If you’re not that tech-savvy and need an easy-to-follow guide then look no further. This guide is jam-packed with useful tidbits to help you create a Woocommerce website easily and effortlessly.
Woocommerce is one of the world’s most popular eCommerce platforms. If you’re just diving into it, then worry not. Woocommerce is easy to use and you can start creating an online store even if you have no prior technical knowledge.
As a beginner, it’s okay to feel intimidated and not exactly knowing how to start. But with this easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorial, you’ll be able to create a Woocommerce store in next to no time.
Let’s talk about what Woocommerce is and then move onto all the essential requirements to create your Woocommerce store from scratch.
What Is Woocommerce?
Woocommerce is an open-source plugin provided by WordPress. It has gone on to become one of the most popular eCommerce platforms for small as well as large businesses. Take advantage of this content management system as well all of it’s rich features to create the most effective online presence and make sales day in and day out.
The Pros and Cons of Woocommerce
Before diving into the world of Woocommerce, it’s a good idea to weigh all the benefits and drawbacks before building a website with Woocommerce.
The Benefits of Woocommerce
You can customize your site however you like.
It is an open-source platform.
It helps enhance your content marketing strategies.
You can sell all kinds of products through Woocommerce.
Excellent SEO capabilities.
Woocommerce has a very supportive community.
Beginner-friendly.
It has extensive analytics tools to track website performance.
Round-the-clock security.
The Drawbacks of Woocommerce
- Its development is mostly focused on the US market so other countries can have issues.
You need to test everything before making any updates.
Expenses will be incurred. While the software is free of cost, the plugins and extensions are expensive.
What Will You Need To Create A Woocommerce Store?
To kickstart your Woocommerce website, here are some of the essential components that you’ll need from the get-go. To start making a Woocommerce website from scratch you’ll need the following things:
You will need a WordPress account, a domain name so that your brand has a personal address and you will also need an SSL certificate for security purposes. All of these aren’t free however they’re necessary to launch a good website.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of actually creating a website with Woocommerce because that’s what we’re actually waiting for.
Secure Reliable Domain & Hosting
Before choosing a hosting provider, you need to consider a lot of factors. Your hosting should cover some of the following aspects: Top-Notch Security because eCommerce sites involve transactions on a daily basis, Pages Loading Quickly and your site backed up regularly. (In case of malware or attacks.)
After you secure hosting, you need to choose a domain name. The domain name is the permanent address of your brand. It should represent your brand’s name and identity. To choose a domain name, ensure that it is short, easy to spell and easy to remember, and that it clearly represents your brand and what it’s about.
Select A Theme For Your Woocommerce Store
After you’ve installed Woocommerce (which is super easy to do), you can now focus on creating the look of your online store. Woocommerce offers a lot of themes. You can use their themes to change the entire look and vibe of your eCommerce store according to your preferences. Before choosing a theme, you should make sure it is responsive for mobile. This is because mobile commerce is gaining momentum. Woocommerce has a lot of free themes available however it is advised to go for the premium themes as they offer a lot more and can be constantly updated. You can purchase Premium Woocommerce themes from Woocommerce, ThemeIsle and Themeforest.
Start Adding Products To Sell
You can now start to add products to your store. To create products to start selling, go to Products > Add New and you’ll be good to go. You should also create product categories so that your store looks more organized. This will also help visitors navigate the site easily and enhances the user experience.
Remember to incorporate product descriptions that are good for SEO and can convince the customer to buy your products. Your product images should be optimized so that your webpages load faster. Your product titles should be short and to the point and should tell the customer exactly what they’ll be getting before buying your product.
Track Your Website Performance With The Use Of Analytics
Now that your eCommerce website has been created, you’ve selected your theme, decided your target audience and started selling your products, it’s time to start moving on to the next phase of this entire process. You need to start tracking your analytics and conduct a proper analysis on your website’s bounce rate, customer engagement levels, among other things. This helps you take your business in the right direction and launch better and more effective Marketing campaigns for your brand.
There are a lot of plugins you can use to track your performance effectively. MonsterInsights is a very popular plugin for tracking analytics and your Woocommerce store performance.
Conclusion
With the use of these key factors, you can launch a successful Woocommerce store in next to no time. With its ease of use, you should definitely opt for Woocommerce to get a headstart and create an online store that makes big bucks.