce website business plan

3. Create a company overview section

As the title suggests, this section offers a brief company description of your ecommerce business. You must also include brief details about the company’s history in this section if it’s not a new venture.

So what does this section include?

  • Name and location of the business , i.e. location of your warehouse, back end office.
  • Type of your Ecommerce business , i.e. B2B, B2C, D2C, C2C, etc.
  • Business structure of your e-commerce brand , i.e. sole proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, limited partnership, etc.
  • Business goals : Highlight milestones such as sales or revenue goals.
  • Mission statement : Describe the fundamental purpose of your business explaining why the business exists. For instance, the mission of First Cry is to offer eco-friendly baby care and maternity items to conscious buyers through its website and listings on a third-party platform.
  • Vision statement : It is a declaration of what you want to achieve with your ecommerce business. For instance, First Cry wants to become the preferred brand for baby care products in the markets of North America, Asia, and Europe.

4. Conduct a competitive and market analysis

In this section of competitive and market analysis, you will dive deep into the study of the target market, industry trends, and your competition. Only a thorough understanding of these key elements will help you build a resilient business.

Target market and market opportunities

Begin by determining the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for your products and services. This part of the market analysis will offer a realistic idea of your market size.

Further, strengthen the understanding of your target market by identifying your target audience. Create a buyer persona by considering the psychographic and demographic details of your ideal customer.

Collect data from US census boards, government websites, and industrial publications for solid and foundational market research.

Lastly, identify the market trends and highlight your business strategy to fill the gaps in the existing market.

Competitive analysis

Ecommerce companies operate in a severely competitive marketplace. Understanding your competition will help you safeguard the business against potential threats and risks from your direct and indirect competitors.

Collect the data and analyze your competitors on the grounds of prices, services, quality, product offering, target market, and market size to make conclusive points. Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses using methods like SWOT analysis.

Now, detail the competitive advantage of your products and service offerings. This analysis should reflect that your business idea has a solid advantage over competitors’ offerings.

Focus on quality research. The study of the target market and competition will lay a foundation for crafting efficient business strategies.

5. Detail your products and services

After completing your market analysis, you will create a detailed section for your products and services.

Highlight all the product lines that your online business will offer. Also, mention the products within each product line and the product source.

If you are amongst the ecommerce businesses that sell digital products or services, mention those and explain how the customers will access them.

For instance, an OTT platform offers streaming services to its clients through an application.

Keep this section detailed by adding a brief description of each product and its pricing.

Consider this as a checklist of questions you must answer within this section:

  • What are the products of your online store?
  • Will you manufacture the products or source them from vendors?
  • How will your customers buy the product- Website, application, shopping platforms, etc.
  • What will be the pricing of your product offerings?

ecommerce business plan products and services

6. Develop a sales and marketing plan

By now, the readers are aware of the products and services that your online business will offer. It’s now time to tell them your sales and marketing plan.

Millions of ecommerce businesses start every year. But very few manage to crack their desired sales.

In this section, you will make sales strategies to ensure that your desired sales become achievable.

Try answering the following to form an efficient sales plan:

  • Sales channels: website, application, ecommerce platforms, subscription box platforms, flash sale sites, etc.
  • Sales method: Inbound methods or outbound methods
  • Sales personnel: Who will be responsible for product/service sales
  • Sales tools: CRM

The decisions you make here will influence the marketing strategy of your online store.

Marketing strategy

Now you need a well-rounded marketing plan to market your online store. After all, marketing is crucial to developing a brand, reaching your target customers, and acquiring sales.

In this section of a business plan, you will highlight the marketing plan for your ecommerce business. Identify the marketing channels that will be most effective for your target customers and design your strategies accordingly.

Here are a few prevalent marketing methods that can help you grow your online store:

  • Content marketing: Start writing informative and useful blog posts for your target audience. Focus on principles of SEO and keyword research to grow your reach organically. Also, post guest blogs on websites to increase your chances of reaching a wider audience.
  • Social media marketing: Identify the social media platforms that are used the most by your target audience and dedicate your marketing efforts accordingly.
  • Email Marketing: Email marketing is the most rewarding marketing channel for thousands of ecommerce businesses out there. Explain how you will build your Email list and draw conversions through them.
  • PPC: Design strategies for running paid ads on Google, Facebook, and other platforms and determine your budget for the same.
  • Traditional PR: Traditional methods of publications can also help you market your product effectively. If you will be using such methods, highlight the details regarding the same.
  • Influencer marketing: Will you hire or barter with influencers to promote your product? If so, define your strategy for the same.

All in all, the marketing plan should clearly define a roadmap to reach your target audience. Also, highlight different marketing tools you will use for your online business.

marketing strategy for ecommercre business

7. Introduce your management team

Having the right team will help you build a successful ecommerce business. So take your time and figure out the manpower needs for your business.

In this section of your business plan, you will introduce the key management members at your ecommerce store. Define their role, responsibility, experience, expertise, and achievements to prove their suitability in your organization.

Outline the organizational structure of your online store and explain how these people will be responsible for the smooth functioning of your business.

8. Outline your operational plan

Running an ecommerce store is not an easy task. From managing the backend to offering timely deliveries- a lot goes into ensuring smooth business operations.

A solid business plan cannot be complete without a detailed section of operations in it. So take your time and set your operations in line before you start with the store.

Here are a few things that most ecommerce business plans have in common. Consider adding them to your operations plan as well.

  • Order fulfillment process: Everything from getting an order to delivery, managing returns, shipment, packaging, exchange, and tracking is defined at this step. Explain how the order will be fulfilled at your online store.
  • Manufacturing and quality control: If the products will be manufactured in-house, what will be the manufacturing process? How will you ensure quality? Where will the goods be manufactured? What machinery will you use?
  • Suppliers: Who will be your supplier for products and services? What will be the purchase terms? Will there be an agreement or contract? What would be the contingency plan in case of casualty?
  • Storage: Will you dropship the products or store them in a warehouse? Where will be the storage located? How will you manage stock? What methods will you use?
  • Technology and payment processors: How will the customers pay for online shopping? What payment methods are available for them? What technologies will you use to facilitate payments? How will you secure their personal information?
  • Customer service: How can the customers reach you? What will be your order policies? Will there be any customer service team?

The logistics and operations plan will serve as a policy book for your organization. It will answer every query and doubt regarding the process.

9. Prepare financial projections

Now comes the most taxing part of creating a business plan- preparing a financial plan.

A financial plan is crucial because it will help you determine the feasibility of a business idea. Moreover, if you plan to seek funding for your online business, the projections in this plan will compel potential investor’s interest in your business.

Here are a few things to include in your financial plan:

  • Startup costs: Estimate the startup costs for your ecommerce business . From website development to inventory costs, licensing fees, security, and software charges- include every cost that will go into establishing your online business.
  • Funding source: Determine your funding requirements and what sources will you use to acquire the funds, i.e. business loans, angel investors, friends and family, etc.
  • Pricing strategy: Include your pricing plan for the products and services. Consider various overhead and operational costs to determine the final pricing.
  • Sales projections: Include your monthly, quarterly, and annual sales projections through different sales channels and also estimate your revenue.
  • Income statement: Also known as profit and loss statement, in this key report you will forecast the company’s profit and loss for the next 3-5 years. The difference between a company’s revenue and expenses will give you gross profits and net profits.
  • Cash Flow Statement:   A clear documentation of cash that is generated and spent in a business. This will help potential investors understand whether your business will make or lose money.
  • Balance sheet: A key summary of your business assets and liabilities that indicates your net worth. Calculate your equity in the business by deducting all the liabilities from your assets.
  • Break-even analysis: Break-even will help you evaluate how long before the business will start making money.

Too much of calculations right? Not with the financial forecasting tool from Upmetrics. Simply enter your numbers in the tab and the tool will do all the detailed calculations for you. Import the data from Excel sheets and before you know your projections will be done.

financial highlights for ecommerce business plan

Ecommerce Industry Highlights 2023

Ecommerce is a trillion-dollar industry. It’s indeed a rewarding market for anyone who wants to start an ecommerce business. But before that, you must check out these latest industry highlights of 2023.

  • Global market size: The global Ecommerce market size is expected to reach 6.3 trillion dollars in 2023. There is ample room for new businesses to venture into this market.
  • Online marketplace : According to Forbes , 24% of total retail purchases will be made online by 2026.
  • Market leader: Amazon accounts for 37.8% of Ecommerce sales , which is far more than other ecommerce businesses.
  • Cart abandonment: 48% of online shoppers abandon their carts because of extra costs on shipping and taxes. You are likely to lose your potential customers if you fail to consider these aspects.
  • Frequency to shop: 79% of online shoppers will shop for something or the other at least once a month. Considering the customer segments, nearly 96% of Gen Z shop at least once a month online.
  • Social media commerce: If you think websites and platforms are the only way to reach your potential customers, you are wrong. 96.9 million people in the USA are reported to shop on social media.

The US online marketplace is expected to reach 940.9 billion by 2023 end. There is enough scope for new businesses to emerge and grow in this competitive market space.

Related Ecommerce Resources

  • Creating a Successful E-commerce Marketing Plan
  • E-commerce Industry Statistics
  • Calculating Your Online Store Startup Budget
  • How To Open n E-commerce Business

Download a sample ecommerce business plan

Looking for help to write your business plan? Well, we have something absolutely perfect for you. Download our ecommerce business plan sample pdf and get a detailed guide to write a plan along with relevant examples.

Upmetrics business plan templates are designed specifically for entrepreneurs and business owners who want to write their own business plans. Our templates are modern, intuitive, and easily available to kickstart your plan writing.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

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All set to start your own ecommerce business? Let’s simplify the entire business planning process for you with Upmetrics. We have more than 400+ customizable sample business plans suited for varying different businesses. With features like AI assistance and financial forecasting, you can bring together an actionable business plan in easy steps.

So whether you are aiming to start a business-to-business or business-to-customer or any other type of ecommerce business, you are well equipped to write the most stellar plan with our business planning app .

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Frequently asked questions, can i get expert help to draft my ecommerce business plan.

Of course, you can. Writing a business plan is not an easy task. You may lose context or can leave behind an important detail while writing. A plan writer can translate your business idea into a plan efficiently with his compelling skills. If not, you can take the help of online tools and search for relevant templates to write your own business plan.

Can I customize my ecommerce business plan as per my business needs?

Absolutely yes. No two ecommerce businesses are the same. The very purpose of a business plan is to address the unique concerns, ideas, and questions relating to your ecommerce business. From executive summary to a financial plan, customize every aspect of your plan with Upmetrics business plan builder.

What are the common mistakes to avoid while crafting an ecommerce business plan?

Here are a few mistakes to avoid while drafting a business plan for your new business:

  • Lack of market research
  • Inadequate financial planning
  • Overlooking the competition
  • Not having a clear value proposition
  • Undermining the technology needs
  • Not considering casualties and emergencies
  • Using complex language

Can I create an e-commerce business plan on my own, or should I hire a professional?

Ideally, you should be the one drafting your business plan. This is because no one knows your business better than you yourself and your business partners. So instead of hiring a professional, take the assistance of plan builders and step-by-step guides and create a compelling plan. Upmetrics AI assistant will simplify the writing process by helping you put together a cohesive write-up.

What are some emerging payment technologies to consider in your e-commerce business plan?

If you are planning to start a competitive ecommerce brand, you need to offer a bunch of payment solutions preferred by your target audience. Here are a few payment technologies you must definitely have in your business:

  • QR code payments
  • Mobile wallet
  • Contactless payment
  • Real-time payments
  • Buy now pay later solutions

About the Author

ecommerce website business plan

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Ecommerce Business Plan Template

Used 5,221 times

This Ecommerce Business Plan Template is tailored particularly to e-commerce companies, and all you require to do is add the elements related to your business.

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Image 1

Prepared by:

​ [Sender.FirstName] [Sender.LastName] ​

​ [Sender.Title] [Sender.Company] ​

​ [Sender.Phone] [Sender.Email] ​

Business Overview

​ [Sender.Company] is headquartered at [Sender.StreetAddress] , [Sender.City] , [Sender.State] [Sender.PostalCode] and operates in the (industry) . [Sender.Company] was founded in (month, year) by (Founder.Name).

