WooCommerce is one of the simple and widely used solutions for establishing your online store with WordPress. This article will guide you with starting steps, recommend some useful plugins, and show you how to set up your website so you can start selling your products right away.
Let’s first understand what this site is all about before we get into the steps for setting up your store with WooCommerce.
What is WooCommerce & how to use it?
If you’ve ever thought about selling things online, you might have heard of something called a is one of the best places to make websites and sell stuff online.
In this article, we’ll explore why so many sellers prefer WooCommerce and why you might want to consider it for your online store.
Why choose WooCommerce for an Online Store?
What makes this plugin so successful? Unlike other platforms, WooCommerce, which is an extension of WordPress, has several good things about it that make sellers use WooCommerce for establishing their online store.
Here are some things why sellers opt for WooCommerce:
Easy to Use: WooCommerce is designed for regular users like you, not just technical experts. You can set it up and run it without needing fancy computer skills.
Convenient and Free: WooCommerce is a free tool, and anyone can use it. Plus, it’s open-source, which means the community regularly updates and improves it.
Flexible: Your online store can be personalized and upgraded with various plugins available for WooCommerce. This flexibility allows you to completely change and adjust your store based on what you need.
Anyone can easily set up their online store with WooCommerce. It’s extremely user-friendly, allowing you to create your online shop with ease. People enjoy using it for a variety of reasons, and a few of them are mentioned above.
Starting with WooCommerce
Now that we know why it’s a good choice for sellers let’s figure out how to use it. Remember, WooCommerce is designed to be simple and easy to set up.
Before you look into installing WooCommerce, there are three important steps to set up your website:
Get a Domain: This is like picking a home for your online shop. Think of a cool name for your online store. Then, check if that name is available to use as your website address, like .com, .org, or .it. It’s like making your little spot on the internet, which will boost your online store sales.
Get Hosting: After you’ve got your website name (that’s your domain), it’s time to find a home for it on the internet. You “rent” a spot on a big computer called a server from a hosting company. Some of these companies might even let you buy your website name right when you’re getting your spot.
Now, think about where these servers are located. If they’re close to where most people visit your site, your website can load up faster. Consider the location of the servers; closer servers mean a faster website.
Install WordPress: There are several ways to create a website with WordPress. Some businesses will install it for you, while others will require you to do it yourself. Log into your site’s control panel (cPanel), install WordPress, and manage the admin’s username and password.
Now that you have WordPress set up, it’s time to:
Install WooCommerce: Since WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, you need to install it to turn your site into an online store. The whole process of installation is the following
- Log into your WordPress site.
- On the left sidebar, scroll down to “Plugins.”
- Click on “Add New” at the top.
- In the search bar on the top right, type “WooCommerce” and search.
- The WooCommerce plugin will appear; click “Install Now,” and after installation, it will change to “Activate.”
- Once activated, the setup wizard will guide you through the initial steps of creating your WooCommerce store.
Following these steps will help you smoothly set up your online store with WooCommerce on your WordPress site.
The WooCommerce setup wizard
The WooCommerce setup guide, also known as the first steps in creating your online store, is like a friendly helper that walks you through five easy steps. These steps help you put in all the important details needed to set up your new online shop. In this part, we’ll go through each step together to make sure your eCommerce website gets off to a great start.
Enter your shop details
In the initial step of the setup guide, you’ll need to provide information about the physical shop or its owner. This involves entering details for five key parts: selecting your country and province, providing the address, entering the postal code, specifying the city, and adding the email address.s
Select Shop Industry
In the second step, you’ll need to specify the type of online store you’re setting up. You have the freedom to choose from various categories like fashion, health and beauty, electronics, food, furniture, gardening, education, or even something else. Importantly, you can select multiple options if your store covers more than one category.
Define Product Selling
Now, in the third step of the setup guide, you’ll decide what kind of stuff you’re going to sell. It is important to make customers understand your store. There are a few options:
- Physical products: Things that get shipped, delivered, or picked up
- Downloads: Stuff people can download online or get by email.
- Subscriptions: Selling things with a recurring payment.
- Memberships: Charging a regular fee for special access to goods or services
- Bookings: For renting places, vehicles, or setting appointments
- Bundles: Selling a bunch of products or services together
- Customizable products: Things people can change & personalize based on what they need.
