Here's a quick e-commerce tutorial of the steps required in setting up an e-commerce site. This is by no means meant to be exhaustive but more as a check-list so that you can keep in mind all the steps you need to be aware of before you can "go live".
Firstly, choose your products.
This is probably perceived as being so obvious that people take it for granted. Big mistake. What you sell is ultimately the biggest success metric for your e-commerce adventure. Things to consider: do you have special knowledge of the products you are going to sell? For instance, if you want to sell model airplane engines then it would help if you were an enthusiast because it will help you with the product mix and the latest trends. Does your product already have good online retailers? There's no point in trying to sell books, because you'll be competing with the biggest online retailer of all, Amazon. However, if you specialise in books written by cyclists and you are well connected to the online cycling community, then you may have a shot. The point being, it's too late to be a category killer, so be focused, be specialized and offer something not already out there. Consider markets outside your immediate locality.
Secure a domain name.
Make sure the name is unique, memorable and related to your products.
Choose an e-commerce platform.
Today there are many turn-key hosted solutions to sell your products. I'd say if you are serious about e-commerce, avoid them. They're fine if you are just a hobbyist, but you're unlikely to push much product. Firstly, because all the sites are template based, you're not going to have much opportunity to stand out. Secondly because your opportunity to optimise and drive SEO are limited. Instead look to an open source but enterprise level e-commerce solution like Magento. It will cost you more, but you'll have a real e-shop. The best way I could describe it is it is the difference between opening a shop in the biggest mall in town versus renting a table at the Sunday flea market.
Decide on the logistics.
As much as possible, try not to carry inventory or store inventory or manage inventory. The costs can take a potentially profitable business into a loss making business. You should think about your company as a marketing company, not a distribution company. Instead, get you products drop shipped or use third party logistic suppliers.
Create your brand, and your site's design and information architecture.
Don't go cheap here. Studies show that people subconsciously discount websites that look amateur and refuse to buy from them. Engage a professional, it's a good investment.
Load your products into your shop.
Look at automating this by utilizing modules that integrate into your back office systems.
Engage in SEO and social media.
Blog, Tweet, Facebook - push your site and your products, but don't do it in a spammy way, this isn't the 90s. Instead write compelling articles about your products that people want to read. For instance, if you sell beads for necklaces, instead of spamming forums with your products, write an informative article about making a traditional necklace with your beads. People will appreciate it, and word of mouth will build.
Finally look to marketing opportunities such as Google AdWords, AdSense and pay per click. But make sure you have them integrated into a reporting tool like Google Analytics so that you can track their return on investment.
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