When you provide your web store customers with coupon codes for online shopping, you’re not only giving them a discount. You’re giving them a reason to buy other products, both today and the next time they visit your online store. Coupons are a proven way for retailers to drive consumers to their stores and increase sales volume. Coupons are just as useful, if not more so, in an online store.

You can add online shopping coupons to your online store, regardless of how you set up your store. Here are the most popular ways of creating coupon codes for online stores:

1. Teach yourself how to design coupons from online stores and implement those coupons in-house.

2. Look to your web host for online store coupon code functionality.

3. Use a plug-in for your e-commerce software that allows you to design an online store coupon.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Create online store coupons using your technical aptitude and skills

Maybe you're the technical type who is comfortable with programming your own web site. If that's the case, you can most certainly find a way to implement coupon codes for online stores. While you likely won't find a training video or book called 'Online Stores: Coupons,' there are plenty of resources you can use to educate yourself on how to add coupons to your online store.

I recommend: World Wide Learn and E-Learning Center both offer excellent training programs on e-commerce that can help you get your online store set up just the way you want it.

Allow your web hosting provider to handle your online store coupon codes

Your web hosting provider may offer point-and-click options for every aspect of your online store, including coupon design. Sometimes, these services come for an added fee. Other times, the web host provides this sort of functionality as a basic component of an e-commerce package. Some hosting providers even offer free online store software.

I recommend: GoDaddy.com offers a shopping cart solution with its hosting package that is relatively easy to use and allows you to design coupons online. Network Solutions has an online shopping coupon component to its hosting package too.

Add a coupon module to your existing e-commerce software application

If your hosting provider's package is too limited and you're not confident enough in your technical skills to design your own online store coupons, you might consider an add-on package for your e-commerce software suite.

I recommend: If you use OsCommerce for your online store, Modular Merchant offers an excellent solution, giving you a coupon module for OsCommerce. 1AutomationWiz is an add-on that will provide coupon functionality to other types of e-commerce software.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you don't have the time or desire to implement a solution yourself, consider hiring a freelance programmer to add discount codes for online shopping to your online store.