{"id":9720,"date":"2026-05-01T10:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T09:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=9720"},"modified":"2026-05-13T14:42:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:42:19","slug":"start-ecommerce-business-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/start-ecommerce-business-website\/","title":{"rendered":"How to start an e-commerce business and website"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--standard entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--standard\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to start an e-commerce business and website\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tStarting an e-commerce business involves more than building a website. From validating your product to choosing a platform, setting up payments, and marketing your online store, learn the key steps to getting your online business off the ground. \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-01T10:04:00+01:00\">1 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How to start an e-commerce business and website\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/start-ecommerce-business-website\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/georginalavers\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/05\/Georgina-Lavers-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Georgina Lavers\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/05\/Georgina-Lavers-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/05\/Georgina-Lavers.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Georgina Lavers<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-container-wrap -mode-full\"><div class=\"video-container\"><video\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"sage-video video-js vjs-default-skin \"\n\t\t\t\twidth=\"640\"\n\t\t\t\theight=\"360\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-setup='{ \"controls\": true, \"aspectRatio\" : \"16:9\", \"poster\": \"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/kK20NipseoI\/maxresdefault.jpg\", \"techOrder\": [\"youtube\"], \"enablejsapi\": 1, \"origin\": \"https:\/\/www.sage.com\", \"sources\": [{ \"type\": \"video\/youtube\", \"src\": \"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kK20NipseoI\"}], \"youtube\": { \"ytControls\": 0, \"cc_load_policy\": 3, \"modestbranding\": 1, \"hl\": \"en_GB\", \"playsinline\": 1 } }'\n\t\t\t\tcrossorigin=\"\"><\/video><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Starting an e-commerce business begins with a strong idea,&nbsp;something you can shape into a&nbsp;<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">successful&nbsp;<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">online venture through careful planning, testing, marketing,&nbsp;and measurement.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:270}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It can feel overwhelming at first, but the process becomes manageable when you focus on the core steps: choosing the right product,&nbsp;validating&nbsp;demand, building your&nbsp;site&nbsp;and launching with a clear plan.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:270,&quot;335559739&quot;:270}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Here\u2019s&nbsp;what&nbsp;we\u2019ll&nbsp;cover:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><ul><li><a href=\"#h-how-do-you-prepare-for-launching-an-e-commerce-business\" data-level=\"2\">How do you prepare for launching an e-commerce business?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-what-are-the-key-steps-to-starting-an-e-commerce-business\" data-level=\"2\">What are the key steps&nbsp;to&nbsp;starting an e-commerce business?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-5-assess-the-competition\" data-level=\"2\">5.&nbsp;Assess the competition<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-10-launch-your-online-store\" data-level=\"2\">10.&nbsp;Launch your online store<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-marketing-your-new-e-commerce-business\" data-level=\"2\">Marketing your&nbsp;new e-commerce business<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-how-to-take-your-business-online-only\" data-level=\"2\">How to take your business online-only<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-frequently-asked-questions-about-starting-an-e-commerce-business\" data-level=\"2\">Frequently asked questions about starting an e-commerce business<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-do-you-prepare-for-launching-an-e-commerce-business\">How do you prepare for launching an e-commerce business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before you launch your e-commerce&nbsp;business,&nbsp;figure out&nbsp;your product, your&nbsp;audience, and the practicalities of running your business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;mean having every detail perfected from day one, but it does mean stepping back and making sure the basics are in place before you move into action.&nbsp;You\u2019ll&nbsp;need:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A&nbsp;clear&nbsp;idea of&nbsp;your product and&nbsp;the problem&nbsp;it&nbsp;solves.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A&nbsp;sense of&nbsp;who&nbsp;your target customer&nbsp;is.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A realistic estimate of the time, cost,&nbsp;and commitment involved in building an online business.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A plan for sourcing, selling, and delivering your product.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Without this foundation, later decisions become more difficult, and problems become harder to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-key-steps-nbsp-to-nbsp-starting-an-e-commerce-business\"><strong>What are the key steps&nbsp;to&nbsp;starting an e-commerce business?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"h-what-are-the-key-steps-to-starting-an-e-commerce-business\">Start an e-commerce business by&nbsp;choosing a product, verifying demand, sourcing it, building your website, and launching with a marketing plan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"h-what-are-the-key-steps-to-starting-an-e-commerce-business\">These 10 steps&nbsp;can take you through the process from idea to launch:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-choose-nbsp-your-product\">1. Choose&nbsp;your product<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Choose a product that solves a clear problem or meets proven demand and that you can realistically source and sell online.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&nbsp;already have a product or&nbsp;concept&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;passionate about, that passion can help to carry you through the road bumps on the path to success.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider the example of&nbsp;Andy Dunn,&nbsp;who founded the online men\u2019s clothing company Bonobos after seeing a pair of turquoise corduroy trousers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As he told Business of Fashion: \u201cThere was so much more joy and thoughtfulness in that product than I ever thought there could be in a pair of men\u2019s pants.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dunn&nbsp;set his business apart&nbsp;in a saturated market&nbsp;by going&nbsp;entirely online at a time when most retailers were physical, offering retail locations that acted solely as showrooms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michael Dubin, meanwhile, began the razor subscription service&nbsp;Dollar Shave Club&nbsp;after seeing a pile of razors that needed to be sold in a friend\u2019s warehouse.&nbsp;He married a basic product&nbsp;that\u2019s&nbsp;always needed with the convenience of a subscription, and the result was a rousing success.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider whether you can also succeed in a&nbsp;busy sector by differentiating on experience or application, rather than innovation in product.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps you&nbsp;can offer a subscription service like&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/uk.dollarshaveclub.