How To Sell Baked Goods Online: From Oven to Checkout in 2024

Launching an online bakery in 2024 isn’t just about baking – it’s about understanding the digital marketplace. The best way to start selling your baked goods online is to set up a dedicated website for your bakery. While this may sound intimidating, I promise you don’t need to be an expert on hosting, domains, or other technical jargon to get started.

Even if you’ve never built a website, platforms like Wix simplify the process with intuitive tools, ready-to-use templates, and AI generators. You can set up your bakery storefront by simply selecting a design you like and tweaking a few elements.

In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about launching your online bakery. From choosing the right platform to setting up your storefront, I’ll walk you through step-by-step. Whether you dream of showcasing artisan cupcakes or family recipes, the tools and guidance here will help you realize that dream – efficiently and affordably.

Preparing Your Kitchen for Online Sales

Before diving into building your online bakery, conducting thorough research will set a solid foundation for your business. Here are some essential steps to guide you:

Find Your Niche And Define Your Brand

Selling baked goods is a broad category, and if you’re just starting out, I recommend specializing in 1-3 sub-niches. These may include desserts, artisan bread, vegan pastries, or even just cupcakes alone. This will help you stand out in a crowded market and attract a targeted customer base.

You also want to differentiate your baked goods from competitors by having a unique selling proposition (USP). This could be that you use organic ingredients, personalized packaging, or only sell gluten-free baked goods. Your brand identity should resonate with your target audience and reflect your values as a baker.

Research Your Target Audience

Understand your potential customers and what drives their purchasing decisions. For example, if you sell artisan bread, then you know your target audience values quality ingredients and traditional baking methods. They may also be willing to pay a premium for authenticity.

By identifying and understanding your target audience, you can tailor your offerings, marketing messages, and customer engagement strategies to meet their needs and preferences.

Analyze Competitors

I’d give similar advice to any new business, but you’ll want to study other online bakeries to identify gaps in the market and learn from successful strategies. Assess their product offerings, pricing models, customer engagement tactics, and how they approach branding. This competitive analysis will help you see what’s working in the baking industry and find opportunities for innovation.

Explore Legal Requirements

Understand the rules and regulations concerning running a bakery business, including cottage food laws specific to your state. These laws regulate the sale of homemade food products, including baked goods, from residential kitchens. I also recommend checking local health department guidelines for selling food products online and ensuring you comply with your region’s packaging and labeling requirements.

Develop a Plan and Budget

Last on my list is to create a comprehensive business plan outlining your goals, marketing strategies, operational logistics, and financial projections. Then, estimate your initial costs, such as ingredient sourcing, packaging materials, and marketing expenses. Finally, establish a budget to ensure you remain financially sustainable as you launch and grow your online bakery.

Choose the Right Platform To Sell Your Baked Goods

When selling your delicious creations online, you have several options to consider. You can build your online bakery using a website builder, sell on specialized platforms like Amazon, or utilize social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Building your own online store with a platform like Wix is the best route. Why? Because it gives you complete control over your store’s design, branding, and customer experience. Unlike specialized platforms that may restrict how you market your treats and charge higher fees, having your own store gives you the flexibility to showcase your baked goods precisely as you envision.

Moreover, you can integrate your Wix store with eBay, Amazon, and all major social media platforms and control everything from a single dashboard. This unified approach will help simplify your inventory management and sales tracking, thus saving you time and effort.

In the next section, I’ll guide you through setting up your online bakery store on Wix step-by-step. While there are other builders you may want to consider, remember that Wix offers a free trial so you can explore its features and build your store without any initial cost.

Choose a Good Name for Your Online Bakery

When choosing a name for your online bakery, it’s essential to ensure that your store name matches your domain name. The domain name is the web address customers type into their browser to visit your site. A matching store and domain name makes it easier for customers to find and remember your business.

When selecting a name for your bakery, I suggest you keep it simple, memorable, and reflective of your brand and products. Avoid long or complicated names that might confuse potential customers. Consider incorporating keywords related to baked goods, such as “SweetTreatsBakery” or “ArtisanLoafHaven,” to improve searchability and attract the right audience.

