E-commerce

How to Add Ecommerce to Your Website

Ecommerce connects consumers to businesses and products from anywhere in the world. Currently, there are an estimated 12 to 24 million ecommerce business sites across the globe, with these figures expected to continue growing.

by Stano Dzavoronok |

Ecommerce

It’s safe to say that if you have a product or service to sell, online stores can help boost your sales and reach more customers. Here’s how to add ecommerce to your website to help you make the most of your business.

Table of Contents

Top Five Ways to Add Ecommerce to Your Website

Regardless of the website you currently have, there are options available that are quick and easy to integrate into your business. Keep in mind that some may take longer than others and that it’s essential to factor in the cost of developing an ecommerce store, so you’re prepared with the right resources.

1. Integrate Using Plugins

One of the easiest ways to add ecommerce to a website is to use plugins. A plugin is a piece of software that adds additional features and functionalities to your current CMS system. If you’re working with a developer, they can provide insights into some ideal plugins to include. Examples include extensions for analytics, SEO, or shopping carts.

Some advantages of using plugins for integrating ecommerce into your website include the following:

  • Easy to use with no coding knowledge necessary
  • Offers features for customized storefronts and product pages
  • Support efficient product, transaction, and shipping management

How it Works

If your current website was built on a CMS like WordPress, navigate to the plugins section and search for “ecommerce.” This will display results, usually starting with the most popular compatible plugins. For example, the most commonly-used ecommerce plugin WordPress is WooCommerce.

All you have to do is select the plugin that works for you and follow the on-screen instructions for installation.

When to Use this Option

Plugins typically only work if your current site uses a website builder like WordPress. If you have a custom website, adding extensions may not be possible. Therefore, use this option if:

  • Your website was built using a third-party website builder
  • You want a quick and easy way to add an online store to your website without dealing with coding.

2. Add a Shopify Buy Button to Your Website

This option integrates fully customizable buttons and shopping carts and allows users to stay on your site while purchasing.

How it Works

First, log into your Shopify Store and search for the Buy Button in the App Store. Once you follow the add button steps, you can select which products you want to include. 

You can customize the button to whatever design works best for your website. The options you can modify include the following:

  • The layout of the button
  • The style, including colours, fonts, and sizes
  • The action of the click. For example, when users click the button, they can add the product to their shopping cart, go directly to checkout, or open a window to view product details.

Preview your button as often as you wish. Once ready, copy and paste the embed code onto relevant web pages. If you aren’t sure how to make customizations or apply the button, a web developer can ensure full functionality. 

When to Use this Option

Since the Shopify button works on any website, even self-hosted, this is an easy way to add an online store to your website in no time. It’s a good option for those wanting to strategically place call-to-action Buy Buttons directly on blogs or landing pages. It’s also perfect if you want to monetize your products easily without building an entirely new website.

3. Install a Shopping Cart and Payment Gateway

You can add ecommerce features to your existing website to facilitate product browsing, selection, and purchasing. Some examples of tools that integrate shopping carts and payment gateways include the following:

How it Works

Similar to plugins, these additional features allow you to integrate ecommerce functionality directly into your website. All you need to do is sign up for the tool you want to use and follow the instructions for implementation. Keep in mind that some of these tools will require a monthly fee.

When to Use this Option

If you host your website (not through a third party) and have full permission to edit, this can be an easy way to add ecommerce functionality. It is also a good option if you don’t need advanced features and only have a few products at a time. If you host your website through a third party, refer to the first option on plugins.

4. Create a New Ecommerce Website

In some cases, adding a shop to your website may not be an option if your current setup doesn’t allow extensions or if you don’t have editing permissions. This solution may take longer to implement, but it’s an excellent workaround if you have the time and resources. 

The key is ensuring your ecommerce site matches your existing site’s design and UX, which helps maintain your customers’ trust throughout the purchase process.

How it Works

Create a separate website to host all purchases and transactions, and use your existing website to link to the online shop. To do this, you can use an ecommerce site provider like:

You can also hire an ecommerce developer to help you set up the features for your online store. Creating an entirely new shop from scratch can be a lot of work, especially if you’re not familiar with the technical aspects of web development. Keep in mind the time to build a new store can vary depending on how elaborate you want your site to be.

Whichever method you choose, ensure your online store has all the necessary information, including product names and images, pricing, descriptions, options and sizes, and payment method options. 

Once you have this setup, simply use your existing website to link to the online store. For example, you can place a “shop now” button on your homepage, directing users to this new site. An experienced web developer can also help with this integration and advise on the best ways to drive traffic to your shop.