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dollar Shave Club<\/a>&nbsp;did for razors&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/vetbox.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VetBox<\/a>&nbsp;did for flea treatments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or you might have an exciting type of packaging in mind.&nbsp;For example,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myteadrop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tea Drops<\/a>&nbsp;sells tea in tablet form to avoid wastage and mess of tea bags. If you do have something like that in mind,&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;need a product designer to create a sample, as well as a roadmap for finding a manufacturer and bringing it to market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"h-don-t-have-a-product-in-mind-yet\"><strong><em>Don\u2019t&nbsp;have a product in mind yet?<\/em>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;yet have a product in mind, you can&nbsp;identify&nbsp;opportunities by&nbsp;looking at:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Industry&nbsp;reports.&nbsp;Retail market outlooks from big-name consultancies such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/uk\/en\/pages\/consumer-business\/articles\/retail-trends.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Deloitte<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bain.com\/insights\/industry-insights\/retail-insights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bain &amp; Company<\/a>&nbsp;will give you an idea of strong sectors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/trends.google.com\/trends\/?geo=GB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Trends.<\/a>&nbsp;See the level of interest&nbsp;in&nbsp;a search term over time&nbsp;as well as useful related searches. For instance, entering&nbsp;\u201cdog lead\u201d&nbsp;into Google Trends shows that interest in the term has steadily increased over the past five years, and related terms include&nbsp;\u201canti-theft dog lead\u201d&nbsp;and&nbsp;\u201cextra-long dog lead\u201d,&nbsp;both potential products&nbsp;you could sell.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/statista.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Statista.<\/a>&nbsp;This site produces reports, forecasts, dossiers,&nbsp;and statistics&nbsp;on a wide range of topics&nbsp;that can be filtered by industry.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal is not just to find a popular product but to&nbsp;identify&nbsp;where you can offer something better, clearer, or more relevant to a specific audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-nbsp-evaluate-nbsp-your-idea\">2.&nbsp;Evaluate&nbsp;your idea<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Evaluate your idea by checking whether it is practical and profitable to produce, store,&nbsp;and deliver.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep in mind the following factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-design-nbsp\">Design<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you making your own product, instructing a manufacturer, buying from a supplier,&nbsp;or drop&nbsp;shipping? Think about the pain points of each&nbsp;option&nbsp;and what works best for your product&nbsp;both&nbsp;now&nbsp;and in the future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you need someone to help you design your product, here are some places to start:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peopleperhour.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PeoplePerHour<\/a>: a good&nbsp;option&nbsp;if&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;just looking for a few hours of work, rather than a full collaboration. Freelancers give upfront prices and&nbsp;timelines&nbsp;and offer services that include technical drawings, custom packaging,&nbsp;and 3D&nbsp;renders.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.toptal.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TopTal<\/a>:&nbsp;used by companies including Airbnb and Shopify,&nbsp;TopTal&nbsp;has a rigorous screening process. Of the 100,000 people who apply to join the&nbsp;TopTal&nbsp;network each year, fewer than 3% are accepted. You can be matched with a freelancer and begin a two-week trial to see if&nbsp;they\u2019re&nbsp;the best fit for your product.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coroflot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Coroflot<\/a>:&nbsp;freelancers need to&nbsp;submit&nbsp;an application before they can appear&nbsp;on&nbsp;Coroflot, which means&nbsp;that generally,&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;getting reputable industrial and physical designers who are specialists in&nbsp;their field.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.behance.net\/#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Behance.net<\/a>:&nbsp;chances are&nbsp;good&nbsp;that if a designer&nbsp;is&nbsp;in the UK, they have a&nbsp;Behance&nbsp;profile.&nbsp;There\u2019s&nbsp;a lot to wade through on the site, but the creativity is inspirational.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-product-dimensions\">Product dimensions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>What weight and size will your product be?&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Historically, larger purchases,&nbsp;such as furniture,&nbsp;have&nbsp;tended to be made in-store.&nbsp;But online retailers such as Wayfair are proving that customers are growing increasingly comfortable with making these sorts of purchases&nbsp;on&nbsp;the internet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, take into consideration that storage and shipping will cost more,&nbsp;and&nbsp;think about&nbsp;how much of that you should pass on to your customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-type-of-purchase-nbsp\">Type of purchase<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Is your product likely to be a repeat purchase for your customers, or is it a one-off? Is the product seasonal, such as sunscreen or&nbsp;barbecue&nbsp;equipment?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will help you decide how to store, ship,&nbsp;and restock your product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-shipping-and-storage-nbsp\">Shipping and storage<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Product dimensions will play heavily into shipping and storage costs, but&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;also worth considering whether your&nbsp;product&nbsp;needs special packaging or handling.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps your&nbsp;product needs to be refrigerated or is particularly fragile. Account for these details so that you can plan and&nbsp;price&nbsp;accordingly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-price-nbsp\">Price<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out your competitors and think about what your price point should be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the market is saturated or your item is&nbsp;fairly common, you may think about lowering your price to attract customers.&nbsp;Alternatively, if the product will be rare and expensive to source, customers will expect a higher price point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this stage,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;also&nbsp;a good idea&nbsp;to start working out rough calculations of your profit margins,&nbsp;taking into account&nbsp;design, shipping,&nbsp;and storage costs for your product.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A small or non-existent profit after factoring in ongoing costs may mean you have to rethink your product or your price.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-nbsp-validate-nbsp-the-target-market\">3.&nbsp;Validate&nbsp;the target market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Validate your idea by confirming that a specific group of customers wants your product and will pay for it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider the following points when thinking about the commercial potential of your product:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Customer viability&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Who is your customer?