How to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress in 2022: Build a Conversion oriented online store

Do you want to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress in 2022? But don’t know, how to get started?

If yes, you are in the right place.

Today I will show you how to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress through a step-by-step guide.

But before we get into the meat of how to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress, let me show you some of the advantages of building an online store with WordPress.

3 Advantages of building your online store using WordPress

WordPress is an open-source Content Management System (CMS) that powered millions of websites out there on the Internet.

Whatever the size of your business, thanks to the millions of plugins and themes available on the platform, you can build a website that meets your customers’ needs.

Here are some advantages to building your eCommerce website with WordPress:

1. You can customize your online store to fit your business needs

Creating an eCommerce website with WordPress is made possible thanks to eCommerce plugins like Woocommerce and eCommerce WordPress themes like Astra.

Indeed, thanks to Woocommerce, you can build an online store to sell physical or digital products (or both at the same time), without any hassle.

2. Create optimized SEO content to drive traffic to your online store

To build a successful eCommerce website, the SEO of your online store must be one of your priorities. Because without traffic in your online store, there is no money to be made.

Unlike some eCommerce CMS such as Shopify which has limitations in terms of creating optimized content, WordPress allows you to create SEO-friendly content that will help you rank your online store higher and attract tons of customers to your shop. This means more visits, so more sales for you.

3. The Startup cost is low

If you are starting out and you are looking for an affordable way to start your eCommerce business, building your eCommerce store using WordPress is a great idea.

In fact, here is what you need to get started:

• a domain name (about $14 per year),

• a web hosting (price starts at $2.95 with Bluehost),

• eCommerce plugin – Woocommerce is free,

• WordPress theme: Astra – a freemium theme for eCommerce ( Fast and well-optimized WordPress theme compatible with Woocommerce).

• Page builder plugin: Elementor

Now that you know what are the advantages of building your online store with WordPress, let’s jump straight into the subject to find out how to build your conversion-oriented eCommerce website with WordPress.

Want to know how much it costs to start your own blog? Read this guide to find out how much you need to get started.

8 easy steps to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress

step #1: Buy a domain name

A domain name is your address on the Internet. Like your physical store needs an address to be known and found by your clients, your online store needs an address that will help your potential clients, find your company (online store) online.

There are many domain registrar companies out there, and if you are a beginner, finding the best domain name registrar company can be overwhelmed.

I highly recommend Namecheap because not only it is a reliable and trustworthy domain name registrar company but its service is also affordable. Only $8.98 for the entire year. And the best part is you get a free domain privacy free – what certain domain name registrars charge for $14 a year.

You can learn how to choose a domain name here and pick the best domain name registrar company here.

Step #2: Buy a web hosting

In a nutshell, web hosting is a service that allows your website or web page to be present and accessible to Internet users on the Internet 24/7.

It is necessary for any online business. Whether it is an e-commerce store or a simple blog.

As for web hosting providers for an eCommerce site, Bluehost is my best pick for the following reasons:

• A free domain name for one year,

• Free SSL certification,

• A reliable and affordable hosting service provider in the world,

• 24/7 customers support, and more.

But if you are like me and you want to avoid the hassle of logging in here and there or managing many accounts for your business, Wealthy Affiliate is also a great choice.

Here is what you get as a premium member:

• Domain name registration service – ($14 per year including professional email account, privacy protection,ect),

• Managed web hosting service (create up 50 websites),

• Keyword research tool ($19 value),

• An evergreen affiliate marketing training,

• An online entrepreneur community for networking, and much more.

Cost: $49 per month or $495 per year.

Step #3: Set up your WordPress website

Once you have chosen your domain name and web hosting company, the second step is to set up your WordPress website.

Here is a tutorial on how to start a website with Bluehost you can check out and build your site.

You can build your eCommerce website with Bluehost, Wealthy Affiliate, or any web hosting provider you want, but make sure you chose a reliable web hosting provider.

In this guide, I will use Wealthy Affiliate for this tutorial:

First off, create your Wealthy Affiliate account here.

Once inside the Wealthy Affiliate platform, click on the “website” button. It will pop up on this page below.

Now, click on the “Site builder” button. It will take you to the page below.

If you have a domain name, click on the “domain name I own” tab.

If not, you can register a domain with Wealthy Affiliate by clicking on the “register a domain” tab.

I imagine, you already have your domain name. So let’s click on the “domain I own” tab.

