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If you’re exploring how to start an online store today, you’re entering a space where shoppers are already highly active. Insights from the Australia Post eCommerce Report 2025 showed online spending hit a record $69 billion in 2024, with 9.8 million households buying online – up 2.3% from the year before. Online marketplaces alone drove 39% of that growth, attracting $16 billion in spending.
With more customers than ever shopping online, now’s the time to get started. Here’s how to turn your online store idea into a real business in nine steps.
1. Create an online store business plan
A business plan gives direction before you invest time or money into building your online store. It helps you decide what to sell, who you’ll sell to and how you’ll grow.
Define target audience
The first step to building an online store that sells is understanding your target audience. Start by gathering customer insights from sources such as industry reports and surveys. Summarise these into clear traits, including demographics, location and interests.
Consider creating buyer personas – fictional profiles that help you visualise your ideal customers. For example, a persona for a beauty products store might be: “Sophie, 28, office worker, enjoys evenings out with friends, regularly browses Instagram, shops online 2–3 times per month, prefers natural ingredients.”
Choosing a specific niche market lets you focus on serving a clearly defined audience with shared needs, which can support stronger engagement and repeat sales. Some examples are:
- Apartment dwellers seeking space-saving furniture or decor
- Couples planning weddings and are interested in DIY items
- Beer enthusiasts who enjoy craft beer culture and home brewing
Conduct competitor analysis
Research other online stores selling similar products or targeting the same audience. What products get traction, how are they priced and presented, and what are people saying in reviews? This process helps identify market trends and gaps – what’s already out there and where there might be room for something different or better.
Combining your competitor analysis insights with your own interests can help you identify niche products that attract a dedicated audience. These items often sell well because they’re not widely available in major stores and appeal directly to customers looking for a specific solution.
Some examples of niche products that perform well online are:
- Sustainable clothing and homewares
- Small-batch food products (e.g. specialty coffee beans, artisan chocolates)
- Subscription boxes
- Unique jewellery
- Handmade candles
- Personalised pet accessories
Create a financial plan
A financial plan breaks down all the costs involved and how much funding you need for your online store. In your plan, list each expense and its estimated cost.
Typical startup costs include:
- eCommerce platform fees
- Domain name registration
- Branding
- Product photography or videography
- Initial inventory
- Business registration and licences
Ongoing costs to factor in:
- Marketing
- Packaging materials
- Shipping
- Payment processing fees
- Software subscriptions
- Professional services (accounting, legal or consulting support)
- Staff wages (if you hire employees)
By tracking these expenses against your expected revenue, you get a clearer sense of when your store might become profitable and when you could break even. Planning ahead also helps avoid cash flow problems and keeps growth goals realistic.
Create a marketing plan
How you promote your online store affects how easily shoppers find you. A marketing strategy helps you plan how to reach customers and drive sales, including which channels to use (e.g. social media, email, online search), the content and messaging you’ll share, any launch or ongoing promotions, and how you’ll track results to see what’s effective.
2. Design your brand
Branding shapes how customers recognise and remember your online store. A consistent identity makes your business feel established from day one.
Branding
Think about your brand values and mission: What are the principles that guide your business, and what promise do you want to make to customers?
Once you’ve defined those, develop a visual style that reflects them. Choose colours that feel right for your brand, fonts that set the tone and images that tell your story. For example, a children’s toy store might pair bright colours with a whimsical font and fun product photos showing kids enjoying the toys. Keeping these elements consistent across your website, marketing and packaging makes your brand easy to recognise.
Tone of voice
Your tone of voice is how your brand ‘speaks’ to customers – it might be friendly, playful, down-to-earth, professional or premium. Pick a tone that matches your brand personality and will appeal to your target audience. For instance, a fitness apparel brand might use a tone that’s encouraging and energising: “Every workout is a step closer to your best self. Gear up and show up with our high-performance activewear.”
Apply your tone consistently across product descriptions and social posts so customers experience a cohesive brand everywhere they interact with you.
Store name
Now for the fun part: coming up with a name for your store. Consider ideas that reflect your niche, product or story so customers instantly understand what you’re about. Aim for something easy to spell and recall. Before settling on ‘the one’, confirm that it’s available to use:
- Check domain name availability: Enter your shortlisted names into a domain search tool such as GoDaddy. This ensures you can secure a website address that matches your store name (e.g. yourbizname.com.au).
