Building a WordPress ecommerce website can be a rewarding and profitable business that doesn't cost a lot of money to set up, depending on what you sell. If you run a dropship website, you don't have inventory because you source your products from distributors and mail them to consumers who place orders. If you're making wooden toys, you'll need to create an inventory and take photos of your products.
Most people use WooCommerce for their WordPress e-commerce websites. There are other plugins and tools that can help if WooCommerce isn't for you. Here's what you need to know if you're planning to launch an e-commerce site using WordPress.
Why use WordPress for e-commerce?
Many people choose WordPress for e-commerce because it's easy to set up and customize. Customization options with thousands of templates and plugins. Additionally, because so many people are using it, there is a lot of support for the product through Facebook groups and forums. WordPress is also highly scalable, so you can use it as a beginner or as you grow. As your team and needs grow, there's no need to migrate to a new platform. This makes a lot of sense for businesses that want to grow sales in the long term and don't want to waste time migrating their entire store to a new e-commerce platform.
Here's how to set up a WordPress e-commerce website in 8 steps.
1. Search for domain name
A domain name is the foundation of a website. This allows consumers to recognize your brand and find you on her web outside of social media channels. Ideally, choose a domain name with a .com extension if possible. This is probably a more reliable extension than .net and other extensions and attracts more attention.
Although many great domain names are already acquired or sold by domain brokers for thousands of dollars, it is possible to get a great domain name that is memorable and intuitive. It's important to keep it short to reduce the number of errors and mistakes that consumers make. Avoid using hyphens or double characters in your domain name. For example, avoid terms such as BusinessSifter that have multiple “s” in them, which can confuse consumers.
If possible, insert keywords into your domain name. For example, if your e-commerce store aims to sell pet tags, you might try the domain JanesPetTags.com. This will improve your search results as your domain authority increases.
You want your domain name to be unique and stay on brand. So take the time to search available names and poll people about what they like best. Many servers include bundles that give you the domain for free for the first year, so go through the process of choosing a host server before officially purchasing your domain.
2. Select your host server
A domain alone is not enough to start a website. To display a website, you need a server to store your data. Common host servers include GoDaddy, Bluehost, and InMotion Hosting.
To choose a server to host your website, first think about what your website needs. Make sure your host works with the WordPress system and has the speed, storage, and reliability your website needs.
Consider cost when choosing hosting. Many hosting plans offer low-cost introductory plans that increase significantly after the initial period. Know these costs in advance to avoid surprises. Please also inquire about our cancellation policy. If I am not satisfied with the service, can I easily cancel the contract, or will I continue the contract for more than a year? Considerations like these have big implications for your digital budget in the long run.
Many hosting plans offer a free domain for the first year, so this is the time to lock in your domain name and hosting. This reduces the initial cost of starting a WordPress e-commerce website.
3. Install WordPress on your host server
To use WordPress, you need to install it. This can take a few minutes and requires a little understanding of the backend of your hosting plan if it doesn't already include WordPress and an installation option.
Install via FTP
First, download the WordPress package from www.wordpress.org/download. After downloading the file, unzip and extract it. If your hosting provider doesn't already have a WordPress database set up, many new website builders will use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to download it. In that case, you will be able to choose one of the many templates provided. Find one that fits the way you want to display your information.
Installation using phpMyAdmin
Installation instructions using phpMyAdmin may vary depending on your hosting plan, so we recommend contacting customer support for exact instructions. Typically, you would go to the backend of your hosting plan and find the database. Choose a name for your WordPress database (for example, WordPress). Then enter its name, an underscore, your username, and select Create Database. If you don't see any available languages, please select the “General” language.
Next, add a user and choose a password. This is for WordPress sites only, so be sure to write it down or password-protect it. Then select Move. Return to the Users screen and select Edit Permissions for the WordPress icon you just created. Select all permissions and click Run.
4. Select an e-commerce plugin
WooCommerce is the most common plugin, but you can install other options if you wish. Keep in mind that you may not have as much of a user base to answer your questions as WooCommerce. Other options include WP eCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. These two plugins are available by searching their name in the search bar and[今すぐインストール]are installed by selecting them and following their respective installation wizards.