Except for the first two, the rest need special plugins, and some might come with a monthly or yearly fee. If you’re curious about these extras, let’s hold off for now. You can add them later once you figure out exactly what you need, what results you’re after, and if there might be better options than the ones suggested by default in WooCommerce.
Enter the company details
The fourth step simplifies the process with just two fields to fill out. First up, let us know roughly how many products you’re thinking of putting in your online store. You can pick from options like zero (if you’re starting). Options range from none to a lot, so pick what feels right. No need to be super exact right now. Moving on to the second field, you specify your current selling avenues, whether exclusively online, on another platform, through WooCommerce, or both online and in physical stores or events.
After filling in both fields, head to the second tab. You’ll get the green light to install plugins right away, adding extra features to your shop. Of course, you can take your time, explore your options, and install plugins later when you’ve figured out what works best for your shop.
Pick A Theme For Your Online Store
When you’re setting up your online store with WooCommerce, the final step is picking a theme. Think of a theme as the design and look of your shop that everyone sees. While plugins add extra features, the theme makes it visually appealing. You might have already selected a WordPress theme before adding WooCommerce. If that’s the case, consider choosing a different one that works well with the plugin.
During the setup, you get to choose between free and paid themes. Free themes might have fewer features, but they can be a good option for now. Take your time exploring the different themes available and pick the one you like. Once you’ve picked your theme, You are done with setting up WooCommerce.
Configuration Wizard Restart Process
If you accidentally close the configuration wizard, no need to worry! You can easily restart it. Just head to any WooCommerce page on your sidebar, such as Orders. Once there, go to the “Help” tab in the top right corner. Click on “Setup Wizard” on the left, and then hit the blue button to start it up again.
Setting Up of WooCommerce
So far, we’ve covered the basics of online shopping, but now it’s time to explore everything you need to do to get your products out there and launch your online business.
Picking Up A Theme
Once you’ve made your choice of theme, the next step is to install your selected theme by just following these simple steps:
- On the sidebar, click the “Appearance” button, and it will open the “Themes” section automatically.
- Click on “Add new” at the top.
- You’ll see a variety of free themes, but if you have a theme you’ve downloaded or bought elsewhere, click on “Upload theme” at the top.
- Select the .zip file of the theme and upload it to your WordPress site.
The file should be in .zip format before uploading. If it’s not, double-check it when downloading.
Configure WooCommerce Home Page
The first thing you see when you go to a website is the home page. It’s super important for your shop. By default, if you’re using WordPress for your website, it shows the latest blog articles on the home page. But you want something else for an online store, and we need to change it up. So, the first thing you do is create your homepage. Go to “Pages” on the sidebar and hit “Add New”. Now, you can play around with the new block system that makes editing super easy.
Once you’ve got your perfect page set up, the last thing to do is make sure everyone sees it when they visit your site. Head back to the sidebar and go to Reading from the setting. That’s where you can set up your awesome new page to be the first thing people see. This is how you can make the first page of your online store look just right whenever customers visit.
Organize WooCommerce Shop Page
So, what exactly is the shop page? It’s the main page of your online store where all the products available for purchase are showcased. It is basically automatically generated, just like the home page. The user can easily select it or another page. If the owner wishes to designate a different page, they can do it easily with the following steps:
- Navigate to the “WooCommerce” section on the sidebar.
- Click on the “Settings” option.
- Move to the second tab labeled “Products.”
- On the first page, under “General,” locate the option to change the shop page from a dropdown menu.
While setting up a page as a shop is simple, creating and customizing the page requires a bit more effort. Generally, you can customize the WooCommerce shop page by modifying its internal structure or by adjusting its appearance.
Configuring Checkout Page
WooCommerce makes a basic checkout page, but you might want a custom one for better performance and more sales. The checkout page is where customers pay after choosing what they want to buy. You can perform the same thing to set up this page, like the shop page.
To make your customized page, follow these steps:
- Click on WooCommerce in the sidebar & go to settings
- Explore the tabs until you find Advanced.
- Choose the page you want as your checkout page.
