Please Avoid This Common Mistake
Recently I came across an online store that welcomed me with a gorgeous picture. However, the more I scrolled down on the page, the less stunning it became. Gone were the beautiful images, instead, I looked at placeholders. Clearly, this store was still under construction and not quite ready for customers.
You probably know what I am referring to. After such an experience, how likely would you be to revisit this site? Probably, not very likely.
A store on the web has many similarities to a physical store. If you wanted to open a second physical location, would you let customers come into your store, while the electrician is connecting wires and the painter repairing the walls? You wouldn't.
The same rules apply online. You would do all the prep work in the background before your grand opening. You can always apply tweaks later, but your store has to look complete at launch.
But how can you prevent customers from entering your online store while it is still under construction?
This is actually very simple. When you use Squarespace or Shopify as your platform provider, make sure to protect your store with a password that only you and your collaborators know. Squarespace and Shopify let you even customize this password page with your logo and a note to visitors that your store is opening soon. I also recommend adding an email sign-up field to notify your customers of your grand opening. Until you remove the password and open your store to the public, your website is virtually hidden.
