Create an Ecommerce Website: Step-by-Step Guide

November 21, 2025

Why creating an ecommerce website matters in 2025

If you sell products or services, learning how to create an ecommerce website is one of the most impactful moves you can make this year. Online shopping keeps growing, mobile now accounts for over half of all web traffic, and customers expect to buy from you as easily as they browse you.

When you create an ecommerce website that’s easy to use and trustworthy, you can:

  • Sell 24/7, not just during business hours
  • Reach customers beyond Kelowna or your local area
  • Showcase your brand more professionally than marketplace listings alone
  • Track what’s working with data instead of guessing

Below is a clear, non-technical roadmap you can follow—and if you’d rather have a team handle it, the ecommerce specialists at KWD Marketing can take the whole build off your plate.

1. Clarify your ecommerce strategy before you touch the tech

Before you choose a platform or theme, get clear on the basics:

a) Define what you’re selling

  • Physical products (shipping required)
  • Digital products (e.g., courses, downloads, templates)
  • Services with online payment (consulting, bookings, deposits)

b) Know your ideal customer

Write down:

  • Who they are (age, location, role)
  • The problem your product solves
  • Why they’d choose you over competitors

This shapes everything—from your product photos and descriptions to the tone of your website copy.

c) Set simple goals for your new store

For example:

  • “Generate 20 online orders per month in the first 3 months”
  • “Shift 30% of in-store sales to online within 12 months”

Clear goals will guide your budget, design decisions, and marketing.

2. Choose the right platform to create your ecommerce website

The platform is the “engine” behind your store. KWD Marketing commonly works with WooCommerce, Shopify, and fully custom builds, each with strengths depending on your needs.

Here’s a quick comparison:

WooCommerce (WordPress)

Best if:

  • You want full control over SEO and content
  • You’re comfortable with (or open to) working with a web agency or developer
  • You want to integrate a blog, landing pages, and ecommerce into one flexible site

Highlights:

  • Highly customizable
  • Huge ecosystem of plugins
  • Great for SEO when configured properly

Shopify

Best if:

  • You want to launch quickly and manage things yourself day-to-day
  • You prefer a simpler, hosted solution
  • You’re ok with monthly fees and app add-ons

Highlights:

  • User-friendly dashboard
  • Excellent app store and payment integrations
  • Strong inventory and order management out of the box

Custom ecommerce solutions

Best if:

  • You have complex inventory, pricing, or integrations
  • You need deep custom workflows (e.g., B2B portals, custom quoting)

Custom builds are more involved but can be tailored exactly to your business model.

If you’re unsure which route to take, scheduling a quick chat through the KWD ecommerce services page can help you pick the right foundation before you invest time and money.

3. Plan your ecommerce website structure and content

Strong structure makes it easy for customers—and Google—to understand your store.

Must-have pages for your ecommerce website

At minimum, plan for:

  • Home – Clear value proposition, featured products, and benefits
  • Shop / Products – Grid of products with filters (price, size, type)
  • Product category pages – e.g., “Men’s Clothing”, “Gifts”, “Best Sellers”
  • Individual product pages – Photos, description, price, options, reviews
  • Cart & checkout – Simple, distraction-free, and secure
  • About – Your story, values, and proof you’re real
  • Contact – Form, phone, email, location if applicable
  • Shipping & returns – Clear policies to reduce support questions
  • Privacy & terms – For trust and compliance

Write product content that actually sells

For each product page:

  • Use clear titles that match what people would search for
  • Write scannable descriptions with bullet points and benefits
  • Include specific details: materials, dimensions, usage, care instructions
  • Add high-quality photos from multiple angles
  • Encourage customer reviews for social proof

If you’re not a writer, consider asking KWD to help with SEO-friendly product copy alongside your design and build.

4. Design your ecommerce website for trust, mobile, and conversions

Great ecommerce design is about making it easy and comfortable to buy, not just looking pretty.

