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The last few years have been challenging for businesses all over the world. The pandemic has served as a massive blow to the global supply chain, especially for small businesses with limited resources.

Reports back that up, showing that almost 23% of small businesses in the U.S. were impacted negatively by the coronavirus and the lockdowns that came with it. But it doesn’t stop there.

For most online businesses, supply chain disruptions have also been a significant problem during the pandemic. The current events have highlighted the importance of supply chain management, especially for ecommerce businesses.

It is essential for modern businesses to be prepared for catastrophic events and, thus, devise a disaster recovery plan. Read along to learn about the importance of supply chain management in ecommerce and how to ensure business continuity in trying times.

• What Supply Chain Contingency Planning Is
• How To Avoid Supply Chain Disruptions
• Final Thoughts: How To Make a Contingency Plan for Supply Chain Management

What Supply Chain Contingency Planning Is

Supply chain contingency planning is a process where organizations analyze potential disruptions that can hurt their business and devise a plan to minimize such occurrences. One of the most significant aspects to consider is supply chain sustainability.

In any unexpected event, the businesses would want their customers’ expectations to be met. That is only possible by effective risk management and meeting the demand of products and services at all times.

Supply Chain Risk Management Plan

Supply chain risk management is a strategic process where you assess the possible risks and devise a plan to meet the challenges, making sure that your supply chain disruptions are minimized. Modern businesses must have an effective supply chain management strategy.

How To Avoid Supply Chain Disruptions

If the pandemic has taught ecommerce businesses one thing, it’s having a strong business continuity plan and an effective contingency plan for supply chain management.

The more critical question is creating a robust plan and understanding the complications of implementing a supply chain contingency plan.

After all, there is no standard way to deal with supply chain disruptions. However, there are some principles that ecommerce companies can adopt to ensure a sustainable supply chain.

They are the following:

Anticipate and Assess the Risks

When creating a supply chain contingency plan, the first and most important step is risk assessment. All businesses need to plan and anticipate disruptive events, which can then be helpful in risk mitigation.

Granted, you cannot accurately predict natural disasters such as floods and pandemics, but you can incorporate these factors in contingency planning. That will be a huge step toward preparedness for unexpected events.

The importance of risk assessment and forecast gets more pronounced for ecommerce businesses as they have to deal with the challenges and limitations of the online world.

When interacting with online businesses, customers expect quick delivery of products and frequent updates on the status of their orders. It is, therefore, essential to have a responsive and effective supply chain that can deal with prospective risks without impacting the customer experience.

Increase Safety Stock To Avoid Supply Chain Shortages

In certain cases, it is not possible to anticipate which products will have a greater demand in case of a disruptive event or a natural disaster.

For example, the demand for hand sanitizers increased exponentially during COVID-19, taking the form of a pandemic supply chain risk in no time.

One way to deal with such unexpected demands and shortages in the supply chain is to increase the safety stock. Ecommerce businesses can upscale their storage capabilities and make sure that they’re able to meet the needs of their customers.

Small businesses, however, have limited resources and may not be able to afford big warehouses. In such cases, you can develop strong relationships with multiple suppliers. This way, the supply chain is not dependent on a single provider and can satisfy the demand from alternate suppliers.

Maintain Clear Communication With Customers

If you’re running an ecommerce business, your customers are your strongest asset. Whether you’re struggling with delayed deliveries or your supply chain is hit by a shortage of products, you should be transparent with your customers.

That is where your websites and social media channels can come in handy. You need to develop a flexible digital content strategy that adapts to potential supply chain risks. The strategy should also be part of your supply chain contingency plan.

As soon as you identify a potential risk factor, you should take your customers into confidence. You can achieve this by sending out customized emails to customers, posting updates on the website, and being quick to respond on social media platforms.

If you maintain clear communication with customers, you’ll have a better chance of disaster recovery as your customers will trust you more and thus stay loyal.

Develop Long-Term Supply Chain Strategies

A supply chain contingency plan cannot be successful in the absence of a long-term plan. Any disruptive event can occur at any moment, where short-term plans may not prove promising.

With the digital world advancing at a rapid pace, it is particularly important for ecommerce businesses to always have an eye on the future.

For long-term supply chain management in ecommerce, you need to identify key suppliers and develop strong professional relationships with distributors. That will help you grow your business and meet your customers’ expectations at all times.

Another important aspect of a long-term supply chain strategy is strengthening its online presence. If you have a responsive and updated online store, your customers will find it easy to interact with your business.

Review and Update the Supply Chain Contingency Plans

A supply chain contingency plan is not a static document. To improve the supply chain resilience, you must constantly review your contingency plans and update them as needed.

One of the best ways is to schedule reviews at regular intervals. For example, you may decide to review your contingency plan every six months. The review will ensure that all the new challenges are being addressed as they arise in real-time.

Constant review of supply chain contingency plans is also an important part of business continuity planning. If you want to grow your business and gain a competitive advantage, you need to use predictive analytics and be proactive in your business decisions.

Final Thoughts: How To Make a Contingency Plan for Supply Chain Management

Supply chain disruptions are inevitable. The best strategy for small businesses, particularly those using the ecommerce channel, is to manage the supply chain operations strategically.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 56% of small businesses experienced decreased demand for their products or services in the recent global pandemic.

That was partly because of the shortage of products and partly because of the absence of an effective supply chain contingency plan.

To survive such disruptions, you need to have a strong online presence that can complement your ecommerce business. With Hostdedi, you can build impactful online stores with remarkable hosting.

Check out Hostdedi’ managed WooCommerce hosting to help your business grow even when times are not favorable.

All businesses incur transaction fees when a customer’s credit card payment is processed, reducing the money earned per sale.

But transaction fees can hurt ecommerce businesses even more. Platforms like Shopify, Etsy, Wix, and Squarespace add transaction fees onto your sales, cutting into your hard-earned profits.

Navigating through the world of transaction fees is a messy endeavor, so this article breaks down Shopify transaction fees, along with other popular platforms like Squarespace, Wix, and more.

Keep reading to learn about:

• How ecommerce transaction fees work
• Ebay transaction fees
• Etsy transaction fees
• Shopify transaction fees
• Wix transaction fees
• Squarespace transaction fees
• Weebly transaction fees
• WordPress transaction

And see if there are better ecommerce platform options for your business.

How Ecommerce Transaction Fees Work

Two standard fees occur during a sale: processor fees and transaction fees.

A processor fee, also known as a processor payment or credit card processing payment, is the charge from the credit card processor, like PayPal, Stripe, or Intuit. It acts as an intermediary between your business and a customer’s credit card company.

A transaction fee is the amount of each sale transaction paid via credit card and can vary depending on the ecommerce platform, subscription plan, type of product, and more. Essentially, a transaction fee is like a commission set by the ecommerce platform your business utilizes.

Comparing Ecommerce Transaction Fees

eBay Transaction Fee

eBay’s transaction fees are known as “final value fees.” The final value fee covers the total amount of the sale, including the item cost, shipping and handling costs, sales tax, and any additional applicable fees. Businesses incur extra fees depending on the type of products the customer purchases.

Except for athletic shoes over $100, all products cost the seller an additional $0.30 per order. Final value fees range between 0.5% and 15% depending on the category and the total amount of the sale.

Most product categories charge 12.55% of the sale up to $7,500 calculated per item and an additional 2.35% for the sale portion greater than $7,500.

So if your business sells a high-priced product for $8,000, the fees on the item are $941.25 (12.55% of $7,500) plus $11.75 (2.35% of $500).

Each fee adds up.

Related reading: Ecommerce Platform vs. Marketplace: Moving to Your Own Site >>

Etsy Transaction Fee

Etsy’s transaction fees recently increased to a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price, including shipping. However, if your business utilizes the Etsy Payments feature, that will be an additional processing fee of 3% of the sale price plus $0.25.

So, for example, a product that costs $10 that the customer pays via Etsy Payments will generate $1.05 in transaction fees, which is over 10% of the cost of the item sold.

Shopify Transaction Fee

Does Shopify charge a transaction fee? Yes, they do. Shopify transaction fees charge your business 0.5% to 2% for making a sale, and the plan subscription determines the percent.

The Shopify Payments feature, which incorporates Shopify’s own payment gateway, eliminates transaction fees.

However, if you do not utilize Shopify Payments, an additional transaction fee of 2.4% to 2.9% plus $0.30 is added per transaction.

Shopify Payments may sound ideal, but Shopify can hold your funds at its discretion. It is only available in 17 countries and businesses like cryptocurrency, Internet gaming, telehealth services, and cannabis-related businesses, amongst others, are ineligible from using the feature.

Related reading: Shopify: Is It The Best Option For Your Online Store? >>

Wix Transaction Fees

You may be wondering, Does Wix charge transaction fees?

While Wix charges the standard processing fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 of the sale for credit card payments, it does not currently charge any additional transaction fees.

