How to Start an e-Commerce Business in Canada
Starting an e-Commerce business is often viewed as a great way to get rich quick. In reality, it requires hard work, good decision making and a little bit of good luck. Many new business owners find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things which they need to learn in order to make their business successful. Hopefully, this article will provide some useful information on the technological aspect of starting an e-Commerce business as well as looking at some of the unique market factors involved in starting an online business in Canada.
Building Your Website
If your plan is to build your company around e-Commerce then you will need a website with built-in shopping modules. What’s more is that you will need a well designed, attractive website with an intuitive user interface. If you are new to web development, it is strongly recommended that you find a professional web developer to build your website. A professional web designer will know about color schemes, layouts, development technologies and best practices and can realize the technological aspect of your dream, leaving you free to direct your attention towards the other aspects of your business.
Web Hosting
A key decision when setting up an online business in Canada is your choice of web hosting service. Your choice of web host will depend on a multitude of factors including disk space and bandwidth requirements, scripting support, server power, cost, security and the technical know-how of your IT team (if you have one). There are a tremendous number of web hosting providers on the market, but not all are Canadian, and not all of the Canadian hosts can offer varying features and levels of service. Whether you choose to go with shared hosting, virtual hosting, dedicated server hosting or cloud hosting, it is vital that you research your options and make sure that you choose the service which best meets your company’s needs.
Leverage Social Media
Social networks like Facebook or Twitter are a massive marketing opportunity. Any online business that fails to make use of social media is losing a very valuable tool. By leveraging social media you can, at little to no expense, reach a huge audience through a trusted medium: their friends. Traditional advertising can be very costly and can never provide you with the same credibility you get from a friend’s recommendation. Luckily, in Canada, democratic policies allow the free use of social media networks, unlike the situation in other countries – a loss that can be detrimental to online businesses.
Making e-Commerce Work in Canada
Canada has a unique economic landscape for Canadian small business owners looking to establish a successful e-Commerce enterprise. This is particularly relevant if you own a business which deals with the sale of physical goods. Canada is a vast country, but the population is relatively small. That means that in order for your business to be successful, it is well worth considering marketing your business to our neighbors south of the border. The sheer size of the American market and the similarities between the Canadian and American consumer make marketing your products to Americans a lucrative opportunity. The main reason for mentioning this is, when you are considering product distribution it may be worthwhile to consider setting up distribution in a location which has the ability to quickly ship to all of North America, not just Canada, thus avoiding delays with postal services and products that do not have proper legal labeling for transfer between countries.
However, it is also known that 60% of Canadians are window-shopping online, looking for both products and services to buy. So for the companies wishing to set up an e-business presence without the need for cross-border shipping, the sales forecast can be high. Service providers and Canadian suppliers of products will have a much easier path than International product companies.
By taking the time to understand the tools which the internet has to offer, e-Commerce can help you realize the true potential of your business.
Chris Ricard is the owner of TheWeb-Factory.com, a Canadian Web Hosting Company that uses Cpanel, an easy-to-use control panel with tools for business owners to make Canadian e-commerce web hosting, business quality web hosting and even personal web hosting manageable for anyone.