Mobile-first, always

Over half of ecommerce traffic is now mobile. A mobile-first approach means:

  • Buttons that are easy to tap
  • Text that’s readable without zooming
  • Simple vertical scrolling instead of complex layouts
  • Fast load times on 4G/5G

Platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce offer responsive themes, but a custom design from a team like KWD can tailor every detail to your brand and audience.

Design elements that build trust

  • Consistent branding: Colours, fonts, and imagery that match your logo and offline presence
  • Clear calls to action: “Add to Cart,” “Buy Now,” and “Checkout” buttons that stand out
  • Security signals: Padlock icon (SSL), trusted payment logos, and transparent policies
  • Real social proof: Reviews, testimonials, or case studies

Conversion-friendly layout tips

  • Put your most important content “above the fold” on each page
  • Use short forms at checkout to reduce friction
  • Offer guest checkout plus the option to create an account later
  • Include related products and “You may also like” sections to increase order value

5. Set up secure payments, shipping, and tax

Once your design is in place, connect the operational pieces that make the store work.

Payments

Popular options include:

  • Credit and debit cards (via Stripe, Moneris, etc.)
  • PayPal
  • Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other digital wallets

Look for PCI-compliant gateways and make sure your site uses SSL encryption (https, padlock icon). Modern ecommerce security best practices also include regular updates, firewalls, and backups to protect customer data.

Shipping

Decide on:

  • Regions you ship to (local, Canada-wide, international)
  • Shipping models (flat rate, carrier-calculated, free over X dollars)
  • Order cut-off times and fulfilment processes

Platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce integrate with Canada Post, UPS, and other carriers to automate labels and tracking.

Taxes

Configure taxes based on where you operate and where you ship. Many platforms have built-in calculators for GST/PST/HST and international VAT, but it’s wise to confirm settings with your accountant.

6. Optimize your ecommerce website for SEO and marketing

Building your store is step one. Getting people to it is step two.

On-page SEO basics

For each page and product:

  • Use descriptive page titles and meta descriptions (like the one above)
  • Include your target keyword (e.g., create an ecommerce website) naturally in headings and copy
  • Add alt text to images that describes what’s shown (and occasionally includes a keyword when relevant)
  • Use clean URLs (e.g., /shop/handmade-ceramic-mug/ instead of /product?id=1234)

KWD Marketing builds ecommerce sites with SEO in mind from day one, including keyword strategy, metadata, and product schema so your products can appear more prominently in search results.

Essential marketing tools to connect

Make sure your store is integrated with:

  • Google Analytics & Google Search Console – to track traffic and search performance
  • Email marketing (e.g., Klaviyo, Mailchimp) – for abandoned cart reminders and customer newsletters
  • Google Ads & social ads – to drive targeted paid traffic
  • Remarketing pixels – to re-engage visitors who didn’t buy the first time

A digital agency like KWD can manage your SEO and PPC together, so your ecommerce website and campaigns work as one system rather than separate projects.

7. Launch, measure, and improve your ecommerce website

Don’t skip a proper launch checklist. Before going live:

  • Place several test orders (different payment methods, devices, and shipping options)
  • Check emails: order confirmations, shipping notifications, and contact form replies
  • Test forms and links on every key page
  • Verify that tracking (e.g., conversions in Google Analytics) is working

Post-launch: continuous optimization

After launch, check monthly:

  • Traffic sources: Where visitors come from
  • Top-viewed products: What people are interested in
  • Cart and checkout abandonment: Where people drop off
  • Site speed and mobile performance: Core Web Vitals and load times

Small tweaks—like improving a product photo, simplifying a form, or refining copy—can significantly improve conversion rates over time.

Want a done-for-you ecommerce website?

You absolutely can create an ecommerce website yourself with the right tools and patience. But if you’d rather focus on your products and customers while a specialist team handles:

  • Platform and hosting setup
  • Custom design and development
  • SEO, PPC, and analytics integration
  • Ongoing support and improvements

…then partnering with a local Kelowna agency like KWD Marketing is a smart move.

You can start a conversation in just a few minutes via the KWD contact page and get clear guidance on the best path for your online store—whether you’re launching your first site or upgrading from an outdated ecommerce platform.

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