₦airaland Forum

More customers are gradually warming up to the idea of online shopping. In 2017, an estimate of 1.66 billion people purchased goods online. Instead of still being hesitant about this growing trend, it`s time to take the bull by the horns, capitalize on e-commerce, and learn how to set-up and own an online store.

If your business relies on selling goods or services, having an online shop is a must. The success of your venture largely depends on the ecommerce platform it runs on. A range of modern online commerce engines allows selecting an option to fit a specific business best.

What is e-commerce?
E-commerce refers to buying and selling of goods and services online and it is important because not only does it help you serve your existing customers properly, it also helps you connect with new audiences. E-commerce has evolved over the years, and as continued to grow rapidly. It started in the 1960s when Mails and Fax had to be delivered electronically. E-commerce as expanded so much that it takes just 3 minutes to create your own Online Store on storexy.com

Here are some benefits of E-commerce you should take note of:
1.24/7 shopping: E-commerce websites allows shoppers to check out your products and make their buying decisions at any time, day or night. This makes the buying process easier for your buyers, and stands as a huge competitive advantage for your business
2.Global reach: E-commerce websites allows you to reach out to people all over the world, which increases your customer base and boost income.
3.Tracking and taking customers data: When you have an online store, you are able to track your customer`s every click, purchase and wants. Keeping the data for invoice or reference.


I have no IT experience. How can I create an online store?

There are hundreds of online store builders that can help you sort this out. You can hire a web agency like https://Pheegoh.com to build this for you. There are flexible plans for setting up one.

If you're worried about the cost, you can set set up a custom web store on storexy.com which costs about N10,000 per year. No technical knowledge needed. A friend built hers on it. Take a look at Thewhiskerbakery for example. Fully functional with a chat system and a lot of other features. Imagine being able to have that in 3 minutes.

Before choosing any platform,
1.Make sure it is user friendly and it can guide your Customers during the ordering process
2. Choose an online store that supports or align with your mode of payments. Whatever e-commerce store you are using, it has to have the mode of payment that works for your brand in all currencies
3.Make sure your e-commerce store is mobile friendly. Studies have shown that 60% of people shop for goods on their mobile devices. You want to make sure that your store is easy to navigate either on mobile or PC.
I sell on Instagram. Do I still need a web store?

Hmmmm. So, what is better - using an online store website or Instagram profile as your primary means for business promotion? It all depends on your social media marketing strategy.
Why should you stick to only one option? Use both!

In terms of SEO, a website or web store gives you a possibility to rank in Google, Bing, or Yahoo to be found by those customers who do not use Instagram. In fact, a very large number of your potential customers are searching google for products you probably sell right now. These customers have a higher chance of buying your products because they need it (and were looking online for it when they found you), unlike when it just shows up on their timeline. Undoubtedly, Instagram offers mind-blowing advertising possibilities, but is it that comfortable for doing shopping?

For sure, using a typical web store like https://storexy.com and the rest which allows filtering products by types and categories, as well as provides maximum product details is a lot more comfortable! You can use your webstore as an online catalog which customers can easily navigate through categories and product types. On the other hand, an endorsed Instagram post can help in raising sales of a specific product or service.

As you see, the success of your online business will mainly depend on how you can combine both methods for your company specifically. Give it a try and share your experience!

The holy month of Ramadan is here. It’s a month of purification, holiness and compassion. This is a powerful time to nourish your body, your soul, and your purpose. You'll need to be disciplined in your fasting, your prayer, and your habits.



Connect with family and friends.
Throughout the month of Ramadan, make an effort to attend and organize community iftars and taraweeh. Make time for family activities, take your kids out, bond and have fun with your family. Be inclusive, and try to invite people who often get overlooked. Focus on connecting deeply and finding common ground with others. Share the Ramadan experience with your community in order to make all of your generosity and reflection more valuable. Websites like www.wowme.ng provide exciting experiences to make Ramadan even more enjoyable with family and friends.

