NewBiz tips: How to set up your website and sell online

When starting a new e-commerce business or creating one to complement your brick-and-mortar business, a key requirement is to have a dedicated website to sell your products online. In this way, you can showcase your products and receive and fulfill orders from customers. Now, it may seem tempting to jump the gun and start designing your  website, but setting up a website entails a lot more than that. In this guide, we will provide you with a detailed guide on how to set up your website to start selling your products online: 

Steps for creating a website for your e-commerce business

1. Identify your business goals 

The first step in setting up your website is to identify your business goals which, in turn, will translate to defining goals and objectives for the website. Some business goals include maximising profits, increasing productivity, increasing brand awareness, increasing customer satisfaction, and increasing brand loyalty. By detailing such goals, it will then be clear to you how creating a website can help your business meet these goals. 

Next, identify the website goals for your online business. For example, your business goal might be to increase productivity. You can then consider integrating a chatbot that answers customer queries, freeing up your team’s time, allowing them to focus on other tasks. With the addition of such software to your website, you can automate tasks and make your business more productive – hence meeting your business goal. Or if you are a B2B business looking to increase conversions, consider personalising the e-commerce experience for customers.

2. Select and register your website domain

Once you have identified your business and website goals, the next step is to choose your website’s name and to  register it. If you wish to sell products online internationally from the Philippines, you must first register a domain name. This process entails the following steps: 

• You will have to visit a domain registrar website, a store where you can purchase your preferred domain name. The most prominent domain registrar websites are GoDaddy.com, dotPH, and namecheap.com.

• On these websites, you can search for your preferred domain name. If it is available, you can proceed to the next step; otherwise, you would have to select from the list of available domain names. 

• Once you have selected a particular domain name, you can add it to your cart (just like how you would buy any other product). The website will also give you options such as the length of registration, plan period, and any add-ons you want.

• The domain registrar website might also give you the option of using their free website builder. When first starting out, you would want to build a basic site and this would suffice. As you become more adept with maintaining a website, you can then start exploring other website building platforms (discussed in the next section).

3. Choose a website builder and an e-commerce platform

Several online platforms give you the option of building and hosting your website for free. Different platforms offer different options to build a website if you are beginning an online business. Some essential website builder platforms include WordPress, Blogger, Wix, and Weebly.

These platforms will help you start a simple website for your brand, but if you want to sell items online, you will have to create an e-commerce website. Thankfully, many easy-to-use e-commerce website builders can help you create a website that stands out among the competitors. The most prominent of these include Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and 3dcart. You would have to integrate plugins that allow you to choose your payment processors and configure your shipping options to be able to build a fully functional website that allows users to complete purchases.  

Businesses often face threats and challenges during their operations. One such threat is piracy, which is the creation and distribution of fake and counterfeit products. Counterfeiting can result in sales and revenue losses for the original business. Therefore, to protect the rights of companies, intellectual property laws are created and enforced by governments. 

Here, we dive into the intricacies of counterfeiting, and what the Philippines government has implemented to safeguard businesses. 

What is counterfeiting and how does it infringe intellectual property rights?

Counterfeiting refers to the manufacture and distribution of goods under a brand’s name aside from yours, amounting to an infringement and theft of trademark. The types of products that are commonly counterfeited today include bags, clothing, footwear, electronic devices, smartphones, medicines, toiletries and even washing detergents.

When a brand registers its name, design, or other aspects with the concerned intellectual property organization, its rights to those written elements are then protected under intellectual property (IP) laws. The use of these elements for business is a crime, which is, therefore, punishable by law. 

Types of infringement

The violation or theft of intellectual property rights – in essence, fraudulent copying – can be characterized by various terms, some of which we have highlighted below:

• Patent: A right from a government-body that gives you full freedom to build, sell, use and prevent others from using your invention. 

• Trademark: Any word, symbol, phrase or the equivalent that identifies your brand and services, with the latter also termed as a service mark.

• Copyright: In order to protect the original works of authorship, including musical compositions, photographs, paintings, computer programs, plays and movies, a copyright is granted.

• Trade Secrets: Information that is not known to the public, kept confidential with reasonable efforts and carries an economic value is considered a trade secret.

Impact of counterfeit goods

Counterfeiters earn huge profits by using the name or products of well-established brands and selling them at lower prices. Since they operate in a gray market, it is tough to establish an accurate value of the global trade, with many agencies reporting multiple numbers. For instance, the Organization For Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) reported that 3.3% of the world trade comprises fake goods, while statistics from the Federal Bureau Investigation, Interpol, World Customs Organization and International Chamber of Commerce tell us that the value could be up to as high as 7% to 8%. While these values are vastly different, they do not discount the fact that counterfeit products are causing tax and revenue losses worth millions of dollars annually. Count in the loss of investments, and we can see why authorities are putting their best foot forward to protect the profitability of businesses.