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FULL GUIDE

HOW TO CREATE AN Online Store


WITH WooCommerce

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INTRODUCTION     

WooCommerce is a free tool that helps you transform


your WordPress website into a functional online store
without any complicated tech skills.

With so many industry giants leading the way in


ecommerce, it’s no wonder there are new shops pop-
ping up in cyberspace every day.

You can create your own ecommerce store in just a


few steps with this simple guide.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Why Create an Online 5. WooCommerce


Ecommerce Store? Step-by-Step Tutorial

2. What exactly is 6. Launching


WooCommerce? Your Store

3. Planning Your 7. Start an Online Store


Online Store with WooCommerce

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4. What You Need to
Get Started

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C H APT ER O NE

WHY CREATE AN ONLINE


E-Commerce Store?

?
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WHY CREATE AN ONLINE


E-Commerce Store?

Ecommerce has been steadily growing in the past


decade, and it’s officially a force to be reckoned with.

In fact, there are expected to be more than 1.92 billion


global digital buyers in 2019 alone, and this number is
only on the rise.

Ecommerce sales officially account for 13.7% of retail


sales worldwide, and that means it’s already a huge

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share of the market, especially in the United States.

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What makes right now the golden age of


ecommerce? Believe it or not, nearly half of all
American small businesses don’t have a website in
this day and age.

That means, despite what you might think, the arena


is wide open, especially in less-popular industries.
Having an online store for your business is more
essential than ever.

Not only does it help you stand out from the


competition, especially as a local business, but you

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eliminate many of the restrictions of in-person selling.

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When you have a physical business, you have to make


sure it’s staffed, and you’ll be limited to specific
opening hours.

With an online store, there are no business hours or


employees to worry about. You can run your shop
24/7 without closing for holidays, days off, etc.

This opens you to a world of shoppers beyond your


local area. In an increasingly global world, that’s
something you can’t overlook.

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C H APT ER TWO

WHAT EXACTLY IS
WooCommerce?

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WHAT EXACTLY IS WooCommerce?

With over 4+ million active installs right now,


WooCommerce is currently one of the most popular
ecommerce systems out there. Better yet, it’s free
and easy to use with your WordPress website.

Here are just a handful of its key features:

• Bundle and group similar products


• Create virtual and downloadable products
• Connect several payment gateways for easy

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checkout
• Modern and clean interface
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CHAPTER TWO     

• Geo-location support
• Custom tax calculators
• WordPress content integration
• Analytic dashboards and more

With the rise of ecommerce, it’s no wonder


WooCommerce has become the natural choice of on-
line business owners of all shapes and sizes. It’s easy
to use no matter how you plan to run your
online store.

Are you ready to get started? Follow this full guide to

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create an online store with WooCommerce in just a
few clicks.
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C H APTER T HREE

PLANNING YOUR
Online Store

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PLANNING YOUR Online Store

Before you plunge head-first into this new business


endeavor, take a step back to plan through some vital
steps.

Rushing into your online store creation process might


sound exciting, but you don’t want to overlook
anything important.

There are a few things you need to have before you


get started with WooCommerce:

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1. A niche
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CHAPTER THREE     

2. Name and domain


3. Business registration
4. Vendors or products

Let’s break down each part to make sure you’re ready.


These steps are the foundation of your future success.

1. A NICHE OR AUDIENCE

First, you need a niche or audience you’ll be selling to.


One of the biggest signs of an inexperienced
business owner is thinking you can sell to everyone.

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That’s simply not realistic.

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The more narrow of a niche you can carve, the easier


it will be to market your business.

2. NAME AND DOMAIN

Next, you’ll need a business name and a domain


name. Ideally, these will be one in the same.

Start by reviewing your local business registry as well


as doing a Google search.

Are there any other businesses with similar names?

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You want something that will stand out, that makes
sense for your niche, and that represents your brand.

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3. BUSINESS REGISTRATION

Depending on your local laws, you might need to


register your business with the county or state.

When you have no physical storefront, it can be


confusing to know what legal steps to take. The good
news is it’s not a complicated process.

If you want to limit your own liability or if you have


employees, you should register your business.

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Most likely, you’ll form a type of business entity such


as a Corporation or a Limited Liability Company (LLC).

