What is WooCommerce: what it’s for and steps to use it

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WooCommerce is a free plugin, which has the function of creating online stores within websites using WordPress. In short, it is characterized by facilitating the development of an online store with which the person responsible for the website can put on sale virtually any type of product.

It is characterized for being a very flexible system that has been gaining popularity as it has evolved. In addition, it is easy to install and provides some facilities when interacting both with the owners of the website as well as with users, which has earned the trust of many members of the digital community.

The plugin was released in 2011 and was first developed by WordPress theme developer WooThemes. It hired web development professionals Mike Jolley and James Koster to perfect WooCommerce. Thus, in 2014 this system boosted 17.77% of online stores.

One of the main features that WooCommerce has and the one that helps it stand out from the others is that it is quick to install and has many add-ons and extensions. In addition, this installation is very flexible because it is open source. Therefore, it allows you to customize the product database without complications and has an important community of collaborators around it.

It can be confirmed that the plugin has gained the trust of all users. It registers 82,523,641 downloads and controls more than 28% of the online stores.

Currently, the Woocommerce extension is part of 30% of online stores (followed by Prestashop and Magento), which can be found on the network. Therefore, all of them are made with the Woo seal. It is the complement that has been most used in online commerce and one of the favorites for e-commerce design agencies. Since it allows you to sell both physical and digital products, it does nothing but win over those in favor of its implementation for anyone who wants to open a store on the Internet.

It has a free version and a paid version with which its number of functions expands, including reservation systems, subscriptions, memberships, and more possibilities that make its use even more complete.

What the plugin is for

Woocommerce serves to start taking the first steps in online commerce. It is easy to install and use the add-on, so it makes it easy to use even for less experienced users in the world of digital commerce. This makes available a huge gateway into the world of sales of both physical and digital goods.

It works very well to start selling, even for those big brands that want to open some kind of online store as a complementary business to their main activity.

In short, WooCommerce serves to generate sales through an online store that is easy to configure. From shipping to taxes, payment methods to discounts, everything can be controlled through a platform that is easy to understand and manage.

Step by step to start creating your online store

It is time to know the process to follow to build an online store with this plugin, known as WooCommerce.

Before starting, it is important to take into account and stop to define what type of business you want to start and what are products or services offered in the digital store. This will allow you to make decisions that respond to the needs of both the e-commerce and the future users who will consume the product.

Step 1

To start from the beginning, it is essential to know that you will need an active website where you can install the online store. For this, it is essential to open a domain that fits the idea and hire a web hosting service that offers security and speed for the project, such as HostGator plans, for example. Then, after having the service ready, the WordPress installation must be performed. To do this, you can follow the steps that we will discuss below. It should be noted that we focus on the HostGator server.

1. Open the HostGator administration panel
2. Among the tools, click on the WordPress logo that appears.
3. Select the appropriate domain and proceed with the following steps
4. Fill in all the necessary information about your site and install.  
5. Log in to the WordPress dashboard, placing “/wp-admin” at the end of the domain in the browser search bar.

Step 2

This step is the beginning of the plugin installation. To do it, it is basic to look at the toolbar on the left side of the page. After that, click on “Plugins” and then “Add New”. Then, where “WooCommerce” is, just click on “Install Now”.

Step 3

When the plugin is installed, a message will appear asking if you want to enter the configuration wizard. After reading this, it is best to click “accept”. At that moment, the platform will inform you that it will create pages such as “Shop”, “My Account”, “Cart” and “Payment”. For everything to work perfectly it is important to read all the information that appears and is offered and click on “Continue”.

Step 4

This step is a bit more tiring since it consists of providing the business information, such as the location, the type of currency to use, and the weight of each product… when the whole process is complete, just click on the continue button.

Step 5

To perform this step, it is important to have clear all the information about the shipping of the product. Simply choose the options that suit the store. In the case that the products being sold are digital and not physical, this is a step that should be skipped.

Step 6

In this last step, you only have to choose the payment methods and select “Continue”. In this way, you will have finished configuring the plugin and you will be able to start adding products for sale.

From Sirvelia, we have plugins, especially for WordPress, that can help in the creation and customization of websites and your digital store. Enter the website and take a look.