In-store shopping still leads by a long shot, with retail spending in brick-and-mortar shops outpacing online purchases 7-to-1 — but that doesn’t mean you should disregard a business website. In fact, shoppers in the U.S. are spending over $1 trillion online each year, and a share of that could be yours.
If you own a fabric or quilt shop, you might think customers prefer to feel the fabric in person, but online shopping is growing even for fabric stores. With more people buying fabric, patterns, and sewing supplies online, having a well-designed website can take your business to the next level.
So, whether you're expanding or just starting out, this guide will show you how to build a fabric store website that works for you — plus, we’ll explore how a point of sale (POS) system with a website builder makes it even easier.
If you're still wondering whether a fabric store website is worth the effort, here’s why it's a great move for your business:
Having a website for your fabric store opens up a whole world of opportunities. It’s a great way to grow your business and connect with more customers.
Now that you know why it's worth having a fabric store website, let’s go over the key steps to get yours up and running.
If you don’t have a background in web design, don’t worry — you don’t need one. We’ve broken the process down into simple steps to make creating your fabric store website as easy as possible.
The first step in building your website is to select the platform that best fits your needs. You want a system that helps you showcase your products, manage inventory, and process orders easily. A good website builder should also allow you to add product categories, manage pricing, and handle customer transactions.
A website builder that integrates with your POS system makes managing your store so much easier. It syncs your online and in-store inventory, so you never have to worry about overselling or running out of stock. With real-time data, you can keep track of your sales and inventory across all channels, from your website to your brick-and-mortar store.
Design is about functionality as much as it is about looks — it needs to offer a seamless shopping experience. The layout should be easy to navigate, making it simple for customers to find fabrics, patterns, and supplies.
A POS system that’s integrated with your website helps ensure that your design is beautiful, cohesive, and functional. You can easily update your inventory in real time, which means that your website reflects the current stock of each fabric — this means customers never have to worry about ordering something that’s out of stock.
Plus, many POS systems come with built-in analytics tools that show you which products are performing well, so you can make informed decisions about how to feature fabrics on your site.
Once your design is ready, it's time to populate your website with products. Organize your fabric collection into categories like cotton, linen, silk, or by project type (e.g. quilting, home décor).
A POS system integrates seamlessly with your website’s product catalog. As you add fabrics or products, your inventory is automatically updated across both your online store and physical location. This eliminates manual updates and keeps everything in sync.
Plus, when you add new products, the POS system suggests relevant pricing and stock levels based on historical data.
Related Read: Business How To Choose Quilting Supplies for Your Store
For a smooth shopping experience, you need to offer secure and convenient payment options. Whether it’s credit cards, PayPal, or even local payment methods, your goal is to make it easy for customers to pay.
The right POS system allows you to offer multiple payment options while securely processing transactions. The beauty of having a POS system integrated with your website is that it also syncs your payment information across both online and in-store sales. This makes reconciling payments and managing financials much simpler.
When it comes to shipping, you also want to offer flexible options like standard, expedited, or free shipping for larger orders.
Most consumers shop from their mobile device versus a laptop or desktop computer, so it’s important that your fabric store website is mobile-friendly. A responsive design automatically adjusts to fit different screen sizes and provides a smooth shopping experience, no matter what device your customers use.
POS systems with integrated website builders typically come with responsive themes designed for mobile shopping. This ensures that your site functions smoothly on mobile devices and provides a seamless checkout experience. Additionally, your inventory updates automatically across devices, so if someone buys fabric on mobile, the system reflects that in real time.
Adding a blog to your fabric store website can help with both customer engagement and SEO. Write posts that have value for your customers, like sewing tips, fabric care instructions, or new fabric trends. This also helps drive more traffic to your website, as search engines love fresh, relevant content.
A POS system integrated with a website builder can make managing content and products even easier. As you write blog posts, your POS system can help you link blog content to relevant products — like fabrics or tools — driving traffic to your online store. This crosslinking can help improve your SEO and generate more sales.
You can also think about the things you search as a fabric store owner and as a consumer. This is a great starting line for blog post ideas, or you can do keyword research to help come up with topics.
SEO is the process of getting your website to rank higher on search engines like Google. Use keywords like “fabric store website,” “buy quilting fabric online,” and other related terms to help potential customers find your store.
Many POS systems with website builders come with built-in SEO tools that make it easier to optimize your website. For example, your POS system might allow you to add SEO-friendly descriptions for each product or automatically create SEO-friendly URLs for your product pages. This can help improve your ranking on Google, making it easier for customers to discover your store.
Before you officially launch your fabric store website, make sure everything works perfectly. Test the shopping experience from browsing to checkout, ensuring everything is seamless and functional.
Once you’ve tested your site, your POS system will ensure that all of your sales data, inventory levels, and customer details are synced and up to date. Whether someone shops online or in-store, the system tracks everything in one place, making reporting and analysis easier post-launch.
When you're ready to launch, promote your site through email, social media, and even in-store if you have a physical location. The more you spread the word, the more customers will visit your site!
Related Read: Fabric Store Marketing: 8 Beginner Tips
As you move forward with building your fabric store website, having the right platform makes all the difference.
Like Sew is an all-in-one POS system with a fully integrated e-commerce solution designed specifically for fabric, quilt, and sewing stores, making it easier than ever to manage your online and in-store operations. From intuitive website design to seamless POS integration, Like Sew ensures your store is optimized for you and your customers.
Ready to take your fabric store online with a website that works as hard as you do?
Schedule a free demo today to see how our software can help you create a stunning, functional website that drives sales and elevates your business. Your perfect online store is just a click away!