To register, you’ll need to submit the required forms


to your state government. For tax purposes, you’ll also
need to register for an EIN (Employer Identification
Number).

While it might sound intimidating, this is a simple


process you can even do online in most countries.

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4. VENDORS OR PRODUCTS

Finally, you’ll need to decide on your vendors or


products.

If you have your own products, this will be a much


easier process, but you’ll still want to complete some
kind of inventory so you know what you have on
hand.

Otherwise, you’ll need to formalize agreements with


vendors and decide on what products you’ll provide.

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One popular option for ecommerce websites is to do
something known as dropshipping.
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Dropshipping is when your ecommerce store acts as


a middleman, and users will be sent products directly
from the manufacturer or wholesaler.

This means you don’t have to store or package any


products yourself, cutting down on costs.

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C H APT ER FO UR

WHAT YOU NEED TO


Get Started

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WHAT YOU NEED TO Get Started

Now that your planning is complete, it’s time to jump


into the fun part. We’re still not quite ready for
WooCommerce yet, but we’re getting there.

You need to make sure you have the right foundation


to use WooCommerce with WordPress.

You need the following:

1. Self-hosted website

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2. Online security (SSL certificate)
3. WordPress
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4. Time (1-2 hours for the initial setup)


5. Optional: paid theme, add-on payment methods,
etc.

1. SELF-HOSTED WEBSITE

First, you need to have a self-hosted website and


domain name.

Why do you need a self-hosted website? Mainly, you


need to be fully in control of your website. That’s only
possible if you have a self-hosted, paid hosting plan.

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Luckily, you can find a lot of inexpensive hosting
options starting at just a few dollars a month.
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You’ll be up and running in no time with your


self-hosted website

2. ONLINE SECURITY (SSL CERTIFICATE)

It’s easy to assume that because you’re a small


website, you won’t be targeted by online hackers or
other criminals.

Cybersecurity threats are at an all-time high, and


businesses of all shapes and sizes are at risk. In fact,
43% of all online attacks are aimed at small

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businesses.

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If you’re running an online store, security can’t be an


afterthought.

Users will be entering personal information on your


website, and that information will be at risk if you’re
not proactive. The most important step to take is to
make sure your website has an SSL certificate, also
known as a Secure Socket Layer.

What does an SSL certificate do? It’s basically a small


data file that digitally binds a cryptographic key to
your organization’s details. You can think of it as a

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lock between the web server and a browser. That way,
your users can be confident their information isn’t
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being stolen. Most hosts nowadays already offer SSL


certificate with purchase of a hosting plan.

3. WORDPRESS

Of course, in order to run WooCommerce, you’ll also


need WordPress installed on your website.

WordPress is the internet’s largest Content Manage-


ment System (CMS), and it’s an open-source platform
that’s free to use.

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Through WordPress, you can install different plugins
that make it easier to run your website without any
formal coding skills.
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You might be able to download and install WordPress


through your webhost, but you can also do it on your
own.

Learn how to download and install WordPress here.

4. TIME (1-2 HOURS)

You’ll also need some time to get WooCommerce set


up before you can start selling.

While WooCommerce has a built-in setup process

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that claims to take as little as 7 minutes, you should
have at least an hour or two on hand to go beyond
the basics. From there, it’ll be smooth sailing.
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5. PAID THEMES, ADD-ONS, AND EXTRAS

Finally, you might also want to have some add-ons


planned out so you can hit the ground running with
the tutorial below.

There are a number of WooCommerce extras


designed specifically for the platform such as:

• Themes and designs


• Payment gateways
• Email automation

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• Dropshipping plugins
• Other extensions

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We’ll talk more about these extensions and add-ons


when they come up through the tutorial process, but
it’s a good idea to get familiar with them before you
begin.

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C H APT ER FIVE

WOOCOMMERCE
Step-by-Step Tutorial

1 3
4
2

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WOOCOMMERCE Step-by-Step Tutorial

Now that you have all of the basics ready to go, it’s
time to start the full guide on how to create an online
store with WooCommerce.

This step-by-step guide will cover every part of


installing WooCommerce and getting your shop set
up. You’ll be selling in no time.

STEP 1: INSTALL WORDPRESS

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First, make sure you have WordPress installed
properly on your self-hosted website.
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If you’ve just purchased your domain and storage


from your host, it can take up to 48 hours for your
website to first propagate.