Free your mind. 
Minimize distractions, and try to foster mental clarity. Focus your thoughts on helping others and improving yourself. Spend your free time studying, creating, or quietly reflecting. Wean yourself off of television and other distracting media, and consider reading a spiritual book instead to connect with your faith.

Get plenty of rest.
Fasting can throw off your normal eating and sleeping schedule, and you may need to get more sleep than usual in order to stay strong. Many people stay up late at night, then nap in the afternoon to stave off the hunger. Try to take naps midway through the day – even a half-hour power nap will leave you feeling refreshed.

Try not to sleep a lot because you'll miss the month of acceptance
Instead spend your time reading Quran, making Iftar, or even remembering Allah and his teachings.

Be generous and charitable.
Generosity is a central theme to the ethos of Ramadhan, and you can practice this community spirit in every single interaction with another person. You don't need to donate money: you can brighten someone's day with a smile or a few kind words.

Eid is always a time we looked forward to growing up in my home and neighborhood. I lived in a Muslim dominated neighborhood and we lived in peace and harmony most of the time so Ileya was a time when we'd have new clothes made for us and we'd get our hair cut so we'd look nice. It was also a time when we'd be given money and nice things. I had grown up with this mindset and it had always worked well for me.

Last Ramadan, when I had recently been married and my first child had just turned 1, I remember my wife reminding me to collect our new Ileya clothes from the local tailor who we had contracted to make the clothes over three weeks ago. We went to get it but it was always last minute and when we brought it home, the outfits for my wife and myself were too short and my son’s clothes were too tight! This was a few days before Eid.

I tried to get it fixed but the tailors were swamped and there was no time. I was almost at a point of panicking and when I told my wife, I could hear her voice start to crack over the phone like she had started crying, thinking my siblings and their wives would give her funny looks at our awkward outfits.
In a frenzied state, I went online to see if I could find a remedy to this terrible situation. I googled Ileya Outfits and the EthnikCity.com site came up, curious and downright desperate at this point, I clicked on the link and I can honestly say I have never made a wiser decision in my life. The site was everything I needed and more.

They provide tailoring services for traditional attires and even ready to wear if you wanted one on the go. This was heaven for me at this point. I browsed through their gallery of really unique designs and picked a design and fabrics for my family. I uploaded our measurements and made payment. I was a bit skeptical about them but after doing a little research on social media, I was put to rest after seeing accolades from happy customers. They have a 7-10 working days maximum delivery date within Lagos, this was good.

Then I had a fresh idea and I thought to myself: "Perhaps I could buy a few ready to wear outfits for the less privileged people in the spirit of Ramadan."
I shared the idea with my wife and she said: "Who says that's a bad idea? If the people are poor and can't afford it, we should do that. It's why you have to say 'Alhamdulillah' - 'thanks to God' - for having the means and finding this great platform." I also wondered why we don't give the old ones to the needy instead of throwing them away. And so we ordered quite a number of outfits for males, females and children in different sizes.

Anyways, we received our outfits the day before Eid at our home in Anthony and they were perfect fits! Well packaged and delivered by courteous individuals. My wife did not feel ashamed but she felt very proud as we stepped out as a family in the best attires.
I am grateful to Allah for this platform and from now on EthnikCity is my go to for tailoring and ready to wear traditional outfits.

Eid is always a time we looked forward to growing up in my home and neighborhood. I lived in a Muslim dominated neighborhood and we lived in peace and harmony most of the time so Ileya was a time when we'd have new clothes made for us and we'd get our hair cut so we'd look nice. It was also a time when we'd be given money and nice things. I had grown up with this mindset and it had always worked well for me.

Last Ramadan, when I had recently been married and my first child had just turned 1, I remember my wife reminding me to collect our new Ileya clothes from the local tailor who we had contracted to make the clothes over three weeks ago. We went to get it but it was always last minute and when we brought it home, the outfits for my wife and myself were too short and my son’s clothes were too tight! This was a few days before Eid.

