Easy Ecommerce: 6 Steps For Integrating WooCommerce With Your WordPress Site

WordPress launched in 2003 as a web content management system (CMS), but since then, a plethora of specially crafted plugins and extensions have made it possible for WordPress users to integrate a professional ecommerce store with their website or blog.

Several ecommerce plugins have been designed for WordPress, including Easy Digital Downloads, Sure Cart, BigCommerce, and Ecwid. However, since its launch in 2011, WooCommerce has become WordPress's most potent, best-known, and feature-rich ecommerce plugin. 

WooCommerce is a free and easy-to-use platform for creating and managing an online store with inventory, taxation, shipping, and payment options. WooCommerce is ideal for ecommerce beginners and is especially recommended if you wish to:

• Have complete control over your store. With proprietary platforms such as Magento, platform restrictions often limit you. However, with WooCommerce, you can edit, customize, and manage everything.
• Not pay commissions or a subscription. With proprietary platforms such as Shopify, you often have to pay commissions on sales or a monthly subscription fee.
• Start small and build your store as your business grows. WooCommerce makes it possible to create simple online stores, but it can address more complex needs. Therefore, as your business grows, there is no need to swap to a new platform.

In this article, we explore some of 2024's WooCommerce trends and how to integrate the WooCommerce plugin with your WordPress website in six easy steps.

WooCommerce Trends #

6.6 million live websites use WooCommerce, so businesses need to stay ahead of the WooCommerce trends that continue to reshape the ecommerce landscape in 2024. These trends include:

• Mobile Usability. 91% of consumers make purchases using their smartphone, so enhancing the mobile shopping experience is essential. Thankfully, most themes compatible with WooCommerce are optimised for mobile usability and fast page load speeds.
• Augmented Reality (AR) Product Pages. AR is revolutionising product pages by offering immersive experiences to online shoppers. WooCommerce's 360º Image allows consumers to rotate the product image for a better view, and more AR features are anticipated.
• Personalisation. WooCommerce plugins powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as MultilingualPress and WooCommerce Extra Product Options, allow businesses to deliver personalised shopping experiences based on demographics and customer behaviour.
• Custom Web Design. Custom web designs can strengthen brand identity and drive engagement, ultimately increasing conversions. WooCommerce developers and businesses can collaborate to craft websites that stand out in a competitive ecommerce landscape.
• WooCommerce Hosting: A large number of ecommerce sites powered by WooCommerce also benefit from specialised WooCommerce hosting. This ensures that all WooCommerce features have optimal uptime and your ecommerce store stays live, even during periods of high traffic.

Chatbots. Chatbots for customer service enhance responsiveness and foster positive customer experiences. WooCommerce plugins like Woo Bot and LiveChat offer automated customer support.  6 Steps For Integrating WooCommerce With Your WordPress Site

Here are the six easy steps that will guide you through integrating the WooCommerce plugin with your WordPress website or blog:

1. Install The WooCommerce Plugin#

Considering you already have a WordPress website up and running, installing and activating the WooCommerce plugin is the next step. 

Select 'Plugins' on the left side of your WordPress Admin Dashboard and then 'Add New'. Next, use the search box to find the 'WooCommerce' plugin and click 'Install Now'. Once installed, the same button will say 'Activate'. 

2. Set Up Your WooCommerce Store#

After activating your WooCommerce plugin, your Setup Wizard will automatically appear. This simple solution to store configuration guides you through each stage of the setup process.

Firstly, you will see a list of basic settings you need to fill out, including: 

• Where is your store based? (UK, US, Canada, etc)
• Address
• Address line 2
• City
• State (if your store is based in the US)
• Postcode/ZIP
• What currency do you accept payments in? (British Pound, American Dollar, Euro, etc)
• What type of products do you plan to sell? (Physical, digital, or both)

In addition, you need to tick a check box if you plan to sell your products or services in person (at a brick-and-mortar store) as well as online.

Once you click 'Let's go!', you'll be asked whether you want to enable usage tracking to help improve WooCommerce. Whether or not you allow this is up to you, but afterwards, click 'Continue'.

3. Choose Your Payment Options#

Next, the WooCommerce Wizard will ask you to set up payment options. WooCommerce accepts both online and offline payments.

Offline payments allow the customer to complete the purchase without leaving the checkout page. The two options, which you can set up with your chosen email address, include:

• Stripe (offers lower commissions)
• PayPal (convenient and popular)

In addition, you can select to add offline payments, which includes traditional payment methods, such as:

• Check
• Bank transfer
• Cash on delivery

Consumers have security concerns whether making online or offline payments. Some believe that offline payments are safer and more transparent than online.

However, others would disagree because traditional banks and financial institutions lack the same commitment to safety and security as online payment merchants.

If you are still determining which payment methods to pick, these can be installed later in settings. So, click 'Continue' and move on to the next step. 

Choosing a proper payment platform is an essential component for an e-Commerce store, especially if you’re managing vendors or selling products of others. This can significantly simplify your financial management and streamline your payouts to these vendors. 

4. Choose Your Shipping Options#

Next, the WooCommerce Wizard will ask you to set up your shipping options. WooCommerce has two shipping zones - the US and the rest of the world.

You can select one zone or both, depending on where you are happy to ship your products. Then, you'll have to select whether you'd like to offer free shipping or set a flat rate (fixed price) to cover shipping costs.

However, keep in mind that 62% of shoppers said they wouldn't consider purchasing from a retailer that doesn't offer free shipping.

5. Choose Features #

Next, you are given the chance to enhance your store with some recommended free features such as: 

• Automated Taxes. This plugin automates tax calculation and collection at checkout. If you set up Automated Taxes, the next step will prompt you to create a Jetpack account.
• Mailchimp. This plugin syncs with list and store data to send automated email marketing campaigns.
• Facebook. This plugin combines all Facebook products in one extension, including Messenger, Shop, pixel tracking, and catalogue sync.

If you select any of the recommended plugins, they will be automatically installed and activated.

6. Start Selling#

The final page of the WooCommerce Wizard will invite you to: 

• Sign up to receive tips, product updates, and inspiration in your inbox
• Create some products
• Import products from an existing store
• Visit Dashboard
• Review Settings
• View & Customize

The sooner you create or import products, the sooner you can start selling to consumers and increasing your revenue. Your WooCommerce product pages should include a product title, a detailed description, a price, and some detailed images. 

With WooCommerce 360º Image, you can opt to replace the featured image with a 360º picture that customers can rotate to get a better view of the product. AR technology can create a 360º picture by simply adding a group of images to a product gallery.

Conclusion#

Now that you know the WooCommerce trends for 2024 and how to integrate an ecommerce store with your WordPress website, you're ready to start selling and growing your business. 

With WooCommerce, you can build an online store for free. However, as your customer base and revenue grow, you can enhance the functionality of your WooCommerce store with over 500 extensions, both free and paid, including Subscriptions, Bookings, Memberships, payment gateways, shipping, and more.