In a perfect world, you would have an unlimited budget when launching your ecommerce store. You could start with the best tools, from the highest quality providers, regardless of their impact on your bank account.
Of course, most of us are not so lucky. Instead of being able to splurge on everything that catches our attention, we have to be judicious about where and how we spend our budget.
But just because we have to be careful doesn’t mean we have to compromise on quality.
Thanks to the following 25 tools, it is possible to launch an e-commerce business with practically zero financial investment. And see well.
Platforms for e-commerce store
The ecommerce platform you choose is the system that powers your store. Make your decision wisely.
1. WordPress
WordPress is not an e-commerce tool in itself, but since it is responsible for 27% of the world’s websites, a series of shopping cart plugins have been developed that will turn your blog into a sales engine.
2. WooCommerce
WooCommerce calls itself the “most customizable ecommerce platform to build your online business.” Pay special attention to the topic Storefront company, which can help you get your store up and running quickly and for free.
3. Magento
If your e-commerce needs are more complex than WordPress or WooCommerce can satisfy, Magento – which bills itself as the “world’s number one e-commerce solution” – could offer the functionality you need.
4. osCommerce
An open source e-commerce platform, osCommerce has been around for over 17 years and has over 20,000 live stores.
If none of these platforms meet your needs, Venture Harbor offers a discussion of paid alternatives, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and Volusion.
E-commerce tools
Beyond the chosen e-commerce platform, a number of free tools can improve the usability and performance of your store.
5. Shopify free tools
Although Shopify isn’t free, the ecommerce giant offers dozens of free tools to the public, as a logo generator, business name generator, image resizer, and much more.
6. Oberlo
Not sure what to stock your store with? Oberlo connects prospective ecommerce sellers with products that ship through the mail that makes getting started selling online as easy as possible.
7. Aftership
Aftership It does this so that e-commerce sellers can provide customers with real-time shipping and delivery updates. Although paid plans are available, the company offers a basic “always free” plan for merchants who ship fewer than 100 products per month.
8. Responsinator
Mobile usability has become a major ranking factor contributing to your site’s search performance. Check your site’s responsiveness across multiple screens with the free tool Responsinator.
9. SurveyMonkey
In an e-commerce context, customer feedback can be used to inform everything from policies and procedures to future stock decisions. Capture this important information with the SurveyMonkey’s free plan, which allows you to collect up to 100 responses per month.
10. Zendesk Chat
63% of customers said they were more likely to return to a website that offers live chat rather than one that doesn’t. The Zendesk Chat Lite plan can help you get started for free.
Marketing
Once you’ve built your store and added the necessary tools, it’s time to turn your attention to marketing. The free resources below will help you attract the customers you need to make your site a success.
11. MailChimp
According to VentureBeat, as shared on the Campaign Monitor blog, email marketing generates the highest ROI of all tactics for marketers. Start building your own list with it MailChimp’s “Forever Free” plan.
12. Drip.co
Another email marketing provider worth considering is Drip.co, whose free plan provides access to some of the more advanced automation workflows excluded from MailChimp’s free offering (although the free version of Drip.co allows you to keep the company’s brand until you upgrade to a paid account. ).
13. Sumo
Sumo it is much more than an email marketing tool. After installing the system, you will also have access to heat maps, content analysis, image sharing, and other tools, all for free.
14. Buffer
Effective social media marketing requires a consistent and engaging presence. Use buffer to schedule updates to your social profiles to ensure a constant flow of activity.
15. Canva
Not sure what to fill your social channels with? The free image editing tool Canva can help you quickly create attractive social graphics based on established templates, no matter what your design skill level is.
16. Pexels
Pexels is a collection of royalty-free, Creative Commons licensed stock photography that you can use to create your eCommerce store pages. Just be sure to observe the attribution requirements listed for each image. Failure to do so can lead to serious penalties for copyright infringement.
17. Google Analytics
Prepare to hear a lot about Google, which earned six spots on this list. But what can I say? The search giant’s free tools and services are a must-have for ecommerce merchants.
start with Google analytics, which is probably the best free website analytics provider available today. Shopify has a great guide on using it to track ecommerce sales.
18. Google Search Console
Another key Google resource for ecommerce merchants is the Search Console. There you will find warnings about any site issues that may be affecting your search performance, as well as data on your current search rankings, by keyword.
19. Google PageSpeed Insights
Page speed matters, for both SEO and web design reasons. Keep your site running smoothly, especially if you are using a plugin WordPress eCommerce installation, rather than a more streamlined platform, with the free trial tool Google PageSpeed Insights.
20. Google Keyword Planner
You need a Google AdWords account to access this tool (don’t worry, you don’t have to run a live campaign), but once you’re in, the Keyword planner It will give you access to massive amounts of data related to keyword search volume for the words and phrases your buyers are using.
21. Google Trends (Google Trends)
Whether you are validating the demand for your idea or trying to determine what your buyers will be interested in next, keep an eye on Google Trends to measure consumer interest.
22. Google alerts
LiveChat Inc. shares the following data, demonstrating the disconnect between customer service expectations and reality:
“According data collected by Edison Research At least 39% of people expect responses on social media within an hour, but the average response time for companies is five hours.
Some of these mentions will appear directly on your social feeds, while others will not directly tag you, even if they keep calling you by name. Make sure online brand mentions don’t go unnoticed with the free service of Google Alerts.
23. Heatmap
Visual display of website engagement using heat maps helps reveal structural site issues that may be preventing conversions. Give them a try using the free version of Heatmap.me.
24. MozBar
The MozBar Free provides a wealth of data, but is especially useful for e-commerce marketers as a competitive intelligence tool. Use it to view DA changes for individual competitors pages, as well as keywords associated with their product pages.
25. BuzzSumo
Finally, use the free version of BuzzSuma, a content analysis tool, to identify the topics that matter most to your audience. Creating content around these topics can send a steady stream of new customers your way.
Do you have another free tool to add to this list? Leave me a comment below with your suggestions.