The world of eCommerce is booming, and more and more businesses are launching their online stores to sell their products directly to customers.
This trend is driven by the rise of mobile devices, increasing Internet penetration, and the growing popularity of e-marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
If you have a great product that you think could sell well online, setting up Woocommerce websites could be the perfect option for you. After all, a Woocomerce store is excellent for selling directly to customers without having to deal with intermediaries or set up physical storefronts.
To help you get started, here are some valuable tips on how to make the most out of your eCommerce using Woocommerce websites.
What is Woocommerce?
Woocommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce solutions out there. It is an open-source platform that allows you to build a fully functional online store using WordPress, used by over 2 million websites. It has been adopted by over 30,000 active developers and over 200,000 paying customers.
There are 27 million e-commerce sites worldwide, and WooCommerce is the most popular online platform.
WooCommerce is a free, open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress. It was first released in 2011, and since then, it has been downloaded more than 42 million times. The software powers about 28% of all online stores — including some big names like Tesla Motors and Budweiser.
WooCommerce has a robust set of features that allow you to sell your products or services online quickly:
Payment features
Built-in payments through PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay or Authorize.net are available on this platform, as well as shipping management from multiple carriers.
Drop shipping support
Inventory management; Multi-store capability with one single installation;
Product management software
Product importing/exporting tools such as the CSV import/export feature allows you to migrate products from other platforms into the WooCommerce store seamlessly.
Ease of use
The popularity of WooCommerce is in no small part due to its ease of use. The plugin works with all major web browsers and mobile devices, including iOS and Android, which makes it highly accessible, regardless of your device’s OS. Not only that, but it is easy to manage with its app on both iOS and Android phones or tablets.
Flexibility and adaptability
It offers a lot of flexibility and features designed to make it easy for non-technical users to launch their online Woocommerce store.
Technically speaking, it is a WordPress plugin that allows users to add an eCommerce store to their existing WordPress website. It integrates with WordPress’s functionality and will enable you to set up online shopping functionality within the WordPress admin panel.
Thanks to its flexibility, Woocommerce is used by many online store owners. Examples include freelancers who want to sell their products online to large eCommerce companies that want to expand their reach and boost their brand by selling on other platforms.
The fact that it is free and open source makes it even more appealing to eCommerce entrepreneurs.
You can use Woocommerce to sell physical and digital products and customise Woocommerce with several options.
You can use Woocommerce to sell physical and digital products and customise Woocommerce with several options.
Create your themes
With the help of WordPress, you can easily create your theme for eCommerce websites that are based on WooCommerce.
WordPress offers many free themes developers have created from community forums or other sources, but if you want something unique, it’s even possible to develop your theme for Woocommerce.
Sell on Amazon & eBay through Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA).
If you’re looking for a way to increase sales without creating an entirely new website from scratch, then the Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) service may be the best option.
This feature lets customers buy directly from a website hosted by Amazon, which means they won’t need their shopping cart software installed before they can start selling products online.
Decide on a Platform
Before you go live with your eCommerce site, deciding on your eCommerce platform is essential. You have various options, including building your platform from scratch, using a fully hosted solution, or using open-source software like Woocommerce.
It is one of the most popular eCommerce solutions available because it integrates with WordPress (so you don’t have to worry about building your website from scratch) and allows you to easily set up an online store that is fully integrated with WordPress’s functionality.
Plenty of online resources to help you
Additionally, because it’s open source, it’s free to set up and use. It also has a large community, which means you can use lots of resources to ensure your Woocommerce stores are set up correctly.
Woocommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in the world. It has over 2 million active installations and claims to be used by 25% of all online stores. It’s free and open source, making it easy to install and customise as needed.
You can use Woocommerce with any other WordPress theme or plugin, making it possible to create a seamless user experience across multiple devices (desktop, tablet, smartphone).
It’s open source
An open source is an excellent option for the future of eCommerce because it’s free, which is why Woocommerce is a popular option for website owners.
The community-driven nature of open source allows you to customise your software in any way you want and gives you access to all the code, so you can change it to meet your needs.
Secure design
It’s also secure by design because thousands of developers test each piece of software as it’s written, which means bugs quickly get found and fixed before they can harm the program.
Open source is scalable and extensible—there’s no limit on how much data or traffic your website can handle—and interoperable with other technologies that might be important in the future (such as artificial intelligence).
All these qualities make open source an attractive choice for technological development today and tomorrow.
It offers a large number of features.
One of the main benefits of WooCommerce is that it offers many features. These features mean you can create a wide range of websites with this platform, from simple blogs to complex eCommerce stores.
Customised development
The fact that it’s an open-source platform allows developers to customise the platform in any way they want. This flexibility makes it possible for them to add new features or modify existing ones and ensure these changes are compatible with all versions of WordPress and Woocommerce (and vice versa).
