Creating a WordPress & WooCommerce eCommerce website
Since WordPress is a self-hosted content management system, you may need to arrange to host and a domain name on your own. The basic steps for setting up an eCommerce store using WordPress and WooCommerce are as follows.
- Select a web hosting company.
- Obtain a domain name registration.
- WordPress should be installed.
- Make a suitable theme.
- WooCommerce should be mounted.
- Locate the extensions that are necessary.
In this post, we'll go through each of these measures in greater depth. Before we get into that, let's take a look at the benefits of using WordPress and WooCommerce to build your eCommerce shop.
Benefits of creating an eCommerce store on WordPress and WooCommerce
WooCommerce is used by 26% of all online stores in the world, which is a significant amount. There are a number of reasons why it consistently ranks first among eCommerce solutions. Let's look at some of the features of WooCommerce and try to figure out why it's so famous.
It’s a cost effective solution
One of the main reasons why many store owners favor WooCommerce is its cost-effectiveness. As you might be aware, WordPress and WooCommerce are both free solutions, and you do not have to pay to sell goods using them. However, other aspects of setting up an online store, such as hosting and domain name registration, can cost money. The key benefit of WordPress and WooCommerce is that a new company can get started with a small initial investment. Furthermore, the platform provides numerous options for scaling your company as required.
Credibility
Over time, WordPress has developed into one of the most powerful content management systems on the planet. It is favored over many other choices because it provides a strong base for your company. It's short, compact, simple to use, and secure. Since WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin, users can enjoy the same level of comfort and convenience.
Good site performance
As you might be aware, a fast website is critical for both customer service and search engine rankings. WooCommerce is designed to ensure that your site runs smoothly, as the default installation only includes the features that are required for an online store. Furthermore, it is intuitive and ensures that the customers have a positive experience across all platforms. Furthermore, if you use plugins and themes created by reputable developers, you won't have to worry about results.
Flexibility for customization
One of the most important features of an eCommerce platform is its ability to be customized. With a wide range of plugins available to add features and functionality, WooCommerce provides a lot of customization options. Although the core platform is lean and means with only the most basic features, you will be able to customize it in any way you want. Furthermore, since plugins are simple to set up, even users with only rudimentary technical expertise will be able to easily customize their stores.
Built for selling
WooCommerce, unlike some other sites, can be used to sell any kind of product. Starting with physical items, you can now sell digital downloads and virtual products such as utilities through this website. WooCommerce comes with four product types by default: plain, variable, downloadable, and virtual. You can also use a variety of extensions to build specific product forms like packages, memberships, packs, and auctions. In addition, the amount of items you can add to your store is unrestricted.
Integration with a lot of services
You'll need a variety of resources to keep your store running smoothly on a regular basis. WooCommerce integrates seamlessly with all of these resources to make your life simpler. You might need to integrate your store with payment gateways, shipping carriers, inventory tracking tools, email marketing platforms, and other services. The most popular available tools will be simple to implement since you will be able to find a plugin to assist you. Furthermore, it gives you the freedom to choose only the integrations that you need for your company.
Smooth options to scale your business
WooCommerce is a highly adaptable platform. WooCommerce allows you to build a shop of any size. In certain cases, small businesses tend to start with only the most basic features and progressively add more features. WooCommerce is ideal for such models, as it allows you to get started with a variety of free resources. At the same time, it provides a fantastic outlet for large retailers with a wide range of product styles and thousands of products. WooCommerce stands out from the competition because of its adaptability, which allows all types of businesses to sell their goods and expand.
Extensive reporting features
Analytics insights will greatly assist you in optimizing your company and your site's user experience. Monitoring the success of your store and goods on a regular basis would greatly benefit your business growth efforts. WooCommerce provides excellent support in this region, as well as a variety of reporting options. You can also use tools like Google Analytics to monitor consumer activity as well as metrics unique to eCommerce.
