If you are evaluating taking the leap with your business! Meanwhile, we are going to help you clear up the main doubts that entrepreneurs have when launching their virtual business.
The most frequent queries are:
- How to create a free online store?
- What e-commerce platform should I use?
- What support do I have?
- How long does it take to get the store up and running and start selling?
- How to configure the online store?
Keep reading we are going to answer each of those questions.
How to create a free online store
The first thing that many people want to know is if there are free online stores to minimize their initial costs and be able to test the dynamics of online sales.
In some cases, entrepreneurs decide to start marketing their products through marketplaces as Free Market. But in a short time the , completely differentiated from the competition, where users can recognize the brand and have a more personalized treatment.
When starting your store, you have to define if you are going to use an e-commerce platform or you are going to carry out your own development.
In the first case, referring to e-commerce platforms, we recommend that you survey each of them and compare their features and costs to find the one that best suits your business.
💡 extra tip: next, we share a list of e-commerce platforms to help you decide:
If you want to create your first online store for free, you have to know that you have 30 days to launch your store, start selling and experience first-hand all the benefits of the platform.
You will have the opportunity to test the dynamics of online sales and, based on the first results, decide how to continue.
In the event that you decide on your own development, you have to know that it will only be viable if you have the necessary technical knowledge to program it, so as not to have associated expenses. Otherwise, you will have to consider the costs of the development team and the service of .
Whichever option you choose (e-commerce platform or your own development), you need to consider the time invested in fine-tuning your store. That time can vary, depending on several factors. I kept reading that we are going to tell you how you can dimension the necessary time.
Which e-commerce platform should you use?
If you decided to use an e-commerce platform, you reviewed the ones that are available in the market, but you still don’t know which one to choose, it is important that you make a projection for the future.
In other words, analyze whether the platform is going to be prepared to accompany you both today, when you are taking the first step, and in the different stages of your business.
Perhaps in the first instance you have few products in your catalog and start with a limited number of monthly sales. Likewise, your distribution range will be limited to areas close to your city of residence.
However, over time, your store will surely grow and you will need some essential features to take your e-commerce to the next level:
- Mass import of products
- marketing tools
- Connected sales channels (social networks, online store, Google)
- management tools stockbilling and prices
- Means of payment and to sell throughout the country and even abroad
One of the advantages of using an e-commerce platform to create your first free online store is that the main functionalities are already resolved, that way you will be able to sell in a very short time.
In this sense, Tiendanube offers a robust platform prepared to solve all the needs of an e-commerce with growth projection. In addition, you can add new features through so that your store becomes professional.
For your online business to grow, it is key that you have to create promotions, discount coupons, be able to track abandoned carts and, in addition, that you have all sales channels integrated.
There are 3 very powerful sales platforms, in addition to the online store, which you surely know: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp Business.
💡 If you want to make the most of these platforms, it’s time to create a virtual store. Enter and meet how to automate your sales from Instagram, Facebook and other social networks with Tiendanube.
List of platforms to create virtual stores
To decide on an e-commerce platform, it is necessary to compare some of the best and understand what particularities each one has.
In this section, we have prepared a list of the most important ones. If you want to know some more, we invite you to read our content especially dedicated to .
storecloud
Tiendanube is the most chosen e-commerce platform in Latin America: there are almost 100,000 active users. It has multiple plans with various functionalities to be able to accompany the growth of your business and its needs.
It is an intuitive and easy-to-configure tool to start your online business in just a few steps.
You can get to know all the ones you have and the applications available to integrate into your store and offer a unique shopping experience.
Create your online store for free!
PrestaShop
This is a simple management platform that, while easy to use, usually only works for startups with few products.
Undertake
Focused on micro-enterprises, Empretienda has a single plan to use the tool. It has design templates that can be adjusted to your brand’s aesthetic.
🎯 If you are debating between this and our platform, we invite you to read about to help you decide which is the best option for your business.
WooCommerce
This is the most used WordPress plugin by advanced users, because some technical knowledge is required for its implementation.
It has the features of all online stores, SSL integration and tools to improve the .
Market Shops
It is the online store alternative offered by Mercado Libre and, as such, it has integrated functionalities and some financing plans.
You may also be interested in this article:
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Shopify
It is one of the best-known e-commerce platforms globally. Although it is a robust solution for designing an online store, it does not have adaptations to languages ​​other than English.
Get to know each platform thoroughly:
Article
While you decide on a platform to create your e-commerce, do you already know what your brand is going to be called? If you need a boost of creativity, we invite you to try our for free. Discover ideas to take the entrepreneurial step!
Create free online store in Argentina
There are multiple. As we explained before, Tiendanube is one of them and offers 30 free days to try it and start selling online.
In addition, it has integrations with the main couriers such as Correo Argentino, Shipnow, Enviopack, Andreani, OrdensYa, Treggo, Pudo and many more. It also offers the possibility of configuring international deliveries and an integration with DHL is available.
The same happens with the means of payment. In addition to having its own online payment platform, Tiendanube has integrations with the main payment methods in the country such as: Mercado Pago, Ualá, Fresa, 4 Débito, and also some international ones such as: PayU or .
In the same way, you will find functionalities prepared for the fiscal and legal regulations necessary to sell in Argentina. In other international platforms this is sometimes not usually contemplated.
For all this, if your business grows, you will be able to adapt your store so that it is functional at each stage and accompanies you to reach all markets.
💡 This is, without a doubt, an excellent time to sell online in Argentina, the 4th country in the world with the greatest growth potential in e-commerce, according to data from the international pollster eMarketer. For this reason, if you have a place on the street and you want to multiply your sales.
What support do I have?
Another key factor when choosing an e-commerce platform is support. Every time you have doubts or an inconvenience arises, you need to have the appropriate customer service.
In Tiendanube, when you create your first online store, you automatically become part of the leading e-commerce community in Latin America.
You will have access to so you can solve all your doubts, as well as the recommendations of experts who write in the .
Once your store is up and running, you will be able to contact the support team by email or WhatsApp.
For all this, if you want to create a free online store, you can do the test with Tiendanube for 30 days and, then, you will have the option to choose any of the , depending on your budget and the stage in which your business is. .
How long does it take to get the store up and running and start selling?
This is one of the big questions. The assembly time of the store depends on several factors. The 5 that will influence the most are the ones listed below.
1. Catalog size
Cataloging 100 products is not the same as cataloging 2,000, for example. Keep in mind that to create your online store for free, the ideal is to minimize time, so you can start with a reduced set of products and, as you grow, add more items to your store. In this way, the initial time of loading products will be reduced.
To optimize loading times, it is key that you organize all the product information that you need to load in the store. The descriptions have to be clear, concise and not very extensive (unless the characteristics of your products or services warrant it).
2. Characteristics of the products
You need to know if your catalog is made up of simple products, with variants (some of the most common are color and size), or both.
Products with variants usually take a little longer to load because you have to structure all the available options, but if you already have that information organized in a list, it’s very fast.
3. Armed with the list of products
It can vary considerably if you already have an initial list of products where you have defined their name, description and prices or if, on the contrary, you still do not have this information and you have to prepare it.
4. Photos for the store
If you still do not have good photos of your products, you have to contemplate the time to take the images. That implies hours of pre-production, production and post-production, whether the photos are taken by you, or you hire a…
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