Where to Start When Opening an Online Store: A Step-by-Step Guide for Marketplace Sellers
Today, thousands of sellers operate only through marketplaces. It’s convenient: marketing is already done for you, buyers are brought to your products, logistics and delivery are taken care of.
But there’s one major drawback — high commissions and complete dependence on someone else’s platform.
That’s why more and more sellers are asking themselves: should I launch my own online store?
In this article, we’ll break down where to start when opening an online store, what challenges you might face, and how to launch with a minimal budget while avoiding unnecessary expenses.
The Problem: Why Sellers Hesitate to Build Their Own Store
On a marketplace, it’s easy: upload a product card and start selling.
With your own online store, suddenly there are many tasks:
Which hosting should I choose?
Which platform or theme should I use?
How do I set up payment and delivery?
What about legal documents?
For many, this becomes overwhelming, and they give up before even starting.
But the truth is — it’s absolutely possible, especially with the right ready-made solutions.
The Solution: Launching an Online Store Without Extra Costs
We simplified the entire process to make it as easy as possible. Here are the main steps every seller needs to follow.
1. Hosting
Your store needs a place to live — a server. Today, there are plenty of hosting providers, and for a start, even an inexpensive plan will work. More details on hosting — here >.
2. Online Store on PrestaShop
We created a flagship ready-made PrestaShop theme — a fully functional store developed according to UX and interface standards.
PrestaShop itself is free, open-source, and built specifically for e-commerce.
✔️ Ready to use right after installation
✔️ Optimized checkout for higher conversions
✔️ Extendable with modules and add-ons
More about our ready solution — here >.
3. Content Filling
An online store is not just products. You also need:
banners and sliders,
categories,
product descriptions,
information pages.
4. Legal Documents
To sell legally, you must have:
privacy policy,
return policy,
terms of service.
These documents keep you compliant with the law and help avoid customer disputes. More details — here >.
5. Payment and Delivery
Most banks provide free payment modules.
For delivery — choose from couriers, postal services, or aggregators. In our marketplace of extensions, you’ll find ready-to-use modules, installed in one click.
6. Testing and First Sale
Finally, test your store: checkout, payments, and delivery. This is where improvements might be needed, but the main goal is simple — make your first sale.
Experience comes with practice.
Own Store vs. Marketplace
Marketplace: simple and ready, but high fees and dependency.
Own Store: independence, brand ownership, customer base, but more responsibility.
The golden rule: your store must sell. Don’t waste your initial budget on endless design tweaks — invest in marketing and SEO.
If you’ve been wondering where to start when opening an online store, the answer is: start with a ready-made PrestaShop solution.
That way, you’ll save money, get to sales faster, and focus on growth instead of technical hurdles.