Start Your E-Commerce Store With Help From Udemy
Whether you’re just beginning your e-commerce journey, or have a product ready to launch, starting an online store can seem daunting. Udemy offers a selection of courses for all skill levels on starting an e-commerce business, using platforms like Shopify, WordPress, and more. Learn how to launch, market, and secure your online store with help from Udemy.
As most sectors of business have been revolutionized by the implementation of modern technology, no industry has been quite shaken up like commerce. Commerce has embraced the internet in a unique way that has not only extended technological benefits to long-standing companies but also to everyday consumers. The product of these two elements, labeled e-commerce, has given birth to a powerful tool used by individuals to huge corporations alike.
E-commerce, for those unfamiliar with it, is when commercial transactions take place online. If you’ve ever bought something over the internet, you’ve been involved in e-commerce.
Today, a vast majority of all major retailers have online stores, which diversifies the way we go about shopping. One of the best parts about e-commerce is that it gives anyone who wants to start a shop the ability to do so without having to buy or rent an expensive, physical location or spend funds on inventory. Though it’s unlikely your online store will put Amazon out of business, the e-commerce sector is so large that, with the right training, you can be successful.
If you’re ready to start a store, or simply intrigued by the idea, becoming properly educated on the topic will get you one step closer to your dreams. However, not all educational materials for e-commerce are up-to-date or provide the most useful information. Based on our specified criteria, we’ve compiled some of the best online, e-commerce courses you can take to jump-start your online business venture.
Quick Look: The Best E-Commerce Courses You Can Take Right Now:
What Does a Good E-Commerce Course Look Like?
If you’re serious about pursuing a career in e-commerce, you might be ready to dive right into an online course right away. But before you type that credit card number into the nearest site with a class, you need to take a step back and assess your current position and needs.
The truth is, no course is ideal for everyone. Some people will take to certain teaching methods while others won’t. Here are three elements that will undoubtedly play a large role in deciding which course will work best with you.
1. Instructor Reputation
When it comes to business, whether the instructor has a degree from a University you recognize or not, there are no assurances in who will be successful. That being said, real-life experience is essential in the world of e-commerce. You’ll want to look for instructors who have the credentials to back up the claims they make about their course and themselves.
This can also mean looking for courses with good user ratings, plenty of past and present students, and classes offered by well-known academic institutions with results to back up their course material.
2. The Level and Skills Taught
You need to take into account your current situation and experience with e-commerce before exploring courses. Why do you want to start this store, and have you interacted with any platforms like this before? You may be a complete novice to e-commerce and thus require a beginner’s course. Alternatively, you may already be familiar with a lot of the concepts, meaning you’re on the hunt for some advanced skills. Or, you may own a brick-and-mortar business and plan to transition a part of it online.
These are important distinctions, and you need a course that doesn’t waste your time going over information you already know or confuse you with topics that are too advanced.
3. Price
Though one of the many appealing elements of e-commerce is the low start up cost, that doesn’t mean you have to put your extra funds towards the education to get you started. With that being said, a high-costing course isn’t a waste if it gives you the education you need; just note that high price does not always equate to high-level insight.
As education is a cost to your overall business venture, ensure you know how much you’d like to budget for this step.
Best E-Commerce Classes for Beginner Entrepreneurs
If this is your first time exploring the world of e-commerce, then you should be looking for two, specific things in a course.
First, look for one with a low entry point. Since you don’t have any experience with e-commerce, your skills in this sector are likely to be limited. Find a course that accounts for this, including your experience and level of comfort with technology in general. Second, you’ll want a course that covers a lot of different topics. You can’t just focus on a single skill this early in the beginning; focus on getting an all-around introduction to e-commerce. Naturally, such a course won’t be particularly in-depth, but it should provide you with a foundation to build on.
Getting Started in E-commerce by E-commerce Training Academy
Who’s it for? Beginners
Price: $39
If you’re still struggling with the idea of what you want to sell in your store, Getting Started in E-commerce can help with idea generation. In addition to this, it serves as a nice introduction into the functioning world of e-commerce and tackles some of the most prominent and relevant questions people typically have in this industry.
Getting Started also takes a look at why so many people tend to fail at starting their own e-commerce shop, along with how to find the right product for you and the means in which you should sell it. The instructor has been involved in the e-commerce world since 2001, and brings life and business experience to the teaching of the course material.
Shopify Tyrant: How To Start An Ecommerce Biz From Scratch from Udemy
Who’s it for? Beginners
Price: $14.99
This highly rated Udemy course explains how to start your own e-commerce shop on the extremely popular platform Shopify, and how to scale it up. In terms of scale, the course covers conversions, product ratings and how that affects your shop, and specific categories your products will fall under.