Dependable support
As you probably know, the WordPress ecosystem thrives with a knowledgeable technical community. Being open-source solutions, WordPress and WooCommerce is regularly improvised by new tools and technology. You will be part of this vast community that will provide great help through discussion forums. In addition, you can find a lot of third-party service providers for quick fixes and feature additions to your store. When you purchase extensions from WooCommerce or any of the popular plugin developers, you will get a dedicated support service for that as well.
How to create your first WordPress and WooCommerce website?
Now let's get down to business and build an online shop. Before you get started, you'll need to find a hosting service and register your domain name. We'll go over - move in-depth now.
Choosing a domain name
Before deciding on a domain name for your shop, you should think about it. Until registering a new domain, read the terms and conditions of the various domain registrars. Several well-known domain registrars will assist you in registering your desired domain name for your shop.
Signing up for a hosting service
A hosting service is where the website will be housed, and the web content will be delivered by the hosting company's servers when a user attempts to access it. You'll be a little confused about which hosting service to use because there are so many options. Since the hosting company you select affects the efficiency of your website, it's important to choose one that's right for you.
We'll show you how to find a service provider to host your WordPress site in this post. We'll use HostGator as an example to illustrate the procedure. Let's start by learning more about HostGator's WordPress hosting service.
HostGator – WordPress Hosting
HostGator is an excellent controlled WordPress hosting service that will help you maintain consistently high performance for your WordPress account. Low-density servers, cloud architecture, a content delivery network, and numerous caching layers are all part of the superior infrastructure. It will ensure that complex content requests to your site are managed quickly, providing a positive experience for your customers.
Furthermore, you can find it simple to handle your website and its various aspects directly via the HostGator portal. This allows you to easily manage your email account as well as other aspects of hosting, such as security. Additionally, features such as automatic backups and a one-click restore process can give you the peace of mind you need when managing your WordPress account.
Features
Here's a short rundown of some of the extra features of HostGator's controlled WordPress hosting service.
- Get a fast website without having to deal with time-consuming setup procedures.
- WordPress cloud hosting infrastructure that allows restoring and managing email accounts a breeze.
- It is simple to scale since it allows for the easy allocation of additional capital.
- Great customer service with phone access to hosting experts that can address any problems you may have.
Signing up for a hosting account
Here's how you can sign up for a HostGator hosting account.
To begin, select the most appropriate plan for you to pursue.
You'll now need to enter the domain name. You have the option of using your current domain or registering a new one with HostGator.
You can confirm your hosting plan in the next step.
Then fill in the account details.
Your account will then be processed.
Getting an SSL certificate
Before you proceed with the construction of your online shop, there is one more crucial factor to remember. Obtaining an SSL certificate is the first step. Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, is a security technology that encrypts data sent between your server and browsers. This will ensure the security of your store's transactions and give your customers a sense of security.
You can use WooCommerce to build an online store without using an SSL license. It is, however, a suggested measure since many payment gateways need it while attempting to integrate. Furthermore, the sense of confidence that it fosters will contribute to your store's reputation.
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Let'sEncrypt offers free SSL certificates, or you can pay for one from a third-party vendor like Comodo.
You can move on to the next level now that you have a domain name and a hosting service for your WordPress WooCommerce eCommerce platform.
👉 Also, you can read : HostGator WordPress Hosting Review:A Surprise Turnaround
Installing WordPress
Installing WordPress is the next step in developing an eCommerce shop. A single-click WordPress installation would be available for most common hosting services, but not for managed WordPress hosting.
You can also manually install WordPress using an FTP client program like FileZilla or your hosting service's control panel.
How to manage WordPress installation with HostGator managed WordPress hosting?
You may use the Quick Install option to install WordPress if you have a HostGator shared, VPN, or dedicated hosting account. You won't be able to use this choice if you're using optimized WordPress or a controlled WordPress setting. Here's how to install WordPress if you've chosen Hostgator's controlled WordPress choice.
