How to Create an Ecommerce Website in WordPress
Creating an online store is a great way to generate income, and you can do this using WordPress. In this article, you’re going to learn the different steps required to set up an ecommerce store using the popular content management system (CMS). You’ll begin by installing and configuring the necessary plugins, followed by setting up your online storefront. You’ll then design and style your ecommerce store, add products, and take care of business tasks such as shipping and payments.
The Need For An Ecommerce Site
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re looking for ways to improve your income or have an existing income stream that you want to take online. If this is the case, you need an ecommerce site. Why? Well, online stores allow you to reach a much wider audience than a typical website. When you have an online store, you can easily sell to people in other countries as well. You can use various tools, such as Google Shopping and Shopify, to make sure your products reach as many people as possible. In addition, online stores make it easy for people to find and purchase your products. If you have a store, you can use Google Analytics to track the different paths people take when they are searching for products and whether or not they purchase what they find there. In many cases, online stores also let you tailor your product offering to specific groups of people. For example, you may want to sell sunglasses to women or men’s clothing to younger audiences. Having a store also makes it much easier to try new products and accept returns if someone is not happy with their purchase.
The key points to remember here are to (1) create an online store, (2) start selling your products online, and (3) find a marketing strategy that works for you.
How To Install And Configure The Necessary Plugins
To get started, you’ll need to install a few plugins. Most notably, you’ll need two plugins from the WordPress repository; one for retail and one for e-commerce. Once you have installed these two plugins, you’ll be able to take advantage of the many features they offer. You’re also going to want to install a shipping plugin to take care of the shipping aspect of your business. After you have installed these plugins, you’ll need to configure them to work together. For example, you may want to integrate the retail plugin with the e-commerce plugin to have all your sales take place through your online store. To start, you can use the WordPress dashboard to access the settings for each of the plugins. You can click here to view a step-by-step guide to using the WordPress dashboard. Alternatively, you can use searchable plugin settings to look for the specific settings you need to change.
Set Up Your Online Storefront
An online store is nothing more than a website that you have designed to sell your products online. When you have an online store, you can easily import products from various sources such as drop-shippers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Having an online store is also an excellent way to promote your products. You can use various tools, such as Shopify and WooCommerce, to build and maintain your store. As previously stated, you can use various tools, such as Google Analytics, to track the different paths people take when they are searching for your products and whether or not they purchase what they find there. Once you have an online store set up, you can add products and take care of business tasks such as shipping and payments through your account on the WordPress dashboard. You can use the built-in shopping cart that comes with WordPress or use a third-party plugin to build your shopping cart.
Design And Style Your Ecommerce Site
Now that your store is set up, you can start designing and styling your ecommerce site. In many cases, the front-end of a website is the first impression a potential customer has of your business. Therefore, it is extremely important to create an engaging user experience (UX) when designing your ecommerce site. When you have a beautiful, functional, and accessible website, you’re much more likely to convert traffic into paying customers. In addition to having a beautiful and functional website, you also want to ensure that your website is accessible. With the explosion of mobile usage and the rise of the “small screen,” you want to make sure that your ecommerce site can be accessed by everyone.
To help you design a functional and accessible ecommerce site, we have curated a list of useful tips and tricks collected from the experts. Be sure to check out the list below.
Make Sure Your Product Images Are Of Good Quality
Having high-quality product images is extremely important for selling your products online. When shopping for products online, you don’t need to worry about whether or not the picture is going to be good. However, when selling your products online, you need to be extremely careful about the quality of your product images. Having low-quality product images can hurt your sales in the long run. As a general rule of thumb, always choose a professional photographer who specializes in product photography to take your product images. In addition, look for vendors who offer a money-back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied with your product photographs.
Keep To The Theme
You want to have a cohesive and harmonious look throughout your ecommerce site. When you use a template, it is extremely important to keep to the theme. It is very easy to make changes to a template once you have downloaded it. For this reason, it’s best to choose a theme that is already clean and simple.
If you are looking for a simple and easy to use theme, you can’t go wrong with the WooCommerce framework. In addition to being one of the most popular ecommerce frameworks, WooCommerce comes with a wealth of free plugins that can be utilized to customize the look of your site.
Use Visual Language
When someone walks into your retail store and doesn’t immediately know what they are looking at, it can be quite frustrating for both of you. To avoid this problem, you need to utilize visual language when designing your ecommerce site. The easiest way to achieve this is to simply add images of products that correspond with the text on your website. For example, if you sell women’s clothing, you can add a picture of a beautiful woman wearing your product.
You can also use the power of logos and symbols to brand your products. A good example of this would be the use of a diamond as the logo for a jewelry store. People who visit the website looking for diamond prices will automatically know what they are searching for because they are seeing a diamond every time they scroll down the page.
Use Short Product Descriptions
When someone is searching for a product online, they usually don’t have the time to read lengthy descriptions. For this reason, you need to keep your short product descriptions to a minimum. Typically, people want to know the price, what size they need, and whether or not the product is going to fit. For instance, customers who are searching for a pair of size 10 jeans might not want to scroll down the page to read the description of the product. They might simply want to know the price and whether or not the product fits.
Add Additional Images
When someone is browsing through your products online, they usually have a clear picture in mind of how the product looks like. However, the product they are browsing may not be the same as the one you have in mind when designing your site. For this reason, it is a good idea to add additional images of your product. It is also a great idea to add different angles and perspectives of the product. In many cases, a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case, a photo can help you sell a product that you can’t describe in words.
In summary, this article walked you through the steps required to create an ecommerce website in WordPress. Be sure to look for and utilize any discounts that may be offered by your favorite store if you decide to stock their products on your website. In addition, if you have a PayPal account, you can process online payments through it. Alternatively, you can use Stripe as your payment processor. Having a store also makes it much easier to try new products and accept returns if someone is not happy with their purchase.