Nowadays, it's easier than ever to create a professional-looking website for your business.
However, if you're selling products or services online, you'll need more than just a pretty website. You'll need an eCommerce platform that can take payments and handle all of the back-end logistics of running an online store.
While there are many different eCommerce platforms available, we recommend using WordPress with the WooCommerce plugin. WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) with headless CMS functionality that powers millions of websites around the world.
And with WooCommerce, you can turn any WordPress website into a fully functioning online store.
In this article, we'll show you how to create an eCommerce business website with WordPress. We'll cover everything from choosing a domain name and hosting provider to setting up your store and adding products.
Why Your Small Business Needs a Website
If you're running a small business, it's absolutely essential that you have a website. In today's digital world, potential customers are looking for businesses online, and if you don't have a website, you're missing out on valuable leads.
Plus, having a website gives your small business credibility. If you want to compete with larger businesses, you need to show your customers that you're just as professional and trustworthy as they are.
Creating a website for your small business is easier and more affordable than ever before. And with WordPress, you don't need to be a tech expert to create a beautiful, functional website and design.
And for all complex needs, you can always hire professional WordPress development services.
Is WordPress the Best Platform for Your Small Business Website?
WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that powers millions of websites around the world. WordPress is free and open-source, which means anyone can use it to create a website.
Moreover, you can use it when creating a comparison website as well, leveraging its flexibility and extensive plugin ecosystem to seamlessly integrate comparison features.
Affiliate Marketing WordPress Plugins are widely utilized tools within the realm of website management. These plugins are integral in powering countless websites globally, enabling users to seamlessly create and manage their online platforms.
If you're in Europe and looking for reliable hosting for your WordPress website, consider opting for a European dedicated server.
European dedicated servers offer localized hosting solutions with enhanced performance and data security for your website.
With a European dedicated server, you can ensure fast loading speeds and cater to your European audience effectively.
While WordPress began as a blogging platform, it has evolved into a versatile tool capable of creating various types of websites, including business websites.
Notably, some of the world's largest companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft utilize WordPress for their online presence. For further insights on optimizing your WordPress website, visit a DesignRush.
If you need to craft CMS hosting to power your small eCommerce website, we recommend using WordPress. It's user-friendly, scalable, and there are thousands of themes and plugins available to help you customize your site.
What You Need to Build a Superb eCommerce Business Website
Before we show you how to create a business website with WordPress, let's go over what you'll need to get started.
Domain name: This is the address people will type into their browser to visit your website (e.g., www.example.com).
Web hosting: This is where your website's files and the database will be stored. You'll need to choose a web hosting provider that meets your business's needs.
WordPress: WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS).
WooCommerce: WooCommerce is a plugin that turns a WordPress website into an online store.
Theme: A theme controls the design and layout of your website. You can choose from thousands of business themes, or you can create your own.
Plugins: Plugins are optional add-ons that add features and functionality to your website. For example, there are plugins for security, contact forms, and social media integration.
How to Create a Small Business Site with WordPress
Now that you know what you need to get started, let's take a look at how to create your small business website with WordPress.
Step 1 - Buy web hosting and install WordPress
The first thing you need to do is purchase web hosting and install WordPress. Purchasing a web hosting package can be a bit confusing, but we recommend using SiteGround. SiteGround is one of the largest and most popular web hosting providers in the world, and they offer exclusive discounts to WordPress users.
The next step is to set up WordPress on your web hosting account. If you're using SiteGround once WordPress is installed, you're ready to move on to the next step.
Step 2 - Set up WooCommerce
In order to set up WooCommerce, you first need to install the plugin. You can do this by going to your WordPress dashboard and navigating to Plugins > Add New.
Then, type WooCommerce into the search bar and install the plugin.
Once WooCommerce is installed, you'll be prompted to run the setup wizard. This wizard will help you configure some of the basic settings for your online store.
Once you have installed the WooCommerce plugin successfully, you need to install all other essential plugins such as Yoast SEO plugin, POWR Form Builder plugin to create super-effective and lead magnet form, etc. I have listed some of the crucial must have WordPress plugins below, which you can install as your need accordingly.
