Using WordPress to build an eCommerce website comes with numerous benefits, including cost-effectiveness and complete control over your store as well as the option to choose from scores of plugins, themes, and payment gateways. However, while a WordPress eCommerce website can deliver great results, creating one requires paying attention to various aspects.
This step-by-step eCommerce WordPress guide will help you understand what you need to do from start to finish.
Table Of Contents
The WordPress and WooCommerce Combination
If you plan to use WordPress for eCommerce, know that you will need an eCommerce plugin that will make your website ready for selling online. While there are different alternatives, the most favored one comes in the form of WooCommerce. Other popular eCommerce plugins for WordPress include:
- Easy Digital Downloads
- MemberPress
- WP EasyCart
- BigCommerce
- Shopify
The WP eCommerce plugin, one of the oldest on the block, continues to find many takers. While it is popular for its ease of use and simplicity, it offers fewer extensions than its competitors and goes through updates less frequently. WooCommerce, without a doubt, remains the top option.
Step 1 – Get a Domain Name and Find a Web Host
The first step in setting up a WordPress online store is to get a domain name and finalize a hosting provider.
Domain Name
To get a domain name, you need to get in touch with a domain registrar like GoDaddy, Bluehost, Namecheap, Hostinger, or IONOS. The domain name is the web address people will use to access your eCommerce store, so make sure you select an appropriate name.
Web Host
You need a web host to store and manage your website’s files (like HTML, images, and CSS) online, making it accessible to users worldwide. Without a host, your website data would have no place to reside. Choosing a web host requires paying attention to factors like your budget, your website’s features, the volume of web traffic you expect, performance, reliability, security, and customer support.
Some of the top website hosting companies include:
- IONOS
- Hostinger
- A2 Hosting
- Bluehost
- HostGator
Step 2 – Install WordPress and WooCommerce
The next step is to install WordPress using your web hosting account. This process may vary slightly depending on the host you select. Most let users install WordPress with a simple one-click process, and you may find exact details by referring to your hosting provider’s tutorials. Once you install WordPress, you need to install WooCommerce.
Installing WooCommerce requires that you head to your WordPress dashboard and look for the plugins section. Then, you need to follow the prompts. After the installation is complete, you need to go through the initial configuration. This is easy too; all you need to do is follow the prompts.
Step 3 – Select a Theme
After installing WordPress and WooCommerce, you need to finalize a theme for your eCommerce store. Your first option is to look for themes on WordPress. When you do this, make sure the ones you shortlist offer integration with WooCommerce. Other factors you need to consider when selecting a theme for your WordPress store include:
- Design and layout
- Cost
- Performance
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Cross-plugin compatibility
- Ability to customize
- Security
- Customer support
Some of the top WordPress themes for eCommerce include:
- Divi
- Astra
- SeedProd
- Neve
- Shoppe
The Benefits of Custom Themes
The other option of getting a theme for your WordPress online shop is to go the customization way. In this case, you should ideally hire an eCommerce web development company to create a theme for your online store from scratch. The benefits of getting a custom eCommerce WordPress website include:
- You get a website that reflects your brand identity perfectly.
- You can implement specific features to meet your unique needs.
- You may look forward to better performance by optimizing your website for speed and efficiency.
- Custom themes are ideal for scalability.
- It is possible to create custom themes with SEO best practices in mind.
Step 4 – Set Up a Payment Method
The payment gateway you select has a bearing on how your customers can make online payments. Setting up a payment method for an eCommerce WordPress store involves integrating a payment gateway through a plugin. WooPayments, by WooCommerce, offers complete integration with your online store. It does not charge monthly fees and follows a pay-as-you-go fee model. It accepts payments via debit and credit cards.
WooCommerce also lets you use third-party payment gateways like:
- Stripe
- PayPal Payments
- Square
- Amazon pay
- net
Step 5 – Install Other Plugins for Functionality
Installing additional plugins is important if you want your online shop with WordPress to function optimally. These address concerns surrounding security, performance, SEO, and more. You may find the top options for various categories below.
Security
- Cloudflare
- Sucuri
- MalCare
- Wordfence
- SolidWP
Performance
- WP Rocket
- LiteSpeed Cache
- NitroPack
- ShortPixel Image Optimizer
Search Engine Optimization
- Yoast SEO
- Rank Math SEO
- Squirrly SEO
- SmartCrawl
Contact Forms
- WPForms
- Contact Form 7
- Gravity Forms
- Ninja Forms
WooCommerce Shipping
- FedEx Shipping Method
- USPS Shipping Method
- UPS Shipping Method
- Dropshipping
- Amazon Fulfillment (MCF)
Marketing
- Mailchimp
- Klaviyo
- Omnisend
When installing plugins to your WordPress shopping website, make sure you add ones that you absolutely need. This is because having too many plugins can affect the loading speed of your website’s pages negatively. Besides, not all plugins are free and there’s no point paying for something you don’t need.
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Step 6 – Add Products to Your Store
Whether you’re selling physical goods, services, or digital downloads, adding your offerings to your WordPress shop is the heart of your online business. The process might seem time-consuming, but this is something you have to do, while paying close attention to detail. This requires:
- Filling in the product details.
- Setting the product type and details.
- Adding product images and galleries.
- Organizing your products.
- Adding short product descriptions.
- Optimizing the content for search engines.
- Publishing your products.
Step 7 – Ongoing Efforts
The best WordPress eCommerce guides emphasize the fact that launching an online store is just a part of the journey, and the things you do after the launch are crucial for success.
- Maintain a regularly updated blog to attract organic traffic.
- Partner with influencers and bloggers related to your field.
- Monitor and analyze your website’s performance using a tool like Google Analytics.
- Ensure your website delivers a great user experience (UX).
- Use social media and email marketing.
- Provide excellent customer service.
- Streamline inventory management.
- Carry out regular WordPress updates.
Conclusion
The answer to questions like “Can WordPress handle eCommerce?” and “Is WordPress a good eCommerce site?” is a resounding yes, no doubt. However, how you go about building your online store and the efforts you take after its launch have a significant effect on the outcome. This is because while a professionally built store will find favor with customers, one that falters on the user experience front will likely deliver poor results.
If you want to set up an eCommerce WordPress shop, you also need to determine if you’re okay with a predesigned theme or would prefer a customized one. While getting a custom theme might require you to pay extra, when done right, you may expect a better return on investment (ROI). To do this, you should ideally collaborate with a WordPress eCommerce development agency that specializes in digital marketing as well.
