Online Store in Websites

Online shopping has revolutionized how businesses operate, enabling them to reach a global audience and offer awesome convenience to customers. One crucial aspect of this digital transformation is the integration of online stores into websites. This guide aims to provide an in-depth understanding of setting up and managing an online store using the CRM’s robust features.

What Exactly is an Online Store?

An online store serves as a digital storefront where businesses can offer an array of products and services to a potentially limitless customer base. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar establishments, online stores can function round-the-clock and transcend geographical limitations.

Why an Online Store is Important

Global Outreach

An online store allows you to target audiences that were previously unreachable. You're not just a local shop anymore; you're a global enterprise.

24/7 Accessibility

Your business never sleeps when you have an online store. Customers can browse and shop at any time, dramatically boosting your sales potential.

Cost-Effectiveness

By reducing or even eliminating the need for a physical location, you can lower your overhead expenses significantly. The money saved can then be reinvested into growing your business online.

Automation for Efficiency

The CRM enables automated payment processing, inventory tracking, and order management, thereby reducing manual errors and freeing up your time for other critical business tasks.

Setting Up Your Online Store

Step 1: Creating Your Product

• Go to Payments > Products > Create New Product
• Name your product and fill in the description

• Upload Media Assets that showcase the product in action or from multiple angles.
• Define the cost of the product, taking into account any discounts or package deals you may want to offer.

• If the product comes in different sizes, colors, or materials, you can specify these options in the product variants

For an enhanced level of customization, a toggle feature is available while creating each product. This toggle allows businesses to specify which products should be visible in their online storefront.

Three Key Features for Product Presentation

To make your products more appealing and informative, the CRM offers three core functionalities:

• Rich Text Descriptions to create dynamic, detailed product descriptions. 
• Multiple Media Attachments: Businesses have the flexibility to attach an array of images and videos for each product, providing customers with a comprehensive visual understanding of what they're purchasing.
• Product Variants: To cater to a diverse customer base with varied needs and preferences, businesses can now add variants like size, color, or material to their product configurations. Each variant can also have its customized price point.

By leveraging these functionalities, businesses can offer a rich, user-friendly experience in their online stores.

Step 2: Adding Your Online Store To Your Website

• Navigate to the Website Builder and either create one or edit an existing one
• Add a new page

• Click on + to see all the elements
• Click on Store and then on 'Add Online Store'

You can edit these elements' padding, colors, fonts, and also borders and shadows on the advanced settings.

Please note: You will see the online store template element with photos and processes of differ products, but they are part of the template. Once you preview the page, you will see your products.

Additional notes while creating an online store

• Only one-time products will be included in the online store. Businesses can still sell recurring products using funnels and order forms
• Automates sales receipts, Order Submitted trigger, Shopping cart element inside email builder to auto-populate line items purchased, Payments received trigger, and coupon codes will automatically work with any online store created
• All existing products will not be available in the online store by default. Businesses can choose which products they would want to showcase in the store and turn the toggle on for those respective products
• Businesses will be able to track the orders submitted, payments received, initiate any refunds, etc using the Orders and Transactions lists under the Payments menu

Step 3: Configure All the Pages

Once you have created your store, the system will automatically add five key pages to build your online store:

• Products List Page: A catalog showcasing all your offerings.
• Product Details Page: For in-depth information about each product.
• Cart Page: A summary page allowing customers to review their orders.
• Checkout Page: Captures all necessary details for payment processing.
• Thank You Page: A post-transaction page for confirming a successful purchase and offering related products or services.

Note: Edit the design of these pages if needed.

Advanced Tracking and Management

You can use the CRM’s analytics tools to track user behavior, sales metrics, and other KPIs. Follow the next steps to do this:

• Navigate to Payments > Orders for a detailed view of order submissions and Payments 
• Click on Transactions to track payments and initiate refunds.

Variant Specific URL:

You can now obtain a unique URL for any specific variant of a product. This feature allows you to direct customers to a particular product and its variant directly. To get the URL for a specific variant, follow these steps:

• Go to your website and preview the store.
• Navigate to the product you want to share.
• Select the desired variant of the product.
• Copy the URL from the address bar at the top of your browser.

The URL will include a parameter, such as ?variant=, which specifies the particular variant. By sharing this URL, customers will be taken directly to the product page with the chosen variant pre-selected.

Buy Now Button:

You can enable the "Buy Now" button on the product detail page. This feature allows users to purchase a product directly, bypassing additional steps in the shopping cart process. Customers can select the quantity of the product and proceed with the purchase immediately. To enable the "Buy Now" button:

• Go to the product detail page on your website
• Click on the product to enable the "Buy Now" button for.
• Toggle on the "Buy Now" button option.

This streamlined purchasing option can enhance the shopping experience by making it quicker and easier for customers to buy your products.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I Include Recurring Products?

The CRM currently supports only one-time products for its online stores.

How Do I Handle Fulfilment?

Upon receiving an order, it will appear as 'unfulfilled' by default. You can manually mark it as fulfilled and include tracking information for the customer.

Can I Customize Pricing for Different Variants?

The CRM allows flexible pricing options for different product variants.

I have created a store for test purposes. How do I delete it now?

Users will be able to delete a store by deleting any of the automatically added pages. If they confirm, all data related to the store will be lost.

I have attached multiple images of my products and services. Is there a way I can set the default images for each variant?

This is not possible currently. As of now, product images will be shown irrespective of the variant selection. 

Is it possible to have different pricing for different variants of a product?

Yes, users will be able to customize the price of each variant configured. By default, the price of each variant will be the price of the product

How do I mark the orders created as fulfilled? How do I share shipment details with my customer?

Users will be able to Fulfill items inside the order details and attach a tracking number/URL to automatically send shipping updates to their customers. This is not available currently but

Can I create multiple stores within the same location?

Yes, you will be able to create multiple stores within the same location.

Can I create an online store in both funnels/websites?

No, an online store can be configured only inside a website. Users will still be able to sell products using order forms on funnels