Step 3 - Customize your site design
Now, it's time to choose a theme for your website. As we mentioned earlier, a theme controls the design and layout of your site.
There are thousands of WordPress themes to choose from, so it can be tough to decide which one is right for you.
Astra is a popular WordPress theme that offers extensive customization options. With Astra, you can choose from dozens of pre-built website templates, or you can create your own custom design.
Astra also comes with a built-in page builder tool, which makes it easy to create custom layouts for your pages and posts.
Step 4 - Add important website pages
Every small business website needs certain pages to function properly. For example, you'll need an About page, a Services page, and a Contact page.
You can add new pages to your WordPress site by going to your dashboard and navigating to Pages > Add New.
Then, simply enter the title and content for your new page.
Step 5 - Install essential WordPress plugins
As we mentioned earlier, WordPress plugins are optional add-ons that add features and functionality to your website.
There are thousands of plugins available for WordPress, but we recommend starting with a few of our essential plugins for small business websites.
Here are some of the best plugins for small eCommerce business websites:
POWR Form Builder: POWR Form Builder is an easy-to-use powerful plugin that lets you create custom forms and surveys for your website.
Spectra: Spectra is a plugin that lets you create custom color schemes for your website.
Schema Pro: Schema Pro is responsible to create a product schema, which helps the website to get more visibility and ranking over SERP. It supports many more schema types with an easy interface and uses JSON-LD technology.
Google Analytics for WordPress: Google Analytics for WordPress is a free plugin that lets you collect data about your website visitors.
Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO is a popular plugin that helps you optimize your website for search engines.
Tips for Promoting Your WordPress Business Website
Now that you've created your WordPress business website, it's time to start promoting it.
Here are a few tips for promoting your site:
1. Create social media accounts and share your content:
Social media is a great way to promote your content and reach new people. Create accounts on popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and share your website's content on a regular basis.
By sharing your content on social media, you can reach a wider audience and generate more traffic to your website.
2. Optimize your website for search engines:
Make sure your website is optimized for search engines like Google and Bing. SEO can be a complex topic, but there are a few simple things you can do to get started.
For example, you can install the Yoast SEO plugin and use it to optimize your website's titles, descriptions, and keyword usage.
3. Add a blog to your website and write articles about topics related to your business:
A blog is a great way to attract new visitors to your website. Write articles about topics related to your business, and include links back to your website in your articles.
Zomasleep is an eCommerce mattress brand who have dedicated product pages with all information about products but still blog about relevant keywords, including guides on foam sizes and bed dimensions.
4. Advertise your website on Google and other search engines:
You can use Google AdWords to advertise your website on Google and other search engines.
AdWords lets you choose how much you want to spend on your campaign, and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
5. Submit your website to directories and review sites:
There are many online directories and review sites that list small businesses. Submit your website to as many of these sites as possible to get more exposure for your business.
By following these tips, you can get more traffic to your WordPress business website and start generating leads and sales.
Suggested resource: Promote WordPress plugin
To ensure that customers visiting your eCommerce site during the Black Friday event find what they’re looking for, you’ll need to make sure your site is optimized in terms of site design and user experience (UX).
Also, make sure you keep sizing charts on hand where customers can find them easily.
Particularly in the eCommerce industry when customers buy something online, they need to look up sizes before they order, being able to find sizing charts easily greatly contributes to a positive user experience.
A good example of this is the mattress size chart Eachnight provides on it's website so customers can make the right choice easily, without having to look up sizes.
Customers want to find products within a few clicks so don’t make them search hard for what they’re looking for or wade through an unresponsive and unintuitive website or app.
Time to Take Your Ecommerce Business Website Online
We hope this article has helped you learn how to create a small business website with WordPress. You may also want to see our ultimate step-by-step WordPress security guide for beginners.
If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below. Do you have any tips for creating a successful small business website? Please share them with us.
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Author Bio
Sujay is the CEO and Co-Founder of Brainstorm Force, the company behind Astra. He's passionate about the online space and writes articles to help entrepreneurs and freelancers succeed online. A father, a Youtube addict, and the brain behind numerous world-class products, you can connect with him on Twitