How to Use WordPress to Create an Online Store

Digitization has taken everything to another end. Accessing the daily tasks, buying, selling has become very convenient. 

Users are more smarter and clever,  they like to adopt all of their fundamentals.   Understanding that, businesses have started to modify their approaches and opt for online businesses or eCommerce businesses.  

The online shopping trends sooner capture the immense heights. Impressive, right!! There are several big names, like Flipkart, eBay, Amazon, Alibaba, etc., that are the best examples of online stores.  

Your presence on this page shows that you are looking for the best ways to build an online store. Indeed!!  We are here with a write-up that reveals how this process is possible with one of the best CMS out there, that is- WordPress!!

Or, if you have an urge to complete the process of building the online store in less and more efficiency, then you can hire a professional WordPress ecommerce development company. But, keep in mind to look after the reviews and rating before securing them for your eCommerce website. Despite this, you can also create it on your own.

So, if you do not have any idea how to develop the one that doesn’t stress, read-on this article. We assure you that in the end, all your doubts will be cleared!!

Why WordPress?

WordPress is the flexible and self-hosted content management system for creating websites. It incorporates all the features and functionalities that allow even the non-technical to create a simple website. Without breaking the sweat, anyone can create a fully-functional website. Customizing the online store according to the requirements is also possible. This platform has many plugins and themes in its pocket that makes building the eCommerce website according to business requirements possible. So, without any further delay, let’s get straight on creating an online store with WordPress.

5 Steps to Building an Online Store

Step 1#  Leverage Passion to Fuel your Niche

Only your passion can give you what you desire. And, when it is about creating an online store, a lot of passion, and many years of experience and efforts is required.  To discover the products that projects with your own passion, find out below the tested measures:

• Outline your past purchases, find out which items you bought the more and which excites you more?
• Know some different product categories.  Do you have something valuable in your departmental store?
• Which product do you think can influence someone to purchase?
• How do you spend your free time and how your hobbies can be monetized in the online store?

The crux is that the more dynamic your niche is, the more your passion will shine.

Step 2# Get Domain Name and  Web Hosting Service

Secure the appealing domain name that every user can remember. It is what makes users find you easily. Like; if they have heard about your domain name from someone sometime, then they can remember it and search it correspondingly. Also, the domain name should reflect what your business is into. Even, it makes it easy for Google to search for you.  

It is advisable to do some keyword research, keep it short, and do not hyphenate it- the users can forget it, then. Keep all the domain extensions, like, .com, co.in, net. etc. to do not allow the copycats to take advantage.

When it is about the hosting service, then only a reliable and trustable one should be hired. Look out for those who are providing the best hosting services at a budget-friendly price and possess a great reputation in the market. For your convenience, Bluehost, Hostgator, Dreamhost, Hostinger, GreenGeeks, WP Engine are some of the names that you can adopt. 

Step 3# Pick the eCommerce Platform for Online Store

When you have chosen WordPress to create your online store, then you should not bother; it holds the capacity to build a solid foundation to your website. There are many eCommerce platforms, and you can choose the one that you find appropriate. But, our recommendation here is WooCommerce. 

This platform can convert your WordPress website into an outstanding online store and the best part, it has a free base package.  You do not need to even get the paid plugins to implement its basic designing elements. Setting the WooCommerce and selling the first products is not a daunting task, all you have to:

• Choose the host for the website that has a specific package for WordPress.
• Next, download and install the WooCommerce plugin- Answer all the queries mentioned in the setup wizard.
• Get, install, and customize the WordPress themes that are fully-customizable with this WooCommerce platform.
• Add the first product from the product tab in the WordPress Admin center.

Step 4# Create the New eCommerce Website in WordPress

WooCommerce does not demand you to be technical expertise and also, does not take more time to create an online store. This platform can also be used to create small to large websites. To build the new online store with WordPress, find out the below points:

Step 5# Install a WordPress Plugin

• Sign-in to WordPress and navigate directly to the Administration panel.
• Choose “Plugins” then navigate to ->“Add New.”
• Find WooCommerce; type the full name and then, press enter. To assure yourself about WooCommerce, you can check its ratings and reviews.
• After assuring about this platform, you can select the “Install Now” button to install it.
• Revert the pop-up with “Yes.”
• Here, WordPress will perform the installation process.
• Then, you will check the notification on your on-screen about the complete process of installation.
  

This is how you can install the plugin easily. The built-in wizard takes you through the process with all the essential steps. Also, do not neglect the important pages, such as taxes, shipping, and product pages. After the completion of the installation process, you can set up and then make the necessary webpages.

Step 6# Build the Web Pages

Now, you can create the required web pages, and choose the “Continue” button to perform this.

• Configure Shop Locale

When the pages are created, make your locality configurable. Then, the system will show the information in exact terms. Here, you will answer the fundamental questions of measurement language and currency, such as euros or dollars, pounds or kilos, plus package dimension instructions for international and domestic shoppers.

• Set Up Taxes and Shipping

The taxes and shipping screens allow you to describe the shipping and tax rates, handling policies, incorporating the foreign/domestic checks related to product sales. 

If in any case, you do not have any idea about the tax rates, then do not fret!! The WooCommerce includes the instinctive feature to provide locality suggestions. Hence, you can perform all tasks effectively.

• Configure Payment Methods

Now, you can offer a reliable and secure payment gateway to the customers. There are many options that you can choose and add- there are Paypal, ACH (bank transfer), C.O.D, or some non-traditional options that allow you to install add-ons quickly.

And that’s it! 

That’s a Wrap!!

Now, you must have understood that creating an online store is not a complicated task. You just need to plan out the strategies smartly and use the modern-day platforms, such as WordPress and WooCommerce to the core.

Always remember to use Google Analytics for tracking the customer behavior and for creating the product-related blogs to drive more traffic to your online store.

Hopefully, this guide can give you the best of knowledge. If we have missed something, then, let us know in the comment section below. Also, share your opinions with us.

Thanks for reading!!