Squarespace Transaction Fee

Squarespace charges both processor and transaction fees.

The Squarespace Website Business plan charges a 3% transaction fee on order totals (including shipping), while the Commerce Basic and Commerce Advanced plans do not charge transaction fees.

Related reading: Should I Switch From Squarespace to WordPress? 9 Considerations >>

Weebly Transaction Fees

Weebly charges a 3% transaction fee for its Free, Starter, and Pro plans, but no transaction fees are incurred for its Business plan.

WordPress Ecommerce Transaction Fees

You may not know that WordPress can be used for ecommerce. By using WordPress with WooCommerce, you can turn your site into a WordPress online store.

A major benefit here is that the open source ecommerce platform WordPress does not charge any transaction fees. Processing fees depend on the card processor.

Related reading: What is WooCommerce? How It Works and 10 Reasons to Choose WooCommerce >>

Other Considerations Beyond Ecommerce Transaction Fees

Transaction fees are not the only important factor to take into consideration when starting an ecommerce business.

Keep in mind that if you choose one of the proprietary solutions, such as Shopify, your data is no longer yours, and you cannot take it with you should you decide to run your store on a different platform. If you choose to move, rebuilding your entire shop will be necessary.

WordPress and WooCommerce provide the most customizations, templates, scalability, and flexibility out of the mentioned solutions, as well as a robust assortment of plugins and integrations to help you manage your website. Plus, your data is truly yours.

Ecommerce Transaction Fee FAQs

Does Shopify Charge a Transaction Fee?

Yes. Shopify transaction fees range from 2% on its Basic plan, 1% on Shopify plan, and 0.5% on its Advanced plan.

What is Shopify Payments Fee?

Shopify Payments is Shopify’s payment gateway. It eliminates Shopify transaction fees but still charges credit card processing fees ranging from 2.4% to 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.

Does Wix Charge Transaction Fees?

Yes. Wix uses the industry-standard processing fee of 2.9% of the sale amount plus $0.30.

Does WordPress Charge a Transaction Fee?

No. There are no transaction fees for using the WordPress platform.

Is There a Transaction Fee for WooCommerce?

No. There are no transaction fees for using the WooCommerce platform.

How to Avoid WordPress Ecommerce Transaction Fees

While WordPress avoids charging customers transaction fees, there are still credit card processing fees. Those are universal costs that all online businesses and sellers are required to pay, right?

Nope!

There are plenty of free payment methods that can be utilized with your WooCommerce shop, like WooCommerce Payments, Amazon Pay, and ShipStation Integration.

These plugins to your WooCommerce store allow customers to remain on your website. WooCommerce Payments is a payment solution that has no hidden setup costs or monthly fees.

Try Fully Managed WooCommerce Hosting from Hostdedi

Avoid Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify transaction fees and go with a fee-free solution: WooCommerce.

Your website’s best bet not to incur fees is with a WooCommerce online store on WordPress. Fortunately, neither WordPress nor WooCommerce charges transaction fees, so you won’t be losing money from each sale.

And if you do decide to open a WooCommerce online store, consider hosting with Hostdedi.

Fully managed WooCommerce hosting from Hostdedi comes with smart monitoring, which sends alerts for sales trends, customer checkout problems, and if your site experiences slow loading times. It also comes with cart abandonment technology and advanced analytics to help understand the habits of your website visitors and customers.

Don’t let other ecommerce providers take their cut from your hard-earned profits while providing a lackluster shopping experience for customers and rigid website creation for your business.

Instead, stick with WooCommerce, where your profits are your own and your creativity knows no bounds.

Explore WooCommerce hosting plans today.

Ecommerce. Ebusiness. Same thing, right? Not exactly. So what is the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness?

Ecommerce is selling goods or services online. Ebusiness is conducting business online. So all ecommerce is ebusiness, but not all ebusiness is ecommerce.

It’s like how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Confused? Don’t worry. We’re not about to launch into a geometry lesson.

At their core, ecommerce and ebusiness deal with using the internet for your business. In this post, we’ll look at the ways ecommerce and ebusiness can transform your business for success.

What is Ecommerce?

So, what is ecommerce?

Ecommerce refers to selling goods and services on the internet. Ecommerce covers everything from Amazon and Walmart to your local bakery selling cupcakes online.

Types of ecommerce include:

• B2C. Business-to-Consumer ecommerce includes most traditional retail businesses. The business sells directly to consumers.
• B2B. Business-to-Business ecommerce is about transactions between two business entities. For example, a distributor selling car parts to an auto parts store is a B2B transaction.

One company may utilize B2C and B2B ecommerce channels. A shoe company may sell directly to consumers on their website and have a place for shoe stores to purchase inventory.

Ecommerce is not limited to physical products. You can also sell services like a graphic designer offering logo design packages. Or, you can sell digital products.

Ecommerce can include traditional commerce models as well. Buy online and pick up in-store still utilizes a brick-and-mortar location but is an example of ecommerce since the transaction occurred on the internet.

What is Ebusiness?

Ebusiness refers to conducting business online. Business interactions that were handled in person, over the phone, or with pen and paper now occur on the internet.

You may have heard the buzzword “digital transformation” used to describe this evolution in how businesses operate. Ecommerce is one part of this transformation. Ecommerce covers the sales portion of ebusiness, but other functions from accounting to customer service also can be part of ebusiness.

Types of ebusiness include:

• Cloud Computing. Thanks to the rise of cloud computing and SaaS providers, many companies’ essential functions like accounting, human resources, and IT rely on internet-based software.
• Customer Relationships and Service. From maintaining a support and documentation website to enabling live chat, many customer service functions that required a telephone call now happen online.
• Supply Chain and Logistics. From procurement to shipping, many aspects of companies’ supply chain management rely on ebusiness.

Transitioning to ebusiness doesn’t require buying expensive cloud-based software like Salesforce, Oracle, or Workday. The popularity of open source platforms like WordPress allows businesses of all sizes to use ebusiness.

For example, as an alternative to buying project management software, you could use one of these project management plugins for WordPress to build a client portal to keep track of projects and communication between your teams and clients.

What is the Difference Between Ecommerce and Ebusiness?

The main difference between ecommerce and ebusiness is that ecommerce is solely focused on sales transactions while ebusiness incorporates other business functions.

Ecommerce vs. Ebusiness

Ecommerce vs. Ebusiness	Ecommerce	Ebusiness
Ecommerce vs. Ebusiness Differences	Ecommerce refers to selling goods or services online.	Ebusiness refers to performing any type of business activity online.
Ecommerce vs. Ebusiness Similarities	Ecommerce is one example of ebusiness.	Ebusiness encompasses ecommerce.
Ecommerce vs. Ebusiness Activities	Activities include buying and selling.	Activities include procurement of goods or materials, customer relations, selling, and financial transactions.
Ecommerce vs. Ebusiness Channels	Typically involves a website or application. Some companies also have social media sales channels that count as ecommerce.	Ebusiness includes any online sales channels and internet-based software systems like CRM, ERP, HCM, and ITSM.

When to Use Ecommerce and Ebusiness

It doesn’t really matter what you call ecommerce and ebusiness. The important thing is you start incorporating both into your business plan.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation trends that were already disrupting nearly every industry. Think of how quickly Zoom meetings replaced the need for business travel for in-person meetings.

Ecommerce continues to grow rapidly for both pure-digital and combination online and brick-and-mortar retailers. If businesses don’t take advantage of the internet for ecommerce and ebusiness, they’ll get left behind. Their competitors are transitioning to use the internet more for all their business activities. Failing to make the switch puts companies at a disadvantage.

How to Get Started with Ecommerce and Ebusiness

Adding ecommerce to your business is not as difficult as you think. With StoreBuilder by Hostdedi, you can set up a new ecommerce website in less than a day.

StoreBuilder harnesses the power of WooCommerce, the most popular open source ecommerce platform. You get all the benefits of using WooCommerce without the headache of setting it up. Just answer a few questions about your business, and StoreBuilder does the rest. You can customize your store to match your brand with the included premium theme options and easy-to-use customizer.

StoreBuilder also includes sales and performance monitoring. StoreBuilder monitors your store’s sales and uses its sales history to alert you to any downward trends. StoreBuilder also monitors your site for any performance issues. Hostdedi’s exclusive plugin monitor notices when a change in a plugin begins slowing down your site so you can correct it.

Take the next step in your digital transformation and sign up for a StoreBuilder account today.

Are you thinking about becoming a freelancer?

Perfect! You’re about to join one of the fastest-growing industries in America.

Upwork shares that non-temporary freelance workers grew from 33.8% in 2020 to 35% in 2021. With this number expected to rise further in 2022, freelancing presents itself as a great career choice.

If you’re a web developer, blogger, copywriter, or SEO specialist, the freelance market is full of opportunities. But if you want to succeed, you’ll have to avoid some pitfalls and freelancer mistakes that can ruin your efforts.

