Ecommerce Business Blueprint: How To Build, Launch And Grow A Profitable Online Store

Starting an ecommerce business is hard work with many steps and decisions that need to come together at the right time. To help, we have put together a comprehensive resource list, compiled from Shopify's most popular blog posts. These posts have been placed into a logical order based on how you would research, build, launch and grow a profitable ecommerce business.

Let's dive in. Choosing a Product

Finding A Product To Sell

The first step to building an ecommerce business is to know what products you want to sell. This is often the most challenging part of starting a new online business. In this section, we will highlight the strategies you can use to find product opportunities, explore the ten best places to look for product ideas, and finally, we will reveal ten trending products that we came up.

How To Find A Product To Sell Online: The Definitive Guide

8 Strategies for Finding Your First Product

10 Places To Look For Products To Sell Online

10 Interesting Product Ideas Trending Right Now

Evaluating Your Idea

Once you have a product idea in mind, how do you know if it’s a good idea or not? In this section, we will go through two exhaustive evaluations methods, evaluating both the product itself, as well as the market for your product choice.

How To Evaluate Market Demand For Your New Product Idea

How To Evaluate Product Viability

5 Strategies To Evaluate Your Product Idea

Obtaining Your Product

Having found your product idea and evaluating them in the previous section, you must now figure out where and how you’re going to obtain your products. The next two posts will cover the various methods for acquiring your products, along with the pros and cons of each model.

Make, Manufacture, Wholesale or Dropship: The Pros and Cons of Each Model

How To Find a Manufacturer or Supplier for Your Product Idea

Alibaba 101: How to Safely Source Products from the World's Biggest Supplier Directory

Research & Prepare

Research Your Competition

You’ve found your product, evaluated the potential and sourced your supplier. It’s time to write your business plan, but before you get into that, you'll need to research your competition thoroughly so you know exactly what you’re up against.

Tools To Research Your Competition

Writing Your Business Plan

With your competitive research complete, it's now the perfect time to write your business plan. A business plan will be your road map that helps bring your ideas and thoughts together. A business plan is vital so that you can determine how to best move forward and most effectively compete.

Why Your Ecommerce Store Needs a Business Plan (and How to Write One)

The Ultimate Guide To Business Plans

Registering Your Business

With a business plan in hand, now is a good time to consider your options for registering your business.

The Benefits & Costs of Incorporating Your Business

Setting Up Your Business

Naming Your Business

Aside from finding an actual product to sell online, another difficult decision is determining your business name and choosing an appropriate and available domain name. These blog posts will help you tackle these important tasks.

What You Need to Know About Ecommerce Trademarks

What Should I Name My Online Store?

5 Rules For Choosing A Memorable Domain Name

Creating A Logo

Once you have solidified your name and registered your domain, it’s time to craft a logo. In these posts, we will show you several options for creating a great logo for your new business.

5 Logo Design Tips for Ecommerce Websites

5 Easy to Use Online Logo Makers to Design Your Brand

Understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You’re almost ready to begin building your online store. However, before you jump into it, you should understand the basics of search engine optimization so that you can optimize your site for Google and other search engines.

The Beginner's Guide To Keyword Research For Ecommerce

Ecommerce SEO Video Series

Building Your Store

With a better understanding of search engine optimization (SEO), it’s time to build out your store. There are many critical elements. Below we have included a list of our best blog posts to help you write captivating product descriptions, shoot beautiful product photography, and a list of some of the best tools to help you optimize those photos.

Write Product Descriptions that Sell

The Ultimate DIY Guide to Beautiful Product Photography

18 Free and Paid Online Photo Editor Tools for Gorgeous DIY Product Photography

40 Tools and Resources For Creating Beautiful DIY Product Photography

10 Must Know Image Optimization Tips