Frequently Asked Questions by E-Commerce Startups – ECommerce FAQs
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E-Commerce Portal Start-Up Queries
Table of Contents
1. Which platform is apt for our start-up among Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento and Prestashop?
It depends on your requirement and budget, WordPress + woocommerce if you are not expecting huge traffic / Concurrency and features. Each ecommerce platform such as Shopify, Woocommerce, Prestashop and Magento have different design, cost and functions related aspects.
2. What are the pros and cons between them and which one will be most suitable and convenient for us to use?
Before choosing an ecommerce platform you should to take a look at your own opportunities, budget and needs because all ecommerce platforms have some pros and cons.
3. What are the activities involved from the initial stages of creating the E-Commerce Portal and running it at the later stages?
Such as getting Domain Name, Designing Logo, Designing Website, Getting payment Gateway, number of extensions required for running the portal, promoting the website, making it visible in various search engines, backend work for uploading products, dealing with Orders, Shipments.
4. What will be your scope of work right from creating and running of our E-commerce Portal?
Maintenance, Enhancements + Digital Marketing + Infrastructure Management
5. What legalities need to be done before, during and after setting up E-Commerce Portal?
Need to Setup a Company it can be a Proprietorship + Partnership, LLP or Pvt. Ltd. Take the GST no. Payment Gateway will require set of formalities to be fulfilled.
6. Will the designing of Website on premade themes or customized?
Your Choice Premade Theme will be Cheaper all depends on your choice and budget
7. What are extensions and can they be added as and when required and what will be the financial element in them?
Yes, some extensions are free other are paid, whether you need any paid extension is based on your requirement. For basic e-commerce
store you do not require any extension.
8. What will be the running cost per month of running an E-commerce Portal?
It will be low for WordPress + woo commerce as it can be hosted on shared server approx. Rs. 1000 Per month, High for Magento as it requires at least 4 GB VPS server.
9. Are there any limitations of brands and then their products that we can add since beginning and in middle?
No.
10. What we will be requiring from suppliers / Vendors to provide us to set up this portal?
Product Details in appropriate CSV format / Photographs, An Agreement. If you are planning a Marketplace you need to purchase a Paid extension and Integration and customization fee extra.
11. What things we have to incorporate in the agreements with the vendors to ensure the smooth functioning of the website?
You can check the format of standard Marketplace companies or Hire a Law firm to help you with.
12. How do we earn on E-Commerce Portal? Is it through rent per month or markdown on sales or any other?
Ideally by Sales or transactional Margin.
13. What is our fixed cost and variable cost for running the portal?
One time Design and Development is fixed cost. Variable cost is Hosting + digital Marketing + Maintenance.
14. Why customers should buy from our portals?
There are some reasons that‘s why your customers should buy from your portal:
Excellent Customer / User Experience
Reliability (Quality & Genuine Products)
Products Range – Wide & Exclusive Range, Niche Products
Customer Service
Competitive Price
15. What value addition we are bringing for our vendors and suppliers so that they can associate with us?
Collaborate with vendors and suppliers and make strong relationship with them. Classify multiple suppliers and pay bills on time and improve supply chain.
16. Will it be B2B or B2C and which will be appropriate for us and why?
B2B and B2C both are appropriate for ecommerce business. It all depend on your purpose if you want to sell your products to other business then B2B is good option for you and if you want to sell your product direct to your customer then B2C ecommerce portal is better option for you.
17. Who will draft the write up for contents in the portal such as refund policy, cancellation etc?
You can find the standard formats from the web and you can modify it according to your preference.
18. Do we require Mobile App for our portal?
Due to the online marketing revolution, ecommerce has to reached far beyond limits, so from anywhere he/she can shop from ecommerce store through mobile app.
There are some reasons that‘s why you require Mobile App for your portal:
Captive Customer – if you have to keep you customer engaged
Routine / Regular Offers and Notifications
Frequency of Purchase – If product is frequently purchased
To fulfill Specific Business need or logic. Customer to be provided Regular Data in the form of Facts and Analysis
19. What are the tax implications in running an E-Commerce Portal?
You have to apply for GST and file the GST return
20. What is the general procedure followed in case an order is placed on us?
You have to first acknowledge the order by raising an invoice and then create the shipment for giving the completion status to the order.
21. How do we deal with packaging, warehousing and shipping the customer orders from our suppliers to the customer?
Vendors will be notified once order is placed and after that they have to get the product packed for the pick with the packaging material provided by the admin. Afterwards logistics representative will go and collect the docket for the shipment against the order ID.
22. What if we do well and we want to expand in future then do we have to change the platform and redo this exercise all again?
Yes if you currently start with WordPress you probably have to upgrade to Magento when you experience concurrency of approx. 3000 to 4000 users.
23. What if we do not wish to continue with the Portal in future then what will be the formalities and challenges we need to face in this regard?
You have to fulfill all the current orders in hand, Stop taking new orders, intimate you vendors and customers and ask your CA firm for close down of the company.
24. How can you help us to run this portal and grow in this industry
We can provide you with valuable consultancy + Support + Digital Marketing and Hosting.
Conclusion:
Which e-commerce platform is best for your startup will depend on your spending limit and needs. Every platform has advantages and disadvantages of its own, so there is no one “best” platform. Starting with WordPress + WooCommerce is what the author suggests if you don’t need extensive features and expect low traffic. In addition, they offer thorough responses to 24 frequently asked questions concerning launching and managing an e-commerce portal, covering a wide range of topics including platform choice, legal concerns, marketing, and business growth.
In the end, a number of factors will determine your e-commerce startup’s success, so careful planning and execution are crucial.
