Starting a boutique business, especially when you've got a passion for fashion, makes sense. After all, you get to make money doing what you love. Launching your online boutique has now become a necessity.
Thanks to the pandemic, people are shopping online, and you can reach a much larger audience than in a brick-and-mortar shop. That's also easy today, thanks to online store builders like Wix.
We've had our eye on these comprehensive tools since the day they launched, and my, my, have they changed. Years of hands-on experience tell us that the Wix of today is far more advanced than ever.
Signup Wix for Free
Wix comes with a free plan and a wide spread of “what it calls ‘Premium Wix Accounts’ available”Premium Plans” that range in price from $4.50/mo all the way to $35/mo. To create your online boutique, we suggest you start with its free plan > Create a free account here.
Wix Fashion Site Template
Feeling pumped and ready to start your own online fashion store yet? Here are the steps to start an online boutique using Wix.
1. Sign Up for a Wix Account
2. Create Your New Online Boutique
Head to the top left and click the drop-down arrow. Click “Create New Site.”
3. Choose Your Store's Template
You'll see the Wix Templates library. Enable the “Store” filter to view the relevant templates for your store.
Navigate the tabs at the top to narrow down what you'll be selling (some online boutiques may focus on selling jewelry and accessories, or others.); this makes for a more convenient customization process moving forward.
Take your time to go through the templates. Hover your mouse over each template to either ‘Edit’ (you have chosen this as your primary website template design) or ‘View’ (template preview).
Test every aspect of the template design to see which complements your features best. For example, if you're selling several similar products with respective variants, go for a template with a simple layout and enough space to accommodate large, standalone product images.
Check the pages and view how they work. Look for the necessary eCommerce functions (listed cart, checkout icons, and more). Also, investigate images with zoom and slider capabilities, product titles, descriptions, pricing, areas for return, refund, and delivery information, and others.
4. Customize Your Store Designs
Since my products are purely t-shirts, I landed on the “T-Shirt Store” template. Start customizing your online boutique via Wix's drag-and-drop page builder.
Go to the left panel:
- Add elements – choose the webpage elements (images, buttons, text boxes, blog, lists, events, and others).
- Add sections – find premade modules, such as about your store, welcome, contact information, promotion, and more.
- Pages and menu – add menus, signup and login pages, store pages, and more.
- Site design – change the theme’s colors, typography, page backgrounds, and transitions.
- Add apps – if you need features, explore Wix App Market, add anything from payment gateways, pop-ups, analytics, Wix Chat (communicate with your customers) to social media buttons, and more.
- Media – upload images and videos from your social media, cloud storage, or computer. Wix Photo Studio enhances your images, and Wix Video Maker enables you to create videos for your store.
- Content Manager – use Wix Content Manager to help manage your store’s content.
Drag whatever you need anywhere in the editor. Changes are in real-time.
If you're unhappy with what you see, click on any element to delete, move, or customize it.
Wix has an extensive Help section at the top of the editor in case you need help; this makes it easy for you to refer to since the Help section is within the editor itself.
5. Update Business Information
Within the Wix editor, go to the ‘Settings’ tab at the top, then click ‘Business Info’.
Fill in your store name and details, including location and contact information.
Upload your store’s logo or use Wix Logo Maker, an online design tool powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that helps you create and customize a professional logo for free. Answer several questions about your store brand and style for Wix Logo Maker to design a unique logo specific to your business needs.
More options in free logo makers here.
6. Add Products to Your Boutique
Since this is a T-Shirt shop, you’ll sell physical products.
You’ll then see a list of products already added by the template (template demo products). You can use them as a guide in your product creation. To remove these demo products, check them and click “More Actions > Delete.”
Next –
- Enter the product title and description with images/video.
- Set the pricing, and include any variants with respective pricing.
- Track inventory and add the product to subscriptions you plan on selling.
- Ensure the “Show in online store” is checked and fill in/include any other relevant information.
Optimize your product page SEO settings to boost your store’s visibility in search engines and social networks. Although Wix adds default SEO settings to your pages (title tags and meta descriptions) based on best practices, you can customize them to suit your needs.
Review the product details, and once everything is in order, click “Save.”
7. Configure Payment Methods
Choose the payment methods and click their respective “Connect.” Remember to allow several payment methods to provide your customers with more options.
Depending on your payment method, you may have to confirm if your products are on the restricted list. Wix Payments does not allow firearms, adult content and services, alcohol, and others.
If you clear the restricted list, Wix Payments works for you; opt for Wix Payments as it's one of the most convenient options for WIx store integration. You can then complete the setup in Wix Payments.
8. Configure Shipping Rules
Go to “My Business” on the editor's left panel and click it. Then, click “Set Up Shipping” next to “Define Shipping Regions.”