Set Up Shipping Zones On Store
When it comes to shipping on your WooCommerce store, the first thing to figure out is where you’ll be delivering. If you’ve ever shopped online, you’ve probably encountered situations where, upon entering your address, the shipping cost changed based on your country, or, in some cases, shipping was only possible if your address was covered. Creating shipping zones helps you achieve goals like updating shipping costs based on the delivery address and deciding which parts of the world your service does not cover.
WooCommerce provides two options for this:
- The country associated with your shop details.
- Locations not covered by your other zones.
You can further narrow down local shipping by specifying specific postcodes within your covered zones. Once you’ve determined the zone, you can set the shipping cost. If you’re not offering free shipping, you can deactivate this option and then click the “Add shipping method” button, where you’ll be prompted to choose from these options:
- Flat rate
- Free shipping
- Local pickup
If you choose the “Flat rate” option, click “Edit” to pick the method’s name, indicate if it’s taxable, and state its cost. Keep doing this for different methods if needed. If you’re dealing with more complex shipping setups, consider using specific online plugins. WooCommerce Shipping has two main parts: calculations and destination. The website lets customers customize their shipping costs based on factors like sales strategy and shipping preferences. Users can choose their billing and shipping address. Advanced users can use a debug mode. Shipping classes are less commonly used but play a vital role. They help identify which products belong to specific categories, making it important for shipping arrangements. Understanding these classes is crucial for a smooth shipping process.
Configuring Payment Settings
To set up an online store’s payment settings in WooCommerce, you can easily navigate to the payment section and choose Direct bank transfer or Cash-on-delivery payment methods. The user can customize the payment method by adding their details such as IBAN, etc. The customer can also expand the options by using plugins such as Stripe or PayPal Express Checkout in the WooCommerce payment setup. This helps give customers more choices when paying, making it easier for them and increasing sales for your online store.
Manage WooCommerce Taxes
If you are setting up a WooCommerce store, then while starting an online store, remembering tax setup is important. To set up taxes in WooCommerce, one should follow the following steps:
- Go to WooCommerce General Settings
- Activate “Enable taxes” and save changes.
- Click on the “Tax” tab.
- Configure options like prices with or without taxes, calculate based on customer or shop address, and rounding preferences.
- Move to “Standard rates,” “Reduced rates,” and “Zero rates” to set up specific taxes for products.
- Save changes after each configuration.
Adding Products in Store
This is the moment when your store is all ready to go, and now it’s crucial to focus on adding products. It’s especially important to add products in a way that catches people’s attention and encourages them to make a purchase. There are a few steps to follow for adding products to your online store.
Here are the steps:
- Go to your sidebar and click on Products, then Add New.
- Give your product a name at the top.
- Add a description below for customers to see.
- On the right, upload a main product image and additional gallery images if needed.
- Choose a category for your product (e.g., trousers, shirts) to help organize your shop.
- Carefully select images, as they’re crucial for sales, like customer reviews.
- Scroll to the bottom for technical details:
- Choose the product type.
- Indicate if it’s a digital/downloadable product.
- Set regular and sale prices.
- Specify tax status and rate.
- Manage stock quantity.
- Assign a shipping class.
- Link-related products, and more.
- Save your product.
The product is now ready for customers to explore and purchase, and it is the last step of setting up a WooCommerce Store. You can easily create your online store with WooCommerce by adding products like affiliate items, variable products (with different sizes and colors), and grouped products (sold together). Additionally, explore plugins for more payment options and features.
FAQs
Q: How to create a WooCommerce store in WordPress?
Create a WooCommerce store in WordPress by installing the WooCommerce plugin, configuring settings, adding products, and creating essential pages like the shop, cart, and checkout. Customize the appearance and set up payment methods to complete the process.
Q: How to add a shop to my WordPress site?
To add a shop to your WordPress site, install the WooCommerce plugin, set up your products, and create a new page for your shop. You can add the shop page to your menu for easy access.
Q: Is the WooCommerce store free?
Yes, WooCommerce store is a free plugin for WordPress and it is very easy to set up an online store on it.
Q: How do I enable WooCommerce in WordPress?
To enable WooCommerce in WordPress, go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins, click on “Add New,” search for WooCommerce, install, and activate it.
Q: Is Shopify better than WooCommerce?
It depends on your needs. Shopify is an all-in-one solution with hosting, while WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin. If you prefer simplicity, Shopify might be better. If you want more control, WooCommerce is a good choice.