- Check business name registration: Search the ASIC business names register to ensure your chosen name isn’t already registered by another business. Doing so prevents legal issues and keeps your brand identity unique.
Logo
A distinctive logo reinforces your brand and helps customers recognise your business quickly. When used consistently across your site, packaging and marketing, it becomes a familiar visual cue. If you’re starting on a budget, DIY logo tools like Canva or Looka make it easy to design a logo, or you could hire a professional designer for a more polished result.
3. Register your online business in Australia
The requirements to start an online store vary by country, so check what applies in your location. Here’s how to set up an online store legally in Australia:
- Choose a business structure: Select the business structure that suits your situation – sole trader, partnership, company or trust. This affects tax, liability and reporting obligations, so if you’re unsure which structure fits your circumstances, consider getting advice from an accountant or business adviser.
- Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN): All businesses need an ABN (a unique 11-digit identifier) to operate legally and interact with government agencies.
- Register for Goods and Services Tax (GST): If your annual turnover exceeds $75,000, you must also register for GST.
- Apply for licences and permits: Depending on what you sell and which state or territory you operate in, you may need specific approvals (e.g. food handling permits for edible products, or health and safety approvals for cosmetics). Use the Australian Government licence finder to check what applies to your store.
You can apply for these via the Australian Government Business Registration Service.
4. Source your products
Deciding how you’ll obtain products is a major part of your online business model. Different sourcing methods suit different budgets and goals.
Handmade
If you create products yourself – such as art, jewellery, candles or crafts – you control quality and uniqueness. Handmade products often appeal to customers seeking originality or personal connection.
Buy from wholesalers
Wholesale purchasing involves buying products in bulk from suppliers and reselling them at retail prices. This provides predictable inventory and margins, though it requires upfront investment and storage.
Manufacture
Working with manufacturers allows you to create custom or private-label products. It’s ideal for businesses wanting exclusive designs or their own branded product lines.
Supplier network
When looking for suppliers, consider using supplier databases or sourcing platforms that vet their members. These can help you find reputable partners and reduce the risk of low-quality products or inconsistent service. It’s also worth checking independent reviews to gauge suppliers’ overall standards.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping lets you sell products without holding inventory. When a customer orders from you, the supplier ships directly to them. It reduces upfront costs and storage needs, though margins can be lower and delivery times may vary. Popular dropshipping niches in Australia include sustainably made items, wall art and health and beauty items, as suggested by Printful.
5. Choose an eCommerce platform
Your eCommerce platform powers your online store. As you research how to set up an online store, look for a platform that simplifies setup, helps manage your products and improves the customer experience. Consider these features:
Ease of use
A user-friendly platform is key to getting your store up and running quickly. Platforms with intuitive interfaces and drag-and-drop tools reduce the learning curve, making adding products and managing your store much easier.
Design
Your site should look good on phones and tablets as well as on a desktop. Choose a platform with mobile-friendly themes and customisation options that let you tailor the site’s look to suit your brand.
Inventory management
Look for a platform that includes inventory management for tracking stock, variations (like size or colour) and stock keeping units (SKUs). This tool keeps your catalogue organised and prevents you from accidentally selling out-of-stock items. It can also update stock automatically and alert you when levels are low.
Marketing and SEO tools
Built-in marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media integration tools help you promote your store and get found online without needing separate third-party tools. Some platforms also include ad management features, so you can create and track campaigns from the same place you run your store.
Reporting and analytics
Ensure the platform offers reporting and analytics tools that give you insights into your sales trends, customer shopping behaviour and where your visitors come from. These allow you to make smarter decisions about inventory and marketing strategy.
Shipping, pickup and delivery
Working out shipping costs and ways to get orders to customers shouldn’t be a pain. Platforms with shipping calculators and multiple fulfilment options help keep delivery management simple, while customers experience a smoother checkout.
Web security
SSL encryption, PCI compliance and fraud protection are essential to protect customer data. A secure platform builds trust with shoppers and ensures your store meets legal regulations.
6. Build your online store
Once you’ve chosen your platform, you’re ready to create your website and add products.
Set up basic information
Begin by securing a domain name to give your business a professional web presence. If you have an online store with Square, it’s simple to register, purchase and connect a domain to your store in just a few steps.
Apply your brand colours and fonts across your site and upload your logo. Keeping design elements consistent helps your store feel cohesive and easy to navigate. Avoid overloading pages with too many colours, shapes or images, as this can distract from your products and slow page load time.
