WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress plugin for adding ecommerce functionality to your site. WooCommerce is an open-source platform built by a community. While you may have to pay for some ‘extensions’ (e.g. the ability for customers to book appointments), you can turn your site into an online store without spending a dollar. That includes:

• Product pages
• Cart and checkout
• Secure payments
• Shipping options and label printing
• Automated tax calculations
• Integration with Google Analytics, Facebook, MailChimp etc.

1. Install and Activate WooCommerce Log in to your WordPress dashboard, and head to the plugin directory by clicking ‘Plugin’ on the left hand menu:    

2. Add business details

First, you’ll need to fill out your business’ details, which is pretty self-explanatory:

3. Select payment options

4. Confirm shipping options

5. Choose complementary plugins/theme

6. Activate Jetpack

In the final configuration step, you’ll be asked to activate Jetpack.

 

Add products

When you return to your dashboard, just go to ‘Products’ down the left hand side, then ‘Add New’:

For every product you upload, you’ll need the following things: 

1. Product name – e.g. Cute Pale Grey Cement Plant Pot
2. Price – e.g. $12.95
3. Main product image – this should be a picture of the whole product, from the front
4. Additional product images (optional, but recommended) – include pictures from as many different angles as possible, and add closeups of finer details
5. Product Description (long) – e.g. ‘Inject some Scandinavian cool into your home with this simple cement planter. Features a drainage hole and comes with a small matching dish, so your plant won’t get over-watered. Height: 15cm. Diameter: 8cm.’
6. Short product description – e.g. ‘Simple cement planter with drainage hole and matching tray.’
7. Product category (if you have more than one) – e.g. Plant Pots

Adding products with WooCommerce

How you add products to your site depends on the type of product you’re adding. There are six main types: 

1. Simple 
2. Grouped 
3. External/Affiliate 
4. Variable
5. Downloadable 
6. Virtual

Once you’ve added this key information, you’ll need to click through all the tabs in the middle to add all the specific details of your product. Here’s a quick overview of what’s covered in every tab of the product data section:

1. General – this is the tab we’re in currently and covers price and tax
2. Inventory – the place to add SKUs etc. if you want to be able to track your inventory
3. Shipping – product dimensions and shipping cost 
4. Linked products – update later with complementary products to upsell 
5. Attributes – if you have a variable product (one with different sizing or colour options, for example), then this is the place to add the different versions

Once you’re happy with your product, hit the blue ‘Publish’ button towards the top on the right hand side. 

To see any products you publish, go to ‘All products’ in the menu on the right, and they’ll appear.