Read on to discover:

What Are the Biggest Drawbacks of Freelancing?

While freelancing is one of the most rewarding paths you can take as a professional, it does have its disadvantages.

Common drawbacks include:

No Employment Benefits

While becoming a freelance blogger or content creator, you give up attractive full-time employment benefits. You don’t receive any employer health insurance, vacation allowances, or 401K.

Isolation

Freelancing often comes with a lack of socialization, primarily if you work from the comfort of your home. You may feel a lack of human connection because you have no employees, supervisors, or management to interact with.

Accountability

As a freelance writer or web developer, you’re responsible for your successes and failures. You’re accountable to yourself and no one else. If you’re used to having people structure you, it’ll hurt at the start.

You need a high sense of self-motivation and drive to keep yourself going. That means setting your own goals and tracking your habits, which can be pretty tough.

Mistakes New Freelancers Make

• Taking on too much work or too many clients.
• Doing just enough to get by.
• Taking low pay.
• Ignoring your mental health.
• Putting up with bad clients.
• Poor financial management.

As a new freelance developer or copywriter, you may make mistakes that cause enormous problems for your freelance career progression. Below, we help you identify them and offer practical solutions to help you avoid them altogether.

Taking On Too Much Work or Too Many Clients

Spreading yourself too thin is a mistake new freelancers make. Usually, it has a noticeable effect on the quality of your work.

And your clients will see it as you end up:

• Missing deadlines.
• Delaying project timelines.
• Delivering rushed or half-baked work.

Only take on new clients or a workload that you can deliver within your planned workweek. It improves the quality of your deliverables and communicates professionalism.

Doing Just Enough To Get By

As a new freelancer, you may sometimes deliver precisely what the client asked for and no more. While there’s nothing wrong with that, you should try to exceed your client’s expectations.

Go the extra mile. Take an interest in the success of your client. You can also offer your clients advice to improve their products or suggest new projects. It will win you more work and make you a successful freelancer.

Taking Low Pay

You’ll be tempted to think that offering discounts or charging lower rates will attract customers and keep them.

You’re partly right. But you’ll paint yourself into a corner as you grow. It becomes harder to deliver high-quality work for a low rate once you figure out that you can — and should — charge more.

High-value clients associate expensive rates with quality work. As they want to get the most out of their money, they’ll pay your worth — or more.

Do some research on hourly rates. Know your worth, and price your offerings accordingly.

Ignoring Your Mental Health

You’re also human. Your mental health is as essential to your success as anything else. Take it seriously. You’ll experience burnout and fatigue if you work too much.

Here are some tips to help you manage your mental health while working from home:

• Take short breaks in-between your workday. Take a walk, play a computer game, or go to the gym.
• Take a three to four-day vacation every two months to refresh.
• Change your work location often.
• Eat well and get plenty of rest.
• Try outsourcing your work to other freelancers.

Putting Up With Bad Clients

You will deal with both good and bad clients. Some clients will set unrealistic demands and ask too much of you. Others will delay your payments or fail to pay you altogether.

Here’s how to deal with bad clients:

• Use contracts to define expectations between you and your clients.
• Screen all your potential clients and reject anyone who fails to meet your criteria.
• Fire your client as a last resort.

Poor Financial Management

If you have a poor money management strategy for your freelance business, you’ll be out before you know. As a business owner, you need to have functional systems when managing your money.

Lay out a marketing plan. Establish a legal entity for your business. These two components are essential, especially for tax benefits your small business will enjoy. And monitor your profitability by keeping organized books.

Advice for Newbies To Avoid Freelancer Mistakes in Marketing

Here is how you can avoid common freelancer mistakes while marketing your services:

• Make yourself available on platforms where your ideal clients look.
• Maintain an up-to-date online portfolio with testimonials and templates of your work.
• Use social media or join freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr.
• Always follow up on feedback and reviews from clients and experienced freelancers.
• Pitch your services to businesses that can benefit from your services.
• Use referrals to grow your business.

Final Thoughts: 6 Freelancer Mistakes Newbies Make and How To Avoid Them

Over 44% of freelancers earn more in freelancing than in their traditional jobs. You can be one of them. Once you figure out these challenges and get ahead of them, there’s no telling how outstanding your outcome will be.

Ready to begin?

Build a portfolio website and establish your authenticity using Hostdedi’s StoreBuilder today.

Whether you’ve worked in brick-and-mortar stores and want to try online sales or are entering sales for the first time ever, you may have come across ecommerce terms that are new to you.

This ecommerce glossary provides definitions and additional information about terms you might have found while learning the basics of ecommerce.

Most of the ecommerce terminology we’ll discuss focuses on what you need to do before you can really think about ecommerce marketing. However, some marketing terms will appear because they affect your business plan even in the earliest stages.

Now, let’s dig into these 36 ecommerce terms to help you on your journey to running your online business.

1. Affiliate Marketing

When a website links to another brand’s products (often in a blog post or similar) in exchange for a commission, this is affiliate marketing.

If you engage in affiliate marketing on your site, you must include a disclaimer letting your readers know you make money off purchases they make via your links.

2. Authorization

Authorization occurs when an online purchase asks a credit card company to approve a transaction. The process involves ensuring a card has sufficient funds, is valid, and is being used legally.

3. Average Order Value (AOV)

Average order value (AOV) is the average amount customers spend at your store, determined by dividing revenue by the number of orders.

AOV = Revenue / # of Orders

4. Bundling/Product Bundling

When you group relevant products as a single package, usually for a lower price than the products would cost separately, you are bundling your products.

5. Business to Business (B2B)

Business to business (B2B) sales occur when one business sells items or services to another business.

6. Business to Consumer (B2C)

Business to consumer (B2C) sales involve selling items to individuals, not businesses.

7. Call to Action (CTA)

More often called a CTA, a call to action is when you ask or tell a customer or member of your audience to do something. Examples include “buy now,” “contact us,” or “learn more,” often with a button to click.

8. Conversion

Conversion is the process of getting a visitor to become a buyer. They go through the conversion or sales funnel, in which they go through the four stages of awareness, interest, desire, and action (i.e., becoming aware of your brand through making a purchase).

The number of people who make purchases divided by the number of visits to your site is your conversion rate.

Conversion rate = Purchases / Site Visitors

9. Cookie

A cookie is a snippet of code in web browsers that tells a website when visitors arrive on the site and what they do while they’re visiting. They help ecommerce companies see:

• How a visitor got to your page.
• What the visitor did on your page.
• How many times they visited your site over a certain period.
• Overall demographics of visitors.
• Which sites people stay on vs. which they quickly leave.

Related reading: Cookies, WordPress, And The GDPR

10. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Getting customers to show up in your store costs money, and the amount it costs is called customer acquisition cost (CAC). You divide the amount you spent on marketing by the number of people who purchased to determine your CAC.

CAC = (sales + marketing expenses) / (total customers acquired)

11. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV, or customer lifetime value, is the amount you can reasonably anticipate an individual will spend at your store over every purchase they ever make from you.

CLV = ([customer’s profit contribution per year] x [total years as a customer]) – CAC

12. Content Management System (CMS)

A CMS, short for content management system, allows you to create, monitor, and alter content on your website. You don’t need to be a web designer or coding expert to use a CMS.

With StoreBuilder by Hostdedi, we power our CMS with WooCommerce in conjunction with WordPress— giving you one of the most customizable CMS options out there.

13. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A type of software, customer relationship management (CRM) helps you build and maintain relationships with users from their first visit through all their subsequent purchases.

Related reading: CRMs to use with WooCommerce

14. Cross-Selling

Cross-selling involves linking from one product’s page to another. The second product should be relevant and potentially improve the customer’s enjoyment of or success with the first.

15. Domain

Your domain is your domain name and its corresponding domain extension.

For example, let’s say you manage WinstonsDogs.com, an online brand that sells hot dog supplies. Your domain is:

[winstonsdogs] + [.com ]

[Domain name]+[domain name extension]

16. Dropshipping

With dropshipping, a third party fulfills your orders, while you acquire and facilitate orders for customers. This means you don’t need to store your products.

17. Fulfillment

After your site makes a sale, the fulfillment process begins. It begins with receiving sale confirmation and ends with the item being packaged and shipped.

18. Gateway

Also called a payment gateway, a gateway processes credit card transactions. It transfers the data from the bank or credit card provider, allowing the transaction to occur. This is different from a merchant account provider as it could be considered a middleman between the funds and the merchant account provider.

19. Inventory

Your inventory is the products you have in stock right now. So, if you’re out of something, it is not part of your inventory.

If you sell digital products like MP3s, videos, or documents, your inventory doesn’t need to be replenished. Those items don’t exist in physical form and generally can’t “sell out.”

