Setting up a Woocommerce shop – Step by step
We have repeatedly recommended WooCommerce as one of the best tools available on the market for creating functional online stores. WooCommerce is a free plugin for WordPress sites, but cost is not its only advantage. Entrepreneurs opting for WooCommerce can be sure that their stores will be characterized by ease of use, great design and security. What’s more, they will be efficient on the technical side, and their owners can count on technical and substantive support in any problematic situation.
We decided to check what are the advantages of using this plugin and why it is really worth setting up a store with WooCommerce. Today we share with you the conclusions of our analysis. Here are the biggest advantages of WooCommerce.
Advantages of WooCommerce
✓ Cost
WooCommerce is a completely free plugin, so users can create a working e-commerce store with basic functions at no cost.
✓ WordPress
WooCommerce is a plugin that can be installed on a website built on the WordPress platform. This means that in addition to the functionality that WooCommerce brings, the user also has almost unlimited possibilities to configure his website thanks to the WordPress back-end. It is also a great convenience for people who already have a website on this platform.
✓ Design and adaptation to customer needs
The store built with the WooCommerce plugin can be freely personalized . WordPress guarantees a lot of possibilities in terms of the appearance, navigation and usability of the site, and among the templates it offers, everyone will find something for themselves. Moreover, depending on the skill level of the users, the store can be built with an easy tool for less advanced users or with coding. WooCommerce is an “open-source” tool, so users can change everything in their stores and freely adapt them to their needs and the needs of customers.
✓ REST API
The REST API makes it possible for store owners to handle all aspects of their online business – from products to orders.
✓ Additional plugins and extensions
WooCommerce itself is a plugin, but a store built with it can still be extended. The countless number of plug-ins available allows you to enrich it with various functions in the field of product shipping, marketing, accounting or website appearance. Thanks to these extensions, the ability to personalize the store and stand out compared to the competition is definitely growing.
✓ Ease of use
WooCommerce has an extremely user-friendly interface. Even people who are just starting their adventure with e-commerce will certainly be able to cope with the basic functions of the WordPress platform.
✓ Security
Both WordPress and WooCommerce are secure tools that are regularly updated by their developers. When choosing a WooCommerce store, users can be sure that they are working with a trustworthy partner.
✓ Support
WooCommerce offers its customers constant technical and substantive support. What’s more, thanks to the popularity of WordPress and WooCommerce and their stable position on the market, it is also easy to get educational materials and technical support from other users.
We are convinced that features such as functionality, customization, unlimited data and security are what online store owners are looking for. WooCommerce gives you the opportunity to create a fully functional store and offers all the most important amenities. It will certainly meet your high expectations, and at the same time will surprise you with its ease of use and unlimited resources.
How does WooCommerce work?
WooCommerce is a plugin for websites built on the WordPress platform . Thanks to it, an ordinary website is equipped with the functionality of an online store. WooCommerce allows you to sell both physical products and services or digital products. The plugin provides pre-made templates and store structure with all necessary subpages and tools. Anyone can start their own business, even without the knowledge and skills in web development.
Watch this video to learn about the most important features of WooCommerce:
Today we will tell you how to create a basic, functional online store with WooCommerce . Thanks to our instructions, you will not only be able to take your first steps in the world of e-commerce, but you will also find out that WooCommerce is a really easy-to-use and effective tool.
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Already have an online store and want to promote it?
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How to build an online store with WooCommerce?
1. First steps – domain and hosting
Domain and hosting are two things you need to take care of before you start working with WordPress and WooCommerce. When choosing them, it is worth paying special attention to costs, security and server capabilities . An online store is a heavy load on the website, so it is important to make sure that the hosting you choose will be able to handle it at any time. Slow loading of the store’s website or interruptions in its operation are situations that discourage customers from shopping the most.
2. WordPress
As we mentioned earlier, WooCommerce is a WordPress website plugin. Therefore, the second step is to install this platform . After passing this stage, you will be the proud owner of the website. Completely empty, but that’s already a lot of progress!
Hostinger offers a good WordPress server .
3. Installing the WooCommerce plugin
At this stage, it’s time to move on to the steps strictly related to WooCommerce. In your WordPress administration panel, click on the Plugins section , then find the WooCommerce plugin and install it.
After installation, an Activate button will appear , clicking on it will automatically take you to a kind of “helper” in the WooCommerce activation process.
You will have to go through basic, mandatory settings such as specifying the location and currency of the store, shipping, taxes and payments, as well as settings recommended by WooCommerce .
The Featured section is just a few free features that you can enable in your store and which WooCommerce recommends.
✓ Take a close look at the tax section , and if you’re not sure what to do, read this WooCommerce guide.
✓ On the other hand, when it comes to payment methods, apart from the decision regarding the payment gateway, it is also worth spending a moment on an SSL certificate . Payment security for purchases is a very important issue for buyers.
4. Products
The store cannot function without products for sale, so it’s time to add them to the site. From the menu on the left in the WordPress admin panel, select the Products tab , then click Add new . For each new product, you need to add a title, description, photos, as well as complete information about the price, delivery terms and the number of available products. As soon as the product page is ready, click Publish.
✓ It is very important that you complete all product data accurately. Customers highly value completeness of information and are more likely to buy products about which they can learn as much as possible.
✓ Also remember to tag products properly so that customers can filter them and find what they need faster.
5. Design
The time after adding products is the best time to choose a store template. Only after seeing the product pages, you will be able to assess which template suits you best. WooCommerce and WordPress offer a very large range of templates , both free and paid. The choice is yours and depends on your preferences, tastes and likes. If you need support, check out some of the best designs here based on user feedback.
Themes can be found, added (by clicking Add new) and activated (via the Activate button ) in the Appearance section of the Themes tab .
6. Finishing touches
Actually, after completing the previous steps, the online store is ready for action. However, we have some additional tips that will help you improve its functionality.
✓ Take care of marketing and proper promotion of products.
✓ Activate Google Analytics to collect data about customers and their behavior from the very beginning of the store’s existence and adapt your business to their needs.
✓ Create a system for collecting e-mail addresses of potential customers (e.g. newsletter), and think about launching a retargeting campaign. Thanks to these activities, the conversion rate will certainly increase.
7. Plugins and extensions
One of the main advantages of WooCommerce is the ability to enrich the store built on this platform with countless plugins, both free and paid. Plugins and extensions are not a mandatory element of an e-commerce store, but they undoubtedly have a very positive impact on its appearance and functionality, as well as improve the shopping experience of customers . Therefore, we encourage you to check what plugins are available on the market and use those that could be useful in your store. We especially recommend:
✓ Plugins related to shipping products, e.g. InPost WooCommerce
✓ Invoice plugins, e.g. WooCommerce Invoices
✓ Plugins for integration with payment gateways, e.g. Przelewy24
✓ Marketing plugins, e.g. WooCommerce Recover Abandoned Cart
8. Integration with wholesalers
And how, ready to start your adventure with e-commerce and WooCommerce?