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The more focused your customer profile is, the better your chances&nbsp;of success&nbsp;will be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their age, gender, location,&nbsp;and disposable income will be crucial data&nbsp;when&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;pricing and advertising your product, but&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;discount&nbsp;less&nbsp;tangible factors.&nbsp;Emotion, for instance, will play a strong part in&nbsp;purchasing&nbsp;from a small brand.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sector viability&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Questions you will need to answer of the sector or market in which your product exists&nbsp;include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is the sector strong?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What is its market size?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Who are my main competitors,&nbsp;and how are they faring?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have they been around for&nbsp;a decade or more, or is the sector&nbsp;relatively new?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is my industry naturally competitive,&nbsp;meaning I may need a higher advertising budget to stand out,&nbsp;or is there a vacuum?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How can I ensure demand?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Some experts recommend creating a few different landing pages&nbsp;for your site&nbsp;to gauge interest in your product.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can always put a button on the site for pre-orders&nbsp;and\/or offer to&nbsp;contact potential consumers when you go to market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-nbsp-source-your-product\">4.&nbsp;Source your product<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Source your product by choosing between manufacturing, suppliers,&nbsp;or drop&nbsp;shipping based on cost, control,&nbsp;and complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-using-a-manufacturer-nbsp\">Using a manufacturer<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>If&nbsp;you\u2019ve&nbsp;decided to create a product that is entirely your own,&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;need a manufacturer who can produce it on a larger scale.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest decisions is whether to go local or not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UK manufacturers are typically pricier, but the&nbsp;volatility of global shipping has narrowed the price gap.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t&nbsp;be shy to ask around for recommendations when sourcing a manufacturer&nbsp;as well as looking through directories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-working-with-a-supplier-nbsp\">Working with a supplier<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>You may also decide to source directly from a supplier, which means buying an existing product from a wholesaler (which can also be a manufacturer).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can go to well-known names such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.etsy.com\/uk\/market\/wholesale\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Etsy Wholesale<\/a>&nbsp;for this,&nbsp;or&nbsp;you can&nbsp;search for suppliers yourself on directories such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewholesaler.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Wholesaler<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you decide to work with an overseas supplier,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;often&nbsp;a good idea&nbsp;to hire a manager local to the area who can ensure a smooth supply chain and solve any issues on the ground.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-drop-nbsp-shipping\">Drop&nbsp;shipping<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the&nbsp;easiest and cheapest&nbsp;option&nbsp;is&nbsp;drop&nbsp;shipping, which means you&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;own, store,&nbsp;or ship the products&nbsp;you sell&nbsp;on your website.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;more interested in marketing products and&nbsp;anticipating&nbsp;trends&nbsp;than&nbsp;in the actual creation of a product, then drop&nbsp;shipping from sites such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.alibaba.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alibaba<\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oberlo.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oberlo<\/a>&nbsp;might be for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Downsides of drop&nbsp;shipping include low margins&nbsp;as well as no control over stock. If you sell an item in your online store but your drop&nbsp;shipper has a six-week delay in shipping,&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;be faced with a very unhappy customer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-nbsp-assess-the-competition\">5.&nbsp;Assess the competition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Assess competitors to understand how your product can stand out and where opportunities exist.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though you&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;want to directly copy from another brand,&nbsp;it&#8217;s&nbsp;useful to see what your competition\u2019s strengths and weaknesses are&nbsp;and&nbsp;if you can improve on their offerings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Critical reviews of a rival product\u2019s quality could lead you to source a more durable finish for yours, for example, or a large amount of YouTube views might persuade you to create your own video content.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examine at least 10 competitors, evaluating their products as well as their website and marketing&nbsp;efforts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Website&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What is their aesthetic?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Is their homepage product-heavy, or do they have a more streamlined&nbsp;look?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How big are the pictures of their items, and how many pictures do they offer for each item?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do they offer video of the product in use?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What kind of specs do they use to describe their product?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How easy is their checkout process?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What are their shipping times, and do they offer any&nbsp;click-and-collect options?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Marketing&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What&nbsp;social media&nbsp;platforms are they most prominent on?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Are most of their&nbsp;posts&nbsp;promotional material, or are they more content-based?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do they have an influencer programme in place?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Useful links to check out&nbsp;your&nbsp;competitors&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/spyfu.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spyfu<\/a>: From&nbsp;around&nbsp;\u00a330&nbsp;a month, you can search for any domain on&nbsp;Spyfu&nbsp;to see keywords that have been&nbsp;purchased&nbsp;on Google Ads, as well as organic ranks and ad variations over the years.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/builtwith.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Built With<\/a>: Built With allows you to see&nbsp;the tools&nbsp;your competitors&nbsp;used to&nbsp;build&nbsp;their sites,&nbsp;like analytics platforms, web hosting providers, and extra plug-ins you might also want to invest in.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-nbsp-write-a-business-plan\">6.