How to start an online store in India in 2026 (step by step)

Starting an online store in India has never been cheaper or faster — if you avoid a few common traps. This guide walks through the whole process, from zero to your first order.

1. Decide what you’re selling — and how

Physical products need inventory tracking and shipping. Digital products (ebooks, courses, presets) need secure delivery links. Events need ticketing and reminders. Pick a platform that handles your product type natively — bolting ticketing onto a T-shirt store with plugins gets expensive fast. Sellerlane supports physical, digital, event, and gift card products out of one catalog.

2. Pick a platform priced for India

Three things to check before you commit:

• Currency: Is the subscription priced in INR with GST invoices, or in dollars?
• Transaction fees: Many platforms add 1–2% on top of gateway fees. Over a year, that’s often more than the subscription itself. Sellerlane adds 0%.
• UPI support: Most Indian buyers pay by UPI. It must be first-class at checkout, not an afterthought.

3. Set up payments with Razorpay or PayU

Create a merchant account with Razorpay or PayU — you’ll need your PAN, bank account, and basic KYC. Connect the gateway to your store, and settlements go directly to your bank account. On Sellerlane this is a guided flow that takes about ten minutes.

4. Connect your domain

Start on a free subdomain (like yourstore.sellerlane.io) and connect a custom domain when you’re ready — a .in or .com from any registrar works. Look for a platform that manages SSL certificates automatically; expired certificates kill trust and search rankings.

5. Make product pages that convert

• Use 3–5 sharp photos per product (your platform should optimize them automatically)
• Write the first 160 characters of each description as if it’s the Google snippet — it often is
• Add real dimensions, materials, and care instructions: fewer support questions, fewer returns

6. Launch checklist

Before sharing your link: place a test order, check the confirmation email lands in the inbox (not spam — this is where managed DKIM/SPF matters), verify your refund policy page exists, and confirm your store loads fast on a mid-range phone over 4G. That last one is most of your audience.

7. Get your first 10 orders

Your first orders come from channels you already have: WhatsApp status, Instagram bio link, community groups. Add a launch discount code, and turn on abandoned checkout recovery so the people who almost bought get a nudge.

Start with search words buyers already use

Your first content plan should be simple: one homepage that says what you sell, collection pages for the way buyers search, and articles that answer questions before purchase. For a Shopify-like platform in India, the best seed terms are “online store builder,” “ecommerce website builder,” “sell online in India,” “UPI payments for online store,” and “Shopify alternative India.” Use them only where they are true to the page.

Total cost to launch: a domain (~₹800/year) plus your platform subscription. Everything else — design, SSL, email, analytics — should be included.