How to Create an Ecommerce Website on WooCommerce in 7 Easy Steps

A step-by-step guide to building a successful eCommerce website.

It’s getting easier and cheaper day-by-day to create an eCommerce website on WooCommerce. According to recent statistics, eCommerce is growing at an unprecedented rate all over the world.

Due to real-time updates of new product launches, exclusive deals, and the one-touch purchase option eCommerce is expected to nearly double its sale from 2017 from $2.3 trillion to $4.5 trillion by 2021.

But for a non-techy person creating an eCommerce website can be an overwhelming thought. Therefore, I have decided to share with you the step-by-step process of creating an eCommerce website on WooCommerce.

Why create an eCommerce store with WooCommerce and WordPress?

To create an eCommerce website we need a platform for the website.  

The two most popular eCommerce platforms out there are: 

1. Shopify 

2. WordPress + WooCommerce

Shopify is the most widely used platform for eCommerce website because it’s hassle-free. But the big downside to Shopify is that it gets quite expensive especially when you are starting out.

A fully hosted eCommerce solution on Shopify starts at $29 / month. To enjoy useful features you need to pay extra.

While there are so many other platforms available such as BigCommerce, 3dcart, Prestashop, Weebly, Squarespace I prefer WordPress.

Creating a website on WordPress is quick and easy. Plus, it’s reliable and very affordable. The fact that it’s open-source software so there’s no limit to what you can do with WordPress without having any coding or technical knowledge makes it the best option for a newbie.

The WooCommerce plugin (which is free) helps you turn your WordPress website into a fully functional eCommerce website. 

With WooCommerce you can sell anything on your website from products to all kinds of services subscriptions and bookings

The other great thing about WooCommerce plugin is that it’s compatible with almost every WordPress theme (I prefer Astra theme with WooCommerce for its great features, we’ll get to it in a minute)

 

Step By Step Process to Setting up Your Online Store Platform

1. Choosing a Domain name and web hosting on WooCommerce

The first step to set up an eCommerce store is the have a domain name, web hosting, and an SSL certificate.

The domain name is the name of your website (for example abc.com). It’s an address of your website on the internet.

While web hosting is like a house where your website is stored. It’s a service that makes your website accessible via the World Wide Web.

For an eCommerce website, an SSL certificate is a must because it secures sensitive information such as personal details and credit/debit card details.

Normally, a domain name costs around $10-$20/year and good web hosting will cost you $5-$12/month and SSL certificate starts from around $12/year. But that’s a lot for someone starting out.

But don’t worry!!

Bluehost has agreed to offer our users a discount on all web hosting, a free domain name, and a free SSL certificate. So you will get a free domain unlimited websites, unlimited SSD storage, unmetered bandwidth, a free SSL certificate for just $5.95/mo*

You can also claim the same offer on Siteground by clicking the button below.

Read my Siteground review here

2. WordPress installation process

WordPress installation with Bluehost is very easy. You’ll be able to install WordPress with Bluehost’s “one-click installation” in no time.

1. Login to your Bluehost account.

2. Click on “My Sites” then click on “Create Site”.

bluehost setup

3. Enter the new WordPress site a name and a site tagline.

bulehost domain

4. Now, select the domain name and Check/uncheck the plugins you need or don’t need.

5. Click ‘Next‘.

bluehost wordpress setup

There you go!

You have installed WordPress on your hosting successfully.

Now, note down your WordPress username and password and go to yourdomainname.com/wp-admin

NOTE – Add your domain name in place of ‘yourdomainname’ in the link given above.

Now enter your WordPress username and password to login on WordPress.

3. WooCommerce installation process

To install the WooCommerce plugin on your WordPress website:

1. Go to WordPress dashboard, then select “Plugins” and select “Add New

Ecommerce Website on WooCommerce

2. Type WooCommerce in the search field

3. Click on ‘Install Now’ and then on ‘Activate’.

 WooCommerce install

4. After activating the plugin you will be redirected to your dashboard where receive a notification.

5. Click on the ‘Run setup wizard’ button in the notification.

  WooCommerce setup

6. Then click on the ‘Let’s go’ button to launch the WooCommerce setup wizard.

WooCommerce setup

7. Setup pages for cart, account, shop, and checkout.

WooCommerce page setup Ecommerce Website

8. Now, fill in the store location and currency.

WooCommerce store locale Ecommerce Website

9. Next, you need to enter shipping and tax information.

WooCommerce shipping and tax Ecommerce Website

10. Add the payment method for your eCommerce store. By default, WooCommerce comes with Paypal and Stripe integration. You can also add other payment methods if you need them.

WooCommerce payment setup Ecommerce Website

Voila, Your store is ready!

WooCommerce setup

4.  Selecting the elegant and fully functional WooCommerce theme

After we are done with Domain, Hosting and WordPress+WooCommerce installation let’s move on the part that will determine how your website is going to look.

Selecting the right theme is one of the most important steps in creating a successful eCommerce Website on WooCommerce. After all, good user experience is a major conversion booster.