20. Landing Page

A landing page is where a customer ends up after clicking a link. This doesn’t have to be your homepage.

21. Listing Fee

If you sell through third-party sites and not your own, you may be charged a listing fee. This can be a flat fee, a percentage of your sales, or a combination of the two.

22. Merchant Account Provider

Companies accepting credit or debit cards, online or otherwise, are required to have merchant account providers. When a card is run, the provider temporarily holds the money and ultimately deposits the amount into the business’ account.

Unlike a gateway, the merchant account provider doesn’t contact the credit card company or bank itself — the payment gateway does that for the provider.

23. Metrics

Metrics are important data like revenue, traffic, user engagement, search engine rankings, or demographics. Many platforms provide metrics for users, though you can also use third parties to give you more robust and accurate data reporting.

Related reading: Ecommerce KPIs To Grow Your Business and Increase Revenue

24. Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance

Accepting credit cards means you automatically collect data about the purchaser; PCI compliance means following the laws and regulations about storing and protecting that data.

25. Payment Service Provider (PSP)

A payment service provider (PSP) allows you to accept electronic payments, including credit and debit cards and digital wallets (e.g., Google Pay).

26. Point of Sales (POS)

If you’ve previously only worked in physical stores, you may think of point of sale (POS) systems as registers. While that is hardware related to a point of sale, POS in the online world more often refers to a software system that performs transactions, manages inventories, sends digital receipts, and more.

27. Return on Investment (ROI)

Your ROI (return on investment) is the amount of money you make compared to how much you spent. In other words, it states how profitable your company is at a given moment.

28. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of setting your site up for success on search engines like Google, Bing Search, and DuckDuckGo. This involves ensuring you use the right keywords while providing valuable content.

29. Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

Search engine results pages (SERPs) are the pages of results you see when you use a search engine. Your goal is to use ecommcerce SEO effectively enough to end up on the first page (or close to it), either with your homepage or individual pages on your site.

30. Shopping Cart

An online shopping cart lists items a customer has selected for purchase. Whether an item in a cart is considered “on hold” for a customer varies by platform.

31. Abandoned Shopping Cart

An abandoned shopping cart is a cart in which potential customers have placed items, then left the site without completing the purchase. Some sites, particularly larger online retailers, leave items in a customer’s cart indefinitely (assuming they don’t sell out). Others only allow items to stay in a cart for a few hours, days, or weeks.

A platform may allow your business to send emails or notifications to customers if they abandon their carts or when their abandoned carts are about to expire.

32. Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a service, otherwise known as SaaS, is essentially a third-party developer that maintains their proprietary software and lets you store and access your data from anywhere. On top of the features that come with their software, SaaS companies provide automatic updates and integration with other external digital services and software.

Experts often urge startups and small companies to use SaaS, as this software allows ecommerce stores and products to go live quickly with a low risk of investing in custom solutions.

33. Third Party Payment Processor

A type of merchant services provider, third-party payment processors allow you to take electronic payments without having a merchant account through a bank. Common third-party payment processors include PayPal, Stripe, and Square.

34. Traffic

Traffic is the number of visits to your website, regardless of how long they stay there or if they make purchases. This metric can be expressed as either unique visitors, sessions, or pageviews.

35. Transaction

A transaction is the sale of a product or service, online or elsewhere.

36. Upselling

Upselling occurs when, right before someone checks out, you suggest an upgrade or addition to their current cart, usually for a comparatively small additional cost.

Next Steps

If you’re ready to jump in now that you understand some of the many ecommerce terms, StoreBuilder by Hostdedi is here to help.

Remember the ecommerce term “CTA” from earlier? Here’s a real-life example — which we’d love you to click on:

To get started with StoreBuilder, click the button below.

Whether it’s skincare products or fresh produce, consumers love the convenience of getting products delivered to their doorsteps at regular intervals.

Daedal Research predicts the global subscription ecommerce market will grow from $51.22 billion in 2020 to $442.62 billion by 2025.

There’s tremendous potential in the growing market of direct-to-consumer product subscriptions. And Magento virtual products are the best way to tap into it and generate recurring revenue for your online business.

Want to learn how?

Here’s a detailed guide that covers:

An Introduction to Magento 2 Virtual Products

A virtual product in Magento is a product type used to sell non-tangible products such as memberships, services, gift cards, and subscriptions. It looks exactly like a simple product on the front end, i.e., it doesn’t have any configurable or customizable product options.

The only difference between a simple and virtual product is that the Magento virtual product type doesn’t have any weight.

Customers can add them to their cart and purchase them without entering a shipping address as virtual products aren’t shipped or delivered.

You can sell a Magento 2 virtual product individually or as a grouped, bundle, or configurable product. For example, you can sell a yoga class membership as a virtual product or combine it with a yoga mat and sell it as a grouped or bundle product.

A Magento 2 virtual product cannot be shipped or downloaded when sold independently. Customers only receive an order confirmation email after placing their online orders.

So if you’re using virtual products to sell event tickets, you’ll need to manage ticket sales manually or build an integration between your Magento store and event software.

How To Create a Virtual Product in Magento 2

Although you can create a virtual product programmatically in Magento 2, it’s easier to do it from the Magento admin panel.

Here’s how to set up a virtual product in Magento:

Step 1: Choose the Product Type

In the Magento admin, go to Catalog > Products.

Expand the Add Product menu and select the Virtual Product template.

Step 2: Assign an Attribute Set to the Product

Choose an attribute set for the virtual product by expanding the dropdown and selecting from the available options.

If you haven’t created attribute sets, you can use the default Magento 2 attribute set or create a new one using the Add Attribute button.

Step 3: Configure the Required Settings

Complete the required settings as described below:

• Product Name: Enter the product name.
• SKU: Use the default SKU generated from the product name or replace it with a custom SKU.
• Price: Add the product price.

After updating the required fields, switch the Enable Product toggle from the default Yes to No and save it. We’ll update this setting after completing the Magento 2 Virtual product creation process.

After the product saves, the Store View option will appear on the top-left corner under the product name.

Assign the product to a store or set it to All Store Views to assign the product to all stores.

Step 4: Update the Basic Settings

Configure the value for the following basic product settings:

• Tax Class: Assign a tax class by setting it to Taxable Goods or exclude it from taxation by setting it to None.
• Quantity: Add the number of products in stock.
• Stock Status: Set the status to In Stock.
• Weight: This is disabled by default. If you override this setting and add weight, the product will convert into a simple product.
• Visibility: Set it to Catalog, Search.
• Categories: Assign the product to relevant categories.
• Set Product as New From: Set a timeframe to display the product in the New Products widget.

The above list of product attributes may vary based on your attribute set.

If you’re using Multi Source Inventory Management, you may not see the Quantity and Stock Status options. Instead, you’ll see a Source section below. We’ll demonstrate how to configure quantities for Multi Source in the next step.

Step 5: Assign Sources and Quantities (for Multi Source Merchants)

If you aren’t using Multi Source Inventory Management, skip this step.

Multi Source merchants can assign sources and quantities to Magento virtual products using the Assign Sources button in the Sources section.

Find the sources you want to associate with the product and select the checkbox beside them. Click Done to add the sources.

To manage the sources, you can:

1. Set the Source Item Status to either In Stock or Out of Stock.
2. Add the stock on hand in the Qty column.
3. Enable notifications when the stock drops below a preset quantity by setting a value in the Notify Qty column. Alternatively, you can select the Use Default checkbox to use the global value.

Step 6: Configure the Optional Product Information Sections

Complete the product information in each of the following sections:

• Content: Add the product description.
• Images and Videos: Upload images, rearrange them, and configure display settings.
• Search Engine Optimization: Add an SEO-friendly meta title and product meta description.
• Related Products, Up-Sells, and Cross-Sells: Set up promotional product blocks.
• Customizable Options: Allow adding customizations such as text, date, or other selection options.
• Products in Websites: Assign the product to different websites when using a multisite deployment.
• Design: Customize the product page layout.
• Gift Options: Allow buyers to add a gift message during checkout and set a price for it.

Step 7: Publish the Product on Your Store

Switch the Enable Product toggle to Yes.

Click Save to publish the product.

Final Thoughts: How To Add a Virtual Product in Magento 2

Learning how to create a virtual product in Magento 2 opens a new realm of possibilities for your online store. It allows you to sell product subscriptions, extended warranties, and exclusive memberships that can help you improve sales and reduce churn.

No matter how you use it, make sure your store has the resources it needs to deliver a seamless shopping experience. Don’t know where to start?

Check out Managed Magento hosting by Hostdedi. It gives you access to hosting that’s purpose-built for Magento. You also get 30-day backups, unlimited email accounts, and instant auto-scaling.

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Much like starting a brick-and-mortar business, starting an ecommerce business comes with inherent challenges. From researching your niche and developing an ecommerce business plan to choosing an ecommerce platform and designing a beautiful website, the beginning stages of the process can feel overwhelming.

