{"id":23525,"date":"2020-02-03T07:19:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T13:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=23525"},"modified":"2020-02-05T13:10:19","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T19:10:19","slug":"set-up-ecommerce-site-in-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/set-up-ecommerce-site-in-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up an eCommerce Site in WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You\u2019re finally doing it. You\u2019re turning all those dreams of entrepreneurship into a reality and starting an eCommerce store. With consumers spending over $2.3 trillion on products online<\/a>, it\u2019s a lucrative industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you use an intuitive content management system (CMS) like WordPress, the barrier to entry is low. You don\u2019t have to learn to code or train on any complicated software to get started, you can dive right in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For anyone building a WordPress eCommerce site<\/a>, this guide covers all the main information you need to know to get your website up and running. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phase 1: Start Your Website.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you can get into the website building phase, you need to complete a few preliminary steps that provide the basis to getting started. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Create your brand.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first step to starting an eCommerce business is working out the basic details of your brand. A lot of the decisions you\u2019ll make when building your eCommerce website<\/a> will depend on the choices you make during this stage, so do this part first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarifying your brand includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting your products<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What are you going to sell on your WordPress eCommerce website? Will it be items you craft by hand, or products you buy wholesale and resell through the website? Figure out what you want to sell, and how you\u2019re going to get the inventory that will become the basis of your website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When choosing your products, make sure there\u2019s a throughline in everything you select. Selling t-shirts for skateboarders alongside dinosaur toys for little kids would make for a weird mix. Choose inventory that makes sense to group under one brand. Amazon can get away with selling a huge variety of products now, but even they started out with a focus on books and grew over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researching competitors<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Competitor research<\/a> is important for figuring out how to position your brand and determine your pricing. And it can provide useful inspiration for marketing tactics and approaches to use. Your competitors have already done the work of researching your audience and testing out what works for them, you can borrow some of their insights and start out ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choosing a name<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your business going to be called? Go with something easy to remember that you like the sound of. Bonus points if it communicates what your business does, and includes a popular keyword for it. This step is a good one to combine with our #2, choosing your domain.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing your unique value proposition (UVP)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Your UVP is what sets you apart from other brands in the space. It\u2019s a brief statement that encapsulates what you offer to customers, and why they should choose you over similar options. A good UVP is the foundation you\u2019ll build the rest of your website and marketing on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Register your domain.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If possible, don\u2019t settle on a name for your brand until you\u2019ve confirmed the domain for it is available. You can find available domains using HostGator\u2019s free domain search tool<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A .com is ideal if you can get it, but if it\u2019s easier to grab a relevant domain at .net or .biz, that can work too. Once you\u2019ve found the one you like, it only takes a couple of minutes and a few bucks to register it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Sign up for web hosting.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Web hosting is a prerequisite for having any website online. All the files that make up your website must live on a hosting server that delivers them up to each person that visits a web page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

eCommerce web hosting<\/a> plans cost around $5-$20 a month. When choosing your provider, look for a company that promises consistent uptime, compatibility with WordPress, and reliable customer service. In eCommerce, how accessible your website is ties directly to how profitable it will be. A provider with inconsistent service will cost you in lost sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Install WordPress.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The particular details for this step will depend on which web hosting provider you chose. For HostGator clients, follow our one-click install instructions for WordPress<\/a>. For other providers, check their support materials and follow the instructions provided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phase 2: Build Your Website.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now you have everything in place to move into the next phase of building your WordPress eCommerce site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Create a design plan.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You have two main options for designing your eCommerce website in WordPress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n