It will pop up a form like the one below:

Now, you can set up your WordPress website in 3 easy steps:

1. Choose a domain name for your online store.

2. Choose a name for your online store. Don”t worry if you don’t know how to name it right now. Just enter any name you want. You can change it after.

3. Choose a theme to go. You can choose any theme you want to set up your website. You can change it after.

Once you chose a theme, you will see something like the image below: your online store name, website address, and your WordPress theme image.

To create your website, just click on the “Build my website” button. It will take you to your WordPress admin dashboard. See the image below.

Now your website is live. But this is not an eCommerce website yet.

We are just in the middle of the process of setting up your successful online store with WordPress.

Let’s get into the next step.

Step #4: Choose a conversion-oriented WordPress theme

To get your eCommerce website to look beautiful and rolling smoothly, you need not only a multi-purpose WordPress theme but also a responsive and SEO-friendly theme with fast-loading time.

And keep in mind that eCommerce plugin like Woocommerce doesn’t work with any WordPress theme.

I recommend the Astra theme for your online store for some reasons I will explain in the next section of this guide on how to build a successful eCommerce store with WordPress.

To install Astra theme, download it by clicking on this link or just go to “Appearance”, “Themes”, and then tape “Astra” on the theme search bar.

Here is the result. Select the Astra theme and go.

To make your website an eCommerce store, you will need to install an eCommerce plugin.

But before I show you how to make your eCommerce website, let me explain to you why using the Astra theme for your online store is an excellent choice.

Here are just 7 reasons Astra theme is the best choice for your eCommerce website:

1. Good rating score from customers

There isn’t an opinion that counts more than one of the real users or customers.

With over 1, 000 000 customers, Astra theme has Five rating scores from its customers.

2. More customization options for your eCommerce website

With the Astra theme, you will be able to customize your website or online store and make it more attractive and professional to entice your store visitors going through it.

Here is some customization you can make using the Astra theme without any coding skills:

• You can change the layout, style color, etc, and brand your store as you want.

• Define the number of columns you want to display on the shopping page.

• You can also choose the number of products to display on a single page and even define how to display them (grid view or list view).

• Determine the number of related products to display on the page.

• You can set an add-to-cart option On your website header menu.

• Show a sidebar on WooCommerce pages.

• And with the Atra Pro theme, you get access to advanced features and customization like:

• Changing the style of your shop page to a circle or square.

• More speed, performance, and security.

• Woocommerce product gallery options.

• Infinite scroll that loads your products as a user scrolls down.

• Advanced Header and site layouts.

• WooCommerce product quick view

• Setting up a quick view option for your products.

• And much more…

3. Fast loading theme

With today’s “hurry-up generation”, building an online store that takes time to be loaded will harm your online business. Because people will not wait for 10-30 seconds for your page to load.

Experts report that most online buyers leave a store if a website takes more than 3 seconds to load.

Needless to tell you what will happen to your business if such a situation comes up. Thankfully, the Astra theme has a good performance and a fast loading time.

An image is sometimes worth more than 1000s words. Right?

Just have a look at the image below.

As you can, this is Astra theme with Woocommerce setup loading time tested with GTmetric. The loading time is less than 3 seconds.

4. Astra theme is a responsive and mobile-friendly theme

Many people use their smartphones and tablets to surf the Internet. So if your online store is not mobile-friendly and responsive, you are leaving a lot of money on the table.

In fact, Statista reports that sales made via mobile exceeded 360 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. And according to their prevision, by 2025, this figure can approximately reach 710 billion U.S. dollars.

Plus, responsiveness and mobile-friendliness are some of the Google ranking factors. That said, if your theme is not responsive and mobile-friendly, your online store will not rank higher on search engines.

5. Pre-made template and starter sites to pick and go – save you time and energy

What I like the most with the Astra theme, a part theme responsiveness and fast loading time, is the wild range starter sites and templates I can choose and go.

Thanks to their starter template plugin, you can pick a ready-to-go website and design a stunning and beautiful eCommerce website effortlessly and in a brief time.

And the best part is that they have over 100 stater websites built with Woocommerce you can choose and then design it to meet your needs.

6. Top-notch support

Another reason Astra is an excellent option for your online store is its top-notch support. I use Astra Pro for all my sites (including this one) and I appreciate the promptness they have when I send them a support ticket.

Astra support is available 24/7 and you can reach them any time via email or via their dedicated Facebook Group that has  26963+ active members at this writing.

