When it comes to eCommerce, there are several options to consider. However, if your site is running on WordPress, WooCommerce is undoubtedly the top choice.
A WooCommerce WordPress setup equips you with everything necessary to create and manage a successful online store. Its popularity speaks volumes: WooCommerce boasts over 4 million downloads and maintains an impressive 4.6-star rating.
WooCommerce also powers around 7% of all online stores and an impressive 22% of the top 1 million eCommerce websites.
Essentially, if you’re looking to launch an eCommerce website on WordPress, setting up WooCommerce is the way to go.
Today, we are going to go through how to set up WooCommerce quickly and easily on your WordPress website.
Is WooCommerce and WordPress Free?
The answer to this question is both yes and no. Yes, you can download, set up, and use the main WooCommerce plugin for WordPress for free. In many cases, the plugin alone might be sufficient.
However, there are additional expenses involved in building your eCommerce store. You’ll need to purchase a domain name, pay for hosting, and potentially invest in subscription-based plugins for extra features in WooCommerce.
These costs are for customizations and add-ons that might be necessary, depending on your specific requirements.
Guidelines to Installing WooCommerce Plugin
Before diving into setting up the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress, there are a few key things you’ll need to have ready. It’s nothing too complicated, but having everything in place beforehand will make the process smoother.
Here’s what you need to have set up before you start:
- A Registered Domain Name: Make sure you’ve secured a domain name for your store.
- Reliable WordPress Hosting: Choose a hosting provider that offers the tools you need for growth and expansion.
- WordPress Installed: Ensure WordPress is installed and running on your hosting.
- A WordPress Online Store Theme: Pick and install a theme designed for online stores.
Once you have these elements in place, you’re ready to install and set up WooCommerce on your WordPress site. Let’s walk through the steps:
Install and Activate WooCommerce from WordPress
- Go to Your WordPress Dashboard: Log in to your WordPress admin area.
- Navigate to Plugins: In the sidebar, click on “Plugins” and then “Add New.”
- Search for WooCommerce: In the search bar, type “WooCommerce.”
- Install WooCommerce: Find the WooCommerce plugin in the results and click “Install Now.”
- Activate the Plugin: Once installed, click “Activate.”
With WooCommerce installed and activated, you’re on your way to building a fantastic online store. Next, you can start configuring the plugin to suit your needs.
Once the plugin is installed and activated, WooCommerce presents you with a Setup Wizard.
You can fill out these initial fields for a quick start, but you’ll still need to configure the rest of WooCommerce later.
If you prefer, go ahead and complete this quick setup to get started. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the wizard.
Next, let’s dive deeper into the WooCommerce WordPress plugin. Click on WooCommerce > Settings, and we’ll go through the setup options step by step.
WooCommerce in WordPress: General Settings
The initial stop in the WooCommerce WordPress options menu is the “General” tab. Give it a click. Here, you’ll find settings to input details like your store address, tax preferences, and currency options.
Starting with the first section, enter your store address information.
Now, scroll down a bit further and complete additional settings such as shipping preferences, tax collection, and coupon details.
Towards the end of the general settings page, you’ll find options to configure currency methods. Fill these out according to your preferences.
Don’t forget to hit the “Save Changes” button to apply all your updates.
Product Settings
Next, click on the “Products” tab. Within the WordPress WooCommerce plugin, you can customize various options for product pages, inventory management, and downloadable products. Under the Products tab, you’ll encounter three sub-links:
- General
- Inventory
- Downloadable products
General
Within the General section, adjust settings for the shop page layout, placeholder image, measurement units, and reviews. Feel free to customize these settings to your liking.
Inventory
Now, navigate to the “Inventory” sub-link and configure your inventory and stock preferences.
Note: You can also manage inventory directly within individual product pages.
Downloadable Products
The last link takes you to downloadable products. If your eCommerce site deals with digital goods, this section is crucial. Here, you can specify what happens when someone purchases a download.
For example, you can choose to “require login” and/or “grant access to downloads” after payment.
Shipping Settings
Now that your products are set up, let’s dive into WooCommerce shipping settings. Click on the “Shipping” tab, where you’ll find three sub-options:
- Zones
- Options
- Classes
Shipping Zones
Start by clicking on “Shipping Zones.” This is where you can define zones where specific shipping options apply. Add as many zones as you need by clicking the “Add shipping zones” button.
Shipping Options
Next, click on “Shipping Options” to configure calculations and shipping destinations.
Shipping Classes
Lastly, visit the shipping classes link. Add as many shipping classes as necessary by clicking the “Add Shipping Class” button.
Payment Settings
Now, move to the “Payments” tab. Here, you can set up payment gateways. WooCommerce provides built-in options, or you can install additional gateways like Stripe for free.
Enable your preferred payment methods by toggling the “Enabled” switch and clicking “Set Up.”
Accounts and Privacy in WooCommerce and WordPress
WooCommerce in WordPress offers extensive options for account management and privacy.
Navigate to the “Accounts & Privacy” tab to configure checkout, account creation, privacy policy, and personal data options.
Customize your Privacy Policy to suit your website’s needs.
Fine-tune personal data retention settings as required.
Once you’ve adjusted the settings to your satisfaction, click “Save Changes” to apply them.
