Zoho Commerce lets you build an online store and start selling without writing code. This article sets out the steps in order, with a checklist of what to have ready before you begin. It replaces an earlier note from March 2019 that only linked to Zoho's help.
Have these ready first
Zoho's own guidance on building a store lists the assets to gather before you start:
- A product list with specifications, descriptions, and images.
- Your shipping zones and shipping charges.
- Your tax details and the payment gateway you plan to use.
- Banner and product images, and the wording for your pages.
The steps
- Sign up and choose a plan. Create your account, and pick the plan that suits the size of your business.
- Pick a template. Choose a store template for your storefront. Zoho says you can change it later.
- Add your products. Add them one at a time, or import them in bulk. See Adding Products One by One or in Bulk and Importing Products from a File.
- Set up shipping and taxes. Define your shipping regions, charges, and carriers, and your tax rates, so customers see location-specific tax and shipping options.
- Connect a payment gateway, or allow customers to pay offline. See Zoho Commerce Integrations.
- Publish. Go live with one click, and see later changes reflected on your site straight away.
Your domain
You can buy a domain through Zoho Commerce or from any domain provider, and you can use a domain you already own. If you do not have one, Zoho provides a free address to start with. Decide early, because customers trust a store on its own domain more than a generic one.
Menu names and plans change. Zoho updates the product regularly, and plan details differ, so we have left prices and plan limits out. Ask us for the current position before you choose a plan.
Before you launch: our advice
This section is our own advice, not Zoho's.
- Place a test order. Go through the whole journey as a customer, including payment, the confirmation email, and refund, before you tell anyone.
- Get your legal pages in place. UK and Irish online sellers need clear terms, a returns policy, a privacy notice, and a cookie notice. Distance selling rules give customers cancellation rights. This is general guidance and not legal advice.
- Check VAT. Confirm whether your prices include it, and that your store shows it correctly at checkout.
- Connect your other Zoho apps early, especially stock and accounts, so orders do not need re-keying.
- Check the store on a phone, where most shoppers will see it first.