Taking your business to the web also means potential savings on rental and operation costs. And with more customers buying goods and services digitally, you’ll have access to an ever-growing market.

Getting started needn’t be a head-scratching process. Here’s a step-by-guide to beginning your entrepreneurial journey online.

Your business idea must cater to a specific market need, so doing preliminary research is key in assessing its potential, and who you can serve via the online marketplace. You don’t want to over extend yourself and end up under-delivering on your promises.

You can consider asking family, friends or online forums for specific services and products they would love to have but are currently unable to find. Potential categories include retail, graphic design or consultancy.

Once you’ve settled on an idea, outline the product’s key features, benefits and target audience. Also, research potential competitors to see how you can improve on what’s already out there. 

Registering your business determines its legal status and enables you to enjoy perks like funding grants. Common business types include:

• Sole Proprietor: A business owned and run by one person
• Private Limited Company (Pte Ltd): A company with shares held by less than 50 people and not available to the public
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP): A joint practice between two or more professionals (e.g. accountants, architects)

Most online businesses also have laws to adhere to regarding copyright, data protection and taxation.

You can register your business via the BizFile+ portal operated by Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). ACRA charges $15 for name application and a $100 registration fee.

Before registering a business name, check that it isn’t taken a registered trademark, exist as a domain name or have a social media presence. Use the free IPOS search tool to check its trademark status.

When choosing a name, ensure it’s easy to remember, creative and fits your product or service Ideally, it should be easy to pronounce, relatively short and work well for SEO rankings too. 

Register your domain name with a reliable service. Prices differ based on the domain extension (e.g. .com, .sg or .org) and your chosen registrar.

As a benchmark, it costs $29.96 a year for non .sg domains while .sg is $58.85 annually. Remember to opt in for auto yearly renewal so you don’t lose your domain name. To make things easier host your site with your domain registrar.

You will also require a web hosting service to host your website. There are platforms that allow you to easily build an e-commerce store, or if you're looking at just a web hosting service, there are many service providers available. Do a little bit of research to find a reliable service provider and look out for terms like "Storage capacity", "bandwidth limit" and "server uptime".

For your day-to-day operations, ensure you have a reliable connection to update your website or manage incoming orders and enquiries. Consider SingNet business fibre broadband, with benefits including high-speed symmetrical internet access (between 100Mbps and 1Gbps), access to 24x7 technical support and capacity for concurrent wired and wireless connections to reduce traffic congestion.  

The primary goal of content is to describe your products and services simply and effectively. Good content should be well-written, engaging and relevant. You want potential customers to know exactly what you offer when they visit your website.

Content can also be used for marketing purposes to engage customers and put your business top of mind. Targeting the Gen-Z TikTok crowd? Aim for more videos and images to capture attention. A blog is an effective way to write about different aspects of your business that can be shared. 

You and your team can collaborate on content with solutions like Microsoft 365. It lets you view, edit and share articles with colleagues in real-time. It’s easy to receive input from all team members by submitting ideas to shared document or brainstorming over a Teams call. 

When developing your site, make sure it's simple for customers to use. For example, an e-commerce site needs to be searchable so people can find products fast. Ensure processes like product filtering, checkout and payment are streamlined so shoppers have a hassle-free experience.

Customers will want to contact your too, so give them email and phone options. Consider a service like the Teams UC Connector. This lets you access fixed line telephone calls anywhere using the Microsoft Teams app on any device. For a monthly subscription fee, unlimited local fixed-line calls are available as well. 

With your online presence established, you can then consider digital marketing to garner attention and start driving traffic to your website.