The Life of a Successful Online Shop. How to grow smart in a technical way? - Download a free White Paper

In this article, we examine the life journey of a successful online store, exploring the developmental stages it goes through and how it impacts the technical aspect. The goal is to help more online merchants avoid growth mistakes, particularly from a technical perspective. We can afford to provide these insights as, back in the distant year 2004, at Stenik, we created our first online store. To this day, we haven't lost focus on the eCommerce industry, and since 2017, we continue to create and maintain online stores for major Bulgarian brands selling in Bulgaria, neighboring countries, and some globally.

What do you need to have a "successful online store"?

The 5 key elements of "The eCommerce circle"

We've created "The eCommerce circle" to present the 5 key elements that contribute to the success of your online store:

• Good product.
• Competitive pricing.
• Effective customer support.
• Adequate traffic attraction strategy (online marketing).
• Technical stability.

As a technology company, in this article, we will delve into the technical stability of an online store, although we can competently advise on other aspects.

The stages of an online store for a merchant

Starting points for online merchants

It's important to note that if you don't have a working online store yet, there are two possible starting points for your online business. We've illustrated them on the graph as:

1. Starting point 1: Starting point for people with ideas, beginners, researchers.
2. Starting point 2: Starting point for offline retailers or experienced individuals who want to dive in directly (Start BIG).

We've detailed these two starting points below in the White paper when discussing the life path of the store.

Levels of experience in online commerce

In the graph, we've also clearly marked the different levels of expertise and difficulty that online merchants go through. These are 4 levels:

• Beginners
• Intermediate
• Advanced
• Expert

Level "Beginner online merchants"

The first level is for beginner online merchants. This is the initial starting point where you might consider starting an online store.
Starting an online store here, it's highly likely that the online merchant is motivated by some of the following interests and desires:

• Quick start with a small budget.
• Market research.
• Comparison of products with competitors in terms of prices and quality.
• Setting targets and expectations.
• Deciding on a local and/or international market.

The choice of a platform at this stage is crucial, as the start needs to be with a short development time and an optimally low budget. It's recommended to start the online business on a Software as a Service (SAAS) type platform or so-called cloud-based solutions, which are paid month-to-month. Other positive aspects of the SAAS solution, besides a quick start and low cost, include the lack of commitment for the merchant to solve technical issues early on, allowing a quick focus on marketing and sales development. However, due to the limited upgrade options, SAAS solutions are temporary, and at some point, when your online store grows, migration to another platform will be necessary. If you want to introduce an additional level of flexibility early in your eCommerce journey, you may skip the SAAS solution and move directly to the next level.

Level "Intermediate online merchants"

If your online store takes off and you start selling (or decide that your ideas surpass the capabilities of a cloud-based SAAS online store), you will soon realize that you need:

• New functionalities and modules to meet your customers' demands.
• More server resources to ensure the stable functioning of the site.

This is the moment when we recommend considering an online store based on an open-source platform specifically tailored for e-commerce:

• Magento – a platform designed specifically for ambitious online stores.
• OpenCart
• PrestaShop
• WooCommerce
• Others

At Stenik, we offer development, enhancement, and support for Magento online stores. The reason we specialize and are certified in implementing this platform is that we found it to be the most stable and reliable software that can be upgraded and customized to meet the specific desires of the client.
This marks the second starting point - for offline retailers or eCommerce entrepreneurs who want to dive into deep waters with advanced functionalities and numerous integrations with external systems.

Level "Advanced online merchants"

As you increase traffic, sales, and success in your online store, your requirements as successful online merchants also increase. This means you will feel a pressing need for:

• Integration of ERP or warehouse system with your online store.
• Custom functionalities or so-called enhancements tailored specifically to your needs.
• Integrations with many other external systems.

This is the moment to start for all respectable offline retailers with a physical network and a developed business. All merchants with this profile likely have operational warehouse or ERP systems for their offline business and need to integrate it with their future online store from DAY 1. At Stenik, we have rich experience with dozens of ERP systems that we have integrated with Magento and custom-developed online stores for our clients (more on custom online stores in the following paragraphs). At the "Advanced online merchants" level, we recommend focusing again on open-source platforms, but careful consideration is needed in making the right choice, as not all may respond to your specific requirements and integration needs. Open-source platforms give you a significant advantage when starting online trading for new markets (countries) - creating a store view or website, localization, translations, shipping, etc. The alternative is to start developing a custom solution - an online store developed specifically for your needs. However, a custom (from scratch) solution carries its risks, especially if you have no previous experience with other eCommerce platforms or lack a professional eCommerce technical and consulting team.

Level "Expert online merchants"

Reaching success with your online store, merchants reach the final stage of their business development. They achieve an expert level, with the key factors being:

• The need for a huge volume of technical support.
• Flexibility and speed in implementing new functional trends.
• Having an in-house team of programmers or designers or a dedicated team from the supporting web agency (a separate team devoted 100% to the client's online store).

The possible solutions to base your online business become limited:

• Magento;

• Building from scratch (custom) solutions developed entirely according to your requirements;

• Another open-source platform, for which you are confident there are enough specialists in Bulgaria who can provide you with technical support (read more on the topic in the section "Research and selection of platform and executor").

Platform Change Difficulty Scale

We've marked a scale to illustrate that the larger your online business becomes, the more challenging it becomes to change your platform. That's why at Stenik, we recommend making the right choice for the eCommerce platform from the beginning, so your online store doesn't suffer from the shocks of growth. After all, your primary task is to focus on online marketing and sales, isn't it?

Research and Platform Selection

Nowadays, there are dozens of ways to conduct excellent research to choose any partner, and this applies to a technical executor for your online store.

Important factors when choosing a platform:

• If it's an open-source platform, are there enough web agencies in Bulgaria that work with it and support it?
• If it's custom development, what are your alternatives for changing the web agency if things don't go well?
• Are there implemented working online stores similar to the project you desire?

Important factors to consider when choosing a web agency:

• Invest in a professional assignment for your new online store, and this way, you'll be able to gather the most suitable offers from web agencies. Plus, you'll have a basis for comparison.
• Ask the clients of the web agency for references.
• If you have an ERP or warehouse system - research which eCommerce platforms it integrates with, and inquire about the web agencies experience with your ERP system.

After the "Expert" level, what comes next?

In our article, we examine the case of Bulgarian online retailers targeting customers primarily in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and other neighboring countries. Their needs can be fully satisfied by the solutions presented in the presentation. However, remember that choosing the right platform is only part of the task; selecting the right partner and consultant to develop and support this platform for you is another aspect. Nevertheless, the engine and a significant portion of the work to initiate online sales lie within you. If you aim to measure your online business in tens of millions of annual turnover, the next step is an Enterprise solution for your online store, which is not covered in this article.

Sell a lot and everywhere

We hope that Stenik has been helpful with the strategy outlined for the technical growth of your online store. Please feel free to contact us if you require consultation, development, or support for your online store. We would be glad to assist you.