Many hosting services offer WordPress installation,


but if that’s not an option you can follow this guide
for installing WordPress yourself.

From there, you’ll be directed to create a WordPress


admin account for your website. This is where you set
up your username, password, and basic site informa-
tion. If you installed through your host, your password

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might be emailed to you.

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You’ll most likely find your WordPress login at www.


yoursite.com/wp-admin.

Now, login to your WordPress website.

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STEP 2: INSTALL A WORDPRESS THEME

Now, you need to create or install a WordPress theme.


In particular, you’ll want a theme that’s optimized for
WooCommerce to make things easier down the road.

There are a lot of options you can choose from, with


both paid themes and free themes available.

A great starter theme that’s perfect for


WooCommerce on WordPress is Storefront.

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It’s a free WooCommerce optimized theme with child
themes that are also perfect for WooCommerce.

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Storefront was made by the same developers who


created WooCommerce, so you can feel confident it’s
a good fit.

With over 200,000 active installs, it’s the perfect


theme no matter your skill level with WooCommerce
or WordPress.

You can also choose from a large number of


premium WordPress themes. Going with a premium
theme can greatly add to the overall look and feel of
your site. This is because most premium themes are

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professionally designed and come with a variety of
layouts and page templates for your site.
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While free themes are great if you’re on a budget, it’s


not uncommon that they are abandoned by their
developers, leaving you with an outdated theme.

This, unfortunately, can lead to security issues, among


other things. Most premium themes, on the other
hand, guarantee regular updates as well as access
to support if you need any help while creating your
shop.

They also often come bundled with some useful


plugins you would otherwise have to pay for. And to

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top it off, the price of premium themes usually isn’t all
that steep.
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Here are a few of our favorite premium WordPress


themes for creating a WooCommerce online store:

• Gioia – Modern Fashion Shop: This stylish theme is


perfect for all types of fashion and clothing stores,
but it can also be adapted to any type of shop that
needs an extra dash of sophistication.

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• Tonda - A Modern Elegant WooCommerce Theme:


Great for online stores, retailers and artisans,
• Tonda comes with 6 distinct homepages and tons
of beautiful elements that let you launch your
shop in no time.

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• Depot – A Contemporary Theme for eCommerce:


This contemporary shop theme is specially made
for furniture stores and comes packed with loads
of predesigned pages, endless shop options, and
even a few free plugins.

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When searching for a WooCommerce theme, there


are a few different things you should keep in mind.

An attractive theme alone isn’t enough.

You also need it to be a good experience for your


users in both style and function.

Keep the following list in mind when making your


choice:

• Site speed - If the theme is too bloated with fancy

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sliders, effects, and images, you’ll slow down your
site performance. Site speed is an important factor
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• in Google’s ranking algorithm, so don’t go for the


most fancy, complex theme.

• Responsive - Your theme should be mobile-


• responsive. Google’s mobile-first initiative prom-
ised that mobile-friendly websites will be ranked
higher in search results. You need an online store
that’s easy to browse on any device.

• Readability - Your users should be able to quickly


and easily read your website’s fonts. Some fonts
might look stylish and trendy, but if they’re hard to

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read, it’s not serving any purpose.

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• Customization - Is the theme customizable? You
don’t want your online store to look like you’ve
chosen a one-size-fits-all design. If you want more
customization, opt for a theme with child theme
options to have more variety and keep your web-
site from looking cookie-cutter.

• Test the theme - Always test your theme before


downloading, making sure to check different
browsers and devices for usability.

To find a free theme, go to Appearance > Themes

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> Add New (WordPress.org Themes or Premium
Themes).
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Now, you’ll be able to search for themes from the


WordPress repository.

This is where you can find Storefront and other


WooCommerce themes. Once you find the theme
you want, click Install > Activate. Your theme will now
be live on your website.

If you’ve already purchased or downloaded a theme,


you can upload the .zip file by clicking Upload.

You can find a full guide to installing your own down-

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loaded themes here.

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Upload your theme as a .zip file. It will then start

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installing. Once it’s done, click Activate.

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Your theme is successfully installed. If you look at


your WordPress site, it probably won’t look like much
yet. Don’t worry! We’ll talk about how to customize
it soon. Depending on your theme, a prompt might
suggest you Install WooCommerce next.