WooCommerce is popular because it has everything an e-commerce store needs, including product pages, carts, and demographics. It is also highly customizable with numerous extensions.
WP eCommerce has everything you need to start your store, including product pages, shopping carts, checkout functionality, inventory management, and more. Easy Digital Downloads is a special plugin designed to help e-commerce owners sell digital products.
Other popular WordPress e-commerce plugins include:
- Ecwid: This plugin allows you to maintain inventory levels, sell products, download reports, and manage everything within your e-commerce store.
- Big Commerce: This plugin allows you to take advantage of unlimited bandwidth and storage. This means you can have as big a store as you like, depending on the amount of traffic you can handle. Provide a single page checkout for your customers' convenience.
- Cart 66 cloud: An all-in-one WordPress shopping cart that's easy to set up and doesn't clutter with complicated add-ons.
- Shopify: Choose from hundreds of templates and link to a dropshipping platform that eliminates the need to manage your inventory personally.
- Gigoshop e-commerce: Open source and easy to use plugin. This is the predecessor of WooCommerce.
- WP eCommerce: This is a free, open-source shopping cart plugin for WordPress. This allows customers to purchase products and services on an easy to follow step-by-step platform.
5. Set up WooCommerce
Log in to WordPress using the credentials you created. The dashboard has plugin options.in the dropdown box[新規追加]Choose. In the search bar, select WooCommerce. A set of WooCommerce plugins should be added. Look for WooCommerce plugins that don't have other modifiers,[今すぐインストール]Choose. Follow the setup wizard instructions.
Please take some time to understand what the WooCommerce theme is all about. The shop displays all products, but the cart is where customers view and adjust their orders before purchasing. A checkout page guides customers through the purchase process, My Account displays order details, and can be tailored to include a consumer profile page for easy future purchases.
One of the first things to do after setting up WooCommerce is to set up your location so people know where your shop is. This is important in establishing the country of origin, language used, and preferred unit of measurement for things like shoes and pants.
Also select a payment method such as PayPal or Stripe. If you don't already have an account on these platforms, create one today and link your store.
6. Adding products or services to sell
Go to your dashboard,[製品]Click to add the products or services you want to sell. There is an option to add products. View details for each product including name, image, and description. Please be as descriptive as possible to limit returns because you received something you didn't think you ordered. Add keywords to your description that will improve your website's search engine optimization (SEO).
Once you have filled out all fields on the Products page, click Publish. This sends the product to the store where it can be viewed and purchased by the consumer.
7. Choose a WordPress theme
You have a store now, but is it what you want it to be? To customize the look and feel of your store, you should install a theme that best suits your store. Themes are categorized by color and layout, and there are free themes as well as premium themes that can be purchased for a more customized look.
To find a theme, simply Google WordPress Themes. There are third party theme seller pages offering hundreds of themes. Find the theme that best suits your store's goals.
To install, navigate to the Appearance folder in your WordPress backend directory. Once there, select “Themes” and then “Add New.” This will download the new theme to your directory. From there, you can install the theme of your choice. Once the theme is installed, it will say “Activate”. Selecting this will change your WordPress store.
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8. Add useful plugins and extensions
Business owners love WordPress because there are so many things you can do with it to upgrade the look, functionality, and feel of your website. Look for plugins and extensions to help you better manage your business. Some payment gateways allow more types of payments, opening the door to more consumers. There are also useful analytics plugins that can help you manage your website and see which products are doing well and which aren't getting as much traffic.
Other useful plugins handle taxes and subscriptions. These make selling easier. Users simply enter their data and the system calculates sales tax and automatically enrolls them in subscriptions. You'll find that using plugins is an easy way to extend the functionality of your website and become a more effective business owner.
conclusion
Setting up a WordPress e-commerce website doesn't have to be a tedious task. In fact, it's a really fun time to build your business and see it come to life on your website. Customizing your site with many themes and plugins will make your user experience as smooth as possible and help you manage your business better.