​ [Sender.Company] seeks to offer (a general description of specific products or services to be offered) in response to what management has identified as a clear market need.

Products and Services

​ [Sender.Company] will sell (specific products or services to be sold). The products sold by [Sender.Company] will stand apart from the competition due to (explain the unique selling proposition of the product to be sold). [Sender.Company] will also provide (describe any supplementary products or services offered).

Website Design

​ [Sender.Company] will develop a website whose key elements will include the following:

About section explaining the company's mission

Database of products

Shopping cart system

Help and FAQ pages

The website will be built by an established development firm and designed by an accomplished web designer, with the process supervised by [Sender.Company] 's designated supervisor.

Management Team

​ [Sender.Company] is led by (Manager.Name) who has been in the e-commerce industry for (number) years.

Previously, (Manager.Name) worked as (job title) at (previous company) and acquired in-depth knowledge of the e-commerce industry as well as the (industry name) industry and the needs of the mass consumer.

Industry Analysis

​ [Sender.Company] has conducted a thorough analysis of the industry and discovered the following statistics that bode well for the business:

(Provide point-by-point statistics that illustrate the opportunity for your business e.g., growth projections for the e-commerce industry and your specific niche, consumer survey results, cost projections, etc.)

Customer Analysis

​ [Sender.Company] ’s target market is comprised primarily of (describe your ideal customer) .

The demographics of these customers are as follows:

The average income of $XX, XXX

XX% work in (industry)

XX% (married/single)

The median age of XX years

Strong desire for (a specific type of product/service you sell)

Competitor Analysis

There are numerous competitors in the industry in which [Sender.Company] will operate. The most noteworthy competitors consist of:

(List 2-3 competitors and include a brief description of their history, the scope of their businesses, and some noteworthy facts and stats.)

Competitive Advantage

​ [Sender.Company] is positioned for success because:

There are a limited number of competitors.

There's no one selling the exact product/service that [Sender.Company] offers.

The management team is seasoned and has a strong track record of success.

The product/service is on trend, and the industry is growing.

Marketing Strategy

​ [Sender.Company] plans to leverage several strategical prongs to achieve success in its marketing strategy.

Brand Strategy

​ [Sender.Company] will consistently focus its marketing efforts on the brand's unique value proposition, consisting of:

(Describe what makes your product or service stand apart from your competitors)

Promotional Strategy

(List some of the channels or methods your company will use to promote itself, e.g., SEO, email marketing, paid advertising, social media outreach, affiliates, etc.)

Pricing Strategy

​ [Sender.Company] 's pricing, is based on comprehensive market research, and it has been determined that our pricing is fair and attractive compared to competitor offerings.

(State the specific pricing or the general price range of products to be offered.)

Operational Plan

​ [Sender.Company] has determined that the following roles are essential for the success of the company:

(List some of the departments and roles that will need to be in place to operate the business.)

​ [Sender.Company] believes it is reasonable to expect completion of the following milestones at the following times:

(State when you expect the milestone to be completed.)

(Briefly describe what the milestone is e.g., the website goes live, marketing campaigns launch, products ship, etc.)

Financial Projections

​ [Sender.Company] is seeking total funding of $(amount) to launch its business. The capital will be used for (state what funding will be used e.g., building the website, hiring personnel, working capital, marketing, etc.)

Specifically, these funds will be used as follows:

Hiring a content production team: approximately $(amount of money)

Marketing: approximately $(amount of money) design/build and startup business expenses: approximately $120,000

​ [Sender.Company] 's financial projections for the next (number) years are as follows:

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Your rating will help others.

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How to Start an Ecommerce Business: A Simple 7-Step Guide

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Building a thriving ecommerce store demands hard work and dedication. Way before you set it up, you need to establish a solid foundation. 

In this comprehensive guide, we’ve put together seven steps to help you build, launch, and market your ecommerce store. Along with actionable tips to see you succeed. 

Here’s how to start an ecommerce business successfully.

1. Identify Your Niche and Products to Sell

To start an ecommerce business, you must first identify your niche. 

Doing so allows you to be laser-focused on a specific market segment. Helping you spend more time and effort on understanding the needs of that particular group.

To identify the best niche(s) for your business, ask yourself questions like:

  • What niche(s) do I hold expertise in? It’s a good idea to operate in a niche where you already have knowledge or experience. You’ll probably already understand the target market and be familiar with the demand for different types of products.
  • What are some of the most profitable niches right now? We recommend choosing a niche with less competition, high demand, and impressive growth potential. Check out some popular niches .
  • What are my personal interests or hobbies? Pick a niche that aligns with your interests or hobbies—it can get you even more invested in your business 
  • What are my initial budget and resources at hand? Determine whether you can afford to handle production. Or if you should consider dropshipping or partnering with manufacturers. In either case, work out if you can afford to maintain a steady supply of products and manage related costs.

Determining your preferred ecommerce business model can also help you hone in on a niche and formulate product ideas. 

There are six major ecommerce business models to consider:

  • Business-to-consumer (B2C)
  • Business-to-business (B2B)
  • Business-to-government (B2G)
  • Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
  • Consumer-to-business (C2B)
  • Consumer-to-government (C2G)

Types of ecommerce business models

Let’s say you want to run an ecommerce business that sells to businesses (B2B). Industrial machinery and equipment could be a good niche to target. You can narrow things down to sub-niches based on your preference and expertise—like woodworking machinery, textile machinery, construction equipment, etc.

Once you’ve identified a couple of niches, evaluate their demand and competition by:

  • Analyzing research reports from credible sources to understand their growth potential
  • Interviewing industry leaders in these niches to better understand the market dynamics, customer preferences, trends, challenges, and growth potential
  • Conducting competitive research . Identify the top players to learn what products they sell, how they influence customers’ purchasing decisions, what marketing channels they are on, etc. More on this in the next section.

Semrush’s Market Explorer is a handy tool for obtaining valuable market research data. Including market traffic, market size, traffic cost, key players, and top keywords. 

"Market Summary" section in Semrush’s Market Explorer

Conducting this research can further identify the top challenges faced by customers. 

Next, it’s a good idea to narrow down your ecommerce niche(s). 

Suppose you want to operate in the skin care niche. At this point, it’s important to note that the skin care industry is an oversaturated market. 

To make your ecommerce business a success, you’ll need to identify a unique product category within the skin care industry. Here’s how:

  • Start by identifying a broad market —skin care in this case
  • Identify a less saturated segment : Within your chosen industry, identify a segment that has fewer competitors and high demand. Say, natural or organic skin care products.
  • If the sub-niche is still broad, narrow your focus onto a specific sub-category. Like “organic skin care products for sensitive skin.”

Once you’ve identified your sub-niche, proceed to brainstorm and evaluate product ideas to really comprehend market demand. 

Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool can help you do this.

For example, a good product idea in the “organic skin care products for sensitive skin” sub-niche is “natural deodorant.” 

Let’s use Keyword Overview to gain insights into market demand and competition. 

Launch the tool, enter the keyword “natural deodorant,” and select your business’s country. 

Click “ Search .”

“natural deodorant" seed keyword entered into the Keyword Overview search bar

Next, you’ll see a variety of metrics related to the keyword.

Keyword Overview dashboard for "natural deodorant"

“Volume” indicates how many people look up “natural deodorant” on search engines in your selected location every month. “Global volume” measures how many monthly searches occur worldwide for this keyword.

“Keyword Difficulty” shows how difficult it is to rank in the top 10 organic search results for your target keyword. At 56%, “natural deodorant” falls in the “Difficult” category.

Another interesting metric to look at is CPC ( cost per click ). It calculates an estimate of how much an advertiser pays each time someone clicks their keyword-targeting paid ( PPC ) ad on search engines. 

Use Keyword Overview to conduct research for all product ideas you’re considering. 

2. Conduct Target Audience and Competitive Research

Once you’ve finalized a niche and a list of products, don’t jump straight into building your ecommerce store. 

Take time to get the full picture of your target audience and competitors—which will help you base your offering around any unmet needs.

Research Your Target Audience

A target audience is a group of people you want to aim your products, services, and/or marketing efforts at. It’s usually defined by traits like gender, age, interests, challenges, and goals. 

Researching your target audience can give you insights into its challenges, pain points, and purchasing patterns. So you can then create messaging, offers, and marketing and advertising campaigns that resonate with your intended customer base.

Semrush’s One2Target lets you gather your target audience’s socioeconomic, demographic, and behavioral data based on competitors in your niche. 

Enter up to five domains and click “ Search ” to obtain key audience data. 

A section of "Demographics" dashboard in One2Target tool

You can then create effective product descriptions, marketing materials, and campaigns based on the findings.

Research Your Competitors

Draw inspiration from your competitors’ efforts and improve on what they’re doing right. Identify their best-selling products, social media channels they’re on, and the kind of content they create that their audience likes to consume.

Semrush offers a wide range of competitive research tools that highlight your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Which can help you come up with more product ideas in your niche.

Organic Research  uncovers your competitors’ most successful keywords, estimated organic website traffic, traffic cost, and top-performing webpages. 

A section of the overview dashboard in Organic Research tool, with "Keywords," "Traffic," and "Traffic Cost" metrics highlighted

Advertising Research analyzes your competitors’ PPC ad copy and history. Along with their top paid search keywords, positions, and traffic.

"Postions," "Positions Changes," "Competitors," and "Ads Copies" tabs highlighted in Advertising Research

3. Validate Your Niche and Product Ideas

The next step is to confirm both your market choice and product ideas. 

To validate your niche, ask questions like:

  • Is there a consistent demand for products in this niche?
  • What is the potential customer base size?
  • How price-sensitive are consumers in this market?
  • How does this niche perform during different economic cycles? 
  • What are the barriers to entry and the level of competition in this niche?
  • Is the niche sustainable and scalable? Any potential threats in the near future?

To validate product ideas, ask:

  • What does demand for these products look like?
  • Can I offer a competitive price for my product(s) while maintaining a healthy profit margin?
  • How scalable is the product idea in terms of production and market expansion?
  • What would be the potential limitations or challenges in sourcing, manufacturing, or distributing these products?
  • Are there any legal or regulatory considerations I’ll need to deal with?
  • How will my products adapt to changing market conditions or consumer preferences?

Answering these questions can help you decide whether it makes sense to proceed with your selected niche and product ideas. Or if you should explore other options. 

4. Source Your Product

There are several approaches you can take to sourcing your products.

  • Manufacture your own products : Gives you complete control over quality with significant investment of your time, money, and resources
  • Wholesaling : Purchasing products in bulk from a wholesaler—requires upfront investment and storage space 
  • Dropshipping : Partner up with a supplier who handles the manufacturing, storage, packaging, and shipping. So you can focus on marketing and driving sales.
  • Partnering with local manufacturers : Work directly with local manufacturers who will manufacture products based on your needs and specifications

Your approach will decide your next steps. 

For instance, if you choose to manufacture your own product, you’ll need to work on product design, development, and manufacturing. Along with purchasing equipment, hiring people, renting a manufacturing space, and so on.

If you partner with local manufacturers, you’ll need to evaluate different contenders, compare pricing and product quality, negotiate terms, and discuss your specific requirements. 

5. Write a Business Plan

Your ecommerce business plan should outline your company’s goals, the strategies to achieve these goals, plus your target market, financial projections, and operational structure. 

This document should act as a reference point and a roadmap for your business. And answer some important business-focused questions.

Here’s a template you can use to draft a well-written business plan:

An ecommerce business plan template by Semrush

Now is the right time to pick a business name and deal with any legal requirements associated with establishing your online store. 

You’ll also need to apply for the necessary trade licenses and sales tax certifications. Plus health, environmental, and safety permits. 

6. Build Your Ecommerce Store

To create your ecommerce store , you can either work with an ecommerce website developer or do it yourself. Here’s how to DIY:

Find the Right Domain Name

A domain name is a part of your site URL that identifies what your business is. Like this:

"urbanoutfitters" domain highlighted in the "https://www.urbanoutfitters.com" URL on SERP

While it’s good practice to feature your business name as your domain name, it’s not mandatory. 

