My store is open: hits and misses...

I am happy to announce that I finally have an online store up and running. Well, this is actually not the first time that I do have a store or something around that on my website. I have tried many choices and platforms in the past.  I went through Square Market (not to be confused with Squarespace), eBay, Etsy and a couple of more options. Currently, I am using Ecwid (www.etsy.com), an e-commerce platform, and I am very very satisfied with it. It is simple and efficient, which is what I need. I do hope that this is the store or platform that will stay with me forever, because honestly, I very much dislike the process of "moving" to a new store. From learning the tricks, to upload the images, write the descriptions, etc., this process can be very tedious... and I don't even get into coding anything. Due to this same reason, I have learned to be a little more selective when it comes to setting up my website and/or my web store. So, being that said, I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed, hoping that this store is the last one I'll need... or at least the last one I'll set up myself.

Having a store presence online is important to me, because I like to be able to offer my work to as many people as possible. That's exactly what a web store allows me to do, to have a place where people from literally all over the world can click and purchase anything I can make available. I myself, am not much into personal experiences when it comes to buying, I like to browse, select, pay and be done. And again, that is exactly what I wanted to offer. The first priority I have regarding my web store is that it needs to be easy to navigate and use. Needless to say, my personal preferences are not the same as all my customers' and that is why I always try to offer help to anybody that is interested in my work. At the end, the goal is the same: to provide clients with an easy and enjoyable experience. I want clients and patrons to be able to visit my store and have the feeling that they can reach me. I want them to feel like I'm right there to help if they need me to do so. And at the same time, I want them to have the option to visit my store and make a quick purchase if that's what they would like.

As I mentioned before, Ecwid platform gives me ease and flexibility. A web store can be set up in five minutes or less. However, as most things in life, doing it right is not that simple. Yes, it is possible to have a web store running in that time. But obviously, the more options are available, the more time is needed to set it up. Details like shipping prices, print size options, sale offers, etc., can add up to a considerable time when setting up a simple store like mine. Of course, this kind of store cannot be compared to big corporate stores with thousands and thousand of customers, data bases, options, etc. But, at the same, time, I don't have thousands of employees working for me to get it up running, maintain it and manage it. At the end of the day, work is work. This is not hard labor, but it does require attention and effort.

Last but not least, my advice for anybody for anybody trying to open an online store: check your options out there, give them a try. Whatever works for one might not work for the other. That is exactly what happened to me. I have many artists friends, several of them with their own online store, most of them from different platforms. But they all have something in common: they feel comfortable. The stores work for them as a tool. And that's what your online store should do for you too. When it comes to my online store, I'm just getting started... again. However, it is not surprising that I am already loving it. Same as I do with everything revolving my artwork, I am excited to walk an unknown path, everything is possible. And that is more than worth the shot. Hell yeah!

I'll be back soon, but in the meanwhile, make sure to visit my online store. Either clicking at the "Store" link in this page, or by visiting http://store.popeyewong.com. As always, feel free to leave any comments here. See you next time!

​~Pops.

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