8 Things You Need to Know Before Starting an E-Commerce Site

Starting an e-commerce site seems like a technical job, but the real difficulty is strategic, not technical. Starting sales without building the right infrastructure is like building a house without a solid foundation — it stands for a while but eventually collapses.

• 1
  Legal and Tax Obligations

  To run an e-commerce business in Turkey, you first need trade registry registration, a tax number, and if necessary, ETBIS (E-Commerce Information System) registration. Those who exceed a certain annual revenue threshold must register with ETBIS. Skipping these can lead to heavy fines later on.

  ⚠ The ETBIS threshold varies — check BTK's official site for updated info
• 2
  Choosing the Right Platform

  WooCommerce (WordPress-based, best for Turkey) or Shopify (for international sales). If Turkish payment infrastructure and installment options are a priority, WooCommerce clearly stands out. Platform choice is a hard-to-reverse decision — we did a detailed comparison in our previous post.

• 3
  Payment System Integration: Turkey Options

  iyzico, PayTR, and Sipay are Turkey's most common payment infrastructures. Installment options are critical for Turkish consumers — a payment system that doesn't support this directly lowers your conversion rate. An SSL certificate is mandatory, and PCI-DSS compliance must be met by the provider.

  💡 iyzico setup is free, it charges a commission per transaction
• 4
  Shipping Integration and Logistics

  Cargo companies like Yurtiçi Kargo, PTT, MNG, and Aras have WooCommerce plugins. Automatic shipping label generation upon order creation reduces the risk of errors and increases operational speed. Clearly stating the return policy on the site is both a legal requirement and a trust factor.

• 5
  Product Photography and Content

  In e-commerce, the visual is more important than the product itself. High-resolution images on a white background, shot from multiple angles, directly affect conversion. Product descriptions must appeal to both the user and search engines — keyword-rich but natural.

  📸 Recommendation of min. 4 visuals + 1 lifestyle photo per product
• 6
  How to Setup E-Commerce SEO?

  Separate keyword strategies are needed for category and product pages. Add a unique meta title/description, product-specific URL slug, and Product Schema to each product page. Cart, checkout, and account pages must be noindex — indexing these pages causes duplicate content issues.

• 7
  What to Do in the First 3 Months

  After going live, Google Search Console and Analytics setup is a priority. Monitor technical issues in the first month, start content production in the second month, and run initial ad tests in the third month. Patient, systematic growth yields much healthier results than pushing for sales in week one.

• 8
  Common Startup Mistakes

  Starting with too many products, not testing mobile experience, not writing a return policy, lacking a customer support channel, and neglecting site speed — each of these can cause serious losses in the first month.

Payment System Options in Turkey

Common Startup Mistakes