You can check domain name availability in a domain name registrar like GoDaddy . Or a domain name search service like Instant Domain Search . 

Choose a Website Builder and Web Host

An ecommerce website builder is an online platform that allows you to create and manage your online store without the need for extensive technical knowledge. 

Many website builders offer drag-and-drop functionality and a wide range of customizable templates. Making it super-easy to set up an ecommerce store without any coding knowledge. 

Popular website builders include Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress. Each offers different features and functionalities. 

Here’s Shopify’s:

Shopify’s website builder UI

Compare them based on ease of use, customization capabilities, design options, customer support, etc.

It’s also important to select a web host—the service that enables you to publish your website on the internet once you’ve set it up. Many website builders also offer web hosting. 

Further reading : Shopify vs. WordPress: Which Is Better for Ecommerce?

Decide Your Website Layout

It’s time to design your ecommerce store—the core of your online business. Website builders offer a wide range of both free and paid customizable themes you can install in a few clicks.

Test different themes to understand what works best for you. Choose one that allows you to perform heavy customizations. 

Here’s an example: 

If you sell personalized T-shirts, opt for a theme that lets you custom-code a feature allowing customers to add text or upload images for personalization. You can also custom-code a feature that lets them preview their customizations before purchasing.

Once you’ve picked a theme, start building the pages you need—for instance:

  • Product pages
  • About Us page
  • FAQs page (optional)
  • Policy pages
  • Contact page

Important: Build your pages with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind to help your online store rank well in search engines. Read more in our Ecommerce SEO: A Simple Guide for Beginners and in Point 7 below.

Set Up a Payment Gateway

The whole point of an ecommerce business is to make online sales. So you’ll need to set up a payment gateway to accept payments from customers on your website. 

A payment gateway is the front-end technology that facilitates secure and efficient processing of online customer transactions. 

A payment gateway example

Luckily, many website builders offer native payment processing systems you can quickly set up on your online store. You can also use third-party ecommerce plugins like Stripe or Razorpay. 

Before we move on to marketing tactics, let’s address a question that frequently pops up: How long does it take to start an ecommerce business and get an online store up and running?

There’s no single, straightforward answer here. 

As you can see, your ecommerce setup will depend on different factors that may affect its timeline. Like your product-sourcing method and how long it takes to get the necessary licenses and permits. As well as available resources, website-building and other setup processes, and more. 

7. Market Your Ecommerce Business 

Once you’ve set up your ecommerce store, it’s time to get the word out there to attract your potential customers to your store.

By implementing digital marketing strategies like SEO, social media marketing, paid advertising, etc.

Let’s dive into some popular digital marketing strategies one by one.

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to a set of processes aimed at naturally improving your website’s visibility in search engines. 

Using relevant keywords in your content plays a big part here. 

By optimizing your ecommerce website with the right keywords, you can attract potential customers who are using search engines to find products like yours.

Suppose one of your products is an automatic cat feeder. Using SEO, you can increase the chances of your website appearing in organic search results when someone types “automatic cat feeder” or related keywords.

So, how do you find the best keywords for your ecommerce store?

Run the Keyword Magic Tool . Enter a seed keyword (a broad term related to one of your products), select a country, and click “ Search .”

"automatic cat feeder" seed keyword entered into the Keyword Magic Tool

Next, you’ll see a list of related keywords with details of “Intent” (the reason behind a searcher’s query), “Keyword Difficulty” or KD% (how difficult it is to rank in the top 10 search results for a given keyword), “Volume” for the keyword’s monthly search volume, etc.

"Intent," "Volume," and "KD%" columns highlighted in Keyword Magic Tool

You can display your keyword results according to how closely they match your seed keyword. Choose from “ Broad Match ,” “ Phrase Match ,” and “ Exact Match .” 

Apply filters to further identify the best keywords. Like customizing the KD% to find search terms that are easy to rank for.

Applying "KD%" filter in Keyword Magic Tool

You can even choose from the topical groups and sub-groups in the left column to get the most relevant keywords. In our case, we selected the “food” group and “dry” sub-group.

Keyword Magic Tools results filtered by “food” group and “dry” sub-group

Use a combination of filters to narrow your keyword search.

When you find the right keywords for your business, it’s best to add them to a list. Here’s how:

First, tick the checkboxes next to the keywords you want to add to a list. Click “ + Add to keyword list ” and create a new list or add them to an existing one. 

Let’s name our list “Automatic Cat Feed Keywords Research.”

Adding keywords to a list named “Automatic Cat Feed Keywords Research"

You can then export the keyword list from the Keyword Manager . Just click “ Keyword Manager ” from the left navigation bar. 

"Keyword Manager" selected from the Semrush menu

Select your keywords list under the “Keyword lists” section.

"Automatic Cat Feeder: Keyword Research" selected under "Keyword lists"

Next, you can either select the keywords to export by ticking the check boxes next to them or export them all. Click “ Export .” 

You can export this list in CSV, XLSX, or CSV Semicolon format.

Exporting the keyword list in Keyword Manager

Paid Advertising

Paid advertising is a digital marketing strategy involving paid ads on channels like Facebook, Google, Instagram, and YouTube that put your content in front of your target audience. Increasing their chances of finding your ecommerce website on your preferred channels. 

There are different paid ad models, of which a popular one we mentioned earlier is PPC. It works exactly as it sounds. You pay each time a user clicks on your ad targeting a specific keyword. 

Here’s an example of a paid ecommerce ad on Google Search:

A paid ecommerce ad on Google Search from Zappos

Important: If you’re not careful with your keyword research process, you could end up draining your budget. For example, if you target keywords with a very high CPC or ones that don’t align with the right search intent.

You can find the best keywords for your paid ads with Google’s Keyword Planner or Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool . 

If you want to analyze a specific keyword, use Keyword Overview . This tool also lets you tap into local data for your chosen keyword. 

Below, we look at local metrics for “automatic cat feeder” in Los Angeles:

Local metrics for “automatic cat feeder” in Los Angeles shown in Keyword Overview tool

As you can see, the search volume for the keyword “automatic cat feeder” in Los Angeles is 320. CPC stands at $1.08. 

Similarly, you can analyze other relevant keywords on a local level to better understand if it makes sense to target them in your market or niche. 

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing involves the use of social media platforms like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and TikTok to market your products and brand.

Being consistent with your social media marketing efforts can help you increase your brand’s visibility on these platforms, build stronger connections with your audience, and ultimately drive traffic to your ecommerce website. Leading to more sales.

Social media marketing involves, among other things, publishing high-quality social media content that resonates with your audience. Plus:

  • Interacting with followers on social media
  • Using relevant hashtags to increase the discoverability of your content
  • Creating and nurturing a community around your brand

Doing so across multiple platforms can be challenging. Semrush’s Social Media toolkit makes things easier.

Semrush’s Social Media toolkit includes Social Poster, Social Tracker, Social Analytics, Social Content Insights, and Social Inbox tools

Here are the Semrush tools you’ll need for your ecommerce business:

  • Social Poster : Draft, schedule, and post content across different social media platforms—including Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Pinterest.

Calendar overview in Social Poster tool

  • Social Tracker : Monitor your competitors’ social media accounts to compare growth and engagement.

"Comparison with Competitors" charts shown in Social Tracker tool

  • Social Analytics : Track your own social media marketing efforts via follower, reach, and engagement metrics.

Instagram analytics dashboard shown in Social Analytics tool

  • Social Inbox : View and respond to incoming messages across different platforms.

Social Inbox tool

Further reading : How to Create an Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

4 Tips to Succeed in Ecommerce

Here are a few key ecommerce success strategies to follow once you’ve set up your business:

Optimize Your Ecommerce Website for Conversion

Optimizing your ecommerce store can help you convert more of your visitors into paying customers. Leading to more sales and revenue. 

Otherwise, even if you attract a lot of visitors to your website, you’ll struggle to turn them into actual buyers. 

Here are a few tips to optimize your ecommerce store for conversions:

  • Make your website mobile-friendly
  • Increase your page speed
  • Improve your website navigation
  • Offer multiple payment options

Semrush’s Site Audit tool lets you identify over 140 issues that may be affecting your website. Like poor page speed.

A section of the "Issues" tab in Site Audit tool

Select “+ Create project” to create a new project. 

"+ Create project" button in Site Audit tool

Enter your domain and project name (the latter is optional). Then hit the “ Create project ” button.

"ray-ban.com" domain entered under the "Create project" pop-up window

Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your project. Once done, click “ Start Site Audit .”

Site Audit tool configuration settings

Next, the tool will provide valuable recommendations and insights to optimize your website for higher conversion rates.

Implement a Customer Loyalty Program

A customer loyalty program lets you reward customers to encourage ongoing business, foster long-term relationships, and grow brand loyalty and advocacy. 

The aim is to provide buyers with incentives and benefits that make their interactions with your brand more worthwhile. You’ll likely increase your customer retention rate as a result—meaning you drive more sales and revenue from repeat purchases. 

Starbucks Rewards is a successful example of a customer loyalty program you could adapt for your ecommerce store.

Starbucks Rewards program overview in 3 steps

Every time you purchase at Starbucks, you earn “Stars” which accumulate in your Starbucks Rewards account. You can redeem these stars for rewards like free drinks, food, and more. 

Run an Influencer Marketing Campaign

Working with influencers is a great digital marketing strategy to increase brand awareness and drive more sales. You get to tap into their follower base and the trust they have built with their audience.

Take Converse. The footwear brand collaborated with four top TikTok creators (with a combined 12 million followers) to promote the launch of its “Creative All-Star Series” in London.

A video from Jake Sweet , one of the influencers, drove more than 37K likes and 120+ shares alone.

To drive real ecommerce success, look for influencers with:

  • A high engagement rate
  • Followers who share similarities with your target audience
  • Values and interests that align with your brand
  • Time to collaborate with your brand personally

Use Semrush’s Influencer Analytics to find the best influencers for your business needs. The tool lets you tap into a gigantic database of 27M+ influencers and enables several filters for narrowing down your search.

Fashion influencers list in Influencer Analytics tool

Establish Your Presence on Ecommerce Marketplaces

Having your storefront on ecommerce marketplaces means you can take advantage of their incredible reach and reputation. Potentially resulting in higher sales and revenue.

Ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart drive billions of people to their websites each month. Customers like to purchase here because of the trust the marketplaces built over the years, their customer-centric approach, and vast product selections.

True Classic, an ecommerce T-shirt brand for men, has both Amazon and Walmart storefronts. Here’s one of them:

True Classic storefront on Amazon

Further reading : 8 Tactics to Add to Your Ecommerce Growth Strategy

Gear Your Ecommerce Business Up for Healthy Growth

Launching your ecommerce business is just the start of your journey. 

Make it a practice to continuously test different digital marketing strategies to better understand what works best for your business—and what doesn’t. Also, keep an eye on the latest ecommerce trends and competitors’ marketing strategies to get and stay ahead.

Semrush’s all-in-one digital marketing platform has more than 50 tools to support your various ecommerce marketing efforts. From SEO to paid advertising, social media, and influencer marketing. 

Sign up and start driving your ecommerce business forward.

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6-Part Ecommerce Business Plan (Template Included)

ecommerce website business plan

Shayla Mars

Last Updated Apr 23, 2019

Your ecommerce business plan is a living document. As your company develops, so will your document.

However, there are six basic sections your business plan should include:

1 Problem And Solution 2 Market Research 3 Business Model 4 Business Costs vs. Potential Revenue 5 Proof Of Concept And Beta Testing 6 Market Your Product

Problem And Solution

While there are simple ecommerce businesses that rely on gimmicks, like Ship Your Enemies Glitter (which sold for $85,000 in 2015), the real opportunity for revenue is in solving other people’s problems or your own.

Lindsay McCormick, founder of BITE Toothpaste Bits, wanted to solve a problem that directly affected her. As a traveling TV Producer for HGTV, she used too much travel-size toothpaste for her liking and was tired of the tubes exploding in her luggage. She did her research and found that one billion toothpaste tubes ended up in landfills. When she was unable to find a viable alternative, she decided to start BITE , and create her own toothpaste.

Screenshot of a webpage about a product about toothpaste bites

Here’s how you can start brainstorming your own product idea:

#1 Create a list of products or services that could potentially solve a problem. Speak with others about your ideas.

What’s something that’s bothering you or something you believe could make life easier? Hold a solo brainstorming session where you write out your ideas. If you already have an idea (or several!) skip to #2.

Don’t worry right now if you have the skills to bring your idea to life. Lindsay wasn’t a chemist, but that didn’t stop her from following through on her idea.

#2 Once you have a list, get together with your friends (or even start a Facebook thread) to discuss your ideas.

Ask them the following questions:

Is this something that can improve your life?

Does something like this already exist?

If yes, what do you think is lacking?

If no, why do you think that is?

This line of questioning will help you figure out what hurdles may come up in bringing your idea to fruition (and if your idea meets the initial criteria stated of being needed and useful). Take notes and listen with an open mind. After speaking with your friends, select the idea you feel most passionate about.

Passion will help keep you motivated to succeed when the hurdles pop up. Just like Lindsay, there’s nothing you can’t learn.

Use This Ecommerce Business Plan Template To Define Your Problem And Solution

Market Research

#1 understand your tam, sam, and som.

You don’t want to build a company that doesn’t have a market, or the market size is too small to generate any meaningful revenue. Knowing your market size is key to understanding other aspects of your business, such as costs (how much you would have to spend to reach your market, how much you would have to produce to penetrate the market, etc.). Correctly estimating your market size and how much market share you can corner is a key element in any ecommerce business plan.

There are three important elements in assessing market size: [ * ]

Your total addressable market (TAM)

Your serviceable available market (SAM)

Your serviceable obtainable market (SOM)

A picture showing multiple circles in another bigger circle

The  total addressable market is the total revenue opportunity for your product or service. The serviceable available market is the market size that is geographically and/or politically available for you. The serviceable obtainable market is the market size that your product can realistically capture.

When thinking about internet and mobile penetration, to get an idea of how many people could access your ecommerce store, remember:

54% of the world’s population has internet access [ * ]

96% of the U.S. has internet access [ * ]

73% of U.S. mobile phone users accessed the internet with their mobile device [ * ]

#2 Calculate your TAM using Industry Reports

When Christine Souffrant Ntim, founder of Vendedy, wanted to launch a business that connected travelers to global street vendors, she needed to know how many people and how much money existed in this industry. [ * ]

A simple Google search using industry-specific keywords can yield big results. Her search words were: Street markets, street vending, street market industry. Her searching led her to this piece from foreignpolicy.org:

Screenshot of a news article

Christine started traveling the world in 2008 and knew that street vendors were referred to as working within a black market economy. When she took her business live in 2014, this article gave her data points to pull from. She gained insight about the tourism industry from World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Neilson, and Deloitte. She concluded that there were, on average, 1 billion global tourists traveling annually. She used this figure for a rough guess at her TAM.

#3 Calculate Your SAM using Your TAM

Continuing our example with Christine, she used her TAM (1 billion tourists) to calculate her SAM. One billion represented tourists from around the world. She first wanted to focus on the U.S. market. Using a report from the National Travel & Tourism Office, she found an estimate of how many Americans were traveling abroad and their destinations. At the time of her research in 2013, there were between 12 and 16 million Americans traveling around the world.

#4 Calculate Your SOM by Comparing Competitors Market Size

No company has 100% market share in any industry. Your SOM is a realistic guess of how much market share you can acquire. This guess is based off trend predictions for your industry. By making a list of all your competitors (direct and indirect) and their trend predictions you can deduce what needs are being met and where your company can make a profit. [ * ]

Your product or service does not have to have a direct competitor, but can be an addition to a product/service that already exists.

Cameras on cell phones have gotten fairly advanced, but the video capabilities are lacking. There’s a viable market for detachable mobile phone camera lenses. Moment, a cell phone lens company, raised over $1.5 million and was featured in several digital publications.

Screenshot of a pre-order landing page for a filmmaking device

This kind of success is one outcome of understanding the market and standing out from your competitors. Moment and it’s direct competitors (Olloclip, Ztylus and Easy-Macro) are private companies, so finding their exact market share and revenue is tricky. 

To find your SOM, use industry websites to find estimates of revenues and market share for businesses in your industry. Some websites you can use to find different industry data include:

Industry specific sites such as: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for example

Use This Ecommerce Business Plan Template To Enter Your TAM, SAM, And SOM

Business Model

An effective business model is paramount to profit creation. Your business model is the framework of how you plan to capture a share of the market. It outlines how you plan on selling your product or service to buyers. There are several models:

A picture of boxes stemming from a bigger box

Business-to-Business (B2B) means you sell your product to other businesses instead of individual customers. A B2B company can be a service provider, but it can also sell a physical good such as an office furniture supplier.

A picture of boxes stemming from a bigger box

Customer-to-Customer (C2C) means you provide a platform for customers to trade or sell with each other. You generate revenue by charging a fee, such as eBay.

A bunch of boxes stemming out from another box

Customer-to-Business (C2B) is similar to the C2C model. You are still providing a platform for customers to trade and sell, but they are trading and selling to businesses.

A picture of boxes stemming from a bigger box

Last is B2C, which is common among ecommerce businesses. You as the business sell directly to an individual consumer. If you are selling a physical product, outline your product acquisition and delivery process. Amazon is an example of a C2C model and a B2C model because they sell their own proprietary products under the name “Amazon Basics”.

If you choose a B2C or B2B model, some follow-up questions to consider:

How does someone place an order?

How is the order received?

How is the order fulfilled?

How is the order shipped to the customer?

How do you ensure this process is repeated with all orders?

Be sure to state where and how you are storing inventory, as well as how long order completion takes. If your product is custom-made, note how long custom jobs are expected to take and how you will space out orders.

Use This Ecommerce Business Plan Template To Enter Your Business Model

Business Costs vs. Potential Revenue

Your potential revenue is derived from your SOM. Knowing you won’t take 100% or even 10% of a market will help you estimate a realistic financial overview for your industry choice. Even if you've got something that could be huge, it won't start out that way. While Airbnb is known as a disrupter, according to an STR Report (“STR is the source for premium global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights”) from July 2016 (8 years since being in business), it’s share of market demand and revenues was still below 4% of the total accommodations market share for 13 regional markets. [ * ]

Screenshot of graphs that show airbnb

#1: Determine Your Startup Costs

Your startup costs are the sum of the expenses your business incurs before launch.

Costs can be broken down into three categories: one-time, fixed, and variable.

Detail your costs in a list

In column one, list one-time costs. This may include hiring a consultant, incorporating your business, or buying a laptop.

In column two, list fixed (constant) monthly costs associated with selling your product. While this includes rent, it also includes the cost of your internet, website hosting, ecommerce software, etc. 

In column three, list all variable costs. Credit card processing costs will vary based on the amount you sell each month, utilities will change based on usage and the season, raw materials can fluctuate based on the market, and labor costs can change based on production needs. One method is to try to estimate the costs for a year and divide the result by 12 for a monthly cost.

Pro Tip: Set up an emergency fund for unknown costs. This can be an extension of your “runway fund.” “Runway” is a startup term that reflects how long your company can remain afloat if income and expenses are steady. A “runway fund” is the money you have to ensure your business remains operational pre-profit.

Screenshot of a spreadsheet showing startup costs

Use This Startup Costs Spreadsheet

#2 Set Your Price

How much you sell your product or service for depends on a number of factors. The value of anything is what people are willing to pay for it. Using your market research, you can apply a value that makes sense for your market. Here are two pricing strategies you can use:

Pricing Strategy 1: Market-Oriented Pricing

If you are selling machine-made diamonds, you have to consider the cost of creating the diamonds and how much customers are willing to pay for machine-made diamonds. Given that diamonds are in a luxury market, whether they are man-made or natural, you have several ways to price your product. 

You can use a higher price point than average, copy the market average, or undercut your competition by pricing lower than the average. This is called market-oriented pricing. It compares your product or service to the competition in your market.

Create a spreadsheet that identifies your direct competitors’ pricing of products you intend to sell. Using your market research and factoring in your costs, you can make an informed pricing decision.

Screenshot showing two different methods of pricing

Pricing Strategy 2: Keystone Pricing

Keystone pricing is when an item is priced twice as much as it costs you to make or buy. Keystone pricing has been associated with the retail industry specifically, but it’s not a standard by any means.

The pro of keystone pricing is that you can test your market and see if they’re willing to pay that price for your product. Sticking with our diamond example, if it cost you $500 to make a diamond ring, will someone be willing to pay $1000 for it? On the upside, you’ll have a gross margin of 100%.

The con of keystone pricing is that your price will be uncompetitive if your competitors have all decided to accept a lower margin — marking up a computer by 100% would not get you any sales or much interest in your business plan. 

To read more about market-oriented pricing, keystone pricing, and other pricing strategies, click here .

Remember: The price you set now can be changed later; however, you don’t want to price your item too low where you don’t make a profit, nor too high where no one wants to buy it.

Use This Ecommerce Business Plan Template To Enter Your Pricing Model

#3 Create Your Sales Forecast

As a new ecommerce business, your sales forecast is a prediction of your sales and revenue based on educated guesswork about your product or service, and the market. You will compare your forecast to actual numbers when you have them.

Calculating Revenue Projections

You want to create a five-year projection. First, create a spreadsheet that outlines your projected sales for each month of year one. Then add years two through five to the spreadsheet to demonstrate annual projections.

Create a spreadsheet that outlines the following:

Price Per Unit

Sales Revenue (Units Sold ✕ Price Per Unit)

Unit Cost (Sum of material, labor, fixed and variable costs, and overhead to create one unit) *Note: Overhead generally refers to non-labor costs for running your business 

Cost of Sales (Units Sold ✕ Unit Cost)

Profit (Sales Revenue minus Cost of Sales)

Screenshot of an empty spreadsheet, with the title

#4 Calculating a realistic sales forecast

There are two approaches startups and small businesses can take when creating a sales forecast.

A picture showing two boxes with different captions

The Top-Down Approach

This approach uses your knowledge of the market to make an assumption that you can capture a certain percentage of the market within your first year of business, and increase that percentage each year. This may give you an optimistic forecast that may be unrealistic to investors. The forecast could also hinder your business decisions when actual numbers come in.

Hypothetically, if you make candles, then your market research will tell you candles are used in seven out of 10 households in the U.S. There are 126.22 million households in the U.S. according to the 2017 Census, so that's 88 million households that buy candles. [ * ]

Let’s say each household buys at least one candle a year. Since you are a new business, your conservative guess is that you can capture 1% of that market, giving you 880,000 customers.

At first glance, this seems optimistic. Why? You have not factored in your business model — how many salespeople do you have? Can you sell to the entire US or should you maximize a specific region? Can you make 880,000 candles in a year?

The Bottom-Up Approach

This approach will give you a smaller forecast, but more realistic figures as it takes into consideration actual numbers and your own output capacity.

Pro tip: Check public company annual reports and filings to help determine financial and product information about potential competitors. Comparing competitor information against your own business model will give you more insight.

Back to our candle example: You know you can produce 100 candles a month. You know the average mass-produced candle sells for $1.99, but handmade candles retail between $8 and $15. You decide to price your candles at $10 each. You set a modest goal to sell 25 candles a month, increasing to 50 candles a month during the holiday season (October through December).

Spreadsheet showing the sales forecast for a product for the 1st year

With this model, $3,000 is the profit from one year of business, using modest projections. You can then increase your units sold, and price in the following 2-5 years at an incremental rate. So in year two, you sell 50 candles off-season and 75 during the holiday season. By year three, your ability to produce could increase by bringing on a second maker or dedicating more time to candle creation.

You will outline this in your sales forecast section to show why you believe your output, sales, and pricing will increase over time.

Use This Spreadsheet To Forecast Your Sales

Proof Of Concept And Beta Testing

Before writing your business plan, you want to develop a proof of concept. You want to have these steps completed so you can write up your findings and how your business is going to succeed.

Proof of concept, also written as POC, precedes your prototype and beta testing. It answers the question: Is your idea feasible? Two questions to ask yourself is:

Has this idea been done before/ Does your imagined product already exist? (Which you’ve already answered)

Who are your competitors? (Which you’ve already identified) 

Back to our diamond example. Creating manufactured diamonds has been done before, you can get access to the machinery that can create the diamonds, you can gauge for quality and so on. Your POC is sound; however the challenge is finding what will make your product stand-out from your competition.

A detailed graph showing how you can ask questions to get to the proof of concept

For an idea or product that hasn’t been done before, you will need to collect significant data to prove feasibility. Some ideas are ahead of their time, such as Charles Babbage’s first stab at a machine that could be programmable (the computer). He was able to produce a POC based on the knowledge of computing that existed at the time, and marrying that without engineering capabilities. [ * ]

Then we enter the prototype phase. Once all aspects of feasibility have been addressed, you can then design an internal version of your idea for you and your team to test (known as alpha testing). When it is ready for the public (doesn’t have to be perfect), then you enter your beta testing phase. 

NOTE: If your product has a unique mechanism that you created, you may want to patent it — you can start your patent application online. Once you get the “patent pending” green light, you are free to share your product via beta testing without risk of it being legally copied. [ * ]

Patenting a product before you’ve pre-sold or sold it to anyone can be risky. We recommend validating you can sell your product before worrying about the patent process. Focus on your velocity to $1 like AppSumo did when they started. 

Screenshot showing how a product is going to progress to its final version

#1 Be Creative — Offer Incentives for Beta Testing

Whether your product is an app or a tangible item, you want to test it on a subsection of your target demographic. Some beta tests are used to gain feedback on usability, errors, or malfunctions. Decide what you are using beta testers for before you go looking for them.

You want your beta testers to give you accurate and actionable feedback, so you have to give them clear and detailed instructions. Maintaining ongoing communication is key to success.

Incentives help prompt that feedback. Incentives can be a free item, a discount on the product, raffle prizes, or gift cards. If you have the funds, you can hold a launch party and reward beta testers with invites.

FitStation Tribe is offering one year of free access for beta testers.

Screenshot showing an instagram post by fitstationtribe

EarBuds, a social music app, is running an Instagram social media campaign where they shout out their beta testers.

Screenshot of an instagram post by earbudsmusic

NOTE: Beta testing is not for prototypes. 

#2 Get Influencers to Beta Test Your Product

The best part about beta testing is that you are marketing your product at the same time. The rise of influencer marketing allows a potential customer to test your product and amplify your message. Whether you have to pay an influencer depends on their personal brand; some influencers may test your item because they think it’s cool, while others may charge. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

In 2016, a custom jewelry startup, Jevelo, worked with influencer company, Activate, to hire 12 influencers to beta test their app. Each influencer used the Jevelo app to make their necklaces and showcased the final product in photos on social media. Some of them wrote blog review talking up the product.

Screenshot of an instagram post by oliamajd

According to Activate’s case study on the campaign, the influencers generated 14,594 organic engagements on Instagram. Using a mixture of social media posts and blog reviews, Jevelo’s 12 beta testers had a combined reach of 3.6 million. [ * ]

#3 (Gently) Plug Your Product in Blogs, Forums, and Other Online Spaces

Using your market research, you can find your target demographic online. If your product is food related, you can drop some savvy copy in blog comments, Facebook groups, and Instagram comments. You can email food bloggers directly as well. The sky’s the limit on how to find your potential customers and pique their interest.

List the tactics you are going to use in your business plan.

Use This Ecommerce Business Plan Template To List Your Beta Testing Tactics

Market Your Product

While we discussed combining finding beta testers with marketing, you still need to create a stand-alone marketing strategy. You need to detail where your potential customers live on the internet — after all, you are an ecommerce business. Be detailed when it comes to your marketing strategy. If you plan on launching a social media campaign, write it out. If you plan on hosting a booth at a conference, write it out. If you’ve already implemented marketing campaigns, be sure to include results in your business plan as well.

#1 Create Customer Profiles via Beta Testing and Earlier Market Research

Your product or service will not be for everyone, and that’s OK. You want to target a specific demographic. As you get more feedback from your beta group, you’ll learn which groups enjoy your product the most. Honing in on buyer personas and using your earlier market research will allow you to craft specific campaign ads and messages.

#2 Create a Robust Email List and a Landing Page

As an ecommerce business, you will be selling your goods via a website. Instead of stressing over coding a landing page to get email signups, use Sumo’s new Grow Email List Shortcut to display a perfectly timed offer to your website visitors. You can try it free by clicking the button below.

Not on Shopify? Sign Up Here

Hemper used a Swag Bundle offer and 10% discount to grow their email list: 

Screenshot of a promotional popup aimed to collect emails

The average Sumo email list building popup converts website visitors into email leads at 2.3%, but Hemper was able to generate an 11.8% conversion rate, and 29,062 new email subscribers. To see a detailed breakdown on how they achieved a conversion rate 5x the average, click here .

6 Key Sections You Need In Your Ecommerce Business Plan

Including these six key sections in your business plan will create a starting road map for your business.

While there are other components to a business plan such as your executive summary and team bio, this has everything you need to hit the ground running.

Download our Ecommerce Business Plan Template today to start planning your next business idea.

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ecommerce website business plan

Ecommerce Business Plan Guide + Sample

ecommerce website business plan

July 6, 2023

Adam Hoeksema

Welcome to the ever-evolving world of ecommerce—a space where countless businesses are launching every day. If you've landed here, we're guessing you too are gearing up to start your own ecom business. Yet, entering ecommerce is not just about setting up a website and listing products—it involves a robust plan that encompasses every aspect from customer acquisition to cash flow forecasting. That's why we've crafted this comprehensive guide. This Ecommerce Business Plan Guide, complete with a sample business plan, should help you check this project off the list. 

Although we focus on ecommerce financial models , we know that some of our clients also need a full business plan, so I decided to take a deep dive into the topic.  I plan to cover:

  • Why write a business plan for an ecommerce business?
  • What to include in an ecommerce business plan?
  • Ecommerce business plan outline

How to Analyze the Market for an Ecommerce Product?

How to analyze the competition in ecommerce, how to estimate customer acquisition costs in ecommerce.

  • How to Create Financial Projections for an Ecommerce Brand?
  • Example Ecommerce Business Plan?

Ecommerce Business Plan FAQs

With that as our guide, let’s dive in!

Why write a business plan for an ecommerce business? 

It might feel like writing a business plan is a waste of time, and honestly, writing a 40 page plan probably is a waste of time.  So why write a business plan?  I like to say that you write a business plan primarily because the people with the money (the lenders and investors) are asking for your business plan and projections.  

Although I think a business plan could be a good exercise for any ecommerce startup, I know the real impetus for writing a business plan is likely the fact that your potential investors or lenders are asking for one.  

What to include in an ecommerce business plan? 

I don’t think your business plan needs to be a 100 page dissertation, our ecommerce business plan example is roughly 10 pages.  We include the following sections:

Ecommerce Business Plan Outline

We suggest the following business plan sections for your ecommerce business plan:

  • Executive Summary
  • Company Description
  • Market Analysis
  • Product and Service Offerings
  • Marketing Plan & Customer Acquisition
  • Operating Plan
  • Financial Plan

Analyzing the market for an ecommerce product is a vital step in any business plan. It gives you a better understanding of your potential customers, competitors, and overall market dynamics. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you do this effectively:

  • Identify Your Target Audience: Understanding who will buy your product is crucial. Segment your audience based on demographic and psychographic factors. This might include age, gender, location, lifestyle, interests, income, and more. Analyzing these factors will give you a clear picture of who your customers are and what they need.
  • Market Size Estimation: Determine the size of your potential market. This involves looking at the number of potential customers who might be interested in your product. Market size can be categorized into three segments: total available market (TAM), serviceable available market (SAM), and serviceable obtainable market (SOM).

I like to use Google Keyword Planner Tool to see how many people are searching for keywords related to the product I plan to sell as a quick and free way to estimate the market size.  For example, let’s assume that we are selling a yoga mat.  According to Google Keyword Planner Tool there are roughly 90,000 monthly searches for that keyword. 

A screenshot of a computerDescription automatically generated

To put some additional rough math to the opportunity, the first organic search result will often get roughly 40% of the clicks, and a solid ecommerce site will have a 3% conversion rate of visit to purchase.  So if you ranked first and received roughly 36,000 clicks with a 3% conversion rate you could sell 1,080 mats per month. 

  • Competitor Analysis: Understanding your competitors is as important as understanding your customers. Identify your direct and indirect competitors, analyze their products, pricing, marketing strategies, customer reviews, and their market share. This will help you identify gaps in the market that you can exploit.

Read More: How to Write a Business Plan Competitor Analysis

  • Trend Analysis: Investigate current market trends related to your product. Look at the growth of the market, customer preferences and behavior, and the impact of technology and environmental factors.

I like to suggest using Google Trends to see trends in popularity in your market.  If we stick with our yoga mat example we can see the following seasonal trends and trend over the last 5 years for the search term yoga mat. 

A graph showing a lineDescription automatically generated

  • SWOT Analysis: Carry out a SWOT analysis - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to your ecommerce product. This analysis will help you understand your product's position in the market.
  • Pricing Analysis: Understand the pricing strategies of your competitors and the pricing willingness of your potential customers. It will help you to set a competitive and profitable price for your product.
  • Regulatory Environment: Check the regulatory environment related to your product. It includes legal regulations, trade policies, and standards that might impact your ecommerce business.
  • Customer Behavior and Preferences: With the help of analytics and customer feedback, understand what drives customer behavior. Consider their shopping habits, their product preferences, and what influences their buying decisions.

Each of these steps will provide valuable insights that can shape your ecommerce product's marketing strategy, positioning, pricing, and much more. Remember, market analysis is an ongoing process—it needs to be repeated periodically as markets evolve over time.

There are a couple of tools that I like to use when analyzing the competition in ecommerce.  

  • Google’s Ads Transparency Tool – with this tool you can simply enter in the domain name of a competitor and Google will show you all of the ads that they are running.  This is a nifty way to get an idea of ads that might be working well and areas you might be able to compete. 
  • Ahrefs – Ahrefs will allow you to look up a competitor’s website and you can see how much organic traffic they are getting and exactly what keywords are sending that traffic. For example, REI ranks 3 rd organically for the keyword “yoga mats” so we looked up their Yoga Mats page on Ahrefs and found that they receive roughly 2,200 organic visits per month to that page:

A graph on a screenDescription automatically generated

We can also see what keywords are sending the most traffic to that page below where I have highlighted the monthly organic traffic estimate for each keyword. 

A screenshot of a computerDescription automatically generated

I like to use Google Keyword Planner Tool to estimate customer acquisition costs as well.  As we saw with the Yoga Mat example below the average cost per click to advertise for that keyword was between $0.39 cents and $3.13.   

Again if we stick with a 3% conversion rate and assume 50 cents per click that means you are likely to spend roughly $16 to acquire one customer.  Not a whole lot of room for margin in this business right?  In this case you would need to hope that you can sell multiple products to the same customer over time.  

Your customer acquisition costs will be a fundamental assumption in your financial model.  Let’s dive into that next. 

How to Create Financial Projections for a Bar Business Plan

Just like in any industry, the ecommerce business has its own unique factors that impact financial projections, such as online traffic, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs. Utilizing an ecommerce financial projection template can simplify the process and increase your confidence. Creating accurate financial projections goes beyond showcasing your ecommerce venture's ability to generate sales; it's about illustrating the financial roadmap to profitability and the realization of your online business goals. To develop precise projections, consider the following key steps:

  • Estimate startup costs for your ecommerce business, including website development or platform setup, inventory acquisition, branding and marketing expenses, and initial fulfillment and shipping costs.
  • Forecast revenue based on projected online traffic, conversion rates, average order value, and potential growth in customer base.
  • Project costs related to product sourcing or manufacturing, packaging, shipping, and fulfillment services.
  • Estimate operating expenses like website maintenance, hosting fees, digital marketing expenses, customer support, and administrative costs.
  • Calculate the capital needed to launch and sustain your ecommerce business, covering initial expenses and providing working capital for continued growth.

