Marketplaces help many sellers find their first customers. Once the business is running, though, some owners want their own address on the internet, a place where customers can buy directly without being listed next to dozens of other shops on the same page. That is why more small businesses in Indonesia are building an online store with their own domain, such as yourshop.com, and sharing it through Instagram, WhatsApp and their product packaging.
Setting one up is far less complicated than it used to be, but a few decisions need to be made properly from the start. This article covers the domain, the store design, payments, shipping, and one thing that is often overlooked, which is keeping stock in line with sales in your physical shop.
Choosing and registering a domain
The domain is your store's address. Pick one that is short, easy to spell and easy to say out loud when a customer recommends you to a friend. Avoid unnecessary hyphens and numbers. If the name you want is taken, try adding a word that describes your business, such as your city or product type.
The .com extension is still the most familiar. The .id and .co.id extensions are also common in Indonesia, and .co.id registrations usually ask for company documents. Ownership matters more than the extension. Register the domain in the name of your business or yourself as the owner, never in the name of the vendor or friend who helped build the store. Turn on auto-renewal and keep the domain account login somewhere safe. A domain that lapses can be registered by someone else.
Once the domain is connected to your store platform, open it from a few different phones and make sure it loads over HTTPS, shown by the padlock icon in the browser. Customers hesitate to enter their address and payment details on a page marked as not secure.
A store that works well on phones
Most customers will open your store on a phone, usually from a link in your Instagram bio or a WhatsApp message. So design for the phone first. Pages should load quickly, product photos should be clear, prices should be visible and the buy button easy to find.
You do not need to design from scratch. Choose a theme that suits what you sell, then adjust the logo, brand colour and banners. A home bakery and a spare parts distributor obviously need a different feel. The biggest investment is actually in product photos and descriptions. Well-lit photos and descriptions that answer the usual questions, such as size, material and care, cut down on the back-and-forth chat before a customer pays.
Payments and shipping
On a marketplace, payments and shipping fees are handled by the platform. On your own store, you decide. Indonesian customers are used to many payment options, from bank transfer and e-wallets to QRIS and cards. A payment gateway confirms these payments automatically, so you no longer have to match transfer receipts one by one.
You do not have to offer every method on day one. Start with the ones your customers ask for most, such as bank transfer and QRIS, and add others when there is real demand.
For shipping, customers want to know the delivery fee before they pay. Check whether the store can calculate shipping based on the address, and how tracking numbers reach the buyer. Write your shipping and returns policy clearly on the store as well. It builds trust, especially with people buying from you for the first time.
Keeping stock in sync with offline sales
Many owners only notice this problem a few weeks after the online store goes live. The last unit sells in the physical shop in the morning, but in the afternoon it still shows as available online. A customer pays, and you have to apologise and issue a refund.
If you also sell in person, whether in a shop, a café or at a trade fair stand, the stock in your online store and the stock at your cashier should come from one source. Every sale at the till reduces online stock, and every online order reduces shop stock. Reconciling by hand each evening is manageable with a small catalog, but it quickly becomes a burden as the product range grows.
Steps to build an online store with your own domain
- Decide on a store name and check that the domain is available.
- Register the domain in your business's name and turn on auto-renewal.
- Choose an online store platform that supports custom domains, then connect your domain following the platform's instructions.
- Pick a theme, add your logo and set your brand colour.
- Add products with photos, descriptions, variants and accurate stock.
- Set up payment and shipping methods, then write your returns policy.
- Place a test order from your own phone and follow it all the way to delivery.
- Share the store address in your social media bio, WhatsApp messages and product packaging.
A test order often turns up small problems, such as shipping rates that do not appear for certain cities or notifications that never arrive. It is better for you to find them than for a customer to.
Building your store with Etalasse
Etalasse offers a mobile-first online store with 38 themes, your brand colour, logo, banners and your own domain. The store runs in the same system as the POS cashier, so stock stays in sync between online and offline sales. See the details on the Etalasse page, or read about our eCommerce and sales systems service if you need something built specifically for your business.