Once you make it to launch day, the hard work of establishing your online business is over and customers will start flocking to your web store, right?

Well, not exactly.

The ecommerce industry is constantly evolving, which means online business owners must ensure their websites are also evolving to stay relevant and reach their targeted customer base. Fortunately, you don’t have to learn how to grow and maintain your ecommerce business on your own.

With these 15 useful ecommerce tips, you’ll discover how to get organized, stay relevant, and run a successful online business.

Grow Your Online Business with These 15 Ecommerce Tips

1. Develop a Robust Advertising and Marketing Strategy

As an ecommerce entrepreneur, learning how to market your ecommerce store is the first step to growing your online business.

Begin by running ads on platforms such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads on day one and be sure your web store — including individual landing pages, product pages, and product descriptions — are search engine optimized (SEO) to fuel organic traffic. To boost your marketing efforts even further, consider publishing informative, engaging, product-related content regularly on a blog, social media profiles, or via an email newsletter.

2. Expand Presence Across Social Media Platforms

Many new ecommerce store owners focus their social media efforts on one platform, such as only posting on Instagram or Facebook exclusively. While this can certainly capture the attention of potential customers, competitors can easily take advantage of this by focusing their attention on social platforms you’re not on.

Establishing your presence on more than one social media platform may take extra work, but it will expand your brand awareness and customer reach while ensuring you stay competitive with other businesses in your market.

3. Establish Your Business on Multiple Ecommerce Platforms

Online customers are shopping on more digital shopping platforms than ever and developing a consistent omnichannel strategy is key to reaching them.

Outside of the shopping functionality on your web store, you should give your customers the flexibility to shop and interact with your brand on shopping platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest, or even Amazon. But rather than incorporating all shopping platforms into your strategy, make sure you know what specific channels your target audience is using to shop for products like yours.

4. Build Relationships with Influencers

Along with maintaining multiple social media profiles on a diverse group of platforms, building relationships with influencers on these platforms can help you grow your ecommerce business even further.

It can be a challenge to find credible influencers in your market, but once you do, they can help drive traffic to your web store, increase conversions, and lend to better brand awareness.

It’s important not to focus on influencer follower counts, either. If the influencers you partner with have smaller follower counts but are effectively reaching your target audience with relevant posts, then your partnership is successful.

5. Optimize Your Products with Customer Feedback

Your online customers are invaluable to your business, which means listening to their feedback is crucial for your success. Both positive and negative feedback can help you improve your products and product ratings, which will help to boost future sales.

Be sure to encourage or incentivize your customers to provide their feedback, too. For example, following up with a customer after a purchase allows you to ask them how they are liking your product and what could be better about it. If you’re worried you won’t get a response, try incentivizing their feedback with an exclusive discount or free shipping on their next purchase.

6. Provide Consistent Customer Support

Consistent customer support is an important part of running an ecommerce business, as it builds brand trust. Consider that after having a positive service experience, 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase.

If your customers are reaching out to you via email or social media with questions or concerns, be sure to respond to them in a timely manner (think 24-hour response times or less). Not only will this help answer customer questions and resolve frustrating situations, but it could also lead to more brand awareness and happier customers that provide your business with user-generated content (UGC) or word-of-mouth referrals.

7. Offer a Unique Brand Experience

Outside of listening to your customers and providing consistent support, your ecommerce store should focus on providing a unique brand experience. This encompasses all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that customers experience in reaction to your brand, but this includes more than just interactions with your web store.

Every customer touchpoint with your brand online — such as your web store, social media profiles, chatbots, mobile apps, and more — play a role in your brand experience. Be sure to think carefully about the overall impression your business gives off.

8. Take Inspiration from Your Favorite Ecommerce Brands

While getting direct advice from your favorite, well-established ecommerce brands might be a challenge, taking inspiration from their web stores is easy. By closely studying your favorite ecommerce brands’ ads, designs, or processes, you can take the elements you love and emulate them on your own web store. In doing so, you can start to explore different approaches and techniques that could set your business apart from your competitors.

9. Pave Your Own Path

Standing out from the crowd is an important way to generate buzz around your business. While taking inspiration from other ecommerce brands is a great way to grow, it’s also important to stay true to your business’ purpose and pave your own digital path.

Remember, the inspiration you gain from well-established brands is meant to be a creative starting point. Always be sure to put your own spin on your products and processes within your niche to distinguish yourself from others.

10. Focus On Your Niche

As a new online business owner, you might be tempted to dive into as many different markets as possible. But trying to break into multiple markets or niches can lead to ineffective strategies or lower quality products. Instead, it’s important to focus on your core niche, as more effort put towards a distinct type of product or service can lead to a higher success rate and help you stand out from your competitors.

11. Experiment with A/B Testing

Experimenting with your ecommerce business may seem daunting, but it’s a great way to uncover what your customers are interacting with and what can be tweaked to increase engagement. A/B testing — which presents 50% of your users with an alternate version of a webpage — is an easy and virtually risk-free way to test different variables on your web store to see which has a higher conversion rate.

For example, you can set up an A/B test to analyze customer reactions to different call-to-action buttons that feature unique colors, shapes, and text.

12. Reinvest Business Profits

After all the hard work you put into launching your ecommerce store, it can be tempting to pocket your initial profits. But if you want your web store to grow quickly, you will need to reinvest much of that profit back into your business. This profit could be put toward things like advertising revenue or on technology that could help you automate and streamline your marketing strategy.

13. Utilize Technology and Automation

Time is valuable when you run your own ecommerce business and wearing too many hats could cause you to stretch yourself thin and lead to inefficient decision making. Whenever possible, try to lean on advanced technology and automation to help add time back into your day to focus on your business’ bottom line.

For example, you can use marketing automation tools to help you manage your strategy, or even heat mapping software that shows you how users behave on your web store. If possible, you could also hire an employee to help you handle vendor management rather than hiring a full team of product experts.

14. Provide All the Info Your Customers Need to Make a Purchase

When a potential customer lands on your web store, make sure they have all the information they need to confidently make a purchase. This includes providing clear contact information, shipping and return policies, detailed product descriptions, and more.

For example, if your ecommerce store sells clothes, make sure each garment is described thoroughly and a size guide is provided. The more details you provide your customers on the product or service you offer and the purchase process, the more likely they will be to convert.

15. Create Descriptive Product Categories

In the beginning stages of your ecommerce business, your web store might not feature many products — and this makes it tempting to group all your products into broad categories.

As your store grows and you start to add more products, generic product categories make it difficult for customers to find what they are looking for, and they aren’t well optimized for search engines. By incorporating more specific product categorization, you can ensure your customers source the products they need quickly while capitalizing on granular, long-tail keywords.

Use These Ecommerce Tips to Boost Your Small Business

Starting an ecommerce business is no easy feat. From learning how to attract new customers to your web store to creating an unforgettable brand experience, the ecommerce tips listed above will help you get started on your journey toward a successful online venture.

If you’re still in the early stages of establishing an ecommerce store, deciding which platform to use can feel overwhelming. But rather than opting for pre-made templates that hundreds of other online businesses use, StoreBuilder by Hostdedi can help you create a stunning online store with an optimized homepage that’s based on specific insights from your niche market.

Find your footing in the ecommerce industry with help from StoreBuilder by Hostdedi. Explore StoreBuilder today to make your online business ideas a reality.

The internet gives you access to an extremely large audience. If you’re savvy, you can use that access to earn revenue selling various digital products. This, however, might seem easier said than done, especially when you don’t know what it is you can sell.

The good news is you probably don’t have to look far out of your own comfort zone to come up with digital products to sell online. You already have a unique skillset and know-how to offer to the world, but you just need to understand how to monetize. We’ve listed out 20 digital products that might spark the idea that gets you to create an ecommerce website.

What Is a Digital Product?

A digital product is a product that you can sell online that doesn’t have a physical or tangible form. Basically, digital products are goods you can exchange without touching. A hardcover you buy at your local bookstore is a physical product, while and eBook you download is a digital product.

Why Sell Digital Products?

If you didn’t know already, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a massive change in how most people shop for goods and services. More people shop online than ever before and that trend will continue into the future long after the pandemic.

According to Statista, ecommerce accounted for 4.28 trillion dollars of sales in 2020 and that number is only expected to increase as time goes on. The barrier to entry for ecommerce is relatively low. You probably already know a lot more about how to create digital products than you think. By honing your skills in marketing an ecommerce site, you can sell your digital product and get a piece of that gigantic pie.

20 Digital Products to Sell

You may want to break into ecommerce and sell digital goods, but you find yourself a little stumped on what to offer. Take a look at these digital products to get a better idea of what you could sell online.

1. Online Courses

Online courses continue to be one of the hottest digital products to sell for several reasons.