While financial projections are a critical component of your ecommerce business plan, seek guidance from experienced professionals in the ecommerce industry. Adapt your projections based on real-world insights, leverage industry resources, and stay informed about digital marketing trends and evolving consumer behavior to ensure your financial plan aligns with your goals and positions your ecommerce venture for long-term success.

Example Ecommerce Business Plan

Explore our E-commerce Business Plan, presented below. If you prefer, you can access a downloadable Google Doc version of this bar business plan template, allowing you to personalize and tailor it to your specific needs. Additionally, a helpful video walkthrough is available, guiding you through the process of customizing the business plan to perfectly align with your unique Ecommerce business.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary:

  • Business Description
  • SWOT Analysis

Marketing and Sales Strategy

  • Branding and Identity
  • Website, menu, and social media platforms
  • Marketing materials and promotional items
  • Marketing mix

Operations Plan

  • Organizational Structure:
  • Location and Facility:
  • SOP (Standard Operating Procedures):
  • Health and safety protocols:

Financial Projections

  • Startup Costs and Use of Funds
  • Annual Sales, Gross Profit and Net Profit
  • Key Financial Ratios
  • Income Statement at a Glance
  • Income Statement Annual Summary
  • Cash Flow Statement Annual Summary
  • Balance Sheet Annual Summary

I. Executive Summary

Our ecommerce store, "Eco-Friendly Fashion," aims to provide consumers with stylish and environmentally-friendly clothing options. 

Our target customer is the eco-conscious, fashion-forward individual who is looking for sustainable alternatives to fast fashion.

The ecommerce market is growing rapidly, and there is a growing demand for sustainable fashion products. We believe there is a gap in the market for an ecommerce store that offers a wide range of eco-friendly clothing options at affordable prices. Our unique selling proposition is to offer high-quality, stylish clothing that is also environmentally friendly, at a price that is accessible to our target customer.

We plan to launch with a product line of 50 items, including t-shirts, hoodies, and dresses, made from organic cotton and recycled materials. Our products will be manufactured in fair trade factories, ensuring ethical labor practices. Our initial funding will come from personal investments and a small business loan. Our financial projections show that we will break even in the third year of operation and achieve a profit by the fourth year.

II. Company Description

Eco-Friendly Fashion is a newly established ecommerce store that will offer a wide range of eco-friendly clothing options for both men and women. The company was founded by two friends, Jane Doe and John Doe, who share a passion for sustainability and fashion. Jane has a background in fashion design and John has experience in ecommerce and marketing.

Eco-Friendly Fashion is a limited liability company (LLC) registered in the state of California. Our team also includes a product sourcing specialist and a freelance graphic designer. Our office and warehouse are located in Los Angeles, CA.

III. Market Analysis

The global ecommerce market is expected to reach $4.9 trillion by 2021, with a significant portion of this growth coming from the fashion industry. Consumers are increasingly turning to ecommerce for their fashion purchases, and there is a growing demand for sustainable fashion products.

Our target customer is the eco-conscious, fashion-forward individual, aged 18-35, with a moderate to high income. This demographic is highly concerned about the environmental impact of their clothing choices and is willing to pay a premium for sustainable fashion options.

Competitors in the eco-friendly fashion market include established brands like Patagonia and smaller, niche brands like Tentree. However, these brands tend to focus on outdoor and athletic wear, rather than everyday fashion, and their products can be expensive. Our competitors in the sustainable everyday fashion market include companies like Reformation and Everlane, but these brands have limited product offerings and their products can also be expensive.

Our marketing and sales strategies will focus on leveraging social media, influencer marketing, and targeted online advertising to reach our target customer. We will also attend sustainable fashion trade shows and events to network and showcase our brand.

IV. Product and Service Offerings

Eco-Friendly Fashion will launch with a product line of 50 items, including t-shirts, hoodies, and dresses, made from organic cotton and recycled materials. Our products will be manufactured in fair trade factories, ensuring ethical labor practices. Our products will be designed in-house, with a focus on creating stylish, on-trend pieces that are also environmentally friendly.

Our pricing strategy will be to offer high-quality, stylish clothing at a price that is accessible to our target customer. Our products will be priced slightly higher than fast fashion options, but lower than sustainable fashion competitors like Reformation and Everlane.

We will continuously expand our product line and source new materials and manufacturing partners to ensure we are always offering the latest in sustainable fashion. In addition to our clothing line, we will also offer a recycling program for customers to trade in their old clothing for store credit. This will further demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and encourage customers to make more sustainable fashion choices.

V. Marketing Plan & Customer Acquisition

Our plan to grow our ecommerce business and reach our financial targets will follow a 5 pronged marketing approach in order to acquire customers. 

Brand Awareness:

  • Partner with influencers and bloggers in the sustainable fashion and lifestyle space to feature your products and increase brand exposure.
  • Utilize social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to showcase your products and educate your audience on the importance of environmentally responsible and ethically sourced apparel.
  • Participate in local events and festivals that align with your values to increase visibility and connect with potential customers in person.

Content Marketing:

  • Create a blog that features articles on sustainable fashion and how your products are made in an environmentally responsible and ethical manner.
  • Offer styling tips and suggestions for incorporating eco-friendly fashion into everyday outfits to engage and educate your audience.
  • Share customer testimonials and reviews on your website and social media channels to build trust and credibility with potential customers.

Email Marketing:

  • Build an email list by offering an incentive such as a discount code to customers who sign up.
  • Send newsletters that include information on new product launches, sales, and events.
  • Use email automation to send abandoned cart reminders and follow-up emails to potential customers who have shown interest in your products.

Paid Advertising:

  • Utilize targeted Facebook and Instagram ads to reach a wider audience and drive traffic to your website.
  • Partner with eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle websites to run display ads and reach potential customers who are already interested in these topics.
  • Consider using Google Ads to target customers who are actively searching for environmentally responsible and ethically sourced apparel.

Referral Program:

  • Encourage satisfied customers to refer friends and family by offering a discount code or other incentive for each successful referral.

VI. Operating Plan

Eco-Friendly Fashion will operate as an online ecommerce store, with all sales taking place through our website. Our website will feature a user-friendly interface, detailed product descriptions, and multiple payment options. We will also offer free shipping on all orders within the United States, with the option for international shipping at an additional cost.

Our fulfillment and delivery strategies will include partnerships with established logistics companies to ensure efficient and cost-effective shipping. We will also implement a comprehensive returns and exchanges policy to ensure customer satisfaction.

Our ecommerce platform will be powered by Shopify, which offers a range of tools and integrations to manage our website, inventory, and customer data. We will also use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to track customer interactions and improve our marketing and sales strategies.

VII. Financial Plan

Our start-up costs will include the cost of product development and manufacturing, website development, marketing, and rent for our office and warehouse. Our initial funding will come from personal investments and a small business loan.

Our financial projections show that we will achieve $75,000 in sales in the first year, increasing to $500,000 in the second year and $1 million in the third year. Our expenses will include product manufacturing, marketing, salaries, and other operating costs. Our projections show that we will break even in the third year of operation and achieve a profit by the fourth year.

To minimize risk, we will continuously monitor our financial performance and adjust our strategies as needed. We will also implement a thorough risk management plan, including carrying appropriate insurance coverage and implementing strong data security measures to protect our customer information.

All of the unique financial projections you see below were generated using ProjectionHub’s Ecommerce financial projection template . Use PH20BP to enjoy a 20% discount on the template. 

Startup Costs:

ecommerce website business plan

Projected Financial Summary:

ecommerce website business plan

Annual Sales, Gross Profit and Net Profit:

ecommerce website business plan

Key Financial Ratios:

ecommerce website business plan

Watch how to create financial projections for your very own ecommerce business:

ecommerce website business plan

Income Statement:

ecommerce website business plan

Balance Sheet:

ecommerce website business plan

Cash Flow Statement:

ecommerce website business plan

VIII. Conclusion

Eco-Friendly Fashion is poised to fill a gap in the sustainable fashion market, offering a wide range of stylish and environmentally friendly clothing options at affordable prices. With a growing demand for sustainable fashion and our commitment to ethical and sustainable business practices, we are confident in our ability to succeed in the competitive ecommerce market.

Our team is dedicated to offering the highest quality products and customer service, and we are excited to bring our vision of sustainable fashion to life. Our next steps include finalizing our product line and manufacturing partnerships, launching our website, and beginning our marketing and sales efforts.

How do I start an ecommerce business?

To start an ecommerce business, you'll need to identify your target market and products, create a business plan, set up an online store or website, source or create products, establish secure payment and shipping methods, and implement marketing strategies to drive traffic and sales.

Which ecommerce platform should I use for my online store?

Popular ecommerce platforms include Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce. Consider factors such as ease of use, customization options, scalability, pricing, and integration with other tools or marketplaces when choosing the right platform for your business.

How can I drive traffic to my ecommerce website?

You can drive traffic to your ecommerce website through various strategies, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, content marketing, influencer partnerships, email marketing, paid advertising, and utilizing marketplace platforms such as Amazon or Etsy.

What are the essential elements to include in product descriptions for ecommerce?

Essential elements for product descriptions in ecommerce include clear and concise product titles, detailed descriptions highlighting key features and benefits, high-quality product images, pricing information, sizing or specifications, and customer reviews or testimonials, if available.

How can I optimize the checkout process to increase conversions?

To optimize the checkout process, streamline the steps involved, offer guest checkout options, provide multiple payment methods, ensure security and trust indicators, display shipping options and costs upfront, minimize form fields, and offer incentives such as discounts or free shipping for completing a purchase.

About the Author

Adam is the Co-founder of ProjectionHub which helps entrepreneurs create financial projections for potential investors, lenders and internal business planning. Since 2012, over 50,000 entrepreneurs from around the world have used ProjectionHub to help create financial projections.

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How to Make an Ecommerce Website with WordPress

Sam Lauron

Published: February 12, 2024

As a writer, I’ve spent a lot of time digging into different industries, from social media to sales to ecommerce.

woman makes an online purchase via an ecommerce website on wordpress

Being equipped with all of this information and surrounded by inspiring examples of successful ecommerce businesses, I’ve played around with the idea of launching my own ecommerce website someday.

Download Now: How to Launch a WordPress Website  [Free Guide + Checklist]

If I ever decide to launch an ecommerce website, I want to make sure I’m choosing the best platform to set it up for success from the start. WordPress is one the first platforms that comes to mind, so I set out to learn more about how to make an ecommerce website with WordPress.

What Makes WordPress Great for Ecommerce

I’ve used WordPress throughout my near-decade-long marketing career, so I’m familiar with its powerful capabilities as an open-source platform and website builder. However, my experience has primarily involved using its CMS to manage and publish blogs.

As I set out to create an online shop, I want to stick with a platform I’m familiar with. However, I also want to make sure WordPress is a good platform for an ecommerce business. So, I asked a couple of experts about their experience.

Here’s what makes WordPress a great platform for ecommerce businesses, according to people who have used it.

Ease of Use

For those without technical experience, navigating the website-building aspect of an ecommerce shop can be a challenge. Not only do you have to make your website visually appealing, but your ecommerce site must also function as a store. This includes having an inventory and operating a checkout, among other complex features.

With WordPress drag-and-drop themes , you can design a fully functional ecommerce website without creating a single line of code.

This approachable UI appeals to non-coders like Adam Young, the CEO of Event Tickets Center , an online ticket marketplace.

“As someone who has struggled with other website-building programs, WordPress's drag-and-drop feature is revolutionary,” says Young. “This simple solution streamlines product management and empowers users like me to easily customize the store's design.”

Customizable Themes

Choosing the right theme for your ecommerce website sets the tone for the rest of your experience. A theme is like a pre-built template that you can install and customize. Fortunately, there are over 20,000 WordPress themes to choose from, and nearly half of them are free.

As long as you choose a theme that’s designed for ecommerce, you’re off to a great start.