&nbsp;Write a business plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Create a business plan to clarify how your e-commerce business will make money and&nbsp;operate&nbsp;day to day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Business plans can be anywhere from five to 30 pages, but&nbsp;they&nbsp;should&nbsp;contain&nbsp;these sections:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sales and marketing:<\/strong>&nbsp;a&nbsp;description of&nbsp;all of&nbsp;your sales channels, as well as marketing activities and&nbsp;goals.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Financial&nbsp;projections:<\/strong>&nbsp;graphs are useful for your financials. Make sure to include initial investment, regular outgoings,&nbsp;and predicted sales to create projections of profit, loss,&nbsp;and cash flow.&nbsp;Good&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/sage-accounting\/industry\/ecommerce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cloud accounting software<\/a>&nbsp;for e-commerce&nbsp;businesses can&nbsp;help you stay on top of these&nbsp;numbers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Market and competition analysis:<\/strong>&nbsp;an evaluation of your industry sector as well as your competition.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Logistics:<\/strong>&nbsp;name the key suppliers in your chain as well as terms of these&nbsp;relationships&nbsp;and current statuses.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong>&nbsp;sum up the rest of the plan, then&nbsp;create overarching goals across all sections that you can&nbsp;refer back&nbsp;to&nbsp;every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sage\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-write-a-business-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">downloadable business plan<\/a>&nbsp;offers a fuss-free, comprehensive template to work from&nbsp;that can make setting out your business strategy much easier.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-7-nbsp-name-your-business\">7.&nbsp;Name your business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Choose a business name that is distinctive, easy to remember,&nbsp;and available as a domain and trademark.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Naming your business is one of the most fun parts of&nbsp;this&nbsp;whole process, but you should keep a few points&nbsp;in mind when choosing a name for your online business:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-t-nbsp-be-too-obvious\">Don\u2019t&nbsp;be too obvious<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Think of some of the great e-commerce sites of the past 20 years, like&nbsp;Amazon,&nbsp;a river, or&nbsp;Alibaba, a person who&nbsp;acquires&nbsp;a large fortune.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or&nbsp;consider&nbsp;individual e-commerce brands,&nbsp;like&nbsp;Patagonia, Goop,&nbsp;or&nbsp;SkullCandy.&nbsp;You can reference what&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;selling, but most successful brands hint at their offering, rather than making it too direct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-make-sure-to-brainstorm-nbsp\">Make sure to brainstorm<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>You may already have a name in&nbsp;mind, but&nbsp;creating a business plan and thoroughly researching your industry can often lead e-commerce founders to rethink their original name.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compile a list of terms that come to mind when you think of your product (these can be both practical and whimsical), and&nbsp;start to free-associate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-get-feedback-nbsp\">Get feedback<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you have a few names in mind,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;worth taking a straw poll of friends, family,&nbsp;and business contacts (consider a LinkedIn poll) for feedback.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ask them how they would spell your product name, what it&nbsp;immediately&nbsp;brings to mind, and if there are any negative connotations of which you should be aware.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-cross-check-nbsp\">Cross check<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Do a quick check to see if your domain in .com or .uk&nbsp;is available.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s&nbsp;also well worth running a few internet searches for your company name&nbsp;as well as checking the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/trademarks.ipo.gov.uk\/ipo-tmtext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UK\u2019s Intellectual Property Office<\/a>&nbsp;to see if a trademark exists under your proposed brand.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And&nbsp;take a look&nbsp;at the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk\/company-name-availability\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">company name availability checker<\/a>&nbsp;on the Companies House website, too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If&nbsp;you&#8217;re&nbsp;struggling to land on a name, these generators can help:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/businessnamegenerator.com\/ecommerce-store-business-name-generator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Business Name Generator<\/a>:&nbsp;a&nbsp;free site that offers names that you can filter by keywords, industry,&nbsp;and character count.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/frozenlemons.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Frozen Lemons<\/a>:&nbsp;pay a \u00a349 fee and name ideas for your business will be sent to you after 48 hours.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-8-nbsp-choose-your-sales-channels\">8.&nbsp;Choose your sales channels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Pick sales channels based on where your customers are and how you want to sell to them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webretailer.com\/marketplaces-worldwide\/online-marketplaces-uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon and eBay dominate<\/a>&nbsp;the UK e-commerce landscape,&nbsp;but there are other options than these kinds of marketplaces.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Direct to Consumer (DTC) selling through your own website is attractive to owners, as profits are not eaten up by a third party.&nbsp;However, marketing can&nbsp;require a significant budget.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A third&nbsp;option&nbsp;is to go wholesale,&nbsp;selling your products online in bulk to other&nbsp;e-commerce stores.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But bear in mind&nbsp;that&nbsp;this normally&nbsp;requires&nbsp;previous&nbsp;wholesale experience&nbsp;as well as a lot of warehouse space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-understanding-seo\">Understanding SEO<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding and using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the most important things you can do as an e-commerce business owner.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vital for driving organic traffic,&nbsp;SEO&nbsp;will cut down your marketing budget and help you get more sales&nbsp;for free.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keywords are&nbsp;among&nbsp;the most important things Google takes into consideration when ranking&nbsp;websites.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a couple of easy rules to remember when applying them:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use phrases, not just words:<\/strong>&nbsp;Using common single words such as \u201cshoes\u201d guarantees you will get lost in the shuffle. Make sure to use multiple keyword phrases to give your website a better chance of appearing high in the rankings.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Write naturally:&nbsp;<\/strong>Keyword phrases&nbsp;shouldn\u2019t&nbsp;be obvious.&nbsp;Integrate them into the content on your site so they sound natural, and&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;repeat the same phrase&nbsp;over and over again.