The most affordable way to build an e-commerce website

In last week’s edition of the Digipreneur, we spoke about the wide variety of platforms to build to your e-commerce-ready website so that you can begin selling online. We spoke about all the platforms that our Caribbean gateways connect to that would allow you to get paid.

But this week I want to narrow it down for the small businesses.

Let’s take a look at the most affordable way to build an e-commerce-ready website and also how to send digital invoices to international clients so that you can get paid in both TT or US dollars.

Let’s tackle the website first, your digital home, the place where you want to have all of your business info, your products and your content.

The reason why this needs to be done correctly is that according to Intergrowth.co's 2022 research, 68 per cent of all digital sales start with a Google search. Your audience Googles their problems or desires, finds a link to an article that will provide the answers or the products they need, visit the site, add to cart and make the purchase.

Also, the new Linx Visa debit cards that have been rolled out by the banks are all enabled for local e-commerce, meaning that more people have access to pay for your products or services online than ever before.

Here is the recipe for those looking to build an e-commerce website on a budget: you are going to need a couple of things.

The platform you need is WordPress, and the payment gateway to make this work will be WiPay.

WordPress web hosting can start from as low as US$3.99 per month, but you will need a credit card to pay the fees monthly. I would suggest checking out Siteground as a WordPress host or Google WordPress host, and you can read the reviews and make your own decision.

If you do not have a credit card, and since not all Linx Visa debit cards have access to US dollars, you can use a local WordPress hosting sites like Overmill. They will allow you to pay via bank transfer or bank deposit.

Wipay has a free option where they do not charge your monthly and the transaction fee is 3.5 per cent plus US$0.25 per transaction. This is good, because if you are starting and you do not make any sales, you don’t have to worry about paying additional fees outside the monthly hosting fee for your website.

Now, many of you get confused about WordPress because there are two versions, Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org.

Wordpress.com is the blogging platform and has major limitations that we won't get into here. You are looking to use the website building software, which falls under Wordpress.org.

The good thing is that any WordPress hosting provider comes with the WordPress website software ready to instal. Popular hosts like Siteground, Bluehost, Hostgator, Dreamhost, all come with one-click WordPress software installation and their support teams can help you get started.

The other issue people have with WordPress is the learning curve, since it is open-source and there are over 1,000 ways to build on their platform. I would recommend you instal the Elementor plugin for your WordPress platform and build your website using that tool, or you can purchase themes online that are built using the Elementor tool.

Visit Elementor’s website or YouTube channel to learn more about their tool and how to create your website with their easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder.

So if you use the combination of WordPress, Wipay and Elementor, your monthly costs will be US$3.99 per month at a minimum. The cost could rise depending on the hosting provider you use, or which plan you select – if you decide to take WiPay’s paid plan or if you choose to use Elementor’s Pro plan.

Those of you on a budget can create a website with the tools listed and stick to using the WiPay and Elementor’s free plans until you grow.

If you are a service provider that does not have a website, but you need to send clients around the world a digital invoice so that they can pay you with their credit cards, you can use WiPay's free plan and send out those digital invoices.

You can receive funds in both US and TT dollars. You will need a local US-dollar account if you want WiPay to deposit those funds and keep them in US dollars, otherwise, you will have to convert the funds to TT dollars on their platform.

I hope this helps you start your e-commerce journey and expand your customer base.

Happy selling!

Visit Keronrose.com to learn more about building your digital presence & monetizing your platforms. Check out the Digipreneur FM podcast on all popular podcast directories. Follow @Keronrose at Instagram/Linkedin/TikTok/Facebook.