Whether you’re just playing with ideas or embarking on a serious redo of your living space décor, there is plenty of guidance for how to assemble a look that fits your signature style. You know what you want. Or maybe you don’t, but you know it will hit you when you see it. Good news! Designers are on the job, updating trends year after year and dangling enticing examples before your eager eyes.
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If you were to hire a personal stylist, you’d be asked to describe your lifestyle, palette preferences, motif and era favorites. Will you work with some of the elements you have? Or will some retailer be enriched as you throw out the old and start from scratch?

Maybe the most important component to running a successful online business is knowing where you are at all times. Unlike the traditional onsite store, it’s necessary to figure out where your customers are coming from in the expanse known as the World Wide Web.

How are they finding you? How can you find them? Who orders what? When is your most popular ordering time?

Assessing stats may not be your idea of fun, but it could make the difference between a fledgling site and a robust operation that will lead you to expand, putting you on the ecommerce map.
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So where do you start? Here are some ideas.

Jumping into the world of online commerce? Your experience may be everything you dream of, or perhaps a surprising disappointment. Like every business, selling over the Internet involves careful attention to tried-and-true strategies. Learning the ropes prior to launch will assure a smoother sailing.
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Experimentation is far more flexible when your business exists in cyberspace. Adjustments can come much faster and with less visibility than if you ran a brick-and-mortar store. But even at that, there are pitfalls to avoid that will save valuable time down the road.

What does your ecommerce site look like?

Is it colorful? Splashy? Organized?

Is it in keeping with the product or products you sell?

Appearance isn’t everything. That’s the truth. But it’s becoming harder to deny the fact that swimming in a crowded sea means you’d better be attractive to enough fish in order to survive. For online merchants, that means paying close attention to the interface your customers encounter from the time they log on to your site and the point at which they decide to buy.

Themes are one of those fun aspects of digital content. From back in the early part of the decade, when cell phones began offering interchangeable images and functions on their screens, customers have been exposed to virtual presentations of what they once viewed on paper.

The concept of a theme is so much more than a photograph or image. In practical terms, it means a synchronized application of pictures and operations. It’s customizable in a way that offers great or little control. 

If you've been waiting all year, it's finally time. IRCE in Chicago kicked off last night with a Welcome Reception and continues through Friday. 

A premier ecommerce conference, IRCE delivers exceptional events, panels, exhibitions, and speakers. 

Check out the website, or social media - follow @IRCE_Official and #irce2017 on Twitter - or better yet, get the app!

Tell us in the comments what you're looking forward to most. We're excited to hear Under Armour VP George Hansen give the keynote on Thursday.