Plan an online store, organise useful content and give customers a clear route from a question to the right service.
The practical starting point
Start with the buying journey, then build the pages and content that support it. Your store needs accurate product information, understandable delivery choices and a checkout you can verify. Your articles should help customers make decisions that the catalogue alone cannot explain.
A clear route through the topic
Plan the transaction
Define the customer, catalogue, payment arrangements and fulfilment process before approving the design.
Prepare the information
Supply approved images, descriptions and policies. Use customer questions to identify guides worth writing.
Connect the journey
Link useful explanations to relevant categories and services, and give readers a clear next action.
Focus on the decision in front of you
A new website often stalls because the design brief is ready but the product information is not. Resolve who supplies the catalogue, who checks prices and who approves the content before choosing a launch date. For an existing site, first decide whether you need a better purchase journey, clearer information or a technical fix; those are different pieces of work.
Read the guides
How to Plan an E-commerce Website for Your Small Business
Plan your online store with a practical checklist for products, payments, delivery, content and launch testing before website development begins.
Read the guide →PRACTICAL GUIDEContent Hubs and Internal Linking: A Practical Small Business Guide
Plan useful articles around customer questions, connect them with relevant services and maintain a clear internal-link structure as your website grows.
Read the guide →Where should you start?
I am starting a new store
Begin with the website planning guide and assemble a representative product sheet.
My articles feel disconnected
Use the content-hub guide to assign each article a purpose and a relevant next link.
I already have a store to move
Use the website-care hub to plan the migration and preserve the ordering workflow.
Related services
- ecommerce websites — review the current package, required inputs and delivery terms.
- content seo — review the current package, required inputs and delivery terms.
Working on a related decision? Explore Website Care & Migration, or return to the Resource Centre.