Are you planning to set up your online store and looking for an eCommerce platform? Well, your first choice should be WordPress.
WordPress is one of the most powerful, stable, and secure CMS platforms that is currently empowering 30% of websites across the globe.
It’s a scalable, dynamic platform, and the best part is it’s absolutely free.
WordPress is a great platform to create an eCommerce website. However, WordPress isn’t for everyone. If you’re planning to set up a small shop to sell a few products, then WordPress isn’t the right choice.
It’s like booking a bus for a single person road trip instead of Uber. Since its’ a costly and time-consuming platform.
If you still wish to stick with WordPress, that’s great! Let’s get down to the process of creating an eCommerce website on WordPress.
In this article, we’ll walk you through 9 essential steps to create an eCommerce website on WordPress.
So without any further ado, let’s begin.
- Find the perfect domain name
- Buy a good web hosting server
- Install WordPress
- Install WooCommerce plugin and configure it
- Choose a theme
- Add your products/services
- Install additional plugins (if needed)
- Create blog posts
- Make your eCommerce site public
Creating a WordPress eCommerce site
1. Find the perfect domain name
Your domain name is your website’s address. It’s the part that comes after ‘www’ in your site’s URL. You can buy unique domain names from GoDaddy or Namecheap. It isn’t easy to find the domain that you want for free.
If you’re not that lucky, you can get the domain name free or buy one for $10 to $20 per year. That is the standard rate of a domain name purchase. You have to renew it after every year.
Bonus tip: We suggest choosing a domain name that is close to your brand name as much as possible. Also, keep it short, catchy, and memorable.
2. Buy a good web hosting server
Okay, now you have your domain name in your bag – it’s finally time to choose a web hosting service provider.
Every website needs a hosting server. It’s like renting a spot for a website on the internet. Make sure to choose a room where there is plenty of space for your site to grow.
Before choosing the hosting provider, first, determine what type of hosting service you’re looking for.
We suggest you don’t even think about investing in a shared hosting plan. When you’re sharing a hosting server with other websites, there are many chances your site might get hacked if you leave your site vulnerable.
When you’re starting an eCommerce website, it is important to provide a secure online sales channel to your customers to protect their confidential details.
If you’re looking for a quality web hosting service provider, we recommend you go for WP Engine or Liquid Web. These two are the most reputable web hosting companies that offer quality service to WordPress users.
Bonus tip: Compare the prices of hosting plans and choose the one capable of fulfilling your eCommerce website’s requirements like bandwidth and storage.
3. Installing WordPress
There are two primary ways to install WordPress.
● ‘One-click’ installation through the hosting server dashboard.
● Manually download WordPress and then upload it on your web hosting account.
We suggest you go for the first option since it is the easiest and least time-consuming. When you’re choosing a hosting provider, ensure they offer you the perk of ‘One-click WordPress Installation.’
If you have this option, go to the hosting dashboard. You’ll find a button that says ‘Install WordPress’, just hit the button and you’re all set.
Unfortunately, if you don’t have this option, you’ve to download WordPress on your computer and upload it to your web hosting dashboard. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
For this, check out a complete guide on how to install WordPress to your hosting manually dashboard
4. Installing and configuring WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress plugin. The function of the WooCommerce plugin to convert a simple WordPress site into a full-fledged eCommerce store.
Like WordPress, WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin used by over 3,000 users, and it powers more than 4 million eCommerce stores.
For starters, WooCommerce is free. You might have to pay for some extensions, but without spending a dollar, you can convert your simple site into an eCommerce store.
Extensions include,
● Cart and checkout
● Product pages
● Shipping options
● Secure payment gateways
● Automated tax calculations
● Integration with Facebook, Google Analytics, and MailChimp, etc.
Installing and Activating WooCommerce
Once you have logged in to your WordPress account, straight ahead to your dashboard to go to the plugins section, which you’ll find on the left hand.
Click on the search bar and type ‘WooCommerce.’ Find the blue button that says ‘Activate.’ Click on the button and install WooCommerce.
Once you have activated it, you’ll be led to a setup wizard. It will walk you through the rest of the process.
- Add business details
- Choose payment methods through which you’ll accept payments
- Select shipping options that are feasible for you and your targeted customers
- If you want to add any complementary plugins and theme (you can skip this step for now)
- Activate the jetpack
5. Choose a theme
It’s finally the time to select a theme for your WooCommerce store. A theme beautifies your store and makes it visually more appealing. Since WooCommerce is an open-source platform, developers from across the globe make generous contributions.
You can find hundreds of thousands of themes that are striking and amazing. These themes are entirely customizable. If you’re a pro at coding, you can tweak code lines to customize the theme accordingly.
To install a theme, head to your WP dashboard. Hover on ‘Appearance’ and click on ‘Themes.’ You’ll then be led to the theme dashboard.
Click on ‘Add New.’ Then browse for themes. You’ll find many themes. Choose the one that reflects your business niche and is visually appalling.
You can also install a premium theme on your eCommerce store. But you need to pay a few dollars to get them.
6. Add Products
Finally, add all the products.
For every product you’ll upload on your WooCommerce store, you’ll be needing the following things,
● Product name
● Price of product
● Main image of the product
● Additional product images (if required but recommended)
● Product description (long and short)
● Product category
While adding your products, make sure what type of product you’re adding. Generally, there are 6 major types,
- Simple
- Grouped
- Affiliate/External
- Variable
- Downloadable
- Virtual
7. Install Additional Plugins (if needed)
Apart from WooCommerce, there are 3 primary plugins that we recommend to every eCommerce store,
● Yoast for SEO guidance
● Security for security
● Site Reviews for reviews
To add these plugins, head to your WordPress dashboard and click on ‘Plugins.’ You’ll be led to a new page. Look out for the search bar and search the plugin.
Once you’ve found it, hit the ‘Install Now’ button. When it is installed, click on the ‘Activate Plugin’ button. Next, head to the settings option to configure your plugins.
8. Create Blog Posts
Content is the king of marketing. If you want Google to rank your website, all you need to do is write well-researched, excellent quality, and unique content.
Adding blog posts is essential to drive the right traffic to your website. If you’re pro at content creation, then use your skill and if you’re not, hire a copywriting or blog writing expert.
Be it your product description or headline. Everything must be catchy.
Also, focus on the visual content of your site. The product images and videos you’re adding must be good in quality. Add sleek-looking product images and HD quality videos to grab the attention of visitors and customers.
9. Make your eCommerce site public.
Once you’re happy and satisfied with how your site works and looks, you’re ready to make it public. Just make sure to check every page before you do it.
To make it public. Go to ‘Setting>Privacy,’ upload your privacy policy, and you’ll see an option named ‘Public.’ Hit the button, and you’re all set to rock and roll!
Conclusion
We hope this short guide will help you in creating your WooCommerce store on WordPress.
Just follow all the steps we’ve discussed in this article, and you’ll be all set to start your eCommerce business.