In the interest of all entrepreneurs in Belgium, I would like to answer a crucial question:
Can having a webshop created save your business during the corona crisis?
You will read this article in the time that you drink a good cup of coffee. That small investment of time will pay off, I promise. Do you have any questions while reading? At the end I will tell you how to contact me. Even in these uncertain times I am available to take away your uncertainty.
Is it feasible to launch a webshop in the short term?
The short answer is:
Yes.
It is indeed possible to have a webshop made in the short term . (Whereby ‘short term’ stands for one to three days.)
In this period a basic webshop can be created. Don’t expect a beautiful layout, don’t expect the best developed commercial features.
You can expect a well-functioning webshop where your customers can order and pay for products. At the beginning of the semi-lockdown during the corona crisis, the Antwerp bookstore Stad Leest approached us with the question whether we could build a webshop as soon as possible. Three days later, the shop below was online.
Webshop of bookstore Stad Leest
How much does a webshop cost and how much does it yield?
A webshop doesn’t have to cost a lot. Of course it depends on your requirements (and the webshop builder you give the assignment to), but our experience has taught us that you can get a webshop online from around € 900.
Costs and revenues of a small webshop
Do you have a small physical store and do you want to sell a limited number of products? Then you can best have a webshop made in Shopify . More than 1 million webshops run on Shopify software and there are good reasons for that:
Shopify is quick and easy to set up;
Despite the ease with which a Shopify webshop is set up, it looks attractive;
Shopify is safe and reliable.
At Motionmill we put together such a site in 1 day, which comes down to a price of about € 900. If you want a proper explanation of how to fill and maintain the webshop yourself, you have to add a few hundred euros for a training. Due to the corona virus, we currently conduct training via webcam.
The revenue of such a webshop depends on several factors:
Whether you are willing to invest in online marketing ; having a digital customer database helps with this;
An agency like Motionmill can help you with the marketing of your shop, where if your product is not well marketed, we cannot perform miracles. We will therefore always communicate honestly to you to what extent you can expect success with your webshop.
Costs and revenues of a large webshop
If you want to sell hundreds or even thousands Our data is all human validated which make this list accuracy up to 100% at our end;( ofcourse no one can predict how genuine a optedin consumer) We seek to reach the summit of perfection for you and provide you with a full potential database. Are how to build phone number List database even we updates weekly. My all databases are GDRP base so you can buy here at low price ALL DATABASES ARE UPDATED AS RECENTLY 2024 of products, we recommend WooCommerce software .
WooCommerce is easy to integrate into a WordPress website ;
Having a WooCommerce store built will cost you between €3,000 and €30,000.
How much money a WooCommerce store will make you is determined by the same factors as a Shopify store: your current customers, your online marketing, and the attention you give to the online store.
What can boost your commercial success is offering a product that is now, due to the corona crisis, well on the market. Toilet paper sellers will do golden business!
The key to success right now: selling toilet paper online!
What are the benefits of having a webshop?
The primary advantage of a webshop is clearly commercial:
Your customers can buy products from you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
But there are more advantages to mention:
Targeted marketing: You can encourage your customers to visit your webshop in a very targeted manner through online marketing;
Data-driven conversion increase: Figures and data from your webshop’s performance can be used to increase conversion (long live Google Analytics!);
More cost-effective: You may save costs because, for example, you need fewer staff than when running a regular, physical store;
A boost for your image: Your company appears more professional;
Flexibility for you: You can manage your business from anywhere in the world (although I admit this is a limited advantage at the moment as the coronavirus makes it impossible to cross borders).
Example of a webshop: Pronti sells shoes 24/7 through their online store
What are the disadvantages of having a webshop?
As I see it, the following things can be a disadvantage of having a webshop:
Website costs: planning, designing, creating, hosting , securing and maintaining a professional e-commerce website is not always cheap, especially if you expect large and growing sales volumes. But I would like to add that this disadvantage disappears if you proceed carefully: invest in a webshop that fits your company in terms of costs. Do not invest too much at once, but let the functionalities of the shop grow with your turnover figures. See the already mentioned paragraph ‘ How much does a webshop cost and how much does it yield? ‘
Infrastructure costs: Even if you’re not paying for customer-facing premises, you still need to consider the cost of physical space for order processing, warehousing, handling returns, and staffing for these tasks. See online order fulfillment.
Security and fraud: The growth of the online retail market has attracted the attention of criminals. Therefore, always ask your webshop builder what measures they implement to keep your online store safe.
Legal issues: Getting to grips with e-commerce and the law can be a challenge. The GDPR has put extra pressure on online retailers. Check with your webshop builder if their product has a proper cookie notice and statement.
Marketing costs: Although online marketing is a very efficient way to get the right customers to your products, it does require a budget. Do you have a loyal customer base that already knows how to find your physical store? Then fortunately you only have to spend minimal costs on marketing. Simply sending an email to your customers with the message ‘We now also have a webshop!’ may be enough.
Google Analytics shows the performance of a webshop
Where can I have a webshop created at short notice?
There are numerous Belgian webshop builders who can create an online store for you in the short term . Of course, it differs from builder to builder what you can expect. Some charge a lot of money for a small webshop, others charge little money but deliver an inadequate product. What you want is a builder who can set up a basic webshop for a reasonable price that is technically and functionally in order.
My web agency in Antwerp, Motionmill, also builds a business promotion technologies webshop for you with pleasure and dedication. Send us an e-mail and you will receive an answer the same day.
I advise you to ask multiple webshop builders. Be critical. Ask what you will get as a final product. Compare the quotes.
Also dare to negotiate! Due to the corona crisis, many web agencies are experiencing a decrease in assignments; after all, many entrepreneurs decide not to spend too much money in the coming months. This means that many webshop builders are currently happy to receive an dy leads assignment from you, which gives you the freedom to negotiate. This is a great advantage for you:
Thanks to the corona crisis, you can currently get more webshop for your money than under normal circumstances.
My advice: take advantage of it.
Can having an online store save your business during the corona crisis?
Answering this question has become easy with the above knowledge: yes, it is possible, but there is no guarantee.
It depends on whether your product is suitable for online sales. Consult with an e-commerce expert to what extent this is the case. Furthermore, you either need to have a loyal customer base or you need to be willing to invest in online marketing. After all, people don’t just come to your webshop by themselves.
Despite these uncertainties, I am convinced that having a webshop can save many companies during the corona crisis. After all, you go from a physical store that is closed 7 days a week to a virtual store that is open 7 days a week . Do you see the progress?