Essentially, if you want an optimized WordPress kit, it will come pre-installed with the most recent version of PHP. Furthermore, HostGator can manage WordPress updates as well as updates to plugins and themes from WordPress.org. This means you won't have access to the hosting service's control panel; instead, the hosting service will manage it. These packages include backup options, a CDN, as well as malware detection and removal.
From the HostGator portal, you can handle optimized WordPress installations and emails. Open WordPress Manager in the portal and select ‘Create Blog.'
On the next page, type in your blog's name and title, then press the Add Blog button.
The WordPress installation will begin, and it will be completed in a matter of minutes.
By clicking Manage WordPress after WordPress has been installed, you can go straight to your WordPress dashboard. Other aspects of your site, such as your email account, backups, protection, and so on, will also be manageable.
Choose a theme
Having a theme for your WordPress site is one of the next steps in the process of creating an online shop. With the support of various themes, WordPress provides excellent choices for even beginners to get their design ideas correct. Since we're trying to build an online store with WooCommerce, we'll need a WordPress theme that's WooCommerce compatible.
Make sure the theme you select has basic aesthetics that go well with your items. You'll also notice that there are a lot of customization options and that it's simple to get started with. You should make sure the theme is sensitive and SEO-friendly, as these are important features for an eCommerce theme. When choosing a theme, make sure it is frequently updated and has fast support options.
You can select a free or premium theme based on your needs. A free theme from the WordPress directory could suffice if you're looking for a low-cost alternative with simple features. Premium themes, on the other hand, could be necessary if you want more advanced features and customization options.
Install WooCommerce
Once your WordPress site is up and running, you can install WooCommerce to begin working on the details of your shop. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that adds eCommerce features to your site for free.
WooCommerce can be installed directly from your WordPress site's Plugins section. Go to Plugins in the WordPress admin panel and click the Add New button. Look for WooCommerce in the search bar. Go to WooCommerce in the results and press the Install Now button, then the Enable button. Your site will now have WooCommerce installed and triggered.
You can also download and upload the plugin zip file from the WooCommerce plugin repository. Certain hosting companies will also come with WooCommerce pre-installed.
Before you can begin adding items, you must first install WooCommerce and build some necessary pages. The setup wizard will guide you through the simple WooCommerce settings.
Choose the plugins that you need
The final step in creating an online store with WordPress and WooCommerce is to choose the plugins that will be most useful to you. The WordPress ecosystem has a plethora of free and premium plugins with a wide range of features. WooCommerce has its own extensions shop, which has a wide selection of both free and premium plugins. You can also get free plugins from the WordPress repository as well as reputable third-party developers.
Here are some of the most critical features of a WooCommerce store that you can customize with plugins.
Payment gateways
WooCommerce comes with only the most basic payment options, such as PayPal and a few other offline modes, by default. Plugins enable you to incorporate common payment gateways such as Stripe, Authorize.net, Amazon Pay, and others.
Shipping
If you're selling physical goods online, shipping is something you can't overlook. WooCommerce allows you to build different shipping zones based on your customers' locations. You may create different shipping methods for each shipping region, such as flat rate, free shipping, and local pickup. Plugins, on the other hand, are needed if you want to set advanced shipping rules or incorporate common shipping carriers.
Analytics
As previously mentioned, WooCommerce has a good reporting system. However, you can use plugins to incorporate tools like Google Analytics for more comprehensive analytics insights. These plugins will assist you in tracking unique eCommerce indicators that will provide you with valuable insights on how to improve your online company.
Unique product types
Easy, variable, downloadable, and virtual are the four default product types in WooCommerce. Mods can also be used to generate a variety of different product styles. Subscriptions, memberships, bookings, product bundles, auctions, and other similar services are available.
Customer service
Another big duty of a WooCommerce store owner is to provide timely customer service. On WooCommerce, there are no good choices for setting up a customer service system by default. You can also use plugins to support you do this.
This article should have given you a good idea of how to make a WordPress and WooCommerce eCommerce website. If you have any questions, please leave a message.
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