First, demand for online courses never seems to fade. In fact, with more people spending more time at home, and less time commuting, there could be more demand than ever before. People are constantly looking to hone their skills, or even learn new ones as they look to move up in the world in one way or another.

The second big reason online courses are so big involves the potential for passive income. You can create a relatively evergreen course and keep reaping the benefits of people buying it as time passes on.

2. Tutorials

Not too far removed from online courses, tutorials can potentially be an excellent digital product you can sell. People constantly try to figure out how to get things done by themselves. Think of all the times you’ve typed in a web search query starting with “how to.”

You might run into a problem of there being an overabundance over free tutorials on the web. However, you can counter that by going into more depth than the average tutorial on your chosen subject. Or you might be able to package a string of tutorials together that come close to resembling an entire online course.

3. Memberships

Much like with courses and tutorials, a membership-based site can offer a built-in source of continuing revenue. You can lock in members by leveraging your expertise to give them new content on a regular basis, or even by facilitating a community based around a certain subject matter.

How to Start a Membership Site >>

4. eBooks

You could write an eBook, put it on the market, and keep making money off it without having to write it again. When looking for the subject matter for your eBook, just think about the areas in your life that you already have expert-level knowledge in, you might be surprised to find that you have a vast amount of valuable experience and know-how to expound upon.

Keep in mind that eBooks run the risk of becoming outdated after a time, so it may be worth updating them every so often with more current information and insights.

5. Templates

There is a very wide array of templates you can create to sell. So many people are always looking for ways to make life just a bit easier. Oftentimes, a template can provide just the ease they seek. All they have to do is essentially fill in the blanks.

Some examples of popular templates:

• Resumes
• Cover letters
• Business planning
• PowerPoint
• Spreadsheets/Excel
• Design (web, graphics, etc.)

Like with many other digital products to sell, this has a great potential for passive income.

6. Recipes

People love to eat. That’s not changing any time soon.

There’s certainly no shortage of recipes online, but oftentimes it can be hard to know who those recipes are coming from, and they can feel pretty generic. You can sell your recipes online in an eBook, by adding your own personal flare. You’ll, of course, especially have a heads up if you are a chef or professionally trained cook.

7. Photography

Photography seems to never stop growing as a hobby. You can take that hobby and start making money from it. There are several ways you can sell digital photography online. One of the main ways is by selling stock photography. With all the countless publishing websites on the internet, there extremely high demand for stock photos to help add visual elements to the articles, blog posts, landing pages, and more being posted every minute of every day.

8. Stock Videos

While we are on the subject of stock imagery, you can also consider selling stock video online.

Content creators are crafting new videos more than ever and often need stock video to supplement shots they might not be able to easily take. You can take your fancy drone set up and film some stunning landscapes and skyline views and sell those clips on various marketplaces or directly on your website.

9. Music

Again, content creators are using video and audio mediums all the time and they love to feature engaging music that will not get them in copyright infringement problems. You might not be aware that stock music is a niche, but it certainly is. Use your musical talents to create this highly coveted digital product.

10. Stock Audio

Perhaps, you aren’t exactly musical, but you do have a strong grasp on recording sound. Invest in some audio equipment and record stock sounds that content creators can use in their audio and video content. Background noises, sound effects, and nature sounds are example of popular stock audio.

11. Website Themes

This one is kind of an offshoot of templates. Essentially, you can create themes as a digital product to sell that remove a bulk of the work involved in building a website. Your theme will have the basic structure and design built right into it. Anybody can take your theme and insert in their own content.

For example, you could create and sell some of the best Woocommerce themes available on the web to help other brands get their ecommerce stores off the ground.

12. Software

As we step into some of the more technical digital products to sell, we’ll start off with software. If you are a developer, you don’t necessarily have to make the next gigantic program to earn revenue from your work. Consider identifying a niche you’re familiar with and building software that helps solve common problems within it.

13. Mobile Apps

Gone are the days when desktop traffic dominated the internet. Mobile is king and while the cliché that “there’s an app for that” seems truer now than ever before, the fact remains that there is still plenty of room in the mobile world for even more apps. Again, with competition being so fierce, try to identify a niche and build your app to serve its specific audience.

14. Podcasts

Podcasts are typically associated with being free, with any revenue typically coming from ad support. However, it’s not entirely unheard of to sell podcasts. Business-related and industry-specific podcasts featuring industry experts can serve as a sort of masterclass and tend to do better as digital products for sale than a standard lifestyle podcast.

15. Meditation Audio

The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices are becoming more commonly accepted these days. Productivity, mood, and overall health can be enhanced through meditation. If you are entrenched in the world of life coaching and wellness, you can create audio recordings of guided meditations and sell them a la carte or in packages.

16. Graphic Designs

Unlike good fresh food at a popular restaurant, graphic design does not have to be created to order. You can make graphic design to sell to people who need visual elements in things like websites, presentations, marketing materials, brandings, videos, and more. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can even create whole packages of graphic design to sell your work in bulk.

17. Patterns and Prints

Just because you’re selling products in digital formats doesn’t mean they can’t become physical. If you’re in the crafting world, you can sell patterns that customers can use for knitting, sewing, and more.

You can also sell printable artwork that can become posters, framed pictures, greetings cards, and more. Even 3D-printable products are in demand.

18. Articles and Blogs

As stated earlier, there is a plethora of online publishers out on the web, and they are always on the lookout for more articles and blogs to publish. If you are a writer, you might tend to wait for an assignment to write, but you can also write articles on spec and put them up for sale on either your own website or one of several writing marketplaces.

19. Guides and Checklists

Between hobbies and businesses, there are plenty of people out there wanting to start something new. While they might not need you to hold their hand during the process, they’d likely appreciate a guiding light along the way. Use your expertise to craft up checklists and or guides that your customers can use to help them ensure that they remain focused and on the right path as they venture out to new pastures.

20. Services

This is definitely not in the same passive income category as practically all of the other items on our list, but you can sell your services online to perform remotely/virtually. Some examples of digital services you can offer include:

• Writing
• Editing
• Proofreading
• Transcribing
• Translating
• Tutoring
• SEO

Conclusion

As you’ve seen in our list, there are plenty of avenues you can take if you’re looking to get into selling digital products. We’ve barely even scratched the surface.

When deciding what digital products to sell or thinking up other ideas for your online business, consider the skills you already have. Chances are, you can use what you already know to create and sell products that people will want to buy.

Once you hone in on that perfect digital product take a look at our guide to starting your ecommerce business to help as you get ready to launch.

What do brands like Levi’s, Apple, and Nike have in common? They run cross-border ecommerce platforms to market and sell products directly to online shoppers, which means they follow a business-to-consumer (B2C) sales model. But online marketplaces don’t always sell directly to consumers.

Several ecommerce businesses follow a business-to-business (B2B) sales model, which means they market and sell products or services to other companies.

Typically, B2B ecommerce transactions occur between manufacturers and wholesalers or wholesalers and retailers via an online sales portal. These transactions are often used to fulfill supply chain requirements.

For example, when a manufacturer requires raw materials to produce their products, they can look to B2B ecommerce businesses to purchase these materials. B2B ecommerce is currently one of the fastest-growing sales models and is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2023.

As B2B ecommerce continues to grow, understanding how this online sales model works is essential — especially for those interested in selling B2B online. In this guide, we will discuss:

• Differences between B2B and B2C
• Types of B2B ecommerce
• B2B ecommerce misconceptions
• Advantages of B2B ecommerce
• Disadvantages of B2B ecommerce
• B2B ecommerce examples
• B2B ecommerce trends
• The future of B2B ecommerce

Differences Between B2B and B2C

The critical difference between B2B and B2C sales models lies with who businesses are marketing and selling to. While B2C focuses on selling goods or services to the general public, B2B focuses on selling goods or services to other businesses. To better understand this difference, let’s look at an example.

Suppose a clothing brand creates a new collection of garments. If they choose a B2B sales model, they will need to create a B2B ecommerce website or conduct other outreach programs to find a clothing retailer (think Nordstrom, Macy’s, or Saks Fifth Avenue) to purchase their garments, typically at a discounted price. The clothing retailer will then sell these garments directly to consumers, generally with a price markup.

If the clothing brand chooses a B2C sales model, they will need to set up their store (either a brick-and-mortar storefront or an ecommerce store) to sell their goods directly to consumers. This process takes more time, but it typically enables the clothing brand to sell their garments at a higher price. In many cases, businesses will lean on both B2C and B2B sales models at the same time to maximize brand reach and profits.

Outside of who businesses are marketing and selling to, there are a few other differentiating factors involved in the B2B sales model:

Customer partnerships: B2C sales typically involve shorter-term customer partnerships and one-time transactions. On the other hand, B2B sales often involve longer-term alliances that lead to several transactions and longer buying cycles. B2B partnerships, in many cases, enable both businesses to generate revenue — making their relationship interdependent.