I tried to get it fixed but the tailors were swamped and there was no time. I was almost at a point of panicking and when I told my wife, I could hear her voice start to crack over the phone like she had started crying, thinking my siblings and their wives would give her funny looks at our awkward outfits.
In a frenzied state, I went online to see if I could find a remedy to this terrible situation. I googled Ileya Outfits and the EthnikCity.com site came up, curious and downright desperate at this point, I clicked on the link and I can honestly say I have never made a wiser decision in my life. The site was everything I needed and more.
https://ethnikcity.com/uploads_looks/20160902014902IMG-20160902-WA0008.jpg
They provide tailoring services for traditional attires and even ready to wear if you wanted one on the go. This was heaven for me at this point. I browsed through their gallery of really unique designs and picked a design and fabrics for my family. I uploaded our measurements and made payment. I was a bit skeptical about them but after doing a little research on social media, I was put to rest after seeing accolades from happy customers. They have a 7-10 working days maximum delivery date within Lagos, this was good.

Then I had a fresh idea and I thought to myself: "Perhaps I could buy a few ready to wear outfits for the less privileged people in the spirit of Ramadan."
I shared the idea with my wife and she said: "Who says that's a bad idea? If the people are poor and can't afford it, we should do that. It's why you have to say 'Alhamdulillah' - 'thanks to God' - for having the means and finding this great platform." I also wondered why we don't give the old ones to the needy instead of throwing them away. And so we ordered quite a number of outfits for males, females and children in different sizes.

Anyways, we received our outfits the day before Eid at our home in Anthony and they were perfect fits! Well packaged and delivered by courteous individuals. My wife did not feel ashamed but she felt very proud as we stepped out as a family in the best attires.
I am grateful to Allah for this platform and from now on EthnikCity is my go to for tailoring and ready to wear traditional outfits.

Follow these easy steps

1. Create your store on http://storexy.com
2. Add categories, products and pricing
3. Add delivery parameters (i.e cost of delivery based on location etc)

4. Start selling. It's that easy.

Then you can request for migration to your personal domain if you dont want the one setup for you. You will be charged a small fee though, but you get to sleep at night.

35k for an online shopping website .
--- serious charity something. Show us the way sir!

@Op it depends on ur budget.
If u have up to 100-200k you can get a woocommerce site. If you want something custom built (with your own rules etc) then you should have 300-700k in mind... depending on the features.

But if you're low on budget, i'll suggest you start off with a site like http://storexy.com

Even the basic option has all it takes to start off your site and it takes less than 3 minutes to startup. Thank me later.

Hello all,

This thread is for folks that want a private online store and they don't know how to go about it or they don't want to undergo the process involved in registering domains or paying heavy costs on maintenance etc.

If you dont want any headache setting up your store, try http://storexy.com to do the trick. All you need to do is fill in the details of your store and you'll have everything setup immediately you click submit. The best part is that you can start using it before paying. ...and it's very affordable. Trust me.

You can receive online payments, change themes and set up all other necessary features from your admin panel.
Visitors can even chat with you through a chat app embedded on your store.

The platform is SEO optimized. Keywords for each of your pages will be generated from your content and if you want a private domain & hosting, your store can be easily migrated.

You can check out a customer's store here: http: http://storexy.com/odegwa

Feel free to ask me any questions.

Hello all,

This thread is for folks that want a private online store and they don't know how to go about it or they don't want to undergo the process involved in registering domains or paying heavy costs on maintenance etc.

If you dont want any headache setting up your store, try http://storexy.com to do the trick. All you need to do is fill in the details of your store and you'll have everything setup immediately you click submit. The best part is that you can start using it before paying. ...and it's very affordable. Trust me.

You can receive online payments, change themes and set up all other necessary features from your admin panel.
Visitors can even chat with you through a chat app embedded on your store.

The platform is SEO optimized. Keywords for each of your pages will be generated from your content and if you want a private domain & hosting, your store can be easily migrated.

You can check out a demo store here: http: http://storexy.com/business/ezpink

Feel free to ask me any questions.

Hello all,

If you dont want any headache setting up your store, Sites like http://storexy.com makes does the trick. All you need to do is fill in the details of your store and you'll have everything setup. The best part is that you can start using it before paying. ...and it's very affordable. Trust me.