Add products and product descriptions
When adding products to your store, write product descriptions that resonate with customers and include the following:
- Product title: A short, clear title lets shoppers instantly know what the product is.
- Description: Explain what the product is, how it’s used and its benefits.
- Specifications: Include key details such as size, material, colour or technical features.
- Images: Studio-quality product photos help shoppers visualise the product before buying.
- Categories: Organise products into groups so customers can easily find and compare items.
Create informational pages
Informational pages guide visitors through your store and give them confidence before making a purchase.
Key pages to include:
- Home page: Introduces your brand and highlights popular products or promotions
- Contact page: Includes details for customers to reach you, e.g. email address and phone number
- About page: Shares your brand story, values and mission
- Policy pages: Outlines payment, shipping, returns and privacy policies
- FAQ page: Provides answers to frequently asked questions
7. Set up checkout and shipping
With your products and pages in place, the next step is setting up the checkout process. A hassle-free checkout makes the difference between a sale and an abandoned cart. Consider these tips to help shoppers follow through:
Checkout optimisation
Offering multiple payment methods – cards, digital wallets and buy now pay later – lets customers pay in the way that’s convenient for them. Optional add-ons at checkout like gift cards, gift wrapping and upsells can prompt shoppers to add more to their order.
One way to simplify checkout is to allow guest purchases so shoppers can buy without creating an account.
Shipping options
Provide clear shipping costs and delivery options that suit your products and customer needs. People don’t mind paying for delivery, but steep fees are a deal-breaker: 63% of shoppers ditch their carts when they feel shipping costs are too high, a 2023 CouriersPlease survey revealed. Consider appealing choices like flat-rate shipping, free delivery for orders over a certain amount or local pickup.
8. Launch your online store
By this point, your store is set up and ready to go live. Give your site a thorough test run – ensure your navigation, product pages and checkout work on desktop and mobile. After launch, gather feedback from early customers to continue refining and improving the experience.
9. Market your online store
Ongoing marketing drives traffic and sales to your online store. The most effective mix depends on your audience and budget.
Optimise for SEO
SEO helps customers find your store through search engines. Use relevant keywords in product titles and descriptions, and create helpful content (e.g. blog articles) around your niche. Setting up a Google Business Profile also improves your business’s visibility in local Google searches and Google Maps.
Check out the ultimate SEO guide for businesses for more SEO and keyword research tips.
Social media marketing
Focus on platforms where you’ll more likely find your target audience. Regularly posting image and video content about your store and products builds awareness of your brand. Share reviews and posts from happy customers – these act as social proof, showing new shoppers that your products are trusted and loved.
You can make your posts shoppable on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok by linking your online store catalogue, letting users browse and buy directly without leaving the app.
Email marketing
Email marketing software makes it easy to create and send newsletters and promotions that spotlight new products or offers and encourage customers to return. You can also track engagement to see what resonates with readers and refine your campaigns over time.
Paid marketing
Paid digital marketing helps reach audiences beyond your existing followers. Facebook and Instagram ads allow precise targeting based on demographics, interests or past engagement. Google Shopping ads put your products in front of people actively searching for them.
Start with a small budget, track performance metrics like click-through and conversion rates and adjust your strategy as needed to get the best return on investment.
FAQs: Starting an online store
How much does it cost to start an online store?
The cost to start an online store varies depending on what you sell and how you set up your store. It’s possible to start with no upfront subscription fees using platforms that offer free plans, like Square Online. Costs can increase when you invest in inventory, professional product photography, branding design, paid marketing, staff wages and other startup expenses.
How do I start an online store for free?
You can start for free with Square Online, which lets you set up a professional store, list products, accept payments and manage orders without paying any monthly fees.
The free plan includes a website builder with SEO tools, the ability to list and sell products online, support for pickup, local delivery and shipping, and integrations for selling on social platforms like Instagram and Facebook – all without upfront subscription costs. As your business grows, you can upgrade anytime for advanced features.
What are the benefits of selling online?
Selling online lets you reach more customers, showcase your products in one place and make it easy for people to browse and buy anywhere, anytime. Overheads are usually lower than a physical store and you get more control over your brand. Selling through an eCommerce platform can also give you data insights into customer behaviour, helping you fine-tune your offerings and keep customers coming back.