Personalization: B2B sales often require more personalization than B2C sales, especially regarding product catalogs, price lists, quotes, contracts, and payment and shipping options. Personalization is becoming increasingly important with B2B ecommerce, as businesses are looking for online suppliers that understand them and their unique needs and offer personalized websites or dashboards to accommodate their order requests.

Complex decision making: B2C sales often consist of independent shoppers making more spontaneous purchase decisions. B2B sales consist of more complex decision-making from business customers. B2B sales are typically larger in scale, which means more business stakeholders are involved in the transaction approval process, business relationship, and workflow implementation.

Types of Business-to-Business Ecommerce

B2B ecommerce typically falls into three main categories, but businesses can operate in multiple categories at once:

1. Supplier-focused: Several suppliers list their products or services in an ecommerce marketplace that sells to several businesses. In this model, suppliers can set product prices based on the buyers’ needs. Buyers can search for specific suppliers, products, or services within the marketplace. An example of a supplier-focused ecommerce marketplace is Connection.com. This global IT solutions provider sells products and services to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), enterprise businesses, and public sector markets from 500 suppliers.

2. Buyer-focused: This model is based on individual buyers’ needs and is commonly used by enterprise-level organizations that have greater buying power and conduct large-volume purchases. Typically, the business that needs to buy products or raw materials sets up a B2B ecommerce store or online portal and invites sellers to provide quotes. As the company receives these quotes, they can carefully review them to find which best suits their needs and budget.

3. Intermediary-focused: B2B ecommerce marketplaces that bring together buyers and sellers to build relationships and transact with one another. Within these intermediary marketplaces, product catalogs and information are controlled by the marketplace provider, which means sellers must adhere to specific guidelines. What’s more, these marketplaces mediate buyer-seller relationships, product orders, and contact information. An example of an intermediary-focused ecommerce marketplace is Alibaba.com, a B2B ecommerce portal that brings together Chinese manufacturers and overseas buyers.

Ecommerce B2B Model Misconceptions

There are several B2B ecommerce misconceptions, especially for those who are new to the concept. Let’s break down a few so you can better understand how B2B ecommerce operates.

“I’m not selling B2B.”

Many businesses claim they are not selling B2B, but they aren’t aware they are already doing so. B2B ecommerce spans a wide variety of industries, including wholesale, distribution, selling to organizations like schools or non-profits, and suppliers selling to resellers. It’s important to remember that businesses do not have to be a supplier or require a separate website to conduct B2B ecommerce sales. Just like the clothing brand example we mentioned earlier, businesses can follow both B2C and B2B sales simultaneously.

“B2B customers prefer to order offline.”

Younger generations that have grown up with B2C ecommerce are becoming leaders in the B2B ecommerce industry. Current research shows that 73% of millennials hold integral roles in B2B purchasing decisions. With this data point in mind, it’s easy to infer that the ebusiness model is trickling over to the B2B space. Millennials are now the current market makers. They expect the same levels of B2C sales convenience — such as personalized online sales portals, mobile ordering, and self-service functionality — from B2B marketplaces.

Note: Unsure of the difference between ecommerce and ebusiness? While ecommerce refers to the process of buying and selling goods online, ebusiness refers to performing all types of business activities or processes online. This includes purchasing raw materials from suppliers, maintaining customer relationships, buying and selling goods, and more. Ecommerce is a crucial aspect of running an ebusiness.

“The B2B buying experience online is obsolete.”

Much like B2C ecommerce websites, B2B sites have become powerful engines for driving sales, fulfilling product orders, and creating unique experiences for individual customers. Robust B2B ecommerce platforms don’t just act as a catalog for products and a way to accept payments; they act as a customizable dashboard where customers can access things like:

• Custom prices and discounts, based on negotiated terms.
• Flexible payment methods, such as accepting several payment types or plans.
• Options to purchase, track, and repurchase products seamlessly.
• Custom user interfaces, such as customer-oriented website navigation.
• Personalized content and marketing experiences.
• Real-time support, such as live chat functionality or assistance finding products.

“B2B ecommerce exposes product prices.”

The B2B industry is competitive, and many brands don’t want to expose their prices to the public for fear of being underbid. Fortunately, several B2B ecommerce platforms can hide product pricing until a customer logs in to a website or sales portal. Not only does this enable businesses to keep their prices hidden from the general public, but it gives them even more opportunities to create a personalized pricing experience for each of their customers. It’s important to note that B2B ecommerce platforms that enable price shielding still allow potential customers or prospects to view products. If these groups are interested in purchasing products, they can call to get prices.

Advantages of B2B Ecommerce

As B2B ecommerce continues to boom, businesses realize several advantages that enable them to streamline operations and reach more customers. Below you’ll find a few of the most notable benefits of B2B ecommerce.

Increase Brand Awareness

B2B ecommerce platforms enable businesses to supercharge brand awareness and scalability with omnichannel digital marketing campaigns. This can be done via digital marketing tactics like search engine optimized (SEO) content and online advertising channels. Because more businesses are searching for products and raw materials online, you’ll be able to get your product catalog in front of more potential customers.

Enhance Data Analysis and Management

When B2B sales shift online, businesses can deploy ecommerce software solutions that streamline data analysis and management. These solutions can help you collect, measure, and evaluate data about digital marketing campaigns, the buyer’s journey, inventory changes, and customer engagement. And, with data about your customers at your fingertips, it’s easier to create personalized online shopping experiences, build stronger partnerships, and reach new customers.

Automate the Sales Process

B2B ecommerce platforms enable business owners to automate several aspects of the sales process between businesses, suppliers, and distributors. This includes providing self-service functionality within their marketplace, which allows business customers to check inventory, submit orders, and set up payment and shipping plans without speaking to a business representative.

Reduce Overhead Costs

Moving to an online B2B ecommerce platform enables businesses to reduce overhead and infrastructure costs. For example, the automated nature of B2B ecommerce websites mitigates the need for brick-and-mortar storefronts and business representatives to check inventory or process customer payments. Because employees can save time, they can focus on more value-driven work like enhancing business relationships or ideating new products.

Disadvantages of B2B Ecommerce

B2B ecommerce also has inherent disadvantages, especially for SMBs who are trying to break into a market.

Difficulty Building a Customer Base

As more businesses explore the B2B ecommerce space, online markets can become saturated with competitors. This can make it challenging to attract customers, build a client base, and establish a solid brand reputation. A critical factor in running a successful B2B ecommerce business is long-term customer relationships, which can take time to find, acquire, and nurture.

Inability for Customers to be Hands-on

Many business customers still want to hold, touch, and feel products or materials before purchasing them, especially if they make large-volume purchases. The B2B ecommerce space does not allow customers to be hands-on with products or materials offered, which could deter some buyers. What’s more, if a buyer is unhappy with products or materials they purchase, they could dispute the purchase after the fact — which could harm a business’s reputation.

Complex Customer Negotiations

While B2B ecommerce platforms inherently streamline the buying and selling process, customer negotiations can become more complex. This is especially true for long-term customers who expect price discounts, as the automated nature of ecommerce websites might not consider these factors. If customer negotiations consist of lengthy email chains and back-and-forth online communication, some of the convenience of the B2B ecommerce platform is negated.

Cybersecurity Threats

Cybercriminals continue to become more sophisticated, and online security breaches are commonplace. This means that B2B ecommerce platforms must have the proper security protocols in place (such as data encryption) to protect sensitive business and customer data from being exposed to attackers.

B2B Ecommerce Examples

Earlier, we mentioned Connection.com and Alibaba.com as real-world examples of B2B ecommerce platforms. Here are two more examples, one of which you might be familiar with.

Amazon Business

While Amazon sells directly to consumers through both B2C (selling their Amazon Essentials brand directly to consumers) and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) sales models (Amazon provides the ecommerce platform for businesses to sell their products, charging them a fee for each sale they make), Amazon Business is strictly geared towards organizations and companies. This platform helps them digitize and streamline the buying and selling process. Not only does it feature hundreds of millions of business-oriented products, but it provides buyer discounts, account management features, multiple payment methods, and access to business analytics.

Poly

Poly is another example of a B2B ecommerce platform. Their online marketplace enables businesses to purchase audio and video equipment — such as headsets, business phones, conference phones, and video conferencing solutions — to facilitate communication inside and outside the office. Their website offers several resources for customer support, such as an in-depth knowledge base, a community discussion board, and multiple options to contact Poly support teams. They also provide a variety of special offers and promotions for customers.

What Does the Future of B2B in Ecommerce Look Like?

As more millennials step into leadership roles in the B2B sales space, more businesses will naturally begin to venture into the world of B2B ecommerce. Companies selling their products or services to other companies online can introduce automation, personalization, and streamlined data collection into the traditional B2B sales process.

Not only does this help them attract more B2B customers and increase sales, but it helps them improve inventory management, reduce infrastructure costs, and stay competitive in our ecommerce-driven economy.

