How to Create an Online Store 2025: Complete Guide for Beginners

Why You Need an Online Store in 2025

Indonesia's e-commerce continues to grow rapidly. Data shows Indonesian e-commerce transactions reached IDR 533 trillion in 2024, and predicted to keep rising. If you don't have an online store yet, you're missing out on huge opportunities.

Online Store Platform Options

1. Marketplace (Tokopedia, Shopee)

• Free to register
• Traffic already exists
• Payment system ready

Cons:

• Very high competition
• 1-5% fee per transaction
• Cannot maximize branding
• Customer data not yours

2. Own Website Store

Pros:
• Full branding control
• No marketplace fees
• Customer data is yours
• Can customize any feature

Cons:

• Need to setup yourself
• Need to drive traffic yourself
• Hosting and domain costs

3. Combination of Both (Recommended)

The best strategy is combination: marketplace for volume, own website for margin and branding.

Step-by-Step Create Online Store

Step 1: Determine Product and Target Market

Before creating a store, answer these questions:

• What product are you selling?
• Who is the target buyer? (age, location, income)
• What problem does your product solve?
• Who are competitors and what's your differentiation?

Step 2: Choose Platform

For Beginners with Limited Budget:

• Start on marketplace first
• While building brand and collecting customers

For Serious Scaling:

• Build your own website store
• Integrate with marketplace as additional channel

Step 3: Setup Online Store

If using your own website, you need:

• Domain: your website name (yourstore.com)
• Hosting: where website runs
• E-commerce Platform: system managing products, cart, checkout
• Payment Gateway: Midtrans, Xendit, or DOKU

Step 4: Upload Products

Tips for selling product photos:

• White or lifestyle background
• Minimum 3 different angles
• High resolution
• Show size/scale

Product description tips:

• Attractive headline
• Benefit bullet points
• Complete specifications
• Clear call to action

Step 5: Setup Payment and Shipping

Payment Gateway for Indonesia:

• Midtrans (most popular)
• Xendit (competitive fees)
• DOKU (for enterprise)

Courier Integration:

• JNE, J&T, SiCepat
• Use aggregators like Shipper or Biteship

Step 6: First Marketing

Organic Marketing:

• SEO for online store
• Content marketing on social media
• Google My Business

Paid Marketing:

• Facebook/Instagram Ads
• Google Shopping Ads
• Influencer marketing

Cost to Create Online Store

Budget-Friendly Option:

• Domain: IDR 150,000/year
• Shared hosting: IDR 50,000/month
• Premium template: IDR 500,000 (one-time)
• Total: ~IDR 1 million to start

Professional Option:

• Domain: IDR 150,000/year
• AI Platform like TYREX: IDR 49,000-299,000/month
• Includes hosting, database, and all e-commerce features
• Total: IDR 600,000 - 3.5 million/year

Enterprise Option:

• Custom development: IDR 20-100 million
• Monthly maintenance: IDR 2-5 million
• Total: IDR 50-150 million/year

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• No market research - Building without validation
• Poor product photos - First impression is crucial
• Copy-paste descriptions - Make unique for SEO
• No analytics setup - Must track from day one
• Not mobile-friendly - 70%+ traffic from mobile
• Complicated checkout - Every extra step = drop-off

Create Online Store with TYREX

TYREX provides Online Store Blueprint that includes:

• Product catalog with categories
• Shopping cart and wishlist
• Checkout with multiple payments
• Order management dashboard
• Customer account system
• Inventory tracking
• Courier integration
• Built-in SEO optimization

All this can be generated in minutes using AI.

Start free at tyrex.id