Emails Tab
The “Emails” tab is straightforward. Click on it, and you’ll see a list of templates provided by WooCommerce.
To customize any of these emails, click the “Manage” button next to each template.
You’ll be taken to a page where you can adjust the template settings to your liking. Save your changes. Repeat this process for all WooCommerce system messages.
Advanced Options
Next, click on the “Advanced” tab to complete the WooCommerce WordPress setup.
Here, you’ll find several options:
- Page Setup
- Rest API
- Webhooks
- Legacy API
- WooCommerce.com
Page Setup
Configure how you want pages displayed on the front end of your website.
Rest API
Create API keys for external apps to function correctly.
Webhooks
Set up webhooks as needed.
Legacy API
Enable the legacy Rest API if required.
WooCommerce.com
In this subsection, you’ll find the woocommerce.com link. Here, you can track your online store’s usage and explore suggested extensions available for purchase and installation in WordPress.
Select the relevant options and save your changes.
Other Setup Options for WooCommerce and WordPress
Explore additional setup options under the WooCommerce tab in your WordPress admin dashboard.
Two other important links to consider are:
- Coupons
- Extensions
Coupons
Create and manage customer coupons to apply to orders.
Note: For gift cards, you’ll need a specific extension.
Extensions
Browse through the available WooCommerce extensions, both free and paid, to enhance your online store’s functionality. Choose extensions based on your store’s requirements and goals.
Adding Products to Your WooCommerce Store in WordPress
Adding products to WooCommerce is straightforward. Here’s how you can do it. Start by navigating to “Products” > “Add New.” This will bring you to the WooCommerce product page.
First, enter the product name and then fill in the product details in the paragraph box below.
Note: There is another paragraph box at the bottom of the page for adding detailed product descriptions.
On the right side, you’ll see options for product category, tags, image, and gallery.
Choose the appropriate category for your product. If you’re using tags, select the relevant ones for the product.
For instance, if your category is “Cars,” your tags might be “SUV” or “Sedan.”
The product image is the main image that represents the product, while the product gallery is for additional images.
Product Data
After setting up the basics, scroll down to the Product Data section. This is where most of the WooCommerce product setup takes place.
You’ll see several tabs on the left, each corresponding to specific settings for your product.
First, choose your product type and specify whether it is a virtual or downloadable product. If it isn’t, leave those options unchecked.
General
Click on the “General” tab and input your product pricing details.
Inventory
Next, click on the “Inventory” tab and fill in the inventory details for your products. You can also add an SKU number here for tracking purposes.
Note: If you don’t manage inventory, you can skip this tab.
Shipping
Click on the “Shipping” tab and set up the shipping details. You can assign shipping classes based on the ones you’ve created.
Linked Products
Move to the “Linked Products” tab. By default, WooCommerce displays other products that customers might like, but you can manually assign specific linked products here.
Attributes
Click on the “Attributes” tab. If your product has specific attributes (like color, size, style, etc.), you can add them here. Pre-created attributes will already be available in WooCommerce, and you can select and add them.
Advanced
The “Advanced” tab lets you add purchase notes and enable or disable reviews. Fill out these fields as needed.
Get More Options
Finally, click on the “Get More Options” tab to explore additional elements you might want to add. This includes features like naming your price or one-page checkout processes.
Product Short Description
The last part of adding a product in WooCommerce is the “Product Short Description” area. This is where you add a brief synopsis of your product. This description should be concise, as the main product page will contain detailed information.
Once you have entered all the required information, click “Publish” to make your product live and ready for purchase.
Marketing Your WooCommerce Store
There are various effective strategies to market your WooCommerce store. While social media posts and advertising are essential, consider these additional methods:
Social Media
Promoting your WooCommerce store on social media is a quick way to reach a large audience. Share your website link across all your social media platforms and encourage people to visit and share it.
Integrate Social Media on Your Website
In addition to promoting your site on social media, integrate social media buttons on your site to allow visitors to share your products. This makes it easy for users to share your site across their networks.
Build an Email List
If you already have an email list, great! If not, start building one, as it’s a perfect way to market your WooCommerce store. Use various methods to grow your email list, including leveraging social media.
Use Best SEO Practices
Implementing best SEO practices on your website is crucial. Optimize your WooCommerce store to get noticed quicker and rank higher in search results. Proper SEO will enhance your marketing efforts by ensuring your site structure is optimized.
Produce Quality Content
Creating valuable content that is relevant to your products is essential. High-quality content drives traffic to your site and establishes your credibility. Follow effective content marketing strategies to produce engaging content.
Participate in Message Boards
Once your WooCommerce store is ready, post the link and engage in discussions on various message boards. This will increase your visibility and drive traffic to your site.
Offer Product Bundles
People love bundles because they feel they’re getting more value. Offer product bundles and packages on your site to attract more customers. Bundling products instead of selling them individually can make your store more appealing.
Final Thoughts
WooCommerce is a robust eCommerce platform that provides everything you need to build a successful online store with WordPress. While it may seem daunting at first, following the right steps can make WooCommerce easy to manage.
I hope this guide has provided you with the necessary information to get your WooCommerce store up and running smoothly. Happy selling!