Opening an online store: steps, costs and the first orders

Opening an online store often looks like a technical job: build the site, upload the products, start selling. In practice the store's success depends on decisions made before the website: how you will sell, who will accept orders, how the money will come in and how the product will reach the customer. Below we go through these decisions in order.

1. Choose your sales model

There are three main models for selling online:

• Social media and messaging — products on Instagram, orders in WhatsApp. Easy to start, but orders get lost in chats and it becomes hard to manage as the product range grows.
• Catalogue website and order form — products, prices and stock are shown on the website, the customer sends an order through a form or with one tap to WhatsApp, and payment is on delivery or by bank transfer.
• Full online store — cart, online card payment, customer accounts. The most convenient, but also the most complex option, both to build and to arrange with a bank and a payment provider.

Many businesses start with the second model: orders are received in an orderly way, and online payment is added later when needed.

2. Sort out the legal and tax side first

Selling online is still selling: registration form, tax regime, cash register and invoicing questions should be settled in advance. Talk to an accountant or tax adviser about this. On the website, seller information and delivery and return terms should be clearly stated — this matters both for the law and for customer trust.

3. Prepare the catalogue

Before the website, prepare a product table: name, category, price, size or weight, a short description, an image. An Excel sheet is enough — it is easy to upload to the site later.

Simple rules for photos: same background, same lighting, several angles. In descriptions, answer the questions a customer would ask: size, material, compatibility, warranty. Text copied from other websites reduces both trust and visibility on Google.

4. Define the order path

What happens after an order arrives? Answer this in advance:

• who sees and confirms the order;
• how the confirmation is sent to the customer;
• how stock availability is checked;
• where the order status (confirmed, on the way, delivered) is tracked.

When orders land in email or on someone's personal phone, mistakes are inevitable. The most reliable way is to record each order directly in a CRM and have stock reduced automatically.

5. Payment and delivery

Payment options: cash or card on delivery, bank transfer, online card payment on the website. Online payment requires a contract with a bank or payment provider, and a commission is charged on each transaction — include this in your pricing.

For delivery, define zones, times, prices and the free-delivery threshold. Write clear and simple return rules — clear terms do not reduce sales, they increase them.

6. Calculate the costs

An online store costs more than just the website:

• website — a one-off build is roughly 3,000–10,000 ₼ and more on the market, plus hosting, domain and edits;
• content — product photography and descriptions;
• payment commission — if online payment is used;
• advertising — to bring the first visitors;
• packaging and delivery.

With a subscription model you can start without a large upfront payment. The SBT Web "Mağaza" plan is 239 ₼ a month: a catalogue of up to 500 products, 3 languages, 5 edits a month, ordering via a Telegram bot, and website orders are recorded in SBT CRM as orders with stock tracked there. If you need online card payment and customer accounts, this is quoted as a "Fərdi" (custom) project.

7. Bring in the first orders

After launch, visitors do not appear by themselves. First steps:

• links to the website from Instagram and your other pages;
• a Google Business Profile and correct contact details on the site;
• a small ad budget for your best-selling products;
• fast replies to orders — reviews from the first customers shape future sales.

At the end of the month, check: how many orders came in, which products sold, where customers came from. These numbers will show you the next steps.

Day-to-day management: who does what?

Once the store is open, the work becomes a daily routine, and dividing roles in advance saves a lot of time:

• catalogue — who updates new products, price changes and stock;
• orders — who confirms incoming orders and contacts the customer;
• delivery — who hands orders to the courier and records the status;
• questions and returns — who answers customer requests, and how quickly.

When every step is recorded in one system, nothing is forgotten, and the process does not stop when a staff member changes.

If you want to start with an online store that already has a catalogue and an order system, see the SBT Web plans.