Table of contents

Last updated January 27, 2025
Introduction
Online shopping is hip. Many Dutch people find it more pleasant to store online now instead of going into town. Starting your own online store is therefore definitely a smart move. This is reflected in the number of webshops being set up: CBS expects that the number of webshops will only increase in the coming period. Are you comfortable with starting for yourself?
In this article we will give you the right tools to start a successful webshop.
Roadmap: 5 steps
Step 1: Determine what product(s) you want to sell and/or what service(s) you want to offer
It is important to have a clear picture of what you want to sell or offer. Will you produce the products yourself or will you buy them. Do you want to appeal to a broad target group or position yourself in a niche. Do you want to serve the high-end segment or are you on cost? Ask yourself all these questions to get a good idea of which way you want to go with your webshop. Writing a business plan (with market research) can help you determine whether you have a good plan.
Step 2: Do research on the market, competition and yourself
- Business plan/SWOT analysis: As mentioned in step 1, writing a business plan is a good idea to map the market, but also to have an understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses. It is hugely important to know where your own opportunities and threats lie. The sooner you have this clear for yourself, the sooner you can take advantage of it.
- Market research: By analyzing the market, you know what your customers are looking for. Your customers will not find your shop if you offer products and/or services for which there is no demand.
- Competitive Analysis: Last, it is also important to see who the competitors are in that market. Using a competitive analysis, you can determine how strong the competition is, and gives an indication of what you are going to need to succeed in that niche/industry.
Step 3: Coming up with a strong company name (and logo)
Now that you've mapped out what you're going to sell and researched industry opportunities, it's time to think for a good business name. We have written for you 14 tips for coming up with a business name and how to check and register your business name. If you struggle with this, or simply prefer to have someone with expertise help you with this, you can always choose to buy or have a good business name invented.
In addition, make sure your logo sticks with consumers. Look around at what works for other companies and keep the latest logo trends in mind when designing a logo. You can also choose to outsource this if you don't have the knowledge to do so.
Step 4: Get a good web design
It has happened to you before, you are shopping online and end up on a web shop that does not look very professional. After some clicking around, you can't figure it out and click away in frustration. Having a clear and professional web design is extremely important for a webshop. The customer has to have a nice experience on the web shop to start thinking about making a purchase at all.
Step 5: Complete your webshop for launch
Now that your products, company name, logo and web design are in place, it's time for a few things. Consider technical issues such as online inventory management, order processing, online payments, returns and shipping options. It is also important to think about how you will do your marketing. It is important that you think about where your strengths lie, and what might be better left to someone else, your time is valuable (but also limited!), so spend it on what you do best!
Tips
Tip 1: Make sure you stand out as a brand or shop
Although webshops in and outside the Netherlands are in high demand, it is still important to stand out. There has to be a reason why customers want to shop in your store and not in the competitor's store. Therefore, always make sure that you stand out or that you have an interesting advantage to offer. After all, there are already many good online stores in the Netherlands - probably also within the industry in which you open an online store. How can you stand out?
Simple: give your customers a variety of benefits. Think about shopping with a discount on the first order, taking advantage of free shipping or packing and shipping an order with a little extra. People generally like to be surprised and find it more than enjoyable to receive a little extra with an order. Of course, make sure you have an eye-catching site as well as a catchy company name.
Tip 2: Choose convenience and optimal usability
You can easily buy a standard package these days when you want to start a web shop. This may not be the website you ultimately have in mind, but it is a nice start to get started right away. This is especially true for people who are not technically savvy, but want to build a web store themselves. This also applies to the average customer; customers like it when an ordering process is easy. With such a standard package, that process is already fully built in.
How do you know if your online store is user-friendly? Find out for yourself what you like in an online store. You can 'store' in your own shop to see what is missing. Do this at other stores as well, so you can compare the ordering process between your store and other stores. By watching competitors, you can only learn and apply such knowledge to your own webshop.
Tip 3: Introduce yourself and be transparent
Want to stand out even more as an online retailer? Then take it personal: in addition to a webshop, create social media channels, such as Instagram and Facebook. There you can share new items weekly or daily and you can use such platforms to introduce yourself. Many customers often do not know who is behind a webshop. That is a missed opportunity, because they are often looking for that. They want to know if they can trust the webshop and place an order.
Therefore, it is definitely advisable to introduce yourself and tell your story on a dedicated page. For example, create a blog where you can share a personal story on a regular basis and make sure you have a full contact page with the necessary details. In doing so, also assume a bit about how a customer thinks and what he or she wants to read. Therefore, tell more about how you work, why you do this work and how you ensure that clients are satisfied and stay that way.
Tip 4: Work with reviews and labels
Want to make sure that customers can believe your story and trust that you sell good products at a fair price? Then register your online store with one or more seals of approval. A trustmark can be just the reason for a customer to make a purchase. Make sure the label is visible on the website - preferably directly on the homepage. That way, the customer does not have to search for it and knows immediately where he stands.
Finally, another thing that can definitely help in scoring (more) customers is the possibility of being able to leave reviews on your website or on a special website for such reviews. Based on that, a rating is made and other customers can see what people write about your webshop. With the right service, good prices and quality products, you can only expect good grades, so you don't have to worry about that.
Pitfalls
Pitfall 1: No target audience
You have found a super fun idea and want to share that product or service with the rest of the world. Although the idea is nice, it is always important to check if there is actually a target audience for it. If there is no target group, you don't know who to target with your marketing and chances are your webshop will not be found by anyone. Therefore, always do some research first to find out which target group you want to serve and what the demand is.
Pitfall 2: Wanting to do everything yourself
When you start your own webshop, you will soon find that there is a lot involved. It is impossible to devote the same amount of time and attention to everything. When you do, you will notice that not everything goes smoothly. Therefore, try to determine in advance where your expertise lies and ask for help for the parts you have more difficulty with.
Pitfall 3: Failure to measure results.
Measuring is knowing! It is important to measure the results of your online store. If you don't measure it, you can't possibly know why things are going well or where you need to pay more attention. Do not spend unnecessary time on something you can see in the data that it is simply not a good addition to the shop. Several tools can help you with this, such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Pitfall 4: Unclear structure of the web shop
Maybe the web shop is completely clear to you, which makes sense since you set it up, but this may not be true for someone who sees your website for the first time. That is why it is important to have your website tested by someone who sees it for the first time. This can be done very simply by asking a friend, family, but you can also choose to have a professional agency look at the user-friendliness of your website.
Are the results from your online marketing disappointing?
Request our no-obligation performance scan and we'll tell you where you're going wrong.