When to Use this Option

While this option may take more time and resources, it may be necessary if:

  • Your current website doesn’t support plugins or extensions 
  • You can’t update your existing website
  • Permissions for editing are missing
  • You want additional features that plugins and add-on tools can’t provide.

5. Hire a Developer

Hiring an ecommerce developer is one of the best ways to ensure you have a reliable online store that’s fully optimized for user experience. Since they have high levels of coding knowledge, they can implement various customized features and integrate your shop across multiple platforms, like social media.

How it Works

Hire an experienced ecommerce developer with Goodie Website. Our freelancers have industry-leading knowledge and the right skills and qualifications to cover all the front and backend specifications you may not get by adding an ecommerce store to your website by yourself. We can help with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and PrestaShop.

When to Use this Option

This option is perfect for anyone, especially if you want a fully-functional, fully-integrated online shop that exceeds user experience expectations. Additionally, if you’re unfamiliar with coding or the basics of ecommerce web development, hiring a developer can bring you peace of mind that you can launch your store the right way.

Top Five Solutions to Add Ecommerce to Your Website

Ecommerce web developers can help you decide on and integrate the best solutions for your online store. Here are some popular tools that can help you add ecommerce functionality to your website:

SnipCart

This shopping cart software can seamlessly integrate into any website and offers fully-customizable options to handle transactions. Some features it adds include the following:

  • Intuitive inventory management
  • Shipping
  • Mult-currency payments
  • Discounts
  • Invoices

Shopify

Shopify is a popular platform for integrating ecommerce into your website. It supports businesses of all sizes and provides an easy way to add an online store to your current site without enormous amounts of time and resources. Shopify offers two solutions:

  • The Shopify Buy Button, as discussed above.
  • Using Shopify’s platform to create an online store and embed it into your website.

Shoprocket

Shoprocket not only adds ecommerce to websites but also offers a full range of sales channels, including existing web pages, landing pages, blogs, Facebook, and Instagram.

All you need to do is sign up, copy and paste the code to your existing website, and begin selling!

Ecwid

A free, easy-to-use platform that integrates into your existing website or social network business page. Regardless of the number of storefronts you have, Ecwid allows you to manage everything in one place, from organizing products, customization, accepting payments, and tracking orders.

Foxy.io

Also known as FoxyCart, Foxy.io provides solutions for adding ecommerce to your website. This platform is designed for a better checkout experience with shopping cart integration. This product requires basic HTML and JavaScript knowledge, so if this is something you’re not familiar with, consider hiring an ecommerce developer.

Four Tips for Ecommerce Success

So you’ve committed to ecommerce development. You might be wondering what’s next. To ensure the long-lasting success of your online store, here are some tips:

Plan Your Timelines

Launching a new online store is an exciting new business opportunity, but keep in mind that building a site and integrating it with your existing platforms takes time. Sometimes, the process can take months before you can fully share this creation with the world. To ensure long-lasting success, it’s essential to be realistic about your timeline to launch day. To do this, try to:

  • Speak with an ecommerce developer to hash out your ideas and get an idea of an estimated timeline. Remember, depending on the project’s complexity, completion may take months.
  • Use this estimated timeline to plan strategies leading up to opening day, including budgeting for the website build, pre-launch marketing, and ironing out all your store’s processes and policies.

Establish Your Unique Selling Point

It’s important to show current and prospective customers how your product or service adds unique value, especially if there’s lots of competition in your industry. Identify your value proposition or what makes you different from your competitors. This includes highlighting unique features and benefits. 

Promote Your Product

Your products won’t sell themselves. It’s essential to make your business visible across various channels and make sure that your e-commerce store is SEO-optimized. Here are some other avenues to explore for product promotion:

  • Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
  • Content marketing
  • Social media marketing
  • Influencer marketing
  • Email marketing

Focus on the User Experience

If your online store is not user-friendly, it can deter customers from following through on purchases. To maximize user experience, try the following techniques:

  • Have a visually appealing but intuitive shop design
  • Use lots of whitespaces
  • Create simple navigation menus and offer subcategories and filtering options so products are easy to find.
  • Ensure your site is fast-loading
  • Make sure your site is mobile-friendly

Add an Online Store to Your Website

Embarking on your ecommerce journey as a business can be exciting. If you need help integrating ecommerce into your website, at Goodie Website, we can connect you with expert freelance web developers to help you start selling in no time. Connect with us today to learn more about our services.

About the author

Stano Dzavoronok

Stano Dzavoronok has been behind XHTMLized (now Xfive) from its inception, from the initial idea to real life implementation. He actually coined that tongue breaking name which is now a well known brand among the PSD to HTML services. As part of X-Team, he's been engaged in partnerships with FOX and Twitter, and currently works as an Head of product at Xfive.