What is WooCommerce and how to get started with the best free eCommerce plugin in WordPress?

What is WooCommerce: WordPress itself is not designed to manage or even create an online store. But you can easily turn your WordPress website into an eCommerce store using plugins. Among the several plugins for converting a WordPress site into an online store, WooCommerce is the most popular and flexible platform for creating an eCommerce store. It is easy to manage and install.

In this blog, we will guide you step by step on WooCommerce Plugin Install, adding WooCommerce pages, and the process of getting started.

About: What is WooCommerce?

What is WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a complete, free, and flexible eCommerce Plugin for creating an eCommerce store. It provides you complete control over your eCommerce store and is the most powerful software. It was launched in 2011 and do not have any monthly subscription or commission process. It allows you to add pages, posts, and blogs to your eCommerce store. Moreover, it is a great platform for starting a small business and build an eCommerce store for your website. It is free software, but you will need a web hosting service and a domain name to build a website and you will have to pay for that.

Requirements:

You will need three main things before building a WooCommerce store;

  • Domain name
  • Hosting account of WordPress
  • And SSL Certificate for accepting online payment

Getting Started:

Step 1:

The first step you need to take to build your eCommerce store is to start with the WordPress installation and website building. Next thing is to set up WooCommerce. Navigate to the WordPress dashboard and go to the Plugins and click on Add New.

The next screen will appear here enter ‘WooCommerce’ in the search bar and search for it. When the search result appears select the WooCommerce plugin and click on install now and then activate it.

After activation, the configuration wizard will get opened to set up major settings for your store. These settings will include,

  • your currency,
  • location and
  • your product type.

After setting the thing up, click on the button, Let’s Go.

Step 2:

Now you might be eager to add products to your online store. But before that, you need a few things,

  • Clear and attractive picture of your products
  • Title for your products
  • A detailed description of your product.

Now navigate to Product and then click on Add New Page. A page will open where you can add your product picture, title, and description. Make sure to add an informative, catchy, and detailed but concise description of your product. Also, add an attractive picture of your product. You also have the option of creating a new category for different products. Categorizing your product makes it easy for your customer to look into the right category for their required product.

To add a product image, you will first need to add the main image to appear on your shop. You can also add images gallery by adding multiple images. After everything is ready, click on the button, Publish to publish your product.

Step 3:

It is time to choose a design/theme or template for your store. Thousands of themes and templates are available on WooCommerce both free and paid themes. Your theme/design has a huge impact on your store and customer. Try to design your store in a professional manner. You can use WordPress themes or WooCommerce-ready themes.

WooCommerce-ready themes are specifically designed for eCommerce stores and can help you attract more customers.

Step 4:

In this step, we will show you how to add the payment process. There are some payment gateways available on WooCommerce for the online payment process. These gateways are PayPal, Stripe, and offline payment methods.

You can choose PayPal and Stripe together or one of them. The offline payment method is a bit hectic and you can also choose an alternative platform for it. WooCommerce, depending on your selected payment gateway, will set up plugins for its integration.

Go to WooCommerce Setting and then navigate to the payment tab click it to open and you will see a number of payment gateways. Select your desired option and click Save.

Step 5:

To configure your shipping setting, navigate to WooCommerce and then to Settings and click on Shipping. Here you can configure the following;

  • The shipping zone can be a state, country, or continent.
  • Rates

To add a shipping zone navigate to WooCommerce>Settings>Shipping>Add Shipping Zone> title of your zone> zone region> limit to specific zip code and then select Shipping method> now click Save Changes.

The shipping rates depend on your shipping zone. You also have the option to print the label. After setting the shipping zone and rates, proceed to the next step.

Step 6:

The next step is adding add-ons and extensions which can be used to make gift cards, coupons, pricing tables, contact forms, giveaway campaigns, and much more. They can be installed like WordPress plugins and work like them. Popular add-ons are WPForms, TrustPulse, MonsterInsight etc.

Conclusion:

Using WooCommerce for your eStore is a very convenient and easy platform. And with its powerful setup and design, you can attract more customers to your store. It is the best platform to start a small business.

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