How to Open a Free Online Store on Ecrater

Step 1

Go to ecrater.com and click on the link at the top that says "Sign Up/Log In".

Step 2

Creating your store is quick and easy! Just fill out the required fields. Make sure your company/business name is short, snappy, and/or catchy so that people will remember it.

Step 3

Now you've set up your store! First, I would go to the "Text and Colors" category on the sidebar and change the color template, upload a logo and a home page image, edit your site text (very important!) and create a FAQ page. These are all very basic and self-explanatory. Remember, first impressions are very important!

Step 4

Now you can select payment options. You can choose between PayPal, CoD, Google Checkout, Money Order, Cashier's Check, and Personal Delivery.

Step 5

Now it's time to add products! You can either add photographs as you go along, which I personally prefer, or come back and add images later. First, though, you need a category to put your items into! You can also create sub-categories. All you have to do to create a category is click the blue button, "Add New Category". To create a sub-category, click on the category you'd like it to be under and then hit the matching button.

Step 6

Now for the items themselves. Go to "Products" and hit "Add New Product". Fill out all of the required areas. Make sure you are detailed when describing the product. I suggest adding a picture now, but you can always come back to that. Make sure you also look over the checkboxes and mark all that apply. You can hit "Add" if you wish to refresh back to this page, or "Add and Exit" to add the item and return to the main "Products" category.

Congratulations! You've started running your own FREE online store.

Tips and Warnings

• Make sure that your business name is short and snappy! People need to remember it.
• Make sure you be specific when you are categorizing your products! It will make them easier to find for potential customers.
• Be descriptive! The more a customer knows about a product, the more likely they are to buy it. For example, instead of "Hemp Bracelet", you could use "Shells (6) on White Square Knots". And that's just the title. Make sure that you put time and effort into the description!
• You can have up to 10 pictures of an item! When you've filled out a form for an item, hit "Add" and then go to the top, and hit "Photos". There you can add 9 more photos to show off your product!
• When looking at your products from the main category, on the left-hand side you can see the views for each item. This resets monthly.
• To increase the chances of getting a view on your product, you can use Google AdWords. eCrater has its own explanation of how to use it.
• You won't be able to get a free domain name of your own; the site will be "yoursitename.ecrater.com".