Are you planning to launch an e-commerce website for your brand on WordPress and don’t know how to do it? Here we have a step by step tutorial that would help you to create your own e-commerce site on WordPress. But before we get started, one thing that you have to understand is that Yes! WordPress is a great platform to start an online- store but it is not for everyone. If you are selling a few products and services than it may be both costly and time-consuming. So, you need to sort out your priorities. If you still decide to stick with WordPress then follow the steps mentioned below.

Create An E-commerce Website Using WordPress

Step 1: Get Domain Name

A domain name is your websites unique address in  URL. You can easily buy a domain name from sites like Godaddy and others. When you are choosing your domain name, make sure it is related to products which you will be selling. If you are lucky enough you may even get a domain name for free or at a nominal cost of $10- $20/ year. Keep your domain name short and crisp as long domain names are less engaging and a burden on pocket as well. You may face a situation in which the domain name that you like and already owned by someone else, so you have to prepare a list of 1 to 5 domain names, check its availability and then make your purchase accordingly.

Step 2: Find A Hosting Provider

When it comes to choosing a hosting provider, you have to consider the type of online-store that you want to build and with plenty of growth opportunities. Just a piece of advice that your should never go for shared hosting unless and until its highly secured as it puts your website and customer payment details at risk. In case if any other website on your server gets hacked then you may have to bear the consequences as well. If you are a beginner then you should start with VPS hosting plan, as it uses shared servers divided by multiple virtual machines. There is a complete filtration of one website’s data from that of others. As your business grows you can upgrade to higher packs as per your website’s requirement. Bluehost offers both beginner and upgrades packs. However, the cost may vary with each upgrade. It is highly recommended by WordPress as it provides best user interface and compatibility.

Step 3: WordPress Installation

There are 2 ways to do it:

1. You can install it through your dashboard – For this, you need to select a hosting provider that offers ‘one-click’ installation. Once you have signed up for a hosting provider, all you need to do id open your dashboard and click on ‘Install WordPress’.
2. Manual download– You can also download WordPress software in your computer, install it and then upload it to your hosting dashboard. Though this step is also simple, it consumes a lot of time. You need to be smart and efficient if you don’t want to lose any opportunity.

Step 4: Install Woo-commerce Plugin

As its name says this plugin is most popular to add e-commerce functions to your site. It has around 4 million activation installation and is increasing because firstly it is an open-source plugin using which you can turn your site to an online- store without spending a penny. Secondly, it offers upgrade extensions as well that you can choose as per your budget and traffic requirement. Some pf its extensions are:

1. product pages
2. cart and checkouts
3. secure payments
4. shipping options, etc.

Woo-commerce installation and configuration guide

• Step 1: Login WordPress> click on ‘plugins’> look for woo-commerce> click on ‘install now’.
• Step 2: After installation, you have to activate it.
• Step 3: Enter business details carefully and do select ‘ I want to sell physical and digital products’ under what type of product do you plan to sell.
• Step 4: Select payment options for your store.
• Step 5: Choose shipping rates, Woo-commerce will show you a list of rates based on your geographical location.
• Step 6: Choose an attractive theme for your site.
• Step 7: Activate Jetpack, this is the final step of your basic configuration. Now you can add your products.

Step 5: Additional Plugins

You may also need to install other plugins for your e-commerce site. Plugins like Yoast SEO helps to make your site optimized to get more traffic, Wordfence security to prevent it from hackers, Backupbuddy for data backup and WP fastest cache to improve your page loading time as product images tend to make the site heavy and slow. There are other alternative options as well to choose from.

Step 6: Add Content

Its time to give a finishing touch to your e-commerce website. You need to create some specific content before you launch your site.

1. Microcopy– It is also called as ‘UX copy’ and is the most important copy on your site. It guides the users through your site so take time to write it. When you write think about the user’s mindset as they pass from one stage to another on your site.
2. Product images and description– Add attractive images of products accompanies by a description to provide product knowledge to the customers. Keep is short, knowledgeable and impactful.
3. Privacy policy– WordPress will ask you to select a privacy policy page. There are templates available for you to follow. To add privacy policy, click on ‘setting’> ‘privacy’> click on ‘check out our guide’, then select the right page form the drop-down menu.

Step 7: Its Time To Go Public

Once you have done the configuration and added the products and its details. Then you are all set to launch your site. The best part is you can easily make changes whenever you feel the requirement. To make you site public, click on ‘settings’> ‘privacy’> click on ‘turn your site public’.

To conclude, with our best efforts we have tried to make this guide as simple as possible but the truth is you will need some technical knowledge to use WordPress to exploit the benefits out of it. If you don’t have technical knowledge you need not worry as you can always get support from e-commerce website builders at a starting price of $15/ month. Now it’s your time to get started.