Plus they have in-depth articles and video tutorials that explain each feature.

7. Offers conversion-oriented and affordable premium theme

Astra comes up with free themes, but they offer paid option too. Even with their free theme, you can create a stunning, SEO-friendly, and fast-loading eCommerce website that will engage your audience and keep them for a longer time on your store.

But if you need more customization options to make your store more professional and make it stand out from the crowd, you can buy a pro theme.

The cost of a premium theme is really reasonable.

Here is how the price is structured:

• Astra Pro: $59/year.

• Essential bundle: $169/ year.

• Growth bundle: $249/year.

These are the reasons to use the Astra theme to build your eCommerce website with WordPress.

Make sure you download Astra pro for your store right now.

Let’s now move into the next section, to find out how to customize your website.

Step #5: Customize your website

Once you installed the Astra theme, the next step is to customize your site in order to give a good shopping experience to your future customers.

Thankfully Astra gives you a vast range of customization options.

For instance, you can:

• upload your logo and adjust its width and make it appear big or small,

• upload a site icon to brand your store,

• change your content width,

• customize your theme color, text, and link color,

• customize your store header and footer and make it fits your needs,

• and much more…

You can even make your store even more professional by using a page builder plugin like Elementor (which is compatible with Astra) to create complex layouts visually and make your online store stand out from the crowd.

Now, let’s get into the next step on how to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress in 2022.

Step #6: Set up Woocommerce

To make an online eCommerce website with WordPress, you need an eCommerce plugin.

Woocommerce is a popular and the most used eCommerce plugin that powers over 5 million online stores all over the world. They have a 4.5 rating score from over 3,730 customers at this writing.

This is a powerful and beginner-friendly WordPress plugin that will help you manage your shop smoothly and seamlessly.

To add the plugin, click on Plugin and then “add new”.

On the search bar, let’s tape the name of the plugin you need.

Here is the Woocommerce plugin.

Click on the “Install now” button and then activate it.

Felicitation your online store is ready!!

Let’s get into the next section of our step-by-step guide on how to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress to add your products to your shop now.

Step #7: Add product to your eCommerce website

Now, your eCommerce site is ready and waiting for your products.

Whether it’s physical or digital products you want to sell, you can do it with Woocommerce.

As I said in the previous section, With the Astra template plugin, you can even choose a starter website premade with Woocommerce and start customizing your store and making it fits your needs.

Here is a screenshot of an imported Astra starter free site with a Woocommerce setup.?

What you need to do is to replace the products already incorporated with your own products. If you want to add new products, just click on Add new button I outlined above.

The next step is to upload the image of your product, set the price, make the description of your product, etc.

But if instead of using a starter eCommerce template, you have installed Woocommerce and Astra theme separately, you can just click on Woocommerce and then on the add product tab, and add your products.

Step #8: Set up payment gateways to collect money from your customers

The last step that will make your eCommerce website complete is the payment gateways setup process.

With Woocommerce, you have a range of payment gateway such as Paypal, Stripe, square, Amazon pay, Ali pay, 2checkout… to choose and then set up your payment gateway.

What will determine your choice depends on the most used payment methods of your target audience and the fees charged for each sale you made.

Level up your eCommerce business with email marketing and automation

Now you have your eCommerce store built with Woocommerce. Clients can buy your products and you can start generating money with your business.

But what about boosting your sales?

What about automating your entire business business with email automation?

In case you don’t know it email marketing is a great way to build returning customer database and grow your eCommerce business. The best mart everything van be automated thanks to email marketing tools like Getresponse.

Learn in this guide how to level up your eCommerce business with Getresponse for eCommerce.

Wrapping up

The eCommerce industry has a good trend. CSM like WordPress is very powerful for SEO content and the best way to attract your targeted audience to your online store via search engines.

So building an eCommerce website with WordPress is a good idea.

But if you don’t know which tools you need to combine with such one to build a successful eCommerce website with WordPress, it may be daunting.

So to wrap up, here is what you need to build a stunning and successful online store with a part domain name and web hosting:

1. A conversion-oriented and multi-purpose theme

2. Woocommerce

3. Elementor

If you combine these tools together, you will make a successful online store with WordPress.

I think from now, you have what you need to build your online store with WordPress.

If you have a question, just drop it in the comment section, and I will respond to you ASAP.

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Thank you for reading!

Be an ACTION taker, SOW YOUR SEED TODAY!

To your success!

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