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t&nbsp;just publish once:&nbsp;<\/strong>The more fresh, high-quality content you populate your site with, the more naturally and&nbsp;frequently&nbsp;you can insert keywords. If you&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;want to keep up with a blog, consider incorporating customer reviews or updating a resource list on a regular basis.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few SEO resources that could be helpful:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/backlink-checker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ahrefs<\/a>:&nbsp;this backlink checker gives an overall view of&nbsp;who\u2019s&nbsp;linking to your site, which can give you an idea of&nbsp;how trustworthy Google finds you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wordtracker.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wordtracker<\/a>:&nbsp;find new keywords for your market&nbsp;with this free tool.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-9-set-nbsp-up-your-nbsp-business-and-your-nbsp-e-commerce-website\">9. Set&nbsp;up your&nbsp;business and your&nbsp;e-commerce website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting your business up and running starts with registering your enterprise with the government&nbsp;and buying a domain for your&nbsp;website. Then,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;time to choose a platform,&nbsp;set up&nbsp;the nuts and bolts&nbsp;of your site, and&nbsp;ensure a smooth checkout experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Registration&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Should you register yourself as a sole trader or a limited company?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of e-commerce start-ups in the UK&nbsp;are set up as sole traders, as&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;free to set up and you can change things, such as your company name, with little fuss.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However,&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;also required to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/get-self-assessment-right-each-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">register for&nbsp;Self-Assessment<\/a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;pay tax, so make sure you keep track of all your receipts, or employ an accountant if this is not your strong suit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It might take a bit more time, but&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;discount the benefits of becoming a limited company.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any company debt&nbsp;won\u2019t&nbsp;affect you personally,&nbsp;and&nbsp;your business&nbsp;will look more professional.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some e-commerce owners say manufacturers will give them better prices, and it is easier to get outside funding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;unsure which&nbsp;option&nbsp;is best,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;worth speaking to an accountant.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-brand-nbsp\">Your brand<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>You can register your brand as a trademark at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/how-to-register-a-trade-mark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gov.uk<\/a>. This means you can sell and license it&nbsp;as well as take legal action against anyone who uses your brand without your permission.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-buy-your-domain-name-nbsp\">Buy your domain name<em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Most experts recommend buying a .com or .uk&nbsp;site to increase customer trust.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;also&nbsp;easier to remember.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can, buy&nbsp;up domains&nbsp;similar to&nbsp;your brand name, too, just in case you want them&nbsp;later on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your domain name&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;have to be just your brand name, and for SEO purposes,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;often worth adding your product sector into the name (think \u201cExcaliburElectronics\u201d rather than just \u201cExcalibur\u201d).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make sure not to use any numbers in numerical format, as they will look spammy and are thought to decrease consumer trust. If you must use numbers, spell them out.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-choosing-nbsp-the-right-e-commerce-platform\">Choosing&nbsp;the right e-commerce platform<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as using third parties such as Amazon or Etsy to sell&nbsp;products, e-commerce founders&nbsp;often prefer to have their own platform to sell their products direct to&nbsp;consumers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how do you know which is the best fit for your business?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, a host of platform options have sprung up.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many have their own payment systems and features such as inventory management already incorporated, which will make your website simple to put together.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are four of the best e-commerce platforms for your business:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Platform<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Pricing<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Pros<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>Cons<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Wix<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>From \u00a313 to \u00a322, depending on what features you choose;&nbsp;\u00a322 gets you more video hours, more storage space,&nbsp;and priority customer support&nbsp;<\/td><td>Good selection&nbsp;of attractive, professional-looking templates.&nbsp;The drag\u2013and-drop function is intuitive and easy to use.&nbsp;Custom domain and free domain for one year.&nbsp;Can integrate PayPal and Etsy&nbsp;as well as a host of extra apps and services.&nbsp;<\/td><td>Not as specific to e-commerce business as some other platforms.&nbsp;You&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;change your template after you choose it.&nbsp;You&nbsp;can\u2019t&nbsp;export your site to a new host if you decide to change platforms.&nbsp;Expensive recurring prices.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>BigCommerce<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>From \u00a321.30 to \u00a3178. The more expensive plans will allow you to&nbsp;custom-filter&nbsp;your products&nbsp;as well as accommodating up to \u00a3285,000 a year in sales (you will need to upgrade to a custom site if you&nbsp;anticipate&nbsp;more sales than this).&nbsp;<\/td><td>Some free templates to use.&nbsp;Integrates with Amazon, Google Shopping,&nbsp;and eBay.&nbsp;Tracks inventory.&nbsp;Stock management.&nbsp;Abandoned cart recovery settings.&nbsp;No transaction fees.&nbsp;<\/td><td>The theme editor is tricky and non-intuitive to use.&nbsp;Templates can be expensive.&nbsp;There is no multilingual&nbsp;option&nbsp;for your store.&nbsp;The content editor can be difficult to use.&nbsp;Yearly sales threshold.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Shopify<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>From \u00a321 to \u00a3213. The pricier options will allow you to assign inventory to more locations&nbsp;as well as show calculated rates with your own account or third-party apps at checkout&nbsp;and&nbsp;set individual product prices for different countries.&nbsp;<\/td><td>Easy to start.&nbsp;Good&nbsp;option&nbsp;for physical retail owners that wish to go online.&nbsp;Web hosting.&nbsp;Unlimited products.&nbsp;Staff accounts.&nbsp;Free SSL&nbsp;certificate.&nbsp;Many&nbsp;third party&nbsp;apps.&nbsp;<\/td><td>The number of&nbsp;additional&nbsp;services can be distracting and expensive.