If not, head to the next step to do just that.

STEP 3: DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE


WOOCOMMERCE PLUGIN

If a prompt didn’t pop-up with your WooCommerce

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enabled theme, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for
WooCommerce and click Install Now. Once It’s
installed, click Activate.
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You’ve done it! You’ve installed WooCommerce on


your WordPresss site, and you’re well on your way to
being an online store owner.

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Now, let’s get everything set up properly.
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STEP 4: USE THE SETUP WIZARD

The WooCommerce setup wizard claims to help you


set up your website in 7 minutes or less.
While that might be an exaggeration, it is true that
it’s an easy process that streamlines all of the big
tasks into one system.

During the setup process, you’ll be walked through


creating an account with WooCommerce as well as
setting up your basic store information.

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This is where you’ll:

• Create key pages for your store


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• Enter shipping and tax information


• Setup the payment processors
• Customize the settings for your new online store

Let’s walk through all of the steps one-by-one.

First, you’ll be presented with the Store Setup


basics like your address and currency.

If you have a P.O. box you’ll be using, enter it here.


Otherwise, use your physical store address.

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You’ll also be asked whether you plan to sell physical


products, digital products, or both. What you choose

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here will help WooCommerce optimize the checkout
process.
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For instance, the user will need to have a shipping


address for physical products. Don’t worry, you can
change this later, if needed.

There’s also a checkbox for selling products or


services in person.

If you don’t check this box for selling in person, you’ll


be shown Stripe and Paypal as payment methods.

If you do check this box for selling in person and you


live in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, or the UK,

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you’ll be shown Square, PayPal and Stripe as
payment methods.
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Finally, it’s up to you whether you want to give


WooCommerce access to usage tracking to help with
updates and other changes.

Once you’re done with this first step, click Let’s go! to
continue the process.

Next, you’re taken to the Payment page. This is where

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you set up payment information for your store. Again,
you can change this later. The default option is Stripe
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which is a way to accept debit and credit cards in 135


currencies. You can setup with Stripe by entering
your email address here.

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Additionally, you can choose to install PayPal for


secure transactions as well. If you collapse the Of-
fline Payment box, you’ll also be presented with op-
tions for collecting customer payments offline like
check payments, bank transfers, and cash in-person.

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We’re half-way through the setup wizard now.

Next is Shipping. WooCommerce has two shipping


zones, one for your country and one for the rest of the
world.

You’re allowed to set a flat rate for shipping costs in


either zone or offer free shipping.

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If you’d prefer calculating shipping based on location
and carrier, you’ll need to install an extension to your
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your website after this process.

On this page you’ll also see an option for printing


shipping labels at home through WooCommerce Ser-
vices and Jetpack.

You can always install your own extension for this or


even do it yourself, but this service is free and highly
recommended to make your life a bit easier.

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Finally, set your weight and dimension metrics and


click Continue.

Last but not least, you’re offered recommended


extensions for your online store. It’s up to you wheth-
er they’re a good fit, but here’s a short explanation of
each one:

• Mailchimp - Mailchimp is an email management


system (EMS) that you can use to automate and
schedule emails to customers and leads. If you
already have an email management system, feel

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free to skip Mailchimp.

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• Automated Taxes - This makes it simple to auto-


mate your taxes by using local calculations.

• Facebook - The Facebook plugin makes it sim-


ple to enable pixel tracking, messenger shop, and
even shop functionality on Facebook and Insta-
gram. It’s recommended you add this if you plan to
market on Facebook or Instagram.

If you’d rather hold off on installing these right now,


click Skip this step to move on to the next step.

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Before you finish, WooCommerce asks if you’d like to
enable Jetpack to activate services you might have
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already enabled like payment setup, shipping labels,


and more.

If you’ve opted-into any of those, click Continue with


WooCommerce Services. Otherwise, click Skip this
step.

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Congrats! You’ve successfully completed the first


steps of setting up your WooCommerce store!

Now, it’s time to customize your online store and get


your products up.

STEP 5: ADD AND MANAGE YOUR PRODUCTS

It’s time to add your first products. Your store


wouldn’t be much of a business without any
products, right? You might be wondering why we
suggest adding products before you customize your

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store appearance. It’s because it will be much easier
to see your full website if you’ve got a few products to
work with.
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From the setup wizard, you can click Add Products to


get started. Otherwise, from your WordPress dash-
board, go to Products > Add Products to add your
first products.