A good UX will ensure your customers can easily navigate your website, find what they need, add it to the cart and buy it.

There are thousands and thousands of paid and free themes available on WordPress but one should choose a theme that is customizable, lightweight, responsive and SEO-friendly.

That’s why I recommend the Astra-WooCommerce theme which will help you create feature-rich and beautiful WooCommerce stores with minimum setup. 

It has inbuilt integration for WooCommerce that provides full compatibility to your store with elegant design. Astra has both free and pro versions.

Astra theme Ecommerce Website on WooCommerce

Why Astra-WooCommerce theme is the right theme for your eCommerce store?

1. Aesthetic

 Not only the theme should look good but it should also be appropriate for your product.

Astra’s ready to use free starter templates gives you many options to choose from to create an appropriate look for your website.

 It will also save the time and effort required to build a beautiful eCommerce store from scratch because you’ll be able to import ready sites built with Astra and WooCommerce and set up your store in minimum efforts. 

2. SEO-friendliness

A study conducted by SEMRUSH states that 37.5% of eCommerce orders were directly coming from organic search traffic.

Every successful eCommerce website takes SEO very seriously. The website must be properly optimized for SEO and the theme plays a huge role in this.

The Astra-WooCommerce theme is an SEO friendly theme that contains a simple code base and it uses proper title-tags, header-tags, and meta-tags. It also comes with built-in schema support. You can also optimize breadcrumbs and AMP settings.

3. Responsive and Mobile-friendly

In the coming years, half of the online purchasing will be done through mobile phones to so the theme for the eCommerce store must be mobile-responsive and device-agnostic to ensure that you are not missing out on traffic and sales.

Astra’s theme is a very responsive theme. It offers options for mobile, tablet and desktop devices to ensure the best experience for shoppers.

4. Speed and Performance

A high bounce rate can be deadly for your eCommerce store. Several studies have indicated that even a 1-second delay means an overall 7% loss in conversions. Page Speed is also considered as a major ranking factor in the search engine as per Google.

Astra has a clean and optimized code, which ensures the blazing-fast loading speed of a website.

5. Support

All themes and plugins face bug issues from time to time therefore the theme support policy plays a huge role in de-bug your theme.

You’ll also need assistance to grow your eCommerce store and to make sure you are using all the cool features of the theme.

Astra provides its customers with in-depth articles, and video tutorials that explain each and every feature. It also has a 24/7 Dedicated email support and a Facebook Group with over 10,000+ active members.

Astra free theme with WooCommerce

On Astra free theme with WooCommerce, the user has partial control over the website design. The user can adjust the –

  • width of the content on the archive page.
  • the number of columns to list products. 
  • the number of products per page.
  • enable/disable sidebar on WooCommerce pages. 
  • enable the add-to-cart option in the header menu. 

There are several WooCommerce layout options to create an eCommerce store just the way you want it to look.

Astra Pro addon with WooCommerce

On Astra Pro addon with WooCommerce, the user has total control over the website design. With so many addon features the user can create a world-class eCommerce store.

  • The products and their categories can be adjusted in such a way that the customer will find the product they are searching for in no time. 
  • There will also be a two-step checkout with the coupon field to make the process hassle-free for the customers.
  • The shop can be displayed in both grid or list style with the quick view option
  • The user will be able to style the sale bubble. 
  • Added customization options for products page such as – Breadcrumbs, gallery layout, navigation, related product, styling add-to-cart button.

Astra Pricing:

Astra is a free theme with paid options.

Annual Pricing:

Astra theme Annual Pricing

One-time Lifetime Pricing:

Astra theme One-time Lifetime Pricing

Both annual and lifetime customers will get access to one-on-one support, extensive training, and unlimited website usage.

5. Adding Products to Your Online Store

After the Astra-WooCommerce theme activation, your website is now ready to display products for sales.

1. On your WordPress dashboard click on Products > Add Product to add a new product.

Ecommerce Website on WooCommerce

2. Provide a title for your product

3. Then, add a detailed description of the product

4. On right-hand side fill in the product categories

5. Now move on to Product Data box by scrolling down. Here you can provide product-related information like pricing, inventory, shipping, etc.

Ecommerce Website on WooCommerce

6. On the right side, you will see boxes to add the main product image and a product gallery.

7. Click on the Publish button once you are satisfied.

You’re ready to create an eCommerce website on WooCommerce

Building an eCommerce website doesn’t seem so difficult now, does it?

Having your own eCommerce store is a great opportunity to keep your business alive and competitive in today’s world.

It will also help you raise awareness and access for your incredible products. Follow these above steps and you will soon build an eCommerce website with the help of WordPress and Woocomerce in no time.

For further questions mail me at – divyanshu@digitalgrowthninja.com

Disclosure- If you sign up with Bluehost, Siteground or Astra using our referral link, we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you (in fact, you will save money and get a free domain). DigitalGrowthNinja.com uses affiliate programs by merchants for monetization. This means when you click on affiliate links to various merchants on this blog and make a purchase, this can result in a commission that is credited to the site owner.

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