The secret behind the success of some online retailers is out. Ecommerce is all about having a good-looking and user-friendly website. When you have a well-thought-out business strategy, then success is on your way.
If you’re trying to dip your toe into selling products and services via the Internet, then you should establish your online presence. Creating a website using WordPress lets you have an amazing eCommerce site easily.
Are you ready?
In this article, you’ll know how to design an eCommerce website using WordPress in 2020. You’ll also learn about the use of the WooCommerce suite of plugins. Read on to turn your site into a fully functional eCommerce shop.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a free eCommerce software that you can use to sell products and services online. It helped pave way for millions of small and large businesses by offering customer-magnet online stores.
You can use this software as an extension of WordPress. You can build your website from scratch and with this one. If you have an existing website, you can use WooCommerce to add shopping cart functionality to it.
How to Set Up Your Ecommerce Website
Step 1: Estimate Your Online Shop Monthly Traffic
When you’ve estimated how much traffic your site will receive, you can then choose a hosting provider. It’s important to pick the right host to ensure that your site loads quickly for its visitors.
There are hosting providers that are best for small businesses that expect more than 1,000 visitors per month. Their services come at a reasonable price too.
If you’re expecting more than a thousand monthly views, then you should have a dedicated or managed host for your site.
Step 2: Features and Plugins
The real difference between a regular website and an online store boils down to two factors:
- Product selection
- Payment processing
When you’re setting up your eCommerce site, you should have the following functions:
- Product page and catalog
- Shopping cart
- Checkout process
If your site has these features working smoothly, then you’re halfway there. Your customers must have a pleasant online shopping experience to avoid miss opportunities.
For your eCommerce plugin needs, you can use WooCommerce for this one.
Step 3: Setting Up WooCommerce
This step is the easiest so far. Just hop to your WordPress dashboard and install the plugin as usual.
To install the plugin:
- Visit Plugins, then add a new page in your WordPress admin
- Search for WooCommerce
- Click the “Install now” button
Once WordPress is done grabbing the plugin files, it will install the plugin for you.
After the installation:
- Click the “Activate” button to activate WooCommerce
With the WooCommerce setup wizard:
- Select your store location, currency, and what type of products you’re selling
- Then click on the “let’s go” button
- Click the toggle to enable payment methods
- Provide your email address the payment methods
- Setup shipping fees
- Install recommended extras that apply to your website
Once you’re done, the WooCommerce setup wizard will save all your settings. From here, your store is almost ready to go.
Step 4: Product Page Setup
After you install and configure your WooCommerce plugin, it’s time to create your product page. This plugin offers a great guide on doing this.
Note that when creating URLs for your product categories, be sure to avoid duplicating them between categories. Even if your category has only one product, make sure to give it its category name.
When creating a product page, make sure to include the:
- Product Name
- Description
- Price
- A High-Quality Image
When you’re using WooCommerce, you can take advantage of its broad user base. You can easily find people who have encountered the same issues before and can help you with yours.
Step 5: Custom Settings
Like most WordPress plugins, WooCommerce lets you change everything from the style of the footer to the borders of your products. This is where most online retailers encounter trouble.
To have a custom web design, you need to learn some CSS.
When designing your website, look out for the following qualities:
Minimalism
Avoid overloading your visitors with information. Have a clean and functional design that lets your visitors avail of your products and services easily. The key is to stick to the page’s true function, which is finding and buying products.
First Impression
Prospective buyers need a lasting first impression of your website. So your homepage should be attention-grabbing. Let your visitors understand what your brand is all about and what’s in it for them.
Tell your visitors what sets your brand apart from your competitors. Having a good eCommerce design means you employ calls to action effectively.
Filters, Collections, and Comparison Tools
Guide your prospective buyers to products that they might like. Do this by pushing collections and recommendations based on your visitor’s previous activities.
In short, have product filters, comparisons, and collections for your products.
