The world is virtual. It’s a reality we had already been gradually settling into, but 2020 dumped us right into the deep end with COVID-19. Small businesses have been especially hard hit, many of whom, if you’re a web designer or developer, are your clients.
In an effort to help you get your clients through these difficult times, we began our GoDaddy Pro webinar series with tips on how to help your clients sell online with WordPress.
WordPress may not be the best solution for everyone, so we brought back Justin Nealey -- host of our Journey series on YouTube -- to share some other solutions for selling online.
If you missed it, or you want to see it again, you can watch the recording here:
Why is selling online so important?
Current events aside, selling online has a lot of benefits for your clients:
- Increased reach: Small, local business is now worldwide.
- Convenience: Customers can shop from home.
- Survival: Adapting to the virtual world is a necessity.
- Value: An online store makes more money for your client than a basic website.
“Their website is their hardest working employee ... never takes off work, never calls in sick, always there, never complains ...”
As a website designer or developer, you can charge more because eCommerce sites are more complex. You’ll also have a much easier time communicating ROI to your clients as they see sales roll in from the website.
The 4 components of an online store
Nealey reviewed the four separate parts of an online store that he shared with us last week:
- Website
- Products
- Shopping Cart & Payment
- Fulfillment
Each part has its own significance, but it’s important not to focus solely on products. The website is particularly important because it’s where your client tells their story.
“If I'm a visitor ... and I really fall in love with that brand, and I see that product, I'd much rather buy from them than the site that just has the product.”
Try these all-purpose solutions to help your clients sell online
Nealey kicked off his demos by introducing some interesting options for general online sales to help your client sell just about anything.
Facebook Shop
Surprisingly unknown to many web designers and developers, Facebook has a very robust product listing option for their business pages. Here are some of the highlights:
- Show products on existing Facebook business page.
- Link to Instagram posts.
- Fees: 5% per transaction. Transactions $8 or less have flat fee of $0.40
- Product settings for shipping, tax, categories, and even like/share.
- Products can be added to Facebook Marketplace.
- Use Pixel to add products from existing online store to Facebook shop automatically.
Tips
- Your client should complete the initial shop setup, since it will ask for personal information. After that’s done, you can list products for them if they make you an admin of their business page.
- Facebook may mistakenly detect some products as illegal, but you can appeal.
This is a great supplement to existing online stores or for clients who only have social media profiles and have not set up a website yet.
Ecwid
A favorite choice of our Pro, Ann Marie, Ecwid stands for “eCommerce widget.” Some of the best features are:
- Setup is easy.
- Freemium: List 10 products for free.
- Products are embeddable on most websites.
- There’s a reseller option with white label support.
Where to sell digital products or online courses
“There are a ton of solutions out there when it comes to selling digital products.”
Gumroad
Gumroad considers itself eCommerce for creators, due the sheer amount of options it offers for selling creative goods. However, you can also use it to sell physical products. You also get:
- Import your existing email list to a CRM-like customers area.
- Supports multiple currencies.
- Embed products on most websites.
Teachable
The ability to sell online courses has seen an increase in demand lately, due to consultants and trainers having to change the way they do business. Teachable may be one of the more expensive options, but it’s one of the best.
- Freemium: paid plans
- Works as a standalone site or with an existing website.
- Built in marketing tools & sales pages.
- Dashboard is easy to use.
- Accepts international payment methods.
- Variety of options: files, videos, quizzes, code examples, custom code in lessons.
A handy eCommerce solution from GoDaddy
Last but not least, Nealey showed us GoDaddy's easiest way to sell online: Websites + Marketing Ecommerce. Forgive us for tooting our own horn, but these features are pretty sweet.
- Easy to use builder = crazy fast build.
- List products on multiple marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.
- Sets up Google My Business profile.
- Dashboard to manage orders, products, and reports.
- Sell anything: physical products, digital products, gift cards, even appointments.
- Built-in COVID-19 sections.
Tip
You can use GoDaddy Pro client access to manage your client's online store in their own account!
Making sure you’re ready to take some of the market share while businesses are shifting to online sales is good for both you and your clients. With all of these options, you can be sure to do it quickly and effectively.
Editor's note: Are you building websites for clients? Join GoDaddy Pro to manage all your clients, their websites and GoDaddy products from a central dashboard.
