Ok, so not technically a box, but you know what I mean. This is a one stop shop for anyone wanting to start an online store that has no idea where to start. A grocery list of things you may or may not need in order to get yourself up and running.
Logo and Brand Identity
You might already have the idea of how you want your brand to look and feel in your head but you need to get it out on paper and need the help of an expert. There are a few places that offer quick services like a logo and branding that will help communicate your brand’s values to customers. Remember if you are briefing designers, dont assume they know what you want. Give them clear direction to ensure you get the right looking logo without too many revisions.
The Logo Company is a good place to start and will get you something pretty basic with a price to match.
99Designs is a great place to put a design brief up and get back a whole range of options from designers. You pick the one you like best and pay the designer. Easy Peasy.
Domain name and Hosting
So once you have a name for your online store, you will need to make sure you can find a home for it on the web. There are a million domain and hosting companies out there, here are a couple that will get you up and running.
Godaddy is like the McDonalds of domains and hosting. They usually have pretty good offers if you are a new customer.
Bluehost Lots of hosting options including special wordpress packages
Domain.com As the name suggests offers domains (but also hosting)
Website Templates
ThemeForest have what seems like an endless library of awesome website templates that require just a few tweaks to make your own. They also have a bunch of add on stuff and an installation service so make sure you bookmark them, you’re going to be spending a LOT of time here.
Click here to visit Themeforest and prepare to spend the rest of the day ooh-ing and ahhh-ing over website templates.
Stock Images and Graphics
There are lots of places to buy stock images online now but I’ve found that most of the time you need to buy a membership or credits. What if you just want to buy one stock image? Well, thankfully you can buy just one stock image here without having to pay an arm and a leg for it.
The range of images is good, infact as good as the big membership sites and on many occasions I have seen the same images listed for a fraction of the proce here.
Click here to buy awesome stock images without the hefty price tag.
Stickers, Swing Tags and packaging
Moo.com make the best products and I swear by their Mini Cards. They can be used as business cards, swing tags and for packaging.
Vista Print is another solution for stationery and merch products. Quality varies but you can get some super random things customised like, luggage?! And engraved name plates… you know for when you get the big corner office…
Need some more help starting your own online store? Come and join the START YOUR OWN ONLINE STORE Course and get your online store up and running without making the 70000 mistakes I made.