You’ll quickly notice that the product page looks sim-


ilar to adding a blog post, with a few key differences.
Here’s how to navigate this product creation page:

• Product name field - At the top of the page under


“Add new product” you can type in a name for your
product.

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• Content field - This is your product description.
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It will appear under your product in your typical


product page layout.

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• Product data meta box - Here, you can add any
important settings like the price, tax status, how
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many you have in your inventory, shipping infor-


mation, and more.

• Virtual or downloadable checkbox - At the top of


the product data box, you can select whether your
product is virtual or downloadable. Check virtual if
you’re selling a service and downloadable if you’re
providing a file that users can access once they’ve
purchased.

• Inventory - In the product data box, you’ll have the


option of setting inventory if you enable “manage

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stock?” This means you can allow backorders by
setting the quantity and setting a low stock
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threshold. There’s also an option to only allow cus-


tomers to purchase one product per order.

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• Product attributes - In the product meta box, you
can click the tab Attributes to add attributes for
your product that your customers can search by.
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Examples might include size, material, and color.

• Product short description - Further down the

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page, you’ll find a short description area where you
can create a small blurb about your product
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that will be listed under the product title. Keep this


short!

• Product category and tags - On the right sidebar,


you’ll have an option to choose a product category
and to add tags.

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• Add product image - Next, you’ll see an option
for adding an image. This will be the main image
that’s displayed on your store.
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• Add image gallery - Beyond the add image sec-


tion, you can choose to add several images to cre-

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ate an image gallery for your product. Customers
can scroll through these images before making a
purchase.
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When you’re happy with your product information,


click Publish to add it to your store. Repeat this pro-
cess for all of your products. See how the completed
product page looks with our example below.

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STEP 6: ORDERS AND COUPONS

Now that you know how to add products to your


store, it’s time to talk about managing orders and
coupons.

This is a simple process with WooCommerce, but it’s


also one you’ll want to take a minute to familiarize
yourself with.

To see your WooCommerce orders through your on-


line store, go to WooCommerce > Orders. Here, you’ll

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be presented with a list of orders, If you only sell
digital or virtual products, all you can do here is see
who bought what.
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However, if you sell physical goods, this is where you’ll


organize what products you need to ship, which are
being processed, and what orders have been put on
hold.

Next, WooCommerce has a lot of options for adding


coupons to your online store. Coupons are a great
way to encourage people to make a purchase, espe-
cially when you’re just launching a new website.

To access your coupons go to WooCommerce >


Coupons > Add New.

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Now, you’ll open the coupon screen. With the coupon
editor, you can customize your discount and
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and restrictions. In the General tab, you can edit basic


information like the type of coupon. Options include
cart percent discount, product discounts, and prod-
uct percentage discounts.

You can also add free shipping options, a specific


value, and an expiration date.

In Usage Restrictions, you can customize the dis-


count even more. For instance, you might set a mini-
mum spend the customer has to make to enable the
coupon or restrict how it’s used with other discounts.

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Finally, you even have an option to ban certain email
addresses from coupon usage.
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STEP 7: DESIGN YOUR STORE

Now that you’ve added coupons and products, it’s


time to actually start designing your WooCommerce
store. If you chose to use Storefront as your theme,
you might want to consider installing a child theme.

A child theme is like a layer you add to the Storefront


template, making it look and function a certain way.
You can browse Storefront child themes right here on
the WooCommerce website. You’ll find both free and
paid options.

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To customize your theme, go to Appearance >
Customize.
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On the left, you’ll see a list of things you can change.

On the right, you’ll see real-time updates based on


your changes.

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Start by opening the Site Identity tab. This is where


you can upload your logo, add a site title, tagline, and
site icon. If you wish to add a header image, navigate
to the Header tab.

Another important section is your Typography.


Depending on your theme, you can change your text
and link colors here and possibly your font selection.
You can change button colors under Buttons.

Next, add your menu by going to Menus and adding


any pages or categories. It’s recommended you in-

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clude a basic menu at the top of your shop with your
homepage, about page, cart, categories, and contact
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information at the very least. At the same time, don’t


overwhelm your menu with too many options. Once
you’ve added things to your menu, set it as Primary.

