What should I focus on first when starting an online store?

Two weeks in and I'm getting nowhere. I'll start fixing the homepage, then think hang on I should be looking at products, then I'm reading about ads, and by the end of the day I've done a bit of everything and finished nothing

so what did you actually do first? I keep assuming there's a right order and everyone else knows it except me

store's on sellvia. probably doesn't matter but figured I'd mention it.

AnthonyMiller1988 said:

Two weeks in and I'm getting nowhere. I'll start fixing the homepage, then think hang on I should be looking at products, then I'm reading about ads, and by the end of the day I've done a bit of everything and finished nothing

so what did you actually do first? I keep assuming there's a right order and everyone else knows it except me

store's on sellvia. probably doesn't matter but figured I'd mention it.

Click to expand...

i've never been on there but know what you want to sell, work on the description and find where your ideal cliemts would be

Long time ago, but I started with local ads and Facebook ads, it worked pretty well for me.

The homepage doesn't need to be perfect before you start. A clear product, credible offer, functioning checkout, and a way to measure results matter much more initially.

You should focus on completing one task before moving on to the next. For instance, if you aren't satisfied with your homepage, dedicate two days to learning and refining it until you are happy with the result before proceeding; however, I believe product images are ultimately more important.

Been there with that exact loop. Two weeks of touching everything and finishing nothing is basically a rite of passage with a first store. Here's the order that finally got me traction: first, pick ONE product to be your hero and nail the offer around it — headline, price point, what makes it worth buying now. Homepage tweaks can wait; a decent product page sells, a pretty homepage doesn't. Second, before spending a penny on ads, place a test order yourself end to end — checkout, payment, confirmation email, the lot. I found a broken mobile checkout that way that was silently killing me. Third, one traffic source only until it's converting. Gaffar Yusuf's point about measuring is the key one — get basic analytics/pixel tracking in before ads so you can tell what's actually working instead of guessing. The 'right order' feeling fades once you just lock the sequence: offer → working checkout → tracking → one traffic channel.

Work out what one sale leaves after product costs, shipping, fees and expected returns. Set your ad spend limit per customer below that margin, then test with a fixed budget.

Try focus on getting a few solid products and a decent product page first.

Then make sure the checkout and tracking work properly before worrying about ads. Once that’s ready, start testing traffic and improve based on what people actually do.

Gaffar Yusuf said:

The homepage doesn't need to be perfect before you start. A clear product, credible offer, functioning checkout, and a way to measure results matter much more initially.

Click to expand...

this is probably what I needed to hear lol. I keep spending way too much time on the homepage when I haven’t even properly tested the product yet. thanks!

The main thing is to get started; you can perfect it along the way.

First focus on how you're going to promote it, if you have a good idea how and where you're gonna promote your stuff, it will be much eaiser.

Don't waste too much time on homepage, because I've seen a lot of websites with ugly homepages as hell that I won't even touch, but they are making sales.

Focus on marketing, look how competitors are doing it, try to copy some stuff, use your ideas, use AI for ideas.

It shouldn't take you more than 3-5 days to format your store in preparation to sell. Then just add your products, and get out in the big bad world and promote on socials, and forums.