There are a few elements that make for a successful ecommerce theme. First, your theme should make it easy to visually display your store’s products.

Another element to look out for is a seamless checkout process. The last thing you want is for a customer to add to their cart but not complete the purchase because the process was confusing or unclear.

“I've noticed through personal experience that choosing an ecommerce-focused WordPress theme is like building a digital storefront,” states Young. “These themes are built to smoothly combine online transaction elements like user-friendly product lists, shopping carts, and checkout processes.”

He continues, “A WordPress ecommerce theme quietly guides customers to the ‘Add to Cart’ button and ‘Checkout’ page beyond aesthetics. It helps convert casual visitors into delighted consumers.”

ecommerce website business plan

How to Launch a WordPress Website

Learn how to launch a website on WordPress with this step-by-step guide and checklist. Learn how to...

  • Set up your domain name.
  • Install an SSL certificate.
  • Analyze your content.
  • Back up your site.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Plugins that Scale

Another unique feature of WordPress is its plugins.

Plugins are like apps. Instead of learning to code when you want to add a new feature or function to your website, you can choose from one of the thousands of plugins WordPress offers. Plugins make it easy to scale your business.

“WordPress's scalability has helped me build and expand an online business,” according to Michael Wall, founder of Codefixer , a software development and growth agency. “As a tiny firm with a few products, the platform easily supported my product inventory growth.”

He adds, “Plugins were crucial to the success of my WordPress ecommerce website.”

When it comes to ecommerce plugins, specifically, Wall recommends WooCommerce (we’ll get into more details about WooCommerce later in this article).

“WooCommerce changed the game by centralizing product management, order processing, payments, and shipping operations,” says Wall. “This ecommerce plugin integrated effortlessly with my WordPress site, making daily operations easy.”

Large Community and Expert Network

WordPress was founded 20 years ago, making it one of the most established website platforms out there. And because WordPress is used by 43.1% of all websites , it’s safe to assume that you or someone you know has experience using the platform.

Whether you’re looking to outsource website development or connect with other website owners for advice, you won’t have to look far. The WordPress community is vast and knowledgeable. You can check out a freelance marketplace like Upwork to hire WordPress developers or join an online group to chat with WordPress experts.

To help walk through the steps when making an ecommerce website on WordPress , I’m going to set up my own sample website as an example.

For this example, I’m going to use WordPress.com to set up a basic ecommerce site. You can sign up for a free plan to get started or a paid one if you want access to more features right away.

How to make an ecommerce website with WordPress: WordPress offers six plans ranging from free to enterprise-level.

Don't forget to share this post!

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CMS Hub is flexible for marketers, powerful for developers, and gives customers a personalized, secure experience

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form .

The best web hosting services: Expert reviewed

charlie-osborne

If you want to build a website, there are dozens of web hosting providers available. Choosing the right web hosting service for you can be challenging, but you no longer need to be a programmer, or to pay someone to build advanced features such as e-commerce or forum management, to launch a site.

Today many web providers will provide these functions, as well as a content management system and other features like SEO assistance and security checks, in standard subscription packages. Below, you will find our top recommendations for web hosting services, ranging from providers that give you a quick and easy way to build your website all the way up to the big companies that provide full data center infrastructure capabilities as a service.

Also:   The best VPNs

What is the best web hosting service right now?

ZDNET has done extensive research and hands-on testing with many of the top web hosting services. Our pick for the best web hosting service overall is Hostinger . Hostinger offers inexpensive plans suitable for the majority of website owners, and while there is a free, limited plan available, its premium plan has everything you need: a website builder, WordPress integration, templates, emails, SEO, marketing help, and more. Read on for the rest of our picks for the best web hosting services.

Best web hosting services of 2024

Best web hosting service overall.

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  • Inexpensive
  • One-click WordPress install
  • Enhanced security limited to more expensive plans
  • Prices jump on renewal

Hostinger features:  cPanel : Yes |  SSL : Some plans |  SSH : Yes |  Backups : Yes |  Money-back guarantee : 30 days |  Support : 24/7, live chat support

Hostinger's premium plan ($2.99/month, three months free) is excellent value for the money if you want to operate multiple websites for personal or business reasons under one account.

The premium plan offers support for up to 100 websites. It offers users 100GB storage, up to 100 email addresses and forwarders, free SSL website security, and unlimited bandwidth, alongside a free domain name. 

While there's no dedicated IP address, this won't bother most website owners. Furthermore, you'll be given basic e-commerce capabilities and one-click WordPress installation and migration. The same WordPress installation can be used to support multiple WordPress websites. 

If you need a theme, Hostinger also provides a drag-and-drop website builder and 150 templates. Google Analytics integration, SEO tools, and standard DDoS protection are also included in the plan. 

Overall, we consider Hostinger's premium plan to be an excellent option for the majority of website owners and small businesses. Business options begin at $3.99/month with three months added, for free.

A downside, however, is that you can only access more advanced features -- such as daily backups and increased performance -- with more expensive subscriptions. In addition, while many customers applaud Hostinger's customer service, there are reports of bounceback and slow loads by some clients operating multiple websites.

There is a limited, free plan available, with 300MB storage but no free domain or email.

Review: Hostinger review: Good support, killer entry-level price web hosting

Best web hosting service for professionals

 width=

  • Over three-month money-back guarantee
  • Many hosting options
  • Email an additional cost

DreamHost features :  cPanel : No, proprietary panel |  SSL : Free |  SSH : Yes |  Backups : Yes |  Money-back guarantee : 97 days |  Support : 24/7 chat, ticket, and call-back

DreamHost's easy-to-use interface, efficiency, and customer support stand out to business owners and new webmasters alike. The hosting provider offers WordPress hosting, shared hosting, virtual private servers, dedicated servers, cloud hosting, and more. 

We particularly like the fact that DreamHost offers G Suite integration, with domain integration and Google Cloud support. The company also provides a great set of resources and guides that can help customers grow their businesses, all in a cost-effective way. A free SSL certificate is available on all plans. 

Nick Farnborough, co-founder of  Clavis Social , told ZDNET that he has "tried almost every host out there over the years and ultimately found DreamHost to be the best overall package taking into account cost, performance, and ease of use." 

Customers online, too, have applauded the customer support and value for money of this web host, although some also note that reaching customer support teams can be challenging. Prices begin at $2.95 per month for a basic, shared plan, with email available for an additional monthly fee.

Review:   DreamHost review: I'm a satisfied 15-year customer

Best budget web hosting service

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  • Affordable plans
  • Paid plans can become expensive following promotion time periods

Ionos f eatures:  cPanel : Yes |  SSL : Yes, wildcard |  SSH : Yes |  Backups : Daily |  Money-back guarantee : 30 days |  Support : 24/7

Ionos is one of our top picks for affordable, long-term web hosting. The web hosting provider offers reliable, stable uptime with daily backups included on all plans. Free wildcard SSL certificates, email, a free domain, and 24/7 support are included. 

Customers report great customer service and uptime, as well as easy setup and web hosting transitions. 

Basic plans supporting one website and with 10 databases, alongside 10GB storage space, are typically $6/month but while on promotion, the first six months will cost you $4/month. A free domain name is included. 

The top deal at the moment is for Ionos Plus, a website hosting package suitable for larger, scalable projects. You will only pay $1/month for the first six months, and in return, you can operate unlimited websites with unlimited databases and storage. You will also receive a wildcard SSL certificate. However, after six months, the price will jump to $12/month. 

Best web hosting service for the environmentally-conscious

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  • Reasonably priced
  • Eco-friendly
  • On-demand backups limited to premium plans

GreenGeeks f eatures:  cPanel : Yes |  SSL : Free |  SSH : Yes |  Backups : Varies by plan |  Money-back guarantee : 30 days |  Support : Depends on plan

GreenGeeks is a great web hosting option if you want to sign up for a sustainable, eco-conscious service.

GreenGeeks has developed its marketing around the concept of being environmentally friendly, with three times the power your hosting demands replaced with wind power credits and tree planting. 

It's not just the environmental factor, however -- GreenGeeks prides itself on a speedy, reliable service. Although the company's own website could use some modernization and an overhaul, the important part is the hosting, which includes standard hosting, WordPress installs, commerce, VPS, and dedicated tiers. 

You can expect to pay $2.95/month for basic plans, with options to upscale and grow over time. The basic web hosting plan only covers one website with 50GB storage, but once you move up a level, you can expect support for unlimited websites, managed WordPress installs, unlimited space, a free SSL certificate, and more. 

Customers applaud GreenGeek customer service, although there are reports of "hidden" fees related to specific products.

Best web hosting service for GoDaddy domain customers

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  • Free, unlimited SSL for all websites on the Deluxe plan and up
  • Tutorials online to help guide your website-creating process
  • Large payment down to start hosting

GoDaddy f eatures:  cPanel : Some plans |  SSL : Some plans |  SSH : Some plans |  Backups : Some plans |  Money-back guarantee : 30 days for annual plans, 48 hours for monthly plans |  Support : 24/7/365 US-based ticket and phone

GoDaddy has made a business of offering as wide an array of services as possible for individuals and small businesses in need of an internet presence. It's widely known, and many customers enjoy the service.

Pricing begins at $6.99/month for one website. With specific plans, you may be eligible for a free domain name and SSL certificate. Regarding security, automatic WordPress updates are applied and malware scanning services are available. Each plan comes with a one-click WordPress installation, a cPanel, and daily backups. 

Customer service is reasonable, and, although not 24/7, if you need a technical lead to get something accomplished, you can usually find someone with a clue (after jumping through a few hoops, of course). However, the refund policy is restrictive and I would say the host's website is cluttered, making it difficult to find exactly what service you need -- and for what price.

ZDNET author David Gewirtz has decades of experience with GoDaddy, and he has come to respect how this web host provides the key services most customers want. They're definitely not the best at anything, but they do a good job with almost everything. 

"GoDaddy, in my opinion, is the best web host," Gerrid Smith, director of E-commerce of  Joy Organics , told ZDNET. "They promise a minimum of 99.9% availability. To prevent malicious activities and repel DDoS attacks, their security team works around the clock."

Review: GoDaddy: A no muss, no fuss website-building service

Best web hosting service for simple e-commerce

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  • Lots of templates to choose from for beginner web designers
  • Simple interface
  • Website apps available with Wix support
  • Monthly plans are expensive
  • Can't switch templates, must start from scratch

Wix f eatures:  cPanel : No |  SSL : Free |  SSH : No |  Backups : Site history |  Money-back guarantee : 14 days |  Support : 24/7 English call-back

If you've ever watched a YouTube video, you've seen a Wix ad. They are everywhere. With six million premium subscribers, they've got some momentum -- and are certainly capable of grabbing attention.

When selecting a website builder, why would you go with Wix over WordPress? The answer is simplicity. WordPress offers tremendous depth and customization options with plugins and widgets, but Wix quickly gets you up and running with an attractive site. 

There is nothing like the thousands of plugins and themes offered by WordPress in the Wix world, but if you want a well-designed site and you need an e-commerce solution, this is a great option. 

I selected this provider when I assisted someone in setting up a small online business, and the learning curve was easy, with no payment or downtime issues. However, for someone used to CMS backends, the more restrictive website builder can be somewhat frustrating.

Free versions, however, do contain Wix banners. You can start there, and if you like the system, convert to a paid plan and link up your chosen domain name. Plans begin at $16/month with a free domain name thrown in.

What is the best web hosting service overall?

Hostinger is ZDNET's top choice because it offers excellent features at outstanding price points, with a large selection of tools to make the process easy, even for beginner webmasters. Hostinger offers inexpensive plans suitable for the majority of website owners, including a website builder, WordPress integration, templates, emails, SEO, marketing help, and more.

Which web hosting service is right for you?

To help make the process of selecting your new web hosting provider simpler, here is a guide to making your decision less of a hassle, based on what is most important to you. 