&nbsp;Shopify\u2019s own payments gateway is only available in select countries.&nbsp;Paying for transaction and payments provider fees can be costly.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>WooCommerce<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>From around \u00a37 to \u00a3700. As a plugin of WordPress,&nbsp;WooCommerce is free, but you pay extra for extensions such as shipment tracking, PayPal, and an SSL certificate.&nbsp;<\/td><td>Good flexibility,&nbsp;as there is no set plan;&nbsp;you just pay for each add-on you need.&nbsp;Free to use and with free updates.&nbsp;Easy to use.&nbsp;All payment gateways can be integrated, including PayPal, Stripe,&nbsp;and Square.&nbsp;<\/td><td>No built-in drag&nbsp;\u2013and-drop design builder.&nbsp;It\u2019s&nbsp;a self-hosted platform,&nbsp;so&nbsp;you&nbsp;are responsible for&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;updates, backups, and security of your website.&nbsp;Can be slow if you&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;invest in a good web host.&nbsp;Can&nbsp;have&nbsp;coding conflicts when using other plug-ins.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"h-choosing-the-right-e-commerce-platform\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-e-commerce-website-functionality\">E-commerce website functionality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now&nbsp;that&nbsp;you have a platform to sell your products on,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;time to get into the&nbsp;practical details&nbsp;of&nbsp;making your site work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get your SSL certificate&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SSL certificate converts your website URL\u2019s prefix&nbsp;from HTTP to HTTPS and&nbsp;tells&nbsp;your customers&nbsp;that their details are secure and that they can trust your site.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For an e-commerce business, an SSL certificate&nbsp;is non-negotiable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some platforms will include an SSL certificate within their features, or you can&nbsp;purchase&nbsp;one separately. Tech Radar has a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/uk\/news\/best-ssl-certificate-provider\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">good list<\/a>&nbsp;of options.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get a hosting package&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the e-commerce platforms will already&nbsp;include free website hosting, which can store more data.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;looking at getting a separate host,&nbsp;PCMag has a good rundown of&nbsp;your&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/uk.pcmag.com\/web-hosting-services\/8310\/the-best-web-hosting-services\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hosting options<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get an internet merchant account&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;going to accept credit card payments from customers&nbsp;of&nbsp;your e-commerce site, you must have an internet merchant account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a business service set up with a financial institution, normally a bank,&nbsp;that&nbsp;authorises payments and transfers collected funds into your account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some e-commerce platforms will already offer their own merchant&nbsp;accounts, which avoids the hassle of setting up a&nbsp;third party&nbsp;payment provider.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, you should still have a look at your options, as fees vary according to which provider you choose.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Choose a&nbsp;payment&nbsp;service&nbsp;provider (PSP)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A PSP is&nbsp;a service that allows a merchant to accept a variety of different payment types through a single channel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stripe, Square,&nbsp;and PayPal, for example, are all PSPs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can install PSPs on&nbsp;your e-commerce platform&nbsp;rather than using their own proprietary payment gateways.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sort-out-payments-nbsp\"><em>Sort out payments&nbsp;<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Payments are one of the most important parts of your site.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You want to make sure your customers can make payments easily, safely,&nbsp;and quickly when they reach checkout&nbsp;and that they have a few&nbsp;different ways&nbsp;to pay.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/baymard.com\/lists\/cart-abandonment-rate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Around 70%<\/a>&nbsp;of online shopping carts are abandoned, so&nbsp;you need to make sure the checkout process is as simple as it can be.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are there too many pages on the way to checkout?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you require customers to create a guest account?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What&nbsp;are&nbsp;your shipping rates?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having the right answers to these questions can be crucial to making sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-10-nbsp-launch-your-online-store\">10.&nbsp;Launch your online store<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Launch day is not just about pressing publish and hoping for the best. Before you announce anything, check that:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your site is live.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your checkout works.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Payments are processing correctly.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Order confirmations are being sent.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Key pages such as delivery&nbsp;terms, return&nbsp;policies,&nbsp;and contact details are easy to find.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once that is covered, focus on visibility: publish your launch announcement across your chosen channels, direct people to your site,&nbsp;and be ready to answer questions quickly. It is also worth keeping a close eye on traffic, basket activity,&nbsp;and any early issues so you can fix problems before they affect too many customers. That way, launch day becomes a managed first push rather than a passive&nbsp;go-live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-marketing-your-nbsp-new-e-commerce-business\">Marketing your&nbsp;new e-commerce business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Post-launch,&nbsp;once your site is live, it can be tempting to ease off the&nbsp;accelerator&nbsp;but this is the best time to really push and guarantee maximum engagement.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make a LinkedIn announcement, start fulfilling your pre-orders if you have any, and begin link-building.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&nbsp;won\u2019t&nbsp;have an email list yet, but you should be able to gather a&nbsp;selection&nbsp;of contacts, whether it be friends or industry connections.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How long they spend on your site, how likely they are to buy your product, and how likely they are to&nbsp;purchase&nbsp;your product again are three important questions that will help inform your selling strategy and product choice.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Create a personalised newsletter highlighting what your business offers and why your offerings can add value&nbsp;and send it to all of them using a tool such as&nbsp;MailChimp.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though your product is based online, think about&nbsp;using&nbsp;offline&nbsp;promotional channels,&nbsp;too. Speak to a local radio station or newspaper, for example, if you have a unique product or business story, and advertise in trade magazines.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After your first big push,&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;need a&nbsp;long-term&nbsp;marketing&nbsp;strategy.