A domain name comes with its own cost, separate from your website builder plan. However, some platforms offer a free domain for a set timeframe. For example, when you sign up for a new plan, Wix gives you a free domain for the first 12 months. So you don’t have to worry about additional costs initially.

Wix also provides useful tools like domain name search engines to help you identify available domains and suggest alternatives if your first choice is taken.

Customize Your Baked Goods Store

Before choosing a domain name, you must sign up for a Wix account. Whether you opt for a free or paid plan, signing up is super easy, especially if you use your Google or Facebook account. Once you sign up, Wix will ask you questions about your business and direct you to your dashboard. Here, click on “Design Site” to start customizing your site, and you’ll get two options: “Generate a Design with AI” or “Customize a Template.”

I tried the AI option first, and a prototype site was ready within seconds. Then, I tried the template option and was directed to a template library with several website designs. The selection process was hard for me, as I got lost in the sheer number of available designs. But once I found a theme I liked, it didn’t take long to customize it to my liking.

I want to mention that by default, the AI builder only generates one page for your website (a homepage). If you want more options like an About or Contact page, simply change the site structure from within the site brief, and the AI tool will generate more pages for you.

Once you’re in the editor, it’s really just about changing images, text, and colors to fit your bakery’s brand style. Click on any image or text box to edit it, then replace stock images with photos of your baked goods. Update the text to include your bakery’s name, slogan, and a brief description. You can do all this manually or use AI to help generate texts and images.

You can add elements like text, images, and buttons from the left-hand menu. You can also add new sections to each page or create an entirely new page for your website. To change the theme of your website, click on Site Design. In this menu, you can change your color theme, text theme, page background, and how your page transitions when customers scroll through it.

Add Your Baked Goods as Products

To add your baked goods to your new website, start by logging in to your Wix account and navigating to your site’s dashboard. From there, select Catalog > Store Products > Products. Next, click “New Product” in the top-right corner of the screen, and you’ll be directed to a product management section where you can start uploading details about your baked goods.

You can start by uploading images of the treats you want to sell. Try to use high-quality photos – I found that using neutral or white backgrounds is a great way to eliminate distractions. You should also post multiple angles to give customers a full view of each item, such as top, side, and cross-section views. If possible, include photos of the packaging and presentation to give your customers a complete picture.

Once your images are uploaded, proceed to the product details section. Here, you’ll enter the name of the baked good, its price, and a detailed description to highlight any unique features such as organic ingredients, homemade recipes, and flavor. Try to use sensory language to evoke taste and smell, making the description more vivid and enticing.

If you offer your baked goods in different flavors or sizes, use the “Product options” section to add these. Adjust pricing and stock levels for each variant accordingly.

If your bakery business offers pre-orders, scroll down to the Pre-order section and toggle it on.

Next, fill in the details, such as the number of items available for pre-order or any message you want to relay to your customers about the pre-order. You can also create different subscription plans for each baked good, such as weekly, monthly, or yearly deliveries.

Update Your Store Settings and Payment Information

From your Wix dashboard, you can easily access and update your store’s settings to ensure everything runs smoothly. Go to your dashboard and click on Settings in the left-hand menu. Then click on Checkout to customize the form your customers will fill out at the checkout point.

I suggest adding email address and phone number fields to this form if you plan on running email marketing or SMS campaigns. You’ll also need to turn on the subscription opt-in checkbox so your customers can join your email/SMS list. Next, update your store’s terms and conditions, return, and privacy policies.

Move on to the Orders settings. Here, you can manage how fast customers receive their orders, set pickup & delivery locations, set up automated notifications after an order is placed, and create incentives to encourage customers to place orders online.

Lastly, go to the Accept Payments section to set up how your customers will pay for your baked goods. There are several options, including credit/debit cards like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Digital wallets like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are also available, and you can even offer installment payments through services like Afterpay.

