WooCommerce 101: The Quickest Way to

Build Your eCommerce Site

To open an eCommerce website is like creating a store that can teleport everywhere in the world. The
online medium will expose your website to anyone interested in your products (and with the right
marketing tactics), and the space limits are vanished away. Your possibilities are endless, and the
customers will enjoy an authentic shopping experience.

Today, we are going to take a look at the easiest way to open an eCommerce website. To do that, we’ll
rely greatly on WooCommerce because it is the most versatile platform for your website. WooCommerce
has always made sure that the user is in control of his website 100% of the time. That is why it is one of
the most loved choices for online sellers.

Build a WordPress Site

First things first, you will start by setting up a WordPress site. This will be the frame that keeps your
eCommerce business together in the online world.

1. Domain Name
You will need a URL address that the customers will use to get to your online shop. You should do some
keyword research. Make a list of keywords that are related to the type of products you are selling, and
run them through Google Trends to check the level of interest for your keywords. Afterward, head to
some online companies that can sell you the domain names. Compare their prices and benefits, and pick
the best fit for you. Usually, the most popular choices are GoDaddy.com, Register.com or
NetworkSolutions.com.

2. Hosting service

Next up is choosing the hosting company that will take care of all the files of your website and load them
on safe servers. This step requires a thorough research also because many popular websites offer a
multitude of options to boost up their prices. However, most of these options are unnecessary for your
needs, so you need to take every factor into consideration.

Look for the offers with long-term pricing that is maintained cheap throughout the entire time, high
memory limits, and good customer care services. You can start by looking into popular platforms for
hosting WordPress sites, such as HostGator.com, BlueHost.com or DreamHost.com.

3. Connect the website to WordPress

All you have to do is log in to your hosting platform account and access the control panel from there.
Here you will be able to connect your website to WordPress. Fill in the required blanks, make sure you
write the email address correctly, and press the Install “Wordpress” button. You can login to your new
WordPress website by accessing the http://[yourdomain.com]/wp-admin URL.

Upgrade your WordPress website to eCommerce

Now, it’s all about changing your website into an online shopping experience. To do that, you need to
take care of three things, namely shopping cart, product pages, and a checkout system.

All these three functionalities can be easily covered by installing a WordPress plugin. Among the tens of
options you can choose from, the WooCommerce is by far the greatest eCommerce tool out there. There
is yet nothing that this plugin cannot do.

WooCommerce offers an intuitive and beautiful user experience. It puts all the important options in front
of the users to provide an uninterrupted online flow. You can customize your shop to look like a
professional brand right from the WooCommerce panel, and measure all the activities that happen on
your website. Furthermore, this WordPress plugin always has your back, so there’s no need for you to
concern too much with security issues.

To install it, access your WordPress admin account and click on the Plugins tab where you will find the
WooCommerce plugin among others. After you install it, you will be prompted to activate some basic
settings to get your shop going on the spot. This step will basically create your shopping cart. Allow the
WooCommerce to create it, and then set up the location, units, currency, shipping & tax details, and
payment methods for it. These details are all up to you.
With the addition of WooCommerce, you will have two new tabs in your admin account. These are
WooCommerce and Products. The Products tab will allow you to add new products and customize the
product pages exactly how you want it. The WooCommerce tab is there to offer you control over the
shopping activities. From here, you can see and supervise the orders made through the website, and add
coupons of whichever value you want and set the expiration date to them. The Reports subtab of
WooCommerce is the brain of the WordPress. It shows you visual data through charts and graphics. Here
you can see the number of sales for all products or one product only, at all times or just over a selected
period of time.

There are a lot of quality WooCommerce themes and extensions that will streamline management and
provide an amazing user experience. It is up to you to select the extensions that suit your needs.

The final step of building your own eCommerce website is to test it. Enter any page of the online shop,
check the display and functionality on every product page, and perform some checkout tests. If all goes
well, you have just become the owner of an online shop!

So, this is an accurate outline of the quickest way to get an eCommerce website. Remember that you
should go through each step with your brand in mind, and WooCommerce as a 100% customizable tool
will get you the desired brand image.

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