&nbsp;Use&nbsp;industry research to figure out what the best platforms are going to be for your product, whether it be Google Shopping, Google Ads, social media such as Pinterest or Facebook, or newsletters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make sure&nbsp;there\u2019s&nbsp;a good mix of organic and paid traffic coming to your site regularly. This might require the services of a SEO marketing agency, a PR agency,&nbsp;and\/or an affiliate programme.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Talk to those in your sector about what works best for them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-measuring-performance\">Measuring performance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the beginning, it can be a challenge to measure performance, as a limited amount of data makes it hard to derive any actionable insights about your customers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;crucial to collect all the information you can from your store\u2019s visitors.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your abandoned cart rate is high,&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;know your products are appealing but something is going wrong when it comes to the&nbsp;final step.&nbsp;Perhaps&nbsp;there\u2019s&nbsp;a high shipping fee&nbsp;or a lack of payment options.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or&nbsp;maybe you\u2019re&nbsp;getting a lot of visitors to the site through a certain platform, but they&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;actually buy&nbsp;anything.&nbsp;That may be an indicator that you need to cut spending on that platform and redistribute it somewhere that has better conversion rates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The more data you gather, the better informed&nbsp;you\u2019ll&nbsp;be to make decisions that positively affect your e-commerce store&nbsp;and ensure a steady stream of customers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-take-your-business-online-only\">How to take your business online-only<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"h-how-to-take-your-business-online-only\">&nbsp;Need some help starting your e-commerce business? This free guide will provide you with the inspiration and top tips to support you in your bid to build your online company.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">How to take your business online-only<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Need some help starting your e-commerce business? This free guide will provide you with the inspiration and top tips to support you in your bid to build your online company.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-549d0df6-ad60-42ee-95c4-3647a780a7e4\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download your free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1211\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/Cherryduck_2019_Financial_00085-1211x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/Cherryduck_2019_Financial_00085-1211x810.jpg 1211w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-frequently-asked-questions-about-starting-an-e-commerce-business\">Frequently asked questions about starting an e-commerce business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1777646016683\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Can you start an e-commerce business with no money?\u00a0<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Yes.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0possible to start an e-commerce business with\u00a0little to\u00a0no money. One of the cheapest ways to do it is\u00a0with\u00a0drop\u00a0shipping.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>Drop\u00a0shipping\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0require you to own, store,\u00a0or ship product. Instead, you market it with your own\u00a0online storefront. And when customers order through your website, you order through your own supplier using their information.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>Though there can be lower profit margins than if you were to produce the product yourself, drop\u00a0shipping is one of the cheapest ways to own an e-commerce store. All you need is the funds to launch a website.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1777646029441\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">How much does it cost to start an e-commerce business?\u00a0<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">The cost\u00a0to start an e-commerce business can\u00a0vary drastically\u00a0depending on your product\u00a0and your business model; a simple drop shipping site will cost almost nothing, while producing your\u00a0own custom products for sale can cost thousands of pounds.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>But\u00a0no matter what sort of business you have in mind,\u00a0every e-commerce owner will need the following:\u00a0<br>A product:\u00a0take into account\u00a0the product\u2019s design, manufacture,\u00a0storage\u00a0and shipping.\u00a0<br>A website:\u00a0add the costs of an\u00a0e-commerce\u00a0platform subscription, a domain name,\u00a0and web hosting.\u00a0<br>Marketing:\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0also need money for\u00a0things like\u00a0social media\u00a0ads, subscriptions\u00a0to affiliate programmes, and SEO\u00a0services.\u00a0<br>Add\u00a0all of\u00a0these factors to get\u00a0a rough idea\u00a0of your\u00a0initial\u00a0outgoings\u00a0as well as monthly spend.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1777646042499\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Can you get financial help to start your e-commerce site?\u00a0<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Yes. The\u00a0British Business Bank\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.british-business-bank.co.uk\/business-guidance\/guidance-articles\/finance\/start-up-loan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Start-Up Loan programme<\/a>\u00a0offers loans from \u00a3500 to \u00a325,000 at 6% interest alongside free mentoring and support to individuals who are starting a new business.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1777646056947\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Is e-commerce profitable?\u00a0<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Yes, e-commerce can be profitable, but it usually takes time. UK e-commerce businesses\u00a0generally reach\u00a0break-even\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fool.co.uk\/investing-basics\/investment-glossary\/what-does-break-even-point-mean\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">within one to two years<\/a>, so profitability is often more realistic as a medium-term goal than an immediate result.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>That said, the wider market\u00a0remains\u00a0strong. Research and Markets estimated that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/united-kingdom-b2c-ecommerce-business-103000809.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UK e-commerce sales reached \u00a3254.77 billion<\/a>\u00a0in 2025, up 7.4%\u00a0from\u00a02024, which points to continued consumer demand and a sizeable opportunity for online sellers.\u00a0\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>However,\u00a0market growth\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0guarantee quick profits for every new business.\u00a0\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>Whether your site becomes profitable will depend on factors such as your margins, customer acquisition costs, pricing, repeat purchase potential,\u00a0and how efficiently you manage fulfilment and marketing.\u00a0<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1777646069242\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">Is starting an e-commerce business worth it?\u00a0<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Starting an e-commerce business can be worth it, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0far from guaranteed to succeed.