How to Create an Online Store: The Complete Guide

1. Market research and niche selection — complete guide from idea to market analysis

Choosing a niche is a key step when launching an online store or project. Everything depends on this decision: from advertising ROI to sales volume and brand recognition. Mistakes here are costly — even the best marketing can hardly fix them. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to choose a profitable direction, validate demand, and calculate potential profit.

Step 1 — create a list of ideas

Start with brainstorming. Make a list of 10–20 directions without evaluating them immediately. Use any sources of inspiration:

• Your hobbies and personal interests — things you understand deeply;
• Professional skills and areas where you have expertise;
• Life observations and inconveniences that can be solved with a product.

Tip: if you are starting for the first time — it’s better to choose a niche that truly interests you. This will help you not give up during testing.

Step 2 — perform a quick filter

Eliminate weak ideas and keep potentially profitable ones:

• Remove niches with low margins and high logistics costs;
• Mark those where you can stand out — with unique service, design, packaging, or branding;
• Check if there are future scaling prospects.

Step 3 — demand and trend validation

At this stage, it is important to confirm that the audience is indeed looking for your product or service.

• Google Trends — shows interest dynamics and seasonality;
• Keyword Planner (or Serpstat / Ahrefs) — provides search volume data;
• Marketplaces (Prom.ua, Rozetka, Etsy, Amazon) — compare prices, competitor availability, and sales activity;
• Social networks — check if the topic is discussed and if there is engagement.

Professional tip: if a trend grows for 6–12 months consecutively — that’s a good signal, but avoid overly popular niches where competition is overheated.

Step 4 — competitor analysis

Competitor analysis helps to understand how to stand out and avoid their mistakes.

• Study the product range and price range of leaders;
• See how product pages are presented — texts, photos, videos, reviews;
• Pay attention to response speed, warranties, loyalty programs;
• Check who is actively investing in advertising (via Facebook Ads Library or contextual ad analysis).

Pro tip: find weaknesses of top players — e.g., poor photos, missing FAQ, or unclear ordering process. These are your growth points.

Step 5 — margin and profitability assessment

Before launch, it is important to understand how much you will actually earn from each sale. Here is a simple calculation:

Margin = Sale price − (cost + logistics + fees + advertising)

For e-commerce, a comfortable margin is 25% and above. Below this level, the business quickly hits a ceiling when scaling advertising.

Checklist before choosing a niche

1. Confirmed demand with positive dynamics;
2. Profitability not below 20–30% after all expenses;
3. You understand your target audience and their motivation to purchase;
4. Competition is not monopolized (room for new players);
5. Suppliers are available and logistics are stable.

Conclusion: Choosing the right niche is not intuition — it’s systematic work with data. The deeper you analyze the market before launching, the fewer risks you face and the higher your chances of earning profit from the very first sales.

💡 Start with one product category, build a sales funnel, and only then scale up. This way, you maintain control over quality and profitability.

2. Finding suppliers and quality control

Choosing a supplier is a key step that determines your business stability, cost price, and customer service quality. This guide collects the best platforms and verification tips for both beginners and experienced e-commerce professionals.

Where to find suppliers

• Ukraine 🇺🇦: Prom.ua, Zakupka, OptList — directories of wholesale suppliers, manufacturers, and warehouses. Great for starting from the local market.
• Belarus 🇧🇾: OptList.by, BelOpt, Deal.by — platforms for wholesale purchases and domestic distribution.
• Poland 🇵🇱: Allegro.pl, PolandExport, Trade.gov.pl — platforms with Polish manufacturers and exporters, popular among European stores.
• Russia 🇷🇺: OptList.ru, Tiu.ru, Postavshhiki.ru — aggregators of manufacturers, distributors, and wholesale bases.
• European Union 🇪🇺: Europages, Kompass, Wer liefert was (WLW), TradeWheel — universal catalogs of manufacturers and exporters from EU countries, with filtering options by country and certification.
• Asia 🇨🇳🇮🇳🇹🇭: Alibaba, Made-in-China, GlobalSources, IndiaMART, 1688.com, Turkishexporter — the largest B2B platforms in Asia. Alibaba and 1688 are ideal for OEM production; IndiaMART and TurkishExporter — for high-margin niches.
• USA 🇺🇸 and Canada 🇨🇦: ThomasNet, TradeKey, HKTDC — supplier databases for industrial and consumer goods, offering verification and secure transactions.
• Dropshipping platforms: AliExpress, CJdropshipping, Spocket, Syncee — convenient for testing products without inventory.
• Exhibitions and direct connections: Canton Fair (Guangzhou), FairTrade Messe (Europe), Warsaw Expo (Poland) — direct communication with factories and suppliers, often allowing on-site ordering.