Finally, edit your widgets under Widgets. This is


where you can add anything to your sidebar, footer,
and header area. You could include simple text wid-
gets or some of the custom WooCommerce widgets
like recently viewed products, best sellers, and so on.

When you’re done with your customizations, click


publish and see how it looks. You can always edit

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these small details later, so try not to get too caught
up in making everything look perfect.
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STEP 8: INSTALL ADD-ON EXTENSIONS

One of the benefits of choosing WooCommerce is that


you have a ton of extensions you can add in a single
click. These extensions give your website more cus-
tomization options and functionality.

While it’s up to you to explore these extensions and


decide what’s the best fit for your website, here are
some of the most common options:

• Memberships and subscription services

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• Payment gateways like Amazon Pay and Apple Pay
• Online bookings and scheduling
• Mailchimp or other email providers
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• ShipStation for managing orders and printing


postage
• Storefront style customizer

You can always add new extensions as you grow and


learn what your particular store needs. The priority is
to make sure your store is functional, attractive, and
easy for users to use.

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C H A PT ER S I X

LAUCHING Your Site

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LAUNCHING Your Store

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’re well on


your way to launching your online store.

Before you do that, take a moment to make sure you


have an ecommerce strategy figured out. Starting an
online business might be more accessible than ever
before, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

One of the biggest mistakes new online business


owners make is assuming that once they hit pub-

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lish, people will stumble upon their website and start
making purchases. As nice as that would be, the
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world doesn’t work that way. Here are a few ideas for
getting the word out about your new online business.

CREATE A DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN

There are a number of digital marketing strategies


that work particularly well with ecommerce.

The first one is actually influencer marketing. Influ-


encer marketing is when you collaborate with other
bloggers, influencers, and publishers to generate
awareness about your brand.

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This is great for small businesses because you can of-
ten partner with smaller bloggers in exchange for
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free products or a small fee. A surprising 49% of con-


sumers depend on influencer recommendations for
finding new products, so don’t underestimate this
way of spreading awareness.

Another powerful digital marketing tool is just lever-


aging social media in general. Promoting your best
products and content on social media will help get
the word out while connecting you with the right
audience.

What really works on social media right now? Ac-

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cording to the latest trend alerts, video is the thing to
focus on when it comes to online marketing for
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ecommerce. At least 54% of consumers want to see


more video content from brands, so why not start off
on the right foot?

ADVERTISE A GRAND OPENING DISCOUNT

When you’re first promoting your website, you need


a way to entice users to make a purchase. If they’ve
never heard of your brand before, they aren’t likely to
trust you right off the bat.

One effective way to build excitement and trust is

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with a grand opening discount. Remember, the more
people who purchase, the more opportunities you
have for positive reviews, brand awareness, and social
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sharing. Offering free shipping, discounts, or a limit-


ed-time deal will go a long way to converting users.

FOCUS ON YOUR REPORTS AND ANALYTICS

In those early launch stages, it’s essential that you


keep a close eye on your reports. With WooCom-
merce, it’s as simple as clicking to your Reports page
under WooCommerce > Reports.

From here, you can take a look at all of your import-


ant information to see just how successful your shop

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currently is.

Don’t be dissuaded if your shop isn’t an overnight


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success. It takes time to build a lasting brand, so have


faith that the right users will come if you’re persistent.
Below, you’ll see an example of the report page
before any sales have been reported.

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You can learn more about your Orders, Customers,


and Stock with the corresponding tabs.

Here, you can see your net sales, gross sales, number
of orders placed, and so on.

Your analytics are important, and luckily they’re easy


to monitor with WooCommerce.

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C H APTER S EVEN

START AN ONLINE STORE


With WooCommerce

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START AN ONLINE STORE WITH


WooCommerce

Now that you’ve completed this guide, you’re official-


ly ready to conquer the world of ecommerce. Online
selling is only going to continue to grow. Now is the
best time to jump in on this gold rush of online retail,
so what are you waiting for?

With WooCommerce, it’s simple to get started. If you


have a self-hosted WordPress website, you’re already
halfway there. Break free from the myth that you

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need advanced web developing skills to create an
online store.
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If you have a product or store idea, now is the right


time to hit the ground running. The world is a big
place, and there are no walls that can contain your
online store.

The sky’s the limit, so why not get started today?

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