\u00a0\u00a0<br>One\u00a0UK report found that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/yourecommerceaccountant.co.uk\/number-of-new-ecommerce-businesses-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">seven in 10 UK e-commerce businesses fail<\/a>\u00a0in their first year, so while the opportunity is there, the risks are significant.\u00a0<br>Whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0\u201cworth it\u201d depends less on the size of the market and more on how well prepared you are to compete in it.\u00a0\u00a0<br>Starting an e-commerce business can still be a smart move if you have a clear product, a realistic pricing model, a strong understanding of your customer,\u00a0and a practical plan for marketing, fulfilment,\u00a0and cash flow.\u00a0\u00a0<br>But\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not an easy win, and it should not be framed as one. E-commerce can be worth it for founders who are ready to treat it like a serious business from day one, rather than a quick route to online sales.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"h-measuring-performance\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"h-7-name-your-business\">&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/ecommerce\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tE-commerce\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/start-business\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to start a business\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/retail\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRetail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-1543 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-free-guides-templates category-strategy-legal-operations tag-business-continuity tag-create-business-plan tag-grow-business tag-start-business business_type-small-business card-post--is-clickable\"\n>\n\t<div class=\"card-post__media-wrapper\">\n\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__label\">Recommended<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M11.988 2.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v10.689l-1.72-1.72a.75.75 0 0 0-.957-.099.75.75 0 0 0-.315.776c.031.146.104.28.211.384l3 3a.75.75 0 0 0 1.06 0l3-3a.76.76 0 0 0 .231-.533.74.74 0 0 0-.22-.538q-.108-.106-.247-.164c-.139-.058-.191-.057-.291-.056s-.198.022-.29.061-.174.097-.243.169l-1.72 1.72V3.75a.76.76 0 0 0-.22-.541.76.76 0 0 0-.542-.22zM5.75 8.5C4.24 8.5 3 9.74 3 11.25v7C3 19.76 4.24 21 5.75 21h12.5c1.51 0 2.75-1.24 2.75-2.75v-7c0-1.51-1.24-2.75-2.75-2.75h-3a.76.76 0 0 0-.537.216.74.74 0 0 0-.223.535.76.76 0 0 0 .223.535.74.74 0 0 0 .537.216h3c.699 0 1.25.551 1.25 1.25v7a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25 1.25H5.75a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25-1.25v-7c0-.699.551-1.25 1.25-1.25h3a.76.76 0 0 0 .537-.216.74.74 0 0 0 .223-.535.76.76 0 0 0-.223-.535.75.75 0 0 0-.537-.216z\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-06-05T11:19:49+01:00\">5 June, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">8 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-write-a-business-plan\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tFree template: How to write a business plan\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tA business plan is essential for reaching financial success. Download our business plan template and use it to help you achieve your goals.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__non-featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--more h4\">More on this Topic<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-1 post-4239 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-strategy-legal-operations tag-create-business-plan tag-start-business business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/starting-and-planning\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-612742822_super-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-612742822_super-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-612742822_super-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-612742822_super-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-06-05T10:02:11+01:00\">5 June, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">9 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to start a business\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-18419 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-grow-business tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast tag-startup-stories post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business industry-ecommerce\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/sound-sdvice-started-business-with-spice-girl-christopher-money\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/05\/Blog_S3_Ep8-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Christopher Money and Emma Bunton\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/05\/Blog_S3_Ep8-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/05\/Blog_S3_Ep8-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2024\/05\/Blog_S3_Ep8-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-21T15:30:08+01:00\">21 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">31 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tI started a business with a Spice Girl\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-9993 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-business-finances tag-cash-flow tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/sound-advice-how-to-fund-your-startup-sam-jones\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_19-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Sam Jones\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_19-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_19-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_19-810x810.jpg 810w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-21T15:03:16+01:00\">21 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">37 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to fund\u00a0a\u00a0start-up: Top tips from\u00a0Dragons\u2019\u00a0Den\u2019s \u2018best ever pitcher\u2019\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-10198 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-business-finances tag-circular-economy tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast tag-startup-stories tag-sustainability post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/sound-advice-start-small-business-mart-drake-knight\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Mart Drake-Knight\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-810x810.jpg 810w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-20T17:00:12+01:00\">20 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">36 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow small\u00a0start-ups can take shape with little money and a big idea\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Starting an e-commerce business involves more than building a website. From validating your product to choosing a platform, setting up payments, and marketing your online store, learn the key steps to getting your online business off the ground. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1246,"featured_media":5972,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":true,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6],"tags":[229,12,162],"business_type":[4],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[57],"persona":[73,75],"imagine_tag":[86,108,109],"coauthors":[559],"class_list":["post-9720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","category-money-matters","tag-ecommerce","tag-start-business","tag-retail","business_type-small-business","industry-ecommerce"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Georgina Lavers","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-594383123.jpg","imagine_tags":{"86":"Ecommerce","108":"Retail","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1246"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9720"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30028,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9720\/revisions\/30028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/5972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=9720"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}