The course also touches on digital marketing, including Facebook and Instagram, researching niches, and apps which are essential to take your store to the next, more profitable, level. The goal of the course is to get your shop to the point where it is a passive income that you can rely on.
eCom Elites
Who’s it for? Beginners
Price: $197 (Standard) or $297 (Ultimate)
eCom Elites is another introductory course that takes you through the process needed to set up your first shop. From there, you are taught how to build your store out and get the most returns from your new business venture.
The course also covers product sourcing, social media traffic, chatbot integration, and other elements to take into consideration. The official website is full of real-life examples of people who have taken the course and seen success from their e-commerce shop, attesting to the helpfulness of the class.
Best for Entrepreneurs Looking to Expand Their Brick-and-Mortar Business
If you already have a brick-and-mortar store and are looking to expand into e-commerce, then the requirements for your course will look slightly different than someone with no experience. For starters, you won’t need guidance on choosing your product as that’s already settled. But, with the right knowledge and tools, you can expand your business and diversify the revenue streams.
Ecommerce SEO 101
Who’s it for? Intermediates
Price: Free
With a brick-and-mortar store, you can rely on foot traffic for exposure to a certain extent. This is not the case with an e-commerce shop. Therefore, understanding the basics of SEO, or search engine optimization, becomes an essential part of your business model.
Shopify is one of the most widely used e-commerce platforms out there, and with the company realizing how important SEO is for Shopify store owners, it has provided a quick course to explain its significance. Regardless of whether you use Shopify or go with another e-commerce provider, this knowledge is transferable and valuable for all future store owners.
It is a short course, consisting of just seven videos, but seeks to help you understand why your store isn’t showing up on Google. If you want to further your understanding of SEO past this, you will likely need more advanced courses later on, but it is a great starting point.
Shopify Power: Build An Ecommerce Website Using Shopify from Udemy
Who’s it for? Intermediates
Price: $11.99
As we’ve mentioned before, Shopify is one of the most popular platforms for e-commerce to live. If you are looking for a more in-depth introduction to the platform and a deep dive into the interworkings of Shopify, this is the course for you.
You will learn ins and outs of what it’s like to use Shopify as your e-commerce business platform. And with 66 lectures, it is very thorough.
WordPress for E-commerce: Build online stores with WordPress from Udemy
Who’s it for? Intermediates
Price: $11.99
A popular alternative, and the go-to choice before the Shopify takeover is WordPress. If you already run a site through the online platform or prefer the layout, then WordPress for E-commerce will help you take your skills to the next level.
You’ll learn how to quickly create an e-commerce website, how to properly use the WooCommerce plugin, and be given marketing tips and Q&A support as a part of the program.
Best for Advanced E-Commerce Knowledge
Finally, these courses are for people who already have notable e-commerce knowledge and are looking to go a step beyond.
Making Your E-commerce Store Hack Proof from Udemy
Who’s it for? Advanced sellers
Price: $11.99
Online transactions bring many benefits, but they also come with new security risks. One of the worst things that can happen to your online store is for it to get hacked. This is particularly troublesome as you can lose both money and the trust of your consumers.
This course can help you take steps to prevent hackings. You will learn about DDoS attacks, malware, phishing, and much more. By the end, you will have a better understanding of the threats that are out there and how to combat them.
Digital Product Management by edX
Who’s it for? Advanced sellers
Price: $900
E-commerce is much more involved than simply setting up a store. One way to go further is to take an active part in managing the digital products you can offer. This course explains the techniques and tools you can use to assess user needs, oversee the development of a digital product, decide on its pricing, and more.
Ultimately, it will help your online business innovate and keep up with competitors.
Digital Marketing by edX
Who’s it for? Advanced Sellers
Price: $585
At the end of the day, your e-commerce business is only worth as much as it can sell. Digital marketing is integral in helping to expand your customer base in order to sell more product.
With this course, you’ll learn about market research, different types of analyses, social media analytics, and customer retention. You will discover specific strategies to increase profitability and give your e-commerce business a competitive edge.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re in the planning stages of your e-commerce business, increasing your sales, looking for advanced skills, or moving a brick-and-mortar business online, these courses will aid you in taking the next step towards your online venture. With the right training to supplement your online store, you will be able to create an educated plan of execution for your shop.
If you wish to supplement your entrepreneurial ventures further, finding the best finance book for your sector can give you a competitive edge.