The new store is ready, the products are photographed, and the first ad is live. Then the first customer calls because card payment didn't work, the second asks when their order will arrive, and the third wants to return a product and can't find a written policy. A good-looking design solves none of these.
This is the list we go through with store owners before launch.
Which payment methods do your customers expect?
In Saudi Arabia, most shoppers expect to pay with a mada card, along with Apple Pay and credit cards, and many ask about installments. In Jordan, cards are common, many people use cash on delivery, and instant transfer through CliQ works well for larger orders. Choose a payment gateway that supports the methods common in your market, and apply for activation early, since paperwork and approvals take time. We go through the integration steps and the usual requirements in connecting your website to a payment gateway.
How should you set up shipping before the first order?
Define your delivery zones, the cost for each zone and the expected delivery time, and state them clearly on the product page and at checkout. Agree terms with a shipping company, and find out how tracking numbers reach you and how they reach the customer. An automatic message telling customers where their order is saves you dozens of phone calls a week.
Why write your return policy before launch?
Customers read it before they buy, especially on a first purchase from a store they don't know. E-commerce regulations in the region also require stores to make their details and terms clear to consumers. Write down the return period, the conditions, who pays for shipping and how the refund is made, in plain language.
What about invoices and tax?
Businesses registered for VAT in Saudi Arabia are subject to e-invoicing under the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), and Jordan runs its own national e-invoicing system. Ask your accountant what applies to your business, and make sure the store, or the accounting system connected to it, issues invoices in the required format.
How do you write a product page that sells?
The first photo decides a lot, so make it clear and set against a plain background, and add photos showing sizes or the product in use. Write the description in your customer's language and answer the questions you get on WhatsApp in it: size, material, warranty, delivery time. Don't copy the supplier's description as is. Dozens of other stores copied it before you, and search engines will find nothing on your page that sets you apart.
What should you measure from day one?
- VisitWhere the visitor came from: search, an ad, WhatsApp
- Product viewWhich products get viewed and never added to the cart
- CartHow many carts are abandoned before payment, and at which step
- PurchaseOrder value and its source
Set up tracking before your first ad campaign. Otherwise you'll be paying for ads without knowing which ones brought in sales. We wrote about this in Spending on ads with no requests coming in?
How do you manage orders and stock from day one?
Decide who receives each order, who prepares it, who hands it to the courier, and how each of them knows it's their turn. Small stores usually start with an email or WhatsApp notification, which is enough for a few orders a day. As orders grow, you need clear statuses for each one, such as new, being prepared, shipped and delivered, that the team sees in one place and the customer sees the part that concerns them.
Stock causes recurring problems when you sell online and in a physical shop at the same time. A product that has sold out on the shelf but is still available on the site means an order you'll have to apologize for. Connect the store to your inventory or accounting system if you can, or update quantities by hand at a fixed time every day.
How do you reduce refused cash-on-delivery orders?
Cash on delivery increases the number of orders, and some of them get refused at the door, or the buyer doesn't answer the courier, and you pay shipping both ways. Confirming the order with a WhatsApp message or a short call before shipping filters out many of these cases. You can limit cash on delivery to certain areas or to orders under a certain value, and encourage prepayment with faster or free shipping. Keep a record of phone numbers that refuse orders repeatedly, so you can ask them to prepay next time.
What are the monthly costs of running an online store?
Work them out before you set your prices: the platform subscription or hosting, the payment gateway's cut of each transaction, shipping per zone, packaging, and the ads that will bring in visitors during the first months. Many store owners count only the build cost, then discover that payment and shipping fees eat a large part of the margin on low-priced products. Put these figures in a spreadsheet next to each product's price and margin, and then decide the order value at which free shipping starts.
A quick checklist before you hit "Launch"
- Place a real order yourself with every payment method, then refund it.
- Open the store on an old phone over a slow connection.
- Make sure order confirmation emails arrive and don't land in spam.
- Write your shipping, returns and privacy pages and your contact details.
- Add structured product data so price and availability show in search results.
We build online stores and connect them to payment gateways and shipping as part of our website design and development service. Tell us what you sell and to whom and we'll suggest the right platform.
Questions our partners ask
Should I start on a ready-made platform or a custom-built store?
For most stores at the start, a well-known ready-made platform is enough and gets you live faster. A custom store is worth its cost when you have special processes, such as pricing per customer or integration with an existing inventory and accounting system.
How long does it take to activate a payment gateway?
It depends on the bank or gateway provider and the paperwork required, and it can take weeks. Apply early, in parallel with building the store, and don't wait until it's finished.
Written by the Visual Innovate team, the people who build, host and follow up systems, websites and apps for our clients in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt.
