At first, building an online store on Magento 2 looks simple. Choose a domain name & hosting, install Magento 2 & an attractive theme, upload product data, and start selling.
But in reality, this process is quite complicated with many pitfalls.
However, it is certainly possible to build an online store on Magento 2 by yourself.
In this DIY guide, we’ve shared the complete recipe to build an online store on Magento 2 platform.
With that being said, let’s dive right in!
Step-by-Step Process to Build an Online Store on Magento 2
Please follow the below steps to learn how to build an online store on Magento 2 platform by yourself.
Step #1 – Research
First of all, you need to conduct in-depth research and find answers to the following questions:
- What your goals are
- What features do you need to achieve them
- How your online store should look
- How will you drive traffic to your online store
To get ideas, you can visit the online stores of your direct competitors and try to analyze every page on their store.
While you’re doing so, note down and/or screenshot any idea that you like and save it.
Step #2 – Create a Plan
Once you’ve finished the research, the next step is to create a plan.
Split all the ideas that you collected in the first step into 2 separate groups – Must-Have & Nice-To-Have.
This will help you build & launch your online store as soon as possible.
Now, if you feel overwhelmed at this step and can’t decide which ideas or features should fall under the Must-Have group, there is no need to panic.
We can help you build an online store throughout every step with SMB Solution.
We will talk more about the SMB Solution at the end of this post. For now, let’s move forward.
Step #3 – Purchase a Domain Name & Hosting
Once you’ve finalized all the features/ideas that you want to implement in your online store, it’s time to purchase a domain name & hosting plan.
Now, before choosing a hosting provider, make sure to take some important components into consideration such as security, performance, SSL, and other useful features.
Even if this is the first online store you’re launching, don’t purchase a hosting plan that only covers the minimum requirements.
Step #4 – Download & Install Magento 2
After you’ve selected & purchased a domain name and hosting plan for your new online store, the next step is to download & install Magento 2 on your server.
There are a plethora of articles available on the internet on how to download & install Magento 2.
However, we strongly recommend you to follow the official Magento documentation for proper guidance.
Step #5 – Purchase, Install, & Customize a Theme
Magento store design is the moment where your research comes in handy again.
At this point, you need to decide key design elements such as logo placement, banner placements, font colors, menu style, etc.
If you’ve already decided about most design elements for your new online store, then all that’s left is to find and purchase a Magento 2 theme that is most suitable according to your requirements.
Fortunately, we’ve developed a wide range of premium Magento 2 themes for different industries. Choose the one you like most, install it, and make the required customizations.
We’ve also written comprehensive guides on how to install a Magento 2 theme for you to refer to:
- How to Install a Theme in Magento 2 [Via Composer]?
- How to Install a Theme in Magento 2 Store [Manually]?
As for the customization, you can either learn to do it yourself by watching video tutorials or hire a professional.
Step #6 – Set Up Basic Features & Settings
Next, you need to set up the basic features and settings of your new online store.
This includes:
- Payment methods
- Currency
- Location
- Contact information
- Shipping options
- Customer account settings
- And more…
Step #7 – Install Third-Party Extensions
Magento 2 is definitely the most powerful eCommerce platform in the market. But, it’s not perfect, just like any other eCommerce platform.
Therefore, you’ll have to leverage third-party extensions to either upgrade or add extra functionalities of your new online store.
Specifically, we believe the following 10 third-party extensions your online store should must-have to maximize the reach and start making sales.
- Magento 2 SEO Pro Extension – Helps to enhance visibility, traffic, & sales
- Magento 2 Elasticsearch Extension – Improves search experience
- Magento 2 Mega Menu Extension – Helps to create a dynamic navigation menu
- Magento 2 One-Step Checkout Extension – Helps to accelerate checkout process
- Magento 2 Automatic Related Products Extension – Helps to show smart recommendations to boost cross-sell revenue
- Magento 2 Delivery Availability Checker Extension – Improves & accelerates delivery process
- Magento 2 RMA Extension – Helps to manage product return requests effortlessly
- Magento 2 FAQ Extension – Helps to create a FAQ Section & Page
- Magento 2 Product Bundled Discount Extension – Helps to encourage customers to buy more products
- Magento 2 Abandoned Cart Email Extension – Helps to recover abandoned carts
Besides these, there are many other third-party extensions available. You can find them on Magento 2 Extensions page as per your needs.
Step #8 – Upload Your Products
After you’ve installed the third-party extensions as per your requirements, it’s time to finally upload your products and their information on your new online store.
This includes uploading multiple product pictures taken from different angles, videos, setting up product prices, managing stock, and writing product descriptions.
When you’re writing product descriptions, make sure use keywords in the content for maximizing the SEO impact.
Besides this, you can also rewrite URLs of your product pages & customize meta title as well as descriptions to improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Step #9 – Test & Launch
Once you’ve uploaded your products with their descriptions, images, etc., it’s time to conduct final tests and make sure you’ve optimized everything perfectly to make your online store load fast and provide a smooth shopping experience.
This tests include checking how fast the online store loads and how the store looks on desktops as well as smartphones.
Once you’re satisfied with the results, it’s time to launch your online store in the market.
Conclusion
That’s it! This is the complete DIY step-by-step guide to build an online store on Magento 2 platform.
We hope that you found this post useful. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comment below.
On the other hand, if following the above steps feel overwhelming, you can always leverage our Magento 2 Rapid Deployment Package.
Our rapid deployment package will help you to build a Magento 2 store as per your requirements within 4-6 weeks at an affordable cost.
Please visit Magento 2 Rapid Deployment Package page for further information.
