Are you yearning to start your online store but there’s something that is stopping you from accomplishing the goal? Well, starting an online store is a goal that is easy to dream of but hard to achieve. However, it won’t be so anymore because this informative guide on how to start online store will help you build an e-store and sell what you want effectively and efficiently in minutes. Therefore, if you have recently come up with a brilliant and innovative idea that you want to showcase on the online platform, this guide will give you the wings you need to fly.
What’s more, is that you do not require a professional or an experienced web developer to build a well-functioning site either. Therefore, buckle up to learn about the best-kept secrets of building an online store in less than an hour.
Tools You Need to Build an Online Store?
Ecommerce sites have quickly become a pervasive industry in the online sphere. With a growing rate of customers relying more on online shopping, online stores are certainly enjoying a good position and earning profits through their convenient presence. However, this also leads one to the truth that as an online store owner, you will be competing against several other online stores. Therefore, if you are planning to create an ecommerce website and start a new online store, you must also ensure that you effectively do the same.
Domain and hosting: Domain refers to a string of text that directs a user to a numeric IP address while hosting refers to the place where you store your website files. If you want a website that functions smoothly, investing in good hosting and domain is highly necessary.
WordPress and WordPress theme: Having a website is not enough to build an online presence, you must seek to establish it. You must put efforts to make your website stand out and for the same, using a website building platform like WordPress that facilitates user-friendly features and houses a collection of exquisite themes can strengthen your online presence. Building an ecommerce website with wordpress is highly easy and you do not need to possess programming skills for the same.
WooCommerce: Woocommerce is another helpful tool you can invest in to build an online store. It hosts a plethora of essential features ranging from order tracking to delivery status updates, inventory management to customer engagement, and more. Almost 99% of WordPress stores are powered by WooCommerce and this is because it is extremely user-friendly. Hence, whether you are a beginner or a professional, it is suitable for all website developers.
Installing WordPress
WordPress is widely known for the easy process of its installation. The entire process of its installation does not take more than five minutes. If you want to build an online store with wordpress, you need to perform the steps mentioned below.
Step 1: First, you need to download WordPress on your computer. Following this, you need to unzip the file you have downloaded to a folder present on your computer.
Step 2: Next, you need to upload WordPress to a hosting account. You can complete the upload through any one of the three methods including, FTP, File Manager, or SSH.
The above steps make it quite evident that starting an online store from scratch is not very difficult. You can do so in less than an hour but it is important to be thorough with the steps of so that you can build a store effectively and establish a prominent online presence as well.
Step 3: All the information in WordPress is stored in a database and hence, you will be required to create a MySQL database.
Step 4: Following this, you must ensure that the WordPress installation is associated with the correct database information by configuring the wp-config.php file.
Step 5: Lastly, you need to run the installation and once the process is complete, your WordPress will be installed.
Installing a WordPress Theme (Astra)
If you want to start an ecommerce website that can have a significant presence, choosing an appropriate and effective theme is highly necessary. The Astra theme is a good choice due to its budget-friendly and well-tailored features. It allows you to create a beautiful website without you having to spend an immense amount. Here are the steps you need to follow to install a WordPress theme.
Step 1: Firstly, you need to sign in to your WordPress Dashboard.
Step 2: Following this, you need to access Appearance>Themes>Add New
Step 3: Type Astra in search box and Click on Install
Step 5: Activate the theme
Installing WooCommerce and necessary plugins
If you are wondering how to start an online shop using WooCommerce and are looking for the steps you need to follow for its installation, you can refer to the steps mentioned below.
Installation Using WordPress Admin
Step 1: Go to Plug-ins > Add New
Step 2: Browse “WooCommerce”
Step 3: Click on “Install Now” and then “Active”
Step 4: Select “Activate Now” and the WooCommerce Wizard will be activated
Setting Up A WooCommerce Store
- Go to the ‘Dashboard Page’ and the ‘Welcome to WooCommerce’ notification will be displayed.
- The notification will be displayed on your WordPress Admin page.
- Click on the ‘Run Setup Wizard’ option in the notification and run setup.
- The WooCommerce Setup Wizard will be launched.
- A ‘Yes Please’ pop-up will be displayed and you have to click on it.
- Following this, you need to enter your store’s location.
- You must add the shipping and tax information.
- Next, add a payment method for your store.
- Following this, you can select a user-friendly template like the Plant Shop (free template).
These are the steps you can follow if you are creating a website to sell products online from scratch.
Setting Up Your Online Store
To set up your online store successfully, you must complete the following steps.
Shipping: You need to select a shipping method for your store. Look for a reliable fulfillment and logistics solution that can deliver your products in time to the correct address while being cost-effective.
Taxes: Next, you need to add the tax information. WooCommerce has a tax checkbox and when you check it, the taxes on your prices will be automatically calculated and added.
Payments: If you are using WooCommerce, it supports three payment gateways by default including PayPal, PayPal Standard, and Stripe Payment. This is an important step to learn how to build ecommerce website effectively.
Adding Products: Once you have set up the website, you can start adding the products. Go to the Dashboard Menu, you need to select Products > Add New. A WordPress Editor will be launched. Add the product title, and description, choose the product type and fill out the product data meta box. Once this is done, you can add a short product description.
Testing Your Store: After you have completed all of the above steps, you can give your store the final touches by testing its functioning. You have to ensure that it loads within three seconds and is easy to navigate as well. Try to make the website as user-friendly as you can.
Final Thoughts
The above steps make it quite evident that starting an online store from scratch is not very difficult. You can do so in less than an hour but it is important to be thorough with the steps of how to start an online store so that you can build a store effectively and establish a prominent online presence as well.