It is here that you manage where you offer shipping, local delivery, and pickup. Also, set how much you charge for each option at checkout.
Add a custom shipping region or use the preset shipping regions, “Domestic' and ‘International.”
9. Optimize for SEO & Marketing
People need to find your online boutique when launched. Hence, Wix has an SEO checklist to help you start your SEO journey on Google.
Within the editor, head to “My Business” on the left panel and click it.
Click “>” next to “Go to Dashboard” and then “Marketing & SEO.”
Click “SEO” > “Get Started.” Answer three questions for Wix to build your personalized checklist.
Create your email marketing by selecting the relevant template to reach out with a branded message. Email marketing has always been an effective pillar of building an online business by reaching customers directly in their inboxes.
10. Connect Your Domain Name
Some of you may prefer to stick with Wix’s free domain. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that people will purchase from your online boutique once they see your store is riding on a free Wix domain (ie. myboutique.wix.com). Aside from not projecting a professional image, people will doubt your sincerity in doing business.
Go to your dashboard and click “Connect Domain” at the top.
Whether you intend to purchase the domain from Wix or already have one, input the web address for your site (you will need a Premium plan to connect to the domain you bought elsewhere).
Click “Let’s Go.” Follow through the steps until complete. Updating domains may not be immediate; it can take up to 48 hours to take effect.
11. Launch Your Online Boutique
Your online boutique is ready. However, preview everything before you decide to launch your store.
Go to your dashboard, and under “Site & App,” click “Website.” Then, click “Edit Site.”
Click “Preview” on the top right and check through everything under the desktop view.
Click “Switch to mobile” at the top to view your store on mobile devices.
Click “Preview” on the top right and view your store on mobile devices. Once you're happy with what you see, hit the blue “Publish” at the top right corner.
Next is to test your brand new store by looking around your online boutique. After all, you want to ensure everything runs like clockwork, with no hiccups.
12. Sell Internationally and Everywhere Online
Reach out to International Market
The beauty of having an online boutique is that you can go global and expand your business into new markets. The idea may seem daunting, but Wix offers the tools that can help simplify your efforts.
Wix facilitates international payment processing, cross-border shipping methods, and translating your store into the respective languages. Think of the overall work-support process in this way;
- Wix Multilingual App First, address local markets' needs overseas by speaking their language. The Multilingual app translates your store into over 180 languages. This localization helps you allay “new shop concerns” that new buyers may face. They will feel more at ease browsing and purchasing in their native language.
- Handle International Sales Taxes Effortlessly Sales taxes vary by region. Wix eCommerce websites enjoy automated sales calculation by Avalara. Based on pre-configured tax rules, Avalara computes the sales taxes accordingly. You can also manually handle the sales tax rates. Wix allows payments internationally through its native Wix Payments or over 80 payment gateways supported by Wix worldwide.
- Let Buyers Pay in their Local Currency Wix's local currency converter allows your buyers to view prices in the currency of the region they reside in. Also, Wix offers international shipping features. Set your shipping fees (consider cross-border fees, regional tariffs, and local taxes), shipping rules, and various shipping options.
Sell Everywhere Online
Not everyone will want to buy from your online boutique. After all, everyone has their preferences. Instead of relying on just the store, Wix allows you to handle omnichannel sales.
You can sell via your online boutique, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Instagram, or other social media platforms. You can choose the channels you want to connect to and set them up in minutes. One part that I love is that your Wix boutique and Amazon inventory will automatically sync in real-time.
Or, if you're more adventurous, address the needs of a young market and use Wix to build a custom mobile online boutique app.
Why Choose Wix to Build Your Online Boutique?
Some store owners hesitate to build an online store as the general thought is that it is difficult and will take weeks or even months to complete. However, with easy-to-use website builders like Wix, you can get your online boutique up within a day.
We've tried it over and again ourselves. In our experience (and that of several compatriots), you can launch a basic Wix site within hours. Everything you need is included, from site templates to logo designers and such.
Wix is great for creating small to medium-sized online stores. There are many aesthetically pleasing templates to get things started fast, and with its drag-and-drop editor, you have lots of creative control over how you want to shape your online boutique. No tech skills are required, and you can build a Wix website for free.
Signup on Wix Website Builder for free
Build Your Online Boutique with Wix
The most significant thing we love about Wix is its easy use, even though it provides such a wide range of tools and assets. That means you can easily customize your boutique's website to fit your brand's aesthetic and showcase your products correctly.
By following the guide we've provided above, you can leverage all the features and tools that Wix offers quickly.
Remember to keep your branding consistent, create engaging product descriptions and images, and market your store effectively to attract and retain customers. With hard work and dedication, your online boutique store with Wix can become a profitable and fulfilling venture.