WooCommerce offers many more eCommerce-friendly components than other platforms because many plugins are available on their website. These plugins can be installed directly into your website by simply installing them through FTP or manually uploading them onto your server via cPanel/FTP client programs such as FileZilla.
It is easy to expand.
Woocommerce is a robust platform applicable for many different purposes. It can expand and adapt to the needs of your business at any time, giving you a powerful tool for eCommerce strategy.
The plugin is highly customisable, and many extensions are available on the official website to add extra features such as product recommendations or newsletters. Extensions also allow you to create your own sales channels (such as Amazon).
It integrates well with WordPress
WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world. It’s built on PHP and MySQL, which means it can be used to create websites, blogs, and eCommerce stores. Woocommerce is an extension to WordPress that allows you to quickly set up your homepage and build an eCommerce store with a simple point-and-click interface.
The beauty of using Woocommerce is its free, open-source software (FOSS). This means that even if you decide not to hire a developer or agency that specialises in creating online stores specifically for Woocommerce clients, you can still build your eCommerce site without paying monthly fees or subscriptions.
It has extensive documentation & forum support.
Woocommerce has extensive documentation and forum support, with a knowledge base available for all users.
The forum is also public to members at no additional cost, and premium extensions are available with the Woocommerce Premium Membership plan.
How Do You Get Started With Your WooCommerce Website?
Plan Your Website Carefully
Before you rush into launching your store, it’s essential to plan the website carefully. Careful planning will ensure you can create the best experience for your customers, which is crucial for driving sales. You can start by sketching out your website’s architecture.
Sketching it out beforehand will help you decide what features you should include, how these features should be organised, and what information they should contain. It would help if you also thought about the design and branding of your store.
Choose a theme
If you plan to launch your eCommerce store as a side hustle, you don’t have to create your site from scratch. Instead, you can use a pre-made eCommerce theme, allowing you to set up your store quickly.
What if you want a custom site?
If you plan to expand your business in the future, investing in a custom design is a good idea.
A custom design will allow you to fully customise your Woocommerce stores, which will be critical when you want to expand your reach and sell your products to customers outside your region.
Add Live Customer Support
One of the best ways to increase customer satisfaction is by offering 24/7 customer support. It is also a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition. However, offering round-the-clock support isn’t easy.
Having humans on the phone daily is time-consuming, tedious, and expensive. Thankfully, you can now provide 24/7 support using automated live chat software. You can set up automated live chat software to instantly respond to customer inquiries and questions.
Automated live chat is a great way to reduce support costs, improve customer satisfaction, and differentiate your brand from the competition.
Add Product Videos
A growing number of eCommerce stores are adding product videos to their websites. Product videos are a great way to add additional value to your store and show off your products compellingly. However, creating compelling product videos isn’t easy.
Getting started with your product videos
You must find the right location, get the proper lighting, and get your shot right. You also have to decide what to say in your video to present your products in the most compelling way possible.
Most Woocommerce stores use video hosting platforms, like YouTube, to host their videos. However, you can easily embed these videos on your website using a plugin like Thrive Themes.
Add a Robust Checkout Process
The checkout process is one of the most crucial parts of your store. After all, it’s the last thing customers have to do before they get their products.
Unfortunately, the majority of online stores don’t get this right. They either have overly complicated payment processes or require excessive customer information. A complex checkout process can easily lead to card abandonment, affecting your site’s sales and conversions.
To convert as many customers as possible, you should look into simplifying your checkout process and only ask for the information you need. You can provide your customers with the option to add all the extra information later on and prioritise the basics for now.
Create an Effective User Experience
Many different aspects of your store affect how effective it is. However, none are as important as the overall user experience. The more effective your store is, the more sales you’ll generate. Your target audience should always be the priority for your store, regardless of the industry or product.
How do you improve user experience?
To improve your store’s user experience, you have to think about every aspect, from the design of your product pages to the checkout process and even the delivery of your products.
It’s essential to keep these things in mind when building your store to maximise sales.
Reach your WooCommerce customers with targeted marketing via email marketing
Email remains one of the most effective ways to market your products. However, setting up an effective email marketing campaign isn’t easy.
Setting up
To set up an effective email marketing campaign for your eCommerce store, you must understand your customers and what drives them to buy from you. For example, some customers might be more attracted to specific products.
Provide incentives
Remember that other customers are attracted to specific deals or sales. Whatever your marketing strategy, it’s essential to ensure you’re adding customers to your email list when they’re interested in buying from you.
You can generate interest by offering a free product or service and asking customers to sign up for your email list in exchange.
Conclusion
The eCommerce industry is booming, and more and more businesses are launching their online stores to sell their products directly to customers.
This trend is driven by the rise of mobile devices, increasing Internet penetration, and the growing popularity of e-marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
If you have a great product that you think could sell well online, setting up a Woocommerce website could be the perfect option for you.
After all, eCommerce websites are great for selling directly to customers without having to deal with intermediaries or set up physical storefronts.
