A lot of us seem to think that e-commerce has had its day. That Amazon has come and eaten every small fish, and now there is no scope for anyone else to get into the game. But that’s not true! Today it’s easier than ever to start your own store, and if you look around you see hundreds of people are opening their own niche stores and drop-shipping successfully!

So here’s how to get a piece of the pie — and design your own ecommerce platform from scratch:

1. Choose a Niche

First things first, before you create a store — you need to think about what you want to sell and find a niche in the universe for yourself. A good niche has two elements — it combines a market need with something that you are personally interested in. At this stage, it’s best to talk to as many potential users as possible and try to identify their needs, priorities and beliefs. …

In the digital age, more so now than ever — having a web presence is of utmost importance. COVID-19 has taught us the ease of doing business from the comfort of one’s home, with just a laptop in hand — and this is likely to continue as a trend going forward. Those of us that are not yet accustomed to the digital world might wonder — is it too late to join in? How do I start?

Well, this article is for you. You can start building a website in 5 easy steps, and here is how.

Step 1: Decide what your website goals are

First, think about why you need a website — what your goals are, what is the intent, what content will be found on it, etc. It helps to think about the kind of traffic you want on your blog eventually, and the kind of people you want to serve as this knowledge will help you make key decisions later on. …

Chances are you’re here to get a glimpse into peoples inner lives. Beyond the two-dimensional backlit screen you see their words plastered on two, we are three (maybe four) dimensional people who have thoughts, feelings and behaviors completely outside the act of tap-tap-tapping on a keyboard.

Here’s a little background about me.

I was born in Delhi, India and then I moved to Mumbai. As a child with no siblings and no first cousins, I spent a lot of time alone in my childhood — which led me to books.

I was always the shortest person around. And that made me work hard.

In school, I was quick-witted and shy. …

By now, everyone and their web designer know the importance of accessible design — the aesthetic, the legal, the business and the user benefits of it and why we need every website to be compliant today. But what remains to be known by people is how exactly to go about creating a website that is accessible, easy to use, and appreciated by the masses.

Enter, this article. Here are 7 easy steps to make sure your website is accessibility compliant.

1. First things first, ask yourself where you are and where you need to go

Before you start, test the accessibility of your current website. This would give you a good sense of where you stand currently and where you need to go. …

Inclusivity is everywhere, and it is of utmost importance today. With every person wanting to feel included and appreciated, digital users want to feel welcome and appreciated as well.

What is accessibility design?

Accessibility is a measurement of a user’s ability to use products/services, the extent to and ease with which they can meet their goals. A common misconception is that accessibility requires a focus on users that have some kind of disability — but that isn’t the case. Accessibility design is design that is inclusive to everyone. …

“Many organisations are waking up to the fact that embracing accessibility leads to multiple benefits — reducing legal risks, strengthening brand presence, improving customer experience and colleague productivity.”

- Paul Smyth, Head of Digital Accessibility, Barclays

When we think about accessibility in the digital world, the thing that comes to mind is a social-service-esque act that helps people. While it is true, and that it is indeed helpful for people when websites are accessible and easy to use, there is another side of the coin that is also true — accessible websites are good actually for business!

It is oftentimes difficult to prioritize accessibility amongst the other factors of constantly changing new technologies, design decisions and development practices. What most organizations don’t realize is that accessibility can unlock a lor of benefits for business. And, if it’s really done right, accessibility can certainly become a competitive advantage, especially in the eCommerce space. …

“You can buy your hair if it won’t grow
You can fix your nose if he says so
You can buy all the make-up that MAC can make
But if you can’t look inside you
Find out who am I to
Be in the position to make me feel so
Damn unpretty”

— Unpretty, TLC

Think back to the number of times you’ve been told that looks aren’t everything. You’ve definitely heard it, likely from your parents, media counter-narrative or well-meaning friends. Maybe it was your family (being nice) about your less-than-cream skin.

But, the way this needs to be said so explicitly in healthy doses every now and again, kind of makes one think that maybe, it might actually just be everything, doesn’t it? …

They say that you should do something every day that scares you. And, it makes sense right? We grow through the discomfort. And of course, I’m sure whoever wrote this quote meant controlled fear (don’t jump into that snake pit just yet).

But the problem is that… well, scary is scary. Scary isn’t fun. Either way, the most recent scary thing I did was this: I stood for an election.

My alma mater (one of them) was having an election for their alumni association — a team of 6 and a leader that would oversee alumni strengthening efforts for a tenure of two years. …