Starting an Online Business can be exciting, but have a plan and be prepared because there are plenty of mistakes to be made that can sink you. (Author: Harris Scott)

Here are some factors that should be considered before starting your online business:

1) An appropriate domain name. It is by a domain name that we are identified on the Net. So, choose one that is short, easy to spell, and represents the business accurately.

2) Easy to navigate website. The design should be easy to steer, with a good search function.

3) Choosing the right web host. A good host is what your business needs.

4 Reliable banking. Choose a prompt method to accept credit cards and take orders.

5) Complete database. It is used to find out what your customers are doing on the site and what more they would like to see.

6) Complete information. An online business should offer FAQs and other important information regarding the products, services, queries, shipping, etc.

7) Good marketing strategies. Find the best strategies to bring visitors on the website and ones that guarantee good customer responses.

8) While the barriers for starting such a business are low, the majority of people fail largely due to some obvious mistakes, such as overestimating profits and not listening the customers. 

Here are some of the biggest mistakes made when starting an online business:

1) Not starting at all. Don’t be one of those who talk about starting a business and never does anything about it. Every start is difficult, as it takes guts, time and money, but you will get better over time only if you decide to start.

2) Confusing “blog” with “business”. A blog is a platform for sharing your ideas, growing a big audience and connecting with people, but is not a business. The same is true for YouTubing, podcasting and any other place you are allowed to publish content for free. They can be tools for building influence. So make a more direct plan for earning an income if you want your blog or podcast to pay off.

3) Waiting too long to launch a product/service. When you start your online business you can easily get stuck on the content for months without offering something new for sale. If you are building a business, you need to address the biggest risks you may face in near future. Plus, you need to practice at building and launching products – the first product is not always that good – but don’t give up. The sooner you get something valuable out there, the closer you get to revenue.

4) Going it alone. The only reason why the largest online businesses exist today is because other entrepreneur minds believed in those ideas and didn’t let the founders to quit. No one can survive alone. You need customers, suppliers and service providers. You also need the support from your family and friends, as well as from other entrepreneurs.

5) Starting with wrong expectations. If you are running a huge business, you probably won’t have much time for traveling. Overnight success doesn’t exist and you may have to re-write your original plan several times.

6) Spending too much time thinking and not enough doing. Entrepreneurs have two modes – worker-bee mode and CEO mode. If you want to be successful, you have to be both.