Factors to consider when choosing a web hosting service

When selecting your new web hosting provider in 2024, there are some crucial factors you should consider:

  • Reliability : We always recommend you choose a web hosting provider with a long history of stable, reliable service. After all, your website could end up being the central hub of your business for promotion and customer communication, so constant downtime can harm your reputation.
  • Affordability : Your budget must be based on the purpose of your web hosting package. Whether you want a single, small slice of hosting real estate for a personal blog or you want to run a large e-commerce store, it will change how much you should expect to pay. Set a budget that you can easily afford and find the right provider to match you.
  • Scalability : You need to consider what the most important functions or uses of your website will be. If you expect to grow your business over time and you expect heavy traffic, you will need to be able to scale the hosting's capabilities over time. Choose a provider with upgrade options. 
  • Customer support : We find that customer support can be extremely important when you sign up for a web hosting service. Regardless of whether you are a beginner or you want to run a plethora of websites, you should choose a provider with customer support options.

How did we choose these web hosting services?

When we compiled this list, we began with web hosts ZDNET authors are personally familiar with. ZDNET does extensive testing on and research into web hosting providers, taking into consideration user reviews, competitor analysis, personal usage and experiences, and more.

Some of us have been running production websites for decades, with sites that have served millions of pages. Others have used web hosts for personal blogs, writing projects, and to help individuals launch small businesses. 

We chose these providers because we believe they offer some of the best services in the market. These are the main factors we considered:

  • Features offered : Deciding on the best web hosting provider for you requires you to consider what features are a priority. We've included options for CMS implementation, e-commerce, design services, SEO services, cybersecurity functions, and more. 
  • Price : Naturally, the price point is a very important factor when we choose our web hosting provider recommendations. We have included options suitable for varying budgets, all the way from personal blogs to small businesses and large enterprise setups that will need to scale.
  • Stability : We have included only reputable web hosting providers that provide stable services with minimal downtime. After all, there's no point in having a speedy, responsive website if downtime is a constant problem.
  • Customer experiences : If you are going to sign up for a web hosting service for a long period, you need to know how the company treats and supports its customers. We have examined customer reviews and feedback.

Which web host is best for beginners?

Wix and Squarespace are the two web hosts we would recommend for beginners. With an abundance of creative templates between the two platforms, users can gain experience in web development with an attractive site. If you have experience with CMS platforms, you could look at WordPress.com.

Can you get web hosting for free?

Yes. There are many sites that allow for free hosting, but to do so, you will have a generic, branded domain. For example, if you were to have a free WordPress website, your domain would be [yourwebsitename].wordpress.com. 

Be careful, though. Many of the free offers end after a period of time and then you're stuck on a service that will likely charge you a considerable additional fee to keep using it. Or, the website host may allow you to have a free website on the condition that you allow adverts to be displayed.

Who is the largest web hosting company?

GoDaddy is one of the most popular web hosting service providers. Then, of course, there are the hosting plans from Amazon and Google, which are larger (in terms of revenue) than some countries.

What are the best WordPress hosting services?

We might as well get WordPress out of the way since if we're talking web hosts, we're going to talk WordPress. About  63% of websites  with content management systems use  the open-source WordPress CMS . 

The WordPress ecosystem is huge, and finding the right WordPress host is a challenge all its own. Beyond WordPress.com, the service offered by the creators of the CMS, there are a large number of managed hosting providers and an even larger number of hosting providers that specialize in providing a WordPress-optimized server for your website. Nearly every hosting provider will allow a WordPress install, considering its popularity.

What are the best Infrastructure-as-a-Service providers?

Our recommendations include IaaS providers you probably know intimately, such as Amazon. They are highly credible vendors who've been providing infrastructure for years.

If you're just starting, you might not want to go all-in with an IaaS provider, although they offer the most flexibility. Some, like Amazon and Digital Ocean, allow you to point-and-click configure virtual WordPress machines or almost any other open-source content management system you may want. It might be overkill for SMBs, though.

What are the best point-and-click website builders?

A website builder is a type of software that lets you craft your business website, generally without programming knowledge or experience. Many allow you to choose from templates and then modify those templates to suit your look and layout.

Nearly all web hosting providers include some kind of website-building software. But for most hosting plans, it's often an afterthought. By contrast, the website builders listed in this section are provided by web hosting services that have made point-and-click website building tools with excellent customer support and solid up-time a core priority in their offering. 

You do sacrifice some control when choosing a website builder solution, but if you've never done any web development and you want a beautiful, usable website quickly, these services are for you. One warning: There are a lot of lock-ins here. You won't be able to transfer the look of your site (and sometimes the content) to another hosting provider easily. So keep that in mind when you choose a website builder. 

Are there alternative web hosting services to consider?

There are countless web hosting providers out there and not all of them can make the list regarding our top recommendations, despite offering excellent service. Below, you will find other hosts to consider that may be more suitable for your requirements:

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IMAGES

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  2. How to Make a Winning Ecommerce Business Plan (+ PDF Template)

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  5. How to Start a Successful eCommerce Business (Part 2) #shorts

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

    An e-commerce business plan is a document that outlines your business and its goals, analyzes your industry and competitors, and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan. It also lists the e-commerce retailers you'll use to distribute your products and the marketing strategies you'll use to drive sales.

  2. Ecommerce Business Plan (FREE How To Guide + PDF Sample Template)

    Ecommerce Business Plan (FREE How To Guide + PDF Sample Template) How to Make an Ecommerce Business Plan for Your Startup Written by Darren DeMatas Updated January 30, 2024 In addition to receiving commissions generated through affiliate marketing, we are able to fund our independent research and reviews at no extra cost to our readers. Learn more.

  3. How To Start an Ecommerce Business: Guide for 2024

    Start an ecommerce business in 5 steps. Find product opportunities and choose what to sell. Thoroughly research your competition and write a business plan. Choose a logo and name and set up your online store. Choose your shipping strategy and set sales and marketing goals. Launch your business.

  4. How to Write the Ultimate eCommerce Business Plan

    An eCommerce business plan, in contrast, would focus on the company's digital storefront: its website. One of your business goals for the first year might be identifying the best eCommerce software, rather than finding the perfect space to lease.

  5. Ecommerce Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

    An ecommerce business plan is a detailed and comprehensive document that outlines the strategies, objectives, and operational blueprint of an online business. It serves as a roadmap guiding the company's operations and growth within the dynamic and competitive digital marketplace.

  6. How To Build An eCommerce Website (2024 Guide)

    For help choosing one, check out our article on the best domain name registrars. Step 3. Select an E-commerce Theme or Template. The first thing you need to consider is a theme for your website ...

  7. How to create a defensible eCommerce business plan

    An eCommerce business plan is structured similarly to a traditional business plan. However, it will detail things like your website builder, sales channels, fulfillment process, and goals that are distinct to running an online store. Here's a breakdown of what you should include in your plan and how to create it: Write your executive summary

  8. A Better-Selling Ecommerce Business Plan (Template, Guide ...

    Learn the benefits of creating a business plan for your online store, the main components of a business plan, and how to write one with examples and templates. Find out how to describe your company, products, marketing, budget, and more.

  9. How To Create an E-Commerce Business Plan in 8 Steps

    E-commerce business plan examples. 1. Draft an executive summary. An executive summary outlines everything included in your business plan. It's the first section of your plan—which makes it important because it should capture the reader's attention and entice them to read through the rest of your ideas.

  10. Ecommerce Business Plan: How to Write + Strategies for Success

    The key elements of an ecommerce business plan template describe blueprints for growth, projected timelines and financial goals — clarifying topics like cash flow, expenses, marketing tools and distribution channels. An executive summary provides a concise rundown of the key points in your business plan.

  11. How To Create The Perfect Ecommerce Business Plan (Examples & Templates)

    An ecommerce business plan is a document containing the roadmap for initiating, maintaining, and expanding an online selling company. This document contains several details that are crucial for establishing your ecommerce business.

  12. How to Start an E-Commerce Business in 2023: A Step-by-Step Guide

    Starting an e-commerce business is a lot like starting any company: You'll need to create a business plan, get licenses and permits and set up dedicated finances. You'll also need to choose...

  13. How to Write an eCommerce Business Plan + Template

    Marketing and advertising. Getting your eCommerce business running online is just the first step. Now you need to bring customers to your website. Having a plan and knowing how much it will cost you before your start will improve your chances of success. Business plan competitions.

  14. Ecommerce Business Plan Template: How to Make Business Plans

    Read on - the ecommerce business plan template below offers a handy framework to get you started. Executive Summary. Like a blurb on the back of a book or an abstract at the start of an academic article, an executive summary is designed to give time-poor readers a concise, compelling overview of your ecommerce business plan's contents.

  15. Write eCommerce Business Plan from Scratch (FREE Template)

    5. Operations Plan. Operational planning reflects the task flow of your eCommerce store and how they'll be divided. It includes your daily tasks as an online store owner. Some basic things should be established, such as your work schedule, your daily tasks timetable, your location, and your product stock.

  16. How to Write an eCommerce Business Plan + 3 High Profit Ideas

    How the business works: First, you set up an online store and find a supplier willing to dropship their products for you. You then add the supplier's products to your store and set your own prices. When a customer places an order, you forward it to the supplier, who then ships the product directly to the customer.

  17. How To Write a Business Plan for Your eCommerce Startup

    Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create a business plan for your eCommerce startup: 1. Write an executive summary. While this is the first section that appears in a business plan, it's usually the last section to be drafted. That's because it summarizes other parts of your eCommerce business plan.

  18. Ecommerce Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

    → Download Now: Free E-commerce Business Plan Key Takeaways Elements like executive summary, product or service, operations, marketing and sales plan, management team, and financial plan come together to make a compelling business plan.

  19. How To Write an eCommerce Business Plan: Tips & Examples

    Step 1: Define Your Business Concept When writing a business plan for your new business, begin by clearly articulating your eCommerce business concept. This is like a company overview. Outline not only the products or services you plan to offer but also the underlying mission and vision that drive your business.

  20. E-commerce Business Plan Template

    This e-commerce business plan template is tailored specifically to e-commerce businesses, and all you need to do is add the details of your company. Business Overview

  21. How to Start an Ecommerce Business: A Simple 7-Step Guide

    5. Write a Business Plan. Your ecommerce business plan should outline your company's goals, the strategies to achieve these goals, plus your target market, financial projections, and operational structure. This document should act as a reference point and a roadmap for your business. And answer some important business-focused questions.

  22. 6-Part Ecommerce Business Plan (Template Included)

    Correctly estimating your market size and how much market share you can corner is a key element in any ecommerce business plan. There are three important elements in assessing market size: [ *] Your total addressable market (TAM) Your serviceable available market (SAM) Your serviceable obtainable market (SOM) The total addressable market is the ...

  23. Ecommerce Business Plan Guide + Sample

    We suggest the following business plan sections for your ecommerce business plan: Executive Summary Company Description Market Analysis Product and Service Offerings Marketing Plan & Customer Acquisition Operating Plan Financial Plan How to Analyze the Market for an Ecommerce Product?

  24. How to Make an Ecommerce Website with WordPress

    Learn how to create an ecommerce website with WordPress and set your online business up for success. Discover the benefits of using WordPress for ecommerce, including ease of use, customizable themes, scalable plugins, and a large community of experts. ... But if you plan to scale your ecommerce business anytime in the near future, it's worth ...

  25. Building an E-Commerce Website: 11 Experts Offer Best Practices

    By Brett Farmiloe. A website is a crucial part of your e-commerce business, so what is one key step that's necessary to build a successful e-commerce site?We posed that question to entrepreneurs and small business owners to find out their best advice. From investing in AI chatbots to optimizing the checkout process, here are 11 best practices for building a successful e-commerce website.

  26. Best Enterprise E-Commerce Platforms Of 2024

    Shift4Shop is an e-commerce platform with an impressive free plan your enterprise can enjoy, as long as you process at least $500 in sales per month via the Shift4 payment gateway.

  27. Best free website builders 2024

    The free plan also provides you with a free SSL security certificate, SEO features, lead capture tools and the option to add your Instagram feed to your website. In terms of e-commerce features ...

  28. The best web hosting services of 2024: Expert reviewed

    Hostinger's premium plan ($2.99/month, three months free) is excellent value for the money if you want to operate multiple websites for personal or business reasons under one account. The premium ...