If you’re interested in breaking into the B2B ecommerce space and need to build a website, StoreBuilder by Hostdedi is ready to help. As the fastest and easiest way to create an online store with WordPress, our online store builder enables you to create a fully customized B2B ecommerce site with preconfigured Woo + premium plugins.

With a major shift in consumer behavior following 2020, now is an exciting time to start an ecommerce business as more buyers choose to shop online.

How can you start one? What ecommerce business idea is right for you?

If you’re ready to join in on the digital revolution, our list of 20 online business ideas should give you the inspiration you need to get started building your ecommerce brand:

What is Ecommerce?

Having a business in a traditional sense means that you provide consumers with goods or services, and successful businesses typically either serve a certain niche, fill a gap, or meet a need in a market that’s trending.

Ecommerce is the same concept, only adapted for online audiences and target customers.

Ecommerce is still commerce—you have to research, implement your plan, and develop your online business idea into a reality. Reputation is one of the keys to the success of a business, and reviews spread quickly online. Social media posts can go viral, and these posts can either work in your favor — or work against you. Cultivating a good reputation is key to the success of your online small business.

Location is not necessarily important or relevant to your online small business. You might have customers or clients who live across town or thousands of miles away from you. Following and getting ahead of market trends offers entry into the possibility of incredible success with your online small business.

If there’s a product or service that you are passionate about you might find yourself steadily growing your online small business, but deciding on what type of ecommerce business you want to start is entirely up to you.

How Do You Decide What Type of Ecommerce Business to Start?

Your first step involves assessing your skills and interests.

What are you passionate about? What skills do you currently have, and what are your areas of expertise? Are you willing to add more skills to your toolkit?

A second step involves researching products and online business ideas, so here are 20 to get you started thinking.

1. Get into Dropshipping

There are a wide range of ecommerce products and opportunities. You might consider selling a product that you create, or you might create a dropshipping store.

Dropshipping is where you find products, curate them on a website, and find customers who want to buy from you. The difference with dropshipping is that you’ll need to partner with certain suppliers who’ll handle shipping orders direct to customers.

Acquiring customers and facilitating purchases is all you have to do, meaning you won’t have to deal with shipping or managing your product inventory and paying overhead for warehousing. Dropshipping can be a very effective and low-cost way to get a start in ecommerce.

2. Create a Clothing Line

Have you thought about starting a clothing line, but weren’t sure how to make that happen?

With product-sourcing apps, you can connect with apparel printers and clothing manufacturers who handle the retail fulfillment process for you. You design your items, market to your customers, and ship your products out.

3. Become a Podcaster

Digital products, such as podcasts, often use both affiliated marketing and subscriptions as their sources of revenue.

You can set up ways for your viewers or listeners to subscribe through platforms such as YouTube, Patreon, and through your website. You might consider setting up some free content as a teaser to encourage potential customers to subscribe.

4. Create an Online Course

Do you have a passion for teaching? In the age of information, people have a wealth of knowledge right at their fingertips. People crave instruction and want to learn from the experts which is why creating an online course is a great online business idea.

For example, cooking courses are very popular. Many people who develop cooking courses online take a particular angle—perhaps they bake desserts, bake bread, offer nutrition advice, or talk about the history behind a particular dish. With a specific approach to connect you with your target customers, you can produce content that these customers will enjoy.

5. Sell Your Music Online

If you’re a musician, the Internet has made it easier than ever to get your work out there. Like podcasting, musicians can set up subscription opportunities on a website. Musicians can also self-produce their music, and make it available for download to create revenue. In addition, like other websites, musicians can make use of affiliated marketing and banner advertisements.

6. Become an App Designer

If you’re a developer, why not create your own apps and sell exclusive rights to them? Alternatively, you could monetize your expertise by selling your time on your website through consultation hours or for certain project offerings.

7. Become a Website Builder

Use your skills to create plugins that help your clients have faster, more flexible, and more responsive websites. Or maybe you have a library of pre-built website themes you know people will love and be willing to buy.

8. Become a Writer

Writing content is a great skill to have that often may go underappreciated. Not everyone can write and there’s a world of freelancers who specialize in the craft.

Connecting with people online to do contract or freelance work can give you more flexibility and help you get experience in a wide range of industries. You can create an online portfolio, and even connect your portfolio to a blog or podcast about your work.

9. Sell Your Art

Connecting with customers online is easier than ever. If you’re a painter or photographer, and wondered if selling your art is a good online business idea, establishing an ecommerce website is the perfect way to be compensated for your keen eye and creativity.

10. Sell Your Crafts

For craftspeople who devote their energy to their work, selling your unique products is another online business idea worth considering. With online commerce, you can sell this product to interested buyers around the world. While many will still turn to Etsy when it comes to selling crafts online, creating your own website means you can dictate pricing and give shoppers a better deal without having to deal with other selling platforms taking a cut.

11. Sell a Niche Product

Are you a hobbyist who’s frustrated because you can never find that one part that you’re looking for? Imagine how many other niche hobbyists are in your position. With ecommerce, you can connect with others around the world who have the similar interests as you.

Your niche product might be a sustainable bag to purchase groceries, or a green replacement for cling film, or parts for an antique train set. Whatever you’re into, chances are that you’ll find someone who loves the same things you do on the Internet.

12. Become a YouTuber

YouTube continues to be one of the biggest video platforms in the world, and that likely isn’t going to change anytime soon. Creating YouTube videos means expressing yourself creatively, but it also means understanding how to sell stories and how you might film these stories. You’ll need equipment to film yourself and to edit these videos — and you’ll need to develop some expertise in storytelling, filming, and film editing. Many Youtubers rely on affiliate marketing and ad revenue to support their video making.

13. Become an Influencer

Maybe YouTube isn’t for you, but other social platforms are more your style. While finding success as an influencer has become harder than it was just a few years ago, being on social media — Instagram, Snapchat, and especially TikTok — provides a great opportunity to connect with an audience. By building a community that loves everything you do, you become very desirable for brand partnerships.

14. Flip Your Finds

If you love shopping, you might as well put that hobby to good use. Whether you’re a pro thrift store shopper or yard sale enthusiast, you could flip your finds for a nice markup by selling to folks who want those valuables. Your unique picks can find a new home, and you can put your shopping addiction to work.

15. Become a Blogger

Blogging is a great way to educate, inform, and entertain. You’ll need to be passionate about this online business idea — audiences usually like to see new content from bloggers a few times a week to keep their attention.

Blogging requires strong writing skills as well as in-depth knowledge about content promotion through search and social media. And keep in mind that millions of new websites pop up every year, so the competition will be steep. This path may involve including advertisements on your website or promoting products in your content to create revenue.

16. Become a Twitch Streamer

Did you know that users consume roughly 70 million hours of live streaming content on Twitch every day? With continued growth and emerging as the leading platform for this kind of content, Twitch streamers can earn compensation through ad revenue, paid subscribers, and brand partnerships.

Although gaming is the most popular category of content the average Twitch user watches, many Twitch streamers find success as artists, political commentators, and more. But just like everything else mentioned in this list of online business ideas, it will take dedication and passion to make this path work for you.

17. Get into Affiliate Marketing

With affiliate marketing you can create a website with an editorial lean and promote specific products in your articles. For every sale of the products that originated from your site, you’ll earn commission. Amazon uses affiliate marketing through the Amazon Associates Program. To be successful at affiliate marketing, you’ll want to have a basic understanding of SEO and copywriting so that you can effectively promote eBooks, videos, and other products.

18. Write a Book

Writing a book means that you have a passion for writing. You may have thought about writing a novel or a children’s book, but why not sit down and do it? You could create a print book through services like Blurb or write an eBook to sell on a digital store.

19. Become a Virtual Assistant

Assistants help others organize their lives, and with the rise of remote work becoming so common after 2020, virtual assistants are in demand. You might be answering emails, making appointments, or planning events. You could be making restaurant reservations or plane reservations, and you might be working for someone in your town or across the world. Network with current VAs to both get an idea of what type of clients you’d like to work with and to find opportunities.

20. Offer SEO Services

All of these ecommerce business ideas need to be promoted online. While marketing can help, understanding SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, can take a website, an influencer, or a producer of content to the next level, and help connect this person with their audience.

You can create that connection by understanding and making use of SEO. Becoming an expert in SEO means that you can help others make their websites more visible to search engines like Google. With increased visibility, these websites will have more traffic and more revenue. You’ll be key to others’ success.

Creating Your Ecommerce Website

Your storefront is your brand, and StoreBuilder can help make your brand stand out.

When you build an online small business, understanding how you can best approach selling your product or services — and what that approach might include — will help you make choices when it comes to creating your website.

You don’t need to know how to code. With the WooCommerce customizable platform built on top of WordPress, you can create the site that best meets your needs.