Preview and Launch Your Online Bakery

Before you launch your online bakery, it’s essential to thoroughly preview and test your website. I like to review the site on both desktop and mobile devices to ensure all content is displayed correctly. I’d look for spelling or grammatical errors that could make the business look unprofessional.

You also want to test every navigation menu, clickable button, link, and image to confirm they are working correctly and leading to the intended pages. Broken or misdirected links can frustrate your potential customers and harm your credibility.

Next, I recommend simulating a customer shopping experience. Select various products, view their photos, and ensure they’re clear and accurate. If your site includes product variants, such as different flavors or sizes, ensure these options are displayed correctly and are easy to select. You want to provide a seamless user experience that can influence your customers to buy your treats.

Also, test the entire checkout process from start to finish. Add items to your cart and proceed through the payment steps, ensuring customers can easily select a payment method and complete their purchase. Verify that promotional discounts, taxes, and shipping costs are applied correctly.

To finalize your preparations, run a speed test on your website to ensure it loads quickly. A slow website can discourage visitors and affect your search engine rankings. You can use tools like Google Lighthouse to test your site’s speed on both desktop and mobile. After addressing any speed issues, you can confidently publish your online bakery, knowing it offers an excellent user experience.

Promote Your Online Bakery

Now that your bakery is online, it’s time to promote it. There are many ways to do this – some will be more effective than others. To start, optimize your website for search engines. Wix offers a variety of SEO tools to help your bakery rank higher in search results. You can easily modify your product titles, descriptions, and other site content to include keywords that potential customers are searching for.

Starting an email marketing campaign is also highly effective. Regularly sending newsletters, promotions, and updates to your subscribers will keep your bakery at the forefront of their minds and drive repeat business. A social media campaign is another powerful way to attract customers. Use Wix’s social media tools to share product pages from your site directly to platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

But if you find these tasks overwhelming, consider hiring a freelancer. Many offer affordable services for building and promoting online stores. You can find qualified experts who can handle these tasks efficiently on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork.

Promoting your online bakery is a long-term investment of time and money. While building your SEO profile and marketing campaigns, start selling on social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace or Facebook groups to reach potential customers quickly. I recommend starting with customers in your local area.

Baking Your Way to Online Success in 2024

Building an online bakery requires careful planning and continuous effort. From selecting your niche to creating and customizing your store, every step is crucial to your success. Tracking your website’s performance and updating it with fresh content is also essential for maintaining customer interest and driving growth.

That said, the first (and most important) step is to create your online bakery and launch a basic store. As you get more comfortable with the process, you can refine and expand your site to better meet your customers’ needs. By taking that initial leap, you’ll be well on your way to turning your passion for baking into a thriving online business.

FAQ

What baked goods can you sell online?

You can sell various baked goods online, including cookies, cakes, bread, pastries, muffins, and cupcakes. Specialty items like macarons, gluten-free or vegan treats, and custom-decorated cakes are also trendy.

What is the best way to send baked goods?

The best way to send baked goods is to use a sturdy container like a cardboard box and wrap each item individually in plastic wrap or foil to maintain its freshness. For perishable goods, use fast shipping methods such as overnight or two-day delivery to ensure the goods remain fresh. To easily manage your orders and streamline shipping, consider building an online bakery with Wix.

What are the best baked goods to sell?

There is no single best baked good to sell – several items perform well in the market. Cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and specialty bread are popular items you can sell. It’s more about how you sell than what you sell. To effectively market your baked goods, consider building a professional online bakery. Using a platform like Wix can help you create an attractive and functional website, making reaching a broad audience and selling your tasty treats easier.

Are baked goods profitable?

Yes, baked goods can be highly profitable. Profit margins for baked goods like cookies, cupcakes, brownies, etc., often exceed 60%, thanks to their relatively low production costs and the ability to sell them at a premium. However, building an online presence with a platform like Wix can enhance your profitability by reaching a broader audience and simplifying sales and marketing efforts.