Create an online store. Kickstart your success.

An online store is a website where buyers browse and purchase goods or services directly online. This includes the storefront, product pages, cart and checkout, as well as the backend functions for managing inventory, orders and more.

Wix offers a professional online store builder that helps you launch your eCommerce store quickly and successfully.

An online store builder is a platform that lets you create your own eCommerce store without experience in coding or web development. Most online store builders offer templates or tools such as drag and drop and AI so merchants can quickly design their own storefronts. Website creation platforms also come with tools that allow you to conduct essential business operations, from marketing your products across the web to accepting payments, shipping orders and managing your inventory.

Yes, you can create an online store with Wix’s free website builder. In fact, you get an unlimited free trial, so you can create as many online stores as you want—at no charge. This includes use of Wix's drag-and-drop builder to create your store and design your storefront, product pages, cart and more. You can also add products, product images, set up shipping and publish your site.

In order to begin accepting payments, you will have to upgrade to a Premium plan. However, if you want to experiment with Wix and test out its online store features, you’ll have no time limit for your free trial and no cap on the number of free stores you can build.

These days you can set up an online store in a matter of minutes. With ready-made templates, intuitive website creation tools and even instant AI site creation, it’s possible to lay the foundations in a single sitting. From there, the amount of time it takes to build an online store will depend on a few personal factors.

Let’s assume you know what products you’re planning on selling. With the right online store creator, you can quickly upload your inventory, create product pages and galleries and set up payment and shipping. This can be done in a matter of days. From there, you’ll want to plan marketing campaigns and strengthen your store’s SEO. This will likely take some time, but can be done while you’re already selling.

In short, with an intuitive and all-in-one website builder, you can set up your online store in days and have a fully-functioning, commerce-ready online business shortly thereafter.

The question should really be, what is the best online store builder for you? Before you create your online store, consider the features you want—and need—to sell online. These can include:

• Designer-made templates

• Customizable product galleries

• Built-in marketing tools

• Multiple payment solutions

Next, think about what pricing plan will work best for your business. Shop around the various eCommerce website builders, compare rates and experiment with free trials before making your decision.

Wix is a good choice for selling online because it has everything you need for eCommerce included right out-of-the-box, yet it also has a high level of customization, as well as advanced features to support businesses as they grow.

Some of the key benefits of Wix for selling online are:

• Drag-and-drop online store builder. The Wix editor allows you to build unique and professional online stores from more than 900 free and customizable templates.

• High-converting product pages and online shopping cart. With Wix you can easily create product galleries, customize product pages and optimize your cart to boost sales.

• Easy product catalog management and dropshipping integrations. Wix merchants can add an extensive catalog of products and sell dropshipping and print-on-demand products from Wix's native platform or dozens of third-party apps.

• Integration with leading sales channels. Wix merchants can sell on marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, plus social commerce channels like Instagram and Facebook.

• Built-in tools for managing your online store. Wix allows you to manage shipping, inventory, orders and payments from one dashboard with a suite of analytics reports.

• Advanced marketing tools to grow your audience. Wix features native tools to drive organic traffic to your store and create paid ads for Google and Facebook directly from your dashboard, plus CRM and email marketing tools for engaging existing customers.

Building a successful online store is more attainable than ever and it doesn't have to require a lot of up-front investment. Here are some essential steps to creating a profitable online shop:

• Find the right product. Look for a product that has sufficient customer demand, but isn't already being sold by too many competitors.

• Design a store that stands out. A key to differentiating yourself from the competition and building trust is designing a store that has a unique and professional look. Choosing a store builder with a wide variety of templates and advanced customization capabilities is key.

• Make your store easy to navigate. Your goal in building your store should be to make it as easy as possible for your site visitors to find what they're looking for and complete their purchases. This includes a clear menu, shoppable products right on the home page, and as few clicks as possible to get through checkout.

• Show your store is trustworthy. A big part of convincing shoppers to make online purchases is building trust in your brand. You can do this by adding elements such as an About Us page, product reviews, multiple payment methods and secure on-site checkout.

There are a number of AI tools that help online stores sell more. Some of the AI features that Wix offers include:

• AI product description generator. Coming up with enticing product descriptions is very important, yet very time consuming. Using AI to create captivating product descriptions can help you scale your website and increase conversions.

• AI SEO description generator. Writing good SEO descriptions helps your products rank better on search engines. Using AI to write these descriptions can save you time and make sure you're following SEO best practices.

• Smart product recommendations. AI can analyze your site to offer customers the perfect recommended products ahead of checkout to help increase average order value.

• Twik AI-powered site personalization. This AI engine arranges your site in a personalized way for every customer to increase the chances that they make a purchase.

You can start an online store without worrying about inventory or upfront costs.

Dropshipping lets you source and sell limitless items from your eCommerce website. Create an online store website, and then choose items you’d like to sell from a dropshipping marketplace such as Modalyst. When a customer makes a purchase, the order is forwarded to your suppliers and they take care of shipping and fulfillment for you. Another option is selling digital products like eBooks, music and stock images.

Yes, as long as you build your site on a platform that is mobile-friendly. If you build your shopping website with Wix, for example, it will automatically be optimized for phone screens. You can also customize elements of your site specifically for viewing on mobile devices. Shoppers can access your store in their device’s web browser and make secure payments on their smartphones. You can also choose to build a mobile app with Wix's app builder.

Today, you can sell almost anything online. From your own original art to pet snacks, eBooks, t-shirts, board games, food and beauty subscriptions, hair extensions and more—the possibilities are truly endless. What you choose to sell online should be based on market demand, your target audience and eCommerce trends. The goal is to fill a need in the market.

Converting more online shoppers is crucial to the success of your website. Here are a few conversion rate optimization (CRO) tips to help you better convert your shop visitors:

1. Reduce friction in your checkout process. Make it as quick and easy as possible for shoppers to make a purchase. Include Buy Now buttons and offer multiple payment methods.

2. Use high quality product photos and videos. Including images that give a good sense of the products' quality and dimensions is key to closing online sales of physical products.

3. Include customer reviews. Shoppers are much more likely to make a purchase online if they see multiple reviews recommending your store and individual products.

4. Offer free shipping. If you can afford it, offering free shipping is a good way to boost conversions. You can offer free shipping over a certain purchase amount to maintain profitability.

5. Send abandoned cart emails. Customers who added products to their cart have shown clear intent to buy. Setting up an automated email to entice them back can help close the deal.

For more ideas check out our full ecommerce conversion rate optimization tips.

The cost of creating an online store depends on several factors: your online store builder, your subscription plan, web hosting and any additional eCommerce features and marketing tools you need to sell online.

If you pay for everything separately, and use a web designer to help you build your store, you can pay anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. However, using an all-in-one solution that includes free web hosting and built-in business solutions can cost as little as $20 to $200 per month.

With Wix, for example, you can set up your online store for free with no limited trial. Once you’re ready to sell online and accept payments for your site, upgrade to one of our Business & eCommerce Premium plans and get everything you need to sell, right out-of-the-box.

There are many ways to drive high-quality traffic to your online shop:

• Implement SEO best practices. Both the structure and the content of your site influences how your store and your products rank on search engines. Building your store on a platform with built-in SEO tools can help you get organic search traffic.

• Bolster your social media presence. Building your brand and/or personal presence on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other social channels can be a great driver of traffic to your site and products.

• Engage your audience with email marketing. Growing your email list through a lightbox or form on your site will give you a built-in audience who you can email about your latest products and sales.

• Draw them in with content marketing. Writing high quality content on your blog can help establish you as a trusted authority in your field and bring you more traffic from search engines.