.. and for those that want private domain, hosting etc. Yes you can migrate it.

You can check out a customer's store here: http: http://storexy.com/odegwa

See the attached pics for pricing.

ChinonsoDike2:
I've never seen a competent Nigerian based programmer. The black programmers in the US need the white man's framework to achieve anything. This proves that the white race is superior to the black race.

**hands you a glass cup full of sense**
Oya drink up!

Ecommerce site for N12,000?? ... this recession na wah. Mr 360jam abeg fear God na, haba.

@Op, I don't know what ure trying to achieve but u can start off with simple platforms that have already customized ur needs like www.storexy.com (I use this to sell stuff).

You can try it free for 7 days before u pay anything.

As entrepreneurs, one of the major challenges we face is startup capital. However, there are simple hacks to reduce this overhead.

For you guys out there that intend to go into online business/sales, you might have known that building an ecommerce website can be costly, especially when you want a lot of features.

I came across this site (http://storexy.com) and I was impressed. The basic plan is 10k, which has all the features I need already and I even spent less than 2 mins creating my store LOL.
They even offer free days subscription so you guys can try it out.

I will upload what my store looks like by the time my designer sends my logo and product pix but wat I'm seeing is not bad at all.

They shared a sample store on social media and this is what it looks like http://storexy.com/sample

And I think they have some bonus for affiliates too. I'll update you guys when I'm done with mine. I feel I should share this opportunity with other business owners out there.

Thanks.

Honestly, I'm quite fascinated at most of the comments made here.

...and it's alarming that a large number of Nigerians still have no sense, despite their level of education and exposure (sorry to say).

A combined protest to celebrate trump and pro IPOB Confused lot. Very funny.

I've seen some videos of the so called 'rally' online and I won't be surprised if anyone was shot or wounded in the process.

Some people he are calling others animals because they didn't type RIP or express their sentiments. .
A million RIPs can't raise the dead. Nobody gives a flying dog's shit about how u feel on a public forum. To each his own. Too bad the poor boy died over a worthless cause (in my opinion).

Peace, hope and love.

Yo can find it here: Http://pheegohstores.com

My team just deployed this site and we'll like to have your take on it.

It's a portal where store owners can create and host their online stores. The portal features a much more personalized effect on both the front and back end, making it look more like the store owner's personal website. The store owner will have full possession of his admin and benefits from the features listed below:

• It takes less than 2 minutes to set up.
• No technical or design experience required.
• No maintenance burden or hosting costs.
• Secure data in the hands of well grounded professionals.
• 24/7 customer service to put you through.
• Responsive Design (i.e it is accessible from any device - tabs, pc or mobile).
• Unlimited upload limit (No quota to hard drive space consumed).
• No transaction fee.
• unlimited number of products (No quota to number of items in store).
• Generate promo and discount codes.
• Create social links for store-front.
• Broadcast messaging to registered customers (Useful for store news and updates).
• Feature sponsored Ads (earn extra buy displaying Ads in store).
• Declare delivery parameters (including COD, Home delivery and Park delivery options).
• Change store theme.
• Manage inventory (item categories & attributes, extra images).
• Automatic stock update and alerts.
• Upload homepage sliders/banners and logo.
• Set store information (FAQ, Delivery info, Terms & conditions, 'About us' page, Contact Page).
• Store front displays store owner's phone and BBM Pin on every page of the store.
• Email alerts (for both store owners and their customers).
• Easy subscription process in form of bank transfer, recharge code or online payment.

Pheegohstores.com also offers a package for affiliates, where the affiliate get to make 10% off any subscription that comes through them. This 10% is not a one-time thing. They actually keep earning the 10% even if the same subscriber re-subscribes again and again.

Here's what the store-owner's front end will look like: http://pheegohstores.com/le-fashion-collection (Of course the owner can change whatever he/she likes from the admin end).

All these cost just ₦1,000 to subscribe for 30 days. You can try it out for free for 3 days.
Download the manual here http://www.pheegohstores.com/manual.pdf