How to start a small business online without a website?

Starting a small business online without a website seems tough but really isn’t with the right strategy. In the early days of internet marketing, their was not much you could get started with to run a business online until you launched your website. Although a customized website is the best way to start an online business as it offers numerous benefits, those benefits come with a large upfront cost. Building a website costs up to $10,000 and many small business owners also lack the technical skills to manage a website on their own. Thus, you need to have a team of web developers and designers which can be costly for small businesses.

So, can you start a small business online without a website? Well, fortunately, yes, there are a lot of great apps and tools out there to get started with your small business online. Now you can market and sell your products online without ever creating a website.

While there are various great tools to start a small business online without a website, our focus here would be on Facebook and Instagram.

So, let us get started.

Social networking platforms are perfect for small businesses to market and sell their products. Research by PWC says that 45% of people buy more goods from their favorite brands after looking at them on social platforms. Small businesses use social networks to increase engagement, communicate with customers, and attract new ones.

If you do not have a website, you can open a store on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

How to sell on Facebook

Facebook has over 2.6 billion active users and some of them are potential customers whom you can target. Facebook Shops is the latest update, elevating traditional Facebook Pages into Shops that are more customizable.

Facebook Shops give your business a storefront making it look more than just any other website. However, to get started with it, you need to create a Facebook Business page first.

If you don’t have one, then visit facebook.com/business and click on Create a Page and follow the instructions.

Once you have the Business Page you can convert it into a Store. However, for this your Facebook page must adhere to the following:

• Sell physical items
• Agree with Facebook’s Merchant terms
• Link to a valid bank account
• Have a tax identification numbe

Now follow these steps to configure the Shop page

Step 1 – Login to your Facebook Business Page

You need to login to the business page and have admin privileges. By default, many Facebook business pages already have the Shop page shown on the left. Click on it.

Step 2 – Add your Shop Details

Select the shop tab, a pop-up explaining the setup appears. Click on Get Started, fill in your business type, address, zip code, and all the details asked.

Step 3 – Add Products

Once you have given all the details of your business and described what you sell, the next step is to add in the products. Click on the Add Products button. Configure the details of each product and add a real image of the product. Follow the guidelines and recommendations.

This is how you set up a Facebook Shop to start selling your products.

The same feature is being made available for Instagram as well.

How to Sell on Instagram

Instagram has more than 500 million users daily and 50% of them follow at least one business, so it is a great platform to sell your products. Instagram Shop enables you to integrate your product catalog with your Instagram profile. This then allows you to promote your products directly to Instagram users through posts, Stories, and in a special Shop tab on your profile. You can also tag products in your posts adding a little shopping bag icon to your image. When the user taps on the photo, they can see the price, the description, and buy the product directly.

To start an Instagram Shop, you need a Facebook Shop, because Instagram pulls product information from Facebook to create your Instagram Shop. We have already explained how to set up a Facebook Shop, so when you have done that, integrate it with Instagram and start selling your products.

These are the proper steps to follow to create a business online and get started generating revenue without having a website.

If you need help creating a social presence, brand positions and generating targeted ads to drive more sales, contact us.