WooCommerce is one of the most commonly used ecommerce solutions for WordPress powered websites. It has registered more than 4 million active installs with an impressive 4.6 user rating on the WordPress community of happy online store owners. According to a recent report, WooCommerce has been used in 7% of all online retail stores and in more than 20% of the best 1million ecommerce stores.
Online sales are breaking the roof and if you are thinking to integrate an online store on your WordPress website then WooCommerce is your ultimate choice. Now, you might be wondering how to integrate WooCommerce with your website. We have included a detailed guide on how to set up Woocommerce in 5 easy steps.
Install The Plugin
The first step to integrate an online store in your website is to install the wordpress woocommerce theme on your website. It is available to download for free from the WordPress repository and then can be conveniently uploaded onto your website. If this is too much for you, you can also simply go to your WordPress dashboard and download the plugin from the dashboard itself. In order to do this, all you have to do is to go to your WordPress site and navigate to Plugins > Add New. Now, you can use the search bar to find the “woocommerce” tab and then proceed to click on the Install Now button when you find the suitable plugin. The author of this plugin is Automattic. It will take a few seconds to install the plugin and then click on the Activate button. Now, the plugin is good to run on your website.
Configure Setup Wizard
Once you finish the installation process, you will be guided through a setup wizard. Generally, it is an optional step but we advise you to go through the page in order to customise some key elements. At first, the setup wizard will prompt you to fill in the basic details about your online store. The questions include the physical address of your store, the currency to be used and if you are planning to sell products online only or in store as well. You must understand that the details you fill out here in the setup wizard can be modified later in your woocommerce settings if need be. Then, the next step in the process is to select Let’s Go.
Select the Payment Options
After the primary details, you will be asked to determine the payment methods you wish to add to your ecommerce store. Generally, you can add Stripe or PayPal as a default payment gateway along with other modes of payment like cash on delivery, checks or bank transfer. You can choose the options which work best for your business and WooCommerce will automatically set them to your online store. Additionally, you can use extensions to include more payment gateways to your website. Once you select the payment methods, you can proceed to choose the woocommerce theme themeforest options depending on the look and feel you want for your ecommerce store.
Pick a Theme
You will be prompted to select a theme in the Setup Wizard. The theme you select will impact the look and feel of your online store and you can even customise the theme as per your liking. WordPress provides you an option to include free themes but if you are not satisfied then you can also purchase a premium theme. We recommend themeforest top woocommerce theme and Storefront for its child themes as they are readily optimised for woocommerce. If not, you are free to choose a premium theme of your choice.
Shipping and Add-Ons
In this step you can determine the shipping charges to be incurred to the customers during checkout. By default, you can choose a standard shipping rate for a particular area and vary the charges for other locations. You can also include free shipping to orders above a particular amount. Once the basics are set, the next page will ask you to include any optional add-ons. These add-ons are not necessary for your online store but they can come in handy for improving specific tasks and improving the customer experience.
Final Word
Without an element of doubt, WooCommerce is the most ideal ecommerce solution for your online store. From the outside, you hear great reviews about the plugin and can view the impressive stats. But, once you start using it you realise the true value of WooCommerce and how it can significantly impact your website. If you are just starting to open an online retail store for free and scale once you increase your revenue then WooCommerce is the best option for you. It has one of the best free attractive themes to choose from and you can make maximum use of the paid extensions to get support and periodic product updates. Let us know about your favorite WooCommerce theme in the comments below!
