Starting a small online shop is mostly a sequence of practical decisions: what to sell, where to sell it, how to show it, how to get paid and how to deliver. This checklist takes you through each step in a sensible order. It doesn’t cover legal, tax or registration questions, which differ from country to country. Check those with your government’s small business service or a qualified adviser before you take your first order.
Table Of Content
Decide What You Will Sell and to Whom
The first decision is a clear product for a clear buyer. “Handmade soy candles for gift buyers” is easier to build a shop around than “home goods”. A narrow start makes every later choice simpler, from the photos to the shipping boxes.
Before you build anything, ask yourself these questions:
- Can you make or source the product reliably, in the quantities you expect?
- Will it survive being posted, and what will the packaging cost?
- Are people already searching for it, buying it or asking for it? Look at marketplaces and search results for similar items.
- Can you describe the buyer in one sentence?
A handful of test sales to friends, at a local market or through social media can teach you more than weeks of planning.
Choose Where to Sell
Your main choice is between a marketplace, where buyers already browse, and your own shop website, where you have more control. Many small sellers start with one and add the other later.
| Option | Examples | Good for | Things to weigh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | Etsy, eBay, Amazon | Reaching buyers who already shop there | Fees per sale, platform rules, competitors on the same page |
| Hosted shop builder | Shopify, Square Online, Wix | A branded shop without managing a server | Monthly plan costs, paid add-ons |
| Self-hosted shop | WooCommerce on WordPress | Full control over the site | You handle hosting, updates and security |
Each platform has its own rules about what you can sell. Etsy, for example, is built around handmade items, vintage items (which it treats as at least 20 years old) and craft supplies. The core WooCommerce plugin is free and open source, though hosting, a domain name and some extensions cost money. Fees and plans change often, so compare the current pricing pages before you decide.
Pick a Name and Check It Is Free
A good shop name is easy to spell, easy to say and not already used by someone selling similar things. Search for it on your chosen platform, in a search engine and on the main social networks. If you plan to run your own website, check whether a matching domain name is available.
For a name you plan to keep for years, a trademark search is also sensible. Most national intellectual property offices have a free online search tool.
Take Clear Photos and Write Honest Descriptions
Photos do most of the selling in an online shop, because buyers can’t pick the product up. Take them in daylight near a window, against a plain background, and show the item from several angles, with at least one photo that gives a sense of its size.
Use your own photos. Etsy’s rules require sellers to use their own photographs rather than stock images or pictures from other sites, and shoppers tend to trust real pictures more anyway.
Each description should answer the questions a buyer would ask in a real shop:
- What it is made of, plus its size and weight
- The colours or options available
- How to use it or care for it
- How long it takes to make or dispatch
Write in plain words and don’t overpromise. A modest description that matches the product is better than a glowing one that leads to a return.
Set Up Payments, Shipping and Returns
Before your first sale, decide how you will take payment, how you will post orders and what happens if something goes wrong. Marketplaces and shop builders include payment processing, usually with a fee on each transaction, so read what that fee is on your platform.
For shipping, weigh and measure a packed sample of each product and check current rates with your national postal service and one or two couriers. Decide whether to charge shipping separately or build it into the price. Tracked services cost more, but they reduce disputes over lost parcels.
Write down a returns and refunds policy, even a short one, and display it clearly. In many countries consumer law gives online buyers minimum rights, so check the rules that apply where you and your customers live.
Run a full test order before launch: buy one of your own products, pay, receive the confirmation email, then pack it and post it to a friend. You will find the gaps before a real customer does.
Get Your First Visitors
A new shop gets few visitors until you bring them in. Start with the people and places you already have: friends and family, local community groups and any social media accounts where you can show how the product is made.
Some free or low-cost options:
- Share behind-the-scenes photos and short videos of products being made or packed.
- Add your products to Google Merchant Center, whose free listings can appear in places such as Google Search, Images and the Shopping tab when products are eligible.
- Ask early buyers for an honest review. Reviews help new shoppers decide.
- Sell at local markets or craft fairs, and hand out a card with your shop name.
Keep Simple Records From Day One
Good records save stress later. Use a spreadsheet or your platform’s reports to track each sale, each cost (materials, packaging, postage and fees) and your stock levels. Keep receipts together in one folder, on paper or on your computer.
Every few weeks, look at which products sell and which ones get questions or returns, and work out how much each order really costs you to fulfil. That review tells you which products deserve more of your time and whether your prices still cover your costs.
