Introduction
Looking to build an online store? Starting an online store can be daunting and overwhelming. There many components that are needed to start a basic e-commerce website.
WordPress can help make it happen as it is scalable, powerful, and absolutely free. Building a website may seem easy but having a successful website can be daunting.
When creating a WordPress e-commerce site, there are many aspects that must take into consideration. You will need an e-commerce plugin that will play a vital role in building your store’s features.
Likewise, SEO can be an excellent tool to boost traffic and bring in conversions.
Benefits of Starting an E-Commerce Website
Starting an e-commerce website is pretty easy, you don’t need any specific qualification to start your own site. But having a great online presence is essential for you to be successful.
If you have a product or service that is in demand, it becomes easier for you to promote your business and gain conversions. Approximately two billion people spend money on online purchases.
If you can tap into even a sliver of that audience, you stand to make a killing. With the pandemic in effect, you too make the most of the lockdown and start an e-commerce website.
Traditional methods are long gone as you don’t need to have a physical location to start a business, you can do it from the comfort of your own homes. But just because building a site is easy does not mean you will have success.
You need to put a lot of effort into strategically making changes for your business to take off.
Fresh Tips for Creating an E-commerce Site with WordPress
Regardless of the type of online store that you decide to launch, you can use the following tips to enhance your e-commerce website with WordPress.
Domain Name and Web Hosting Service
When building a website, it is important that you set up your domain name first. A domain name is the address of your future website.
An online visitor will be able to access your website only through your domain. Your domain name may not be free and having your own domain name is more professional than having your brand’s name along with another domain.
Once you have decided on a domain name that works best for you and your company. You will also need an excellent hosting provider that will help you establish your website on the internet.
A web hosting service will assure that your website is accessible on the internet and also offer great speed, security, and excellent uptime for your website.
While there are several providers offering different plans and packages, you can choose one according to your budget or the one that works best for your niche. Hosting Foundry has the top web hosting providers that will help you build an excellent website.
Choose the Right E-commerce Plugin
WordPress is not an e-commerce platform but it has many benefits as it can be customized endlessly. If you choose the right plugin, your regular site can turn into a full-fledged online store.
You must also consider choosing while choosing a plugin that works best with your niche. When it comes to selecting the best plugin for an e-commerce site, WooCommerce is the best option that can work best for you. It offers many features and also there are hundreds of extensions for WooCommerce.
You can find multiple plugins that are compatible and work best with the WordPress themes of your site. It also helps in building and organizing product pages as well as shopping carts and the checkout process. If your web server response time is too long, chances are, customers will try their luck elsewhere.
That means you can lose customers, lose business, and lose money. Diggity Marketing’s detailed article will show you how to reduce server time on your website.
Install and Activate Plugin
Once you select your plugin for your e-commerce website, you can install it through WordPress. Follow these basic steps in installing your plugin. Every plugin has different methods to install and activate. Taking WooCommerce into consideration, here are the steps to install this plugin:
- Log in to your WordPress Dashboard
- Go to the plugin section and click add new plugin
- Search your plugin and install now to WordPress
Once you installed your plugin, follow the required steps to activating it on your WordPress profile. Now that you have your plugin set up, it’s time to start adding products and their product pages, business details, payment options such as PayPal, and even choose your shipping options.
Choose Your WordPress Theme
The main choosing the right theme is so that your website is appealing and attractive to users who visit your website. It is important that your theme matches your niche and fulfills your online store’s criteria:
- It should be optimized for mobile and desktop devices
- Your desired theme should be compatible with your chosen plugin.
- The layout of your website should be designed with keeping your niche in mind, make sure your product pages and other pages layout well.
Look at all your possible options before selecting your theme, because as much as you want it to look nice it should be easy to navigate. This can be a game-changer that can make or break your sale.
Keep the Purchase Process Quick and Simple
When it comes to the purchase process it is important to keep your checkout pages to a minimum.
People have less patience and it can cost you if users leave your purchasing process halfway through checkout. This means you need to optimize your buyer’s journey from start to finish so make sure that it enhances the user experience on your website.
For example, when it comes to payment options, make sure you know what your audience is familiar with and provide those options for online payment. WooCommerce plug offers different payment options including bank transfer and cash.
Conclusion
Online retail can be highly competitive and an e-commerce website will help you reach a massive audience and bring in more revenue. WordPress offers an excellent platform to help you launch your store, but only if you approach it strategically.