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Ecommerce essentials: How to sell online and grow your business

By 2025, it is estimated that ecommerce sales will reach $7.4 trillion globally. Read on to learn what you need to start selling online, plus tactics to grow your business.

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Last updated 29.01.2019

Setting up a website is one of the best things you can do for your business. It can grow it from an exciting idea into much more, so that all your hard work pays off. One of the great things about having a website is that it’s largely up to you what you want from it; you can choose to have as much or as little content and functionality as your business needs.

However, when you’ve already got several things to think about, there is such a thing as too much choice! To make your life a little easier as you embark on the adventure of growing your business, we’ve narrowed down the six main things you can be sure to get from a website:

1. Legitimacy

A website is vital for your business’s professional image. While social media is an important tool, today’s customers expect a stronger web presence than this alone. In this data, only 16.8% of online shopping traffic came from social media – less than direct navigation, search or email. A professional online presence is often key to a business’s success. This online presence doesn’t just include a good website, but also features such as domain names, email addresses and more.

2. Simplicity

There are many different ways to create a website, from paying a web designer to using a free online platform. However, a lack of direct input or technical experience can mean that the result isn’t quite what you envisaged. Not only this, it can still leave you short on money, time or both. Whatever route you go down, it’s important to have a website you can easily manage and maintain. Small businesses are constantly growing and changing, so being able to update your website – without the technical experience of a web designer or developer – can (and should!) be an important part of your business strategy.

3. Discoverability (SEO)

Most of us know the importance of getting a website ranked in search results, but many people are reluctant to pay the (often hefty) charges for search advertising. A simple, mobile-friendly sitebuilder can play a huge part in SEO success by allowing you to add content regularly. This is often one of the key factors in driving up a website’s search ranking, so the right people will find you.

4. E-Commerce

A good online store will boost sales and contribute to the smooth running of a business. The time constraints of running a small business mean that an all-in-one platform can really make a difference. Having something that will process payments and orders without constant management leaves you free to work on other areas of the business.

5. Mobility

We know that many business owners are single-handedly balancing a business with other personal or professional commitments. In 2017, 76% of businesses were entirely run by the owner(s). One of the perks of running your own business is that you don’t have to be tied to a desk. This means it makes sense to have a website that you can manage on the go, at any time.

6. Social media cross-functionality

As mentioned above, social media is very important for businesses, so a connection between your social media and your website is key. Displaying social media posts on your website (and vice versa) means your website will reflect the time you spend updating social media, and ensures that nobody will miss your news and updates.

Your website can be instrumental in turning prospective customers into actual customers, and keeping them engaged over time. We’ve designed KitStart with this in mind, so that you have everything you need to grow your business, wherever you are

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  KitStart is a brand name owned by BaseKit Platform Ltd. This privacy policy sets out how we use and protect any information that you provide to BaseKit when you use the KitStart app or any other websites hosted by BaseKit. We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Any personal information you provide when using our products or services will only be used in accordance with this policy. We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. We will inform you of any changes made to this policy directly using the email address registered when you set up a KitStart account. You should check this page to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from January 2023. What information do we collect? As a minimum, we require the following information in order for you to register for a free two week trial account with KitStart:
  • Your first name and last name
  • Your email address
  • A password
Should you wish to upgrade your free two week trial account to a paid Start Simple or Start Premium account you will need to provide additional information, including:
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  • Payment card details

We use third party providers for all card payments so we do not store your postal address or payment card details in our database at any time.

We’re not able to take responsibility for any information that you submit (for example via contact forms) via websites created and published by KitStart users.

How we use the information you provide

The information that we collect and store about you is primarily used to enable us to provide you with products and services related to KitStart. However, we may also use your information:

  1. To help us improve our products and services
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Note that we will only use your information as described in points 2 and 3 above when you have explicitly opted in to receive such communications. You may opt out of these communications at any time by clicking the Unsubscribe link in any email or by sending a request to [email protected].

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We store the data we collect on secure servers in data centres located in Europe. Any data we store is only accessible directly by a small number of authorised staff.

We may use third party suppliers to provide services such as payment card processing. These parties may store your data in locations outside of the EEA. We carefully review each supplier to ensure they handle data in line with this policy.

We use a customer management and billing system called Upmind. To discover more about Upmind, how and why they collect, store, use and share personal data, please view the Upmind Privacy Policy here. The privacy policy will also detail your rights in relation to your personal information, and how to contact Upmind and supervisory authorities in the event that you have a complaint.

We will store your data for as long as you have an active account, whether it is a free account or a paid account. For all dormant accounts, we keep data for up to 5 years after which it is securely deleted.

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We are committed to ensuring that your information is completely secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial processes to secure and safeguard the data we collect and store.

The transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of data sent to us electronically. The transmission of data is entirely at your own risk.

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A cookie is a small file which allows websites and apps to identify individual users and store information about each user’s preferences. A cookie does not give access to any more information than a user chooses to provide. We use cookies:

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The third party suppliers that we work with may also use cookies for similar purposes. We carefully review each supplier to ensure they handle data in line with this policy.

You may choose to enable or disable cookies. Most web browsers automatically enable cookies, but you can usually modify a browser’s settings to disable cookies if you prefer. If you disable cookies you will not be able to use our apps and you may not be able to take full advantage of our websites.

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We may disclose your information to third party suppliers that we work with to provide our products and services. We carefully review each supplier to ensure they handle data in line with this policy.

We may also disclose your information where we are required to do so by law.

Controlling your personal information 

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

  1. When registering your account with KitStart, you may opt in to receive promotional email communications.
  2. If you receive a promotional email, you may opt out by clicking the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.
  3. At any time you can opt out of promotional email communications by sending a request to [email protected].
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Should you wish to access the information we hold about you, please send a request to [email protected].

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