Customer Support
Remember that no matter how great is your store and products, the customer will need support eventually. Some online stores hide their customer support link in the site footer or a side menu. Avoid doing this.
Have a customer service tab that’s easy to find and impossible to miss. In this way, you may avoid prospective buyers to back out.
User Experience Post-Purchase
When your customers feel that they’re valued, their satisfaction hypes up. They’re most likely to come back and shop at your website.
It helps you to learn about how to build rapport with your customers through email. You can also a customer service link in the order receipts so they can follow through as needed with zero hassle.
If you don’t want the hassle of coding, Web Digital can help you with your eCommerce website design NZ.
Step 6: Testing
Before launching your online store, make sure to double-check your settings. After initial testing, run another one again. You can do this on your own or avail website design services.
Professional QA managers can perform manual and automatic testing. You can then have a site with zero bugs and works perfectly.
Step 7: Custom WooCommerce Plugin Development
To wow your customers, be ready to take your WooCommerce-based online store to the next level.
You should order custom plugins and extensions. The most popular plugins let you add:
- Payment Gateways
- Shipping Extensions
- Booking Extensions
- Accounting Extensions
While it’s not necessary to have all these extensions, they’ll help you set apart your brand from your competitors. But if you don’t want to shell out extra money, then you can download extensions in the free category.
If you’re unsure about what WooCommerce plugins to pick, consider the following:
WPForms
This lets you create customer surveys, contact forms, customer login forms, and more.
MonsterInsights
This lets you to install Google Analytics. You can then track your categories, top products, and landing pages. This plugin also lets you see where your customers are coming from and where do they navigate on your site.
TrustPulse
This lets you use the power of social proof to win your customers’ trust. This plugin can eventually help you generate more sales.
BeaverBuilder
It’s a drag and drops page builder that lets you create beautiful landing pages. You can then promote marketing campaigns, products, sale events, and more.
RafflePress
This lets you run various viral giveaway campaigns that you can promote to your WooCommerce store.
Why Build An Online Store With Woocommerce:
- All its plugins are free.
- It offers a versatile and feature-rich option in plugins.
- It’s open-source, which makes it highly customizable.
- There’s no need for a developer to install it.
- There’s no need to make changes to your existing website design.
- It’s compatible with all current WordPress themes.
What Type of eCommerse Website Can You Build With Woocommerce?
With WooCommerce development, you can set up an online store that can sell almost everything under the sun. From clothes and electronics to shoes and digital products, you can sell them all.
Aside from products, you can also sell subscriptions, services, and bookings, and everything else.
By just pressing continue, you can create the following pages:
- Shop: Where you display your products and services
- Cart: Where the customers can add all the products, they select to buy.
- Checkout: Where the customers choose the delivery and payment option
- My Account: Which is the personalized page for each registered user
What Do You Need to Make a WooCommerce Store?
You will need the following three items to make a WooCommerce website from scratch.
- A web hosting account
- A domain name
- An SSL Certificate
The three items mentioned above aren’t free. As of writing, web hosting usually costs around $7.99/ month for a starter site. The domain name may cost $14.99 per year and your SSL certificate can cost around $69.99 per year.
Just like any business, putting up a website demands a significant investment. Your website needs funding so you can start a new venture.
Takeaways
Startup businesses can take advantage of various self-hosted platforms available today. They offer affordable options in building an initial website without compromising relevant functionalities.
The best thing about being able to do self-hosting is you can also use free software to set up an online store. WooCommerce takes things to the next level by offering hundreds of customizable options.
When utilized properly, you can drive traffic to your website and ramp up your sales. Knowing how to design an eCommerce website using WordPress lets you reach out to a wider audience and boost your brand. Pair it with the right plugins, and you’re business is bound to skyrocket.
For your website design (NZ) needs, Web Digital is only an email/call away. We can help you set up your website from scratch or level up your existing website. Drop your inquiries and we’ll be happy to assist you.
