Many business owners are unsure if they need an ecommerce site. For most, the benefits are clear, but it is not necessarily the right choice for everyone.

An ecommerce website is a great option if:

– You want to reach a wider audience: If you are only currently selling from a physical location, you are only reaching customers who are within a reasonable travelling distance of the premises. This is just a tiny percentage of the entire market for your product(s). In contrast, the reach of an ecommerce website is almost unlimited. With such a site, your products could be made available to people all around the country (or even the world!).

– You sell a wide range of products: An ecommerce website will be able to showcase a much larger and wider range of products than you can display and store in a physical shop.

– Your existing website gets a lot of traffic but has no buying facilities: If you already have a popular website but it doesn’t allow people to purchase your products online, you could be missing out on sales. Most internet users today will expect to be able to buy products online. If this is your situation, you can either add ecommerce functionality to your existing site or set up a separate site or microsite.

Getting set up

Specialist companies such as names.co.uk will be able to guide you through the process. You can buy domain name and web hosting from different companies if you wish, but many offer both options.

What are the benefits?

Here are some benefits of having an ecommerce website or ecommerce functionality.

1. Gain new customers

This is the most obvious and tangible benefit. Your ecommerce website will be accessible to vast swathes of people worldwide who would never have known about you otherwise. This huge new market should significantly boost your customer numbers and sales revenue.

2. Convenience for customers

Convenience is one of the main reasons people shop online. An ecommerce website will also be available 24/7 so customers can place orders any time, unlike with a physical store.

3. Increase brand awareness

Increased sales and exposure through online searches and social media recommendations will boost brand awareness in a way that couldn’t happen offline, so more people will know about your products and your company.