How to verify a supplier

1. Request a price list, minimum order quantities, and delivery terms;
2. Ask for product samples and check packaging and quality;
3. Analyze reviews, ratings, and company history;
4. Clarify payment, return, and warranty terms;
5. Verify the company’s legal address and registration details.

Contracts and payments

For initial orders, use secure payment methods: partial prepayment, letter of credit, PayPal, or Alibaba Trade Assurance. For long-term cooperation, always sign a contract and document all conditions in writing.

Logistics and packaging

Compare carrier rates and clarify packaging details. Packaging affects brand perception and return rates — saving on it often leads to losses.

💡 Tip: Maintain a supplier database with contacts, inspection dates, and cooperation terms. It helps you quickly select reliable partners when scaling your business.

3. Testing the Hypothesis and Launching an MVP

Before investing time and money into a full-fledged online store, it’s crucial to test the viability of your idea. For this, you create an MVP — a Minimum Viable Product. It can be a simple page with 1–5 products where users can place an order or contact you directly.

What an MVP Store Includes

The main goal is to understand whether the market is ready to buy your product. Therefore, it’s enough to:

1. Create a product page with photos, description, price, and a “Buy” button;
2. Add an order form or a contact button via messenger;
3. Enable cash-on-delivery or bank transfer payments;
4. Launch a small ad campaign (Facebook, Instagram, or Google Ads) to test your audience.

At this stage, it’s especially important that your site looks clean and displays correctly on all devices. You can learn more about this in the article “Responsive Layout and Mobile Menu for an Online Store”.

What to Measure During Testing

• Ad CTR — how often people click on your ads;
• Add-to-cart rate — product interest;
• Order conversion — ratio of orders to clicks;
• Average check and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

If CAC is lower than LTV (customer lifetime value), the hypothesis is confirmed. You can expand your product range and scale marketing. If not — adjust your pricing, positioning, or target audience. Practical tips for the next steps after launch can be found in “First Steps After Creating an Online Store”.

Preparing for Promotion

Once the MVP shows positive results, you can move on to SEO and content. This is when you should carefully plan category structure, meta tags, and content. Check out “SEO Optimization Recommendations” — it explains how to optimize your pages and improve your store’s search visibility.

💡 Tip: test only one variable at a time (price, photo, audience). This way you’ll clearly understand what drives your conversion growth.

3.1. Choosing a Domain and Domain Zone — SEO and Regional Targeting

A domain is not just a website address — it’s part of your brand. The right choice of name and zone affects user trust, SEO, and overall company perception.

Types of Domain Zones

• Global (.com, .net, .org) — suitable for international projects, increase trust and brand recognition.
• National (.ua, .pl, .by, .ru, .de, .fr) — help search engines determine the site’s regional affiliation, which is important for local SEO.
• Niche (.store, .shop, .biz) — highlight your business specialization (e.g., online stores, B2B companies).

Domain Levels and Their Value

The structure of a domain is divided into levels. The closer the level is to the root (to the right), the higher it is, and vice versa:

• Top-Level Domain (TLD) — the part after the dot, e.g. .com, .ua, .net. It indicates the site’s purpose or country.
  Example: example.com — global domain (.com zone), example.ua — Ukrainian domain.
• Second-Level Domain — the main site name you register, located before the zone.
  Example: in myshop.com, myshop is the second-level domain.
• Third-Level Domain (or subdomain) — an additional part created for sections, branches, or separate services.
  Example: blog.myshop.com — blog subdomain; kyiv.myshop.ua — regional subdomain.

💡 The higher the domain level (i.e., the closer to the root), the more valuable it is. Short second-level domains are easier to index, remember, and inspire more user trust.

Recommendations for Choosing

• Use a short and memorable name (up to 12 characters);
• Avoid hyphens, numbers, and complex combinations;
• If operating in specific countries — choose local zones:
  • .ua — Ukraine (requires a registered TM for second-level domains, e.g. website.ua; third-level domains like site.kiev.ua, site.dp.ua, site.zp.ua can be used without TM and indicate a specific region);
  • .pl — Poland, suitable for local and international projects;
  • .by — Belarus;
  • .eu — for businesses operating across the EU;
  • .com — a universal choice for the global market (recommended as a top-level domain).
• Make sure the chosen name doesn’t match a registered trademark (check via WIPO, EUIPO, or Ukrpatent databases).

Tip: if you plan to build a brand, register a second-level domain in a global or local zone. For test projects, third-level subdomains are fine — they are easier and cheaper to obtain.
You can buy a domain from any registrar, for example here.

4. Choosing a Platform: SaaS vs CMS — Comparison and Recommendations

Choosing the right platform is a strategic decision that determines the launch speed, stability, and future costs. A mistake here can lead to a complete project rebuild, so it’s important to understand the differences between SaaS platforms and CMS systems.

Key Selection Criteria

• Launch speed — how many hours it takes to get the store online;
• Total cost of ownership — not just the subscription, but also maintenance, hosting, and updates;
• Integrations — ability to connect payments, shipping, inventory, CRM, and marketing tools;
• SEO and performance — how easy it is to optimize your store for search engines;
• Scalability — whether the platform is ready to handle catalog and audience growth.

Comparison of SaaS Platforms

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a ready-made solution where the full technical stack (server, updates, security) is already included. Ideal for those who want to focus on sales, not administration.

• 🔥 HotList.biz — the most balanced SaaS platform for online stores. Lightning-fast loading (Core Web Vitals close to 100%), integrations with payment and delivery services, built-in marketing tools (everything you need). Minimal subscription fee and a flexible visual editor allow you to launch a store in just one day. Especially notable is its automation feature, which literally makes the platform work “for you”: order synchronization, stock updates, analytics, and integrations — all without coding.
• Shopify — a strong solution for international trade. Supports multiple currencies and languages, but high plugin costs and commissions make it less profitable for local markets.
• Ecwid — a lightweight builder that can be embedded into an existing website or Instagram. Great for beginners, but has limited SEO customization.
• Tilda and Wix — visually simple and convenient, but better suited for landing pages and small catalogs. Not enough functionality for large-scale stores. Cons: heavy code and poor optimization. Pros: easy-to-use visual editor.

Comparison of CMS Systems

CMS (Content Management System) platforms have open-source code. They require installation on hosting and technical knowledge but offer more flexibility and control.

• WooCommerce (WordPress) — a popular solution for content-focused stores. Supports SEO and marketing plugins but requires frequent updates and security management. Cons — slower performance and vulnerabilities.
• OpenCart and PrestaShop — free and lightweight but need manual setup and module customization. Custom features often require extra payment and development.
• Magento / Adobe Commerce — a professional CMS for large eCommerce projects. Excellent scalability but requires experienced developers and expensive hosting. Cons — high setup cost.
• 1C-Bitrix — widely used in the CIS region. Includes built-in CRM and ERP modules but has a high license cost and complex administration. Cons — overloaded code and low site speed due to excessive built-in markup.

How to Make a Decision

If you want to launch your store quickly without a developer — choose HotList.biz. It’s the best solution for businesses in Ukraine and the EU: low cost, ready templates, integrations, and excellent SEO metrics. Scales easily up to a full-size hypermarket.

If you already have a development team or need a project with complex custom logic — then a CMS might be right for you, but remember that maintenance, updates, and security will be your responsibility.

Useful Resources

• Why renting an online store is profitable — overview of SaaS model advantages over classic CMS;
• Store automation — how your platform can run the business for you.

💡 Expert tip: don’t chase the most famous CMS brand. Look for a fast launch solution that can still scale with your business later.

5. Store Design and Structure — UX for Conversion

Good design sells. But even more important is structure logic — how the user moves from interest to payment. The main goal is convenience and speed, not overloaded visuals.

Homepage

• Clear USP (what to “hide” and “buy” should be obvious);
• Blocks of popular categories and promotions without unnecessary effects;
• Minimalistic banners and quick access to the cart and contacts;
• Loading optimization — compressed yet high-quality images.

Product Page

• High-quality photos and videos with minimal distractions — avoid visual overload;
• Short description + key specs — structured and easy to read;
• Reviews, stock availability, and delivery times — all visible immediately;
• Clear CTA buttons — “Buy” and “Add to Cart”, easy to tap even on mobile.

Checkout

Minimize steps: address, payment, confirmation. Offer both cash-on-delivery and online payment. Remove distractions and leave only essential fields.

Mobile Version

Most traffic comes from mobile users. Menus, filters, and product cards must be mobile-friendly. Use responsive design so pages adapt quickly to screen size. See: mobile version of an online store.

Speed and Simplicity

• Minimal heavy graphics and animations;
• Optimized images and videos;
• Fast page load even on slow internet;
• Simple navigation and instant search.

Checklist: simple navigation, fast search, clear CTAs, responsiveness, trust (contacts, reviews, guarantees), and high page speed.

6. Catalog, Payments, and Product Management

How to properly organize your catalog and which payment methods to connect — to reduce checkout abandonment.

Catalog Structure

• Categories → subcategories → product cards;
• Attributes: size, color, material — important for filters;
• Unique descriptions and SEO for every product card.

Product Import/Export

Support CSV/JSON/XML exports for marketplaces and accounting. For bulk updates — use CSV import via the admin panel.

Payment Methods

• Bank cards (LiqPay, WayForPay, Stripe);
• Cash on delivery;
• E-wallets and Apple/Google Pay;
• Integration with payment gateways and automatic payment status handling.

Inventory and Returns

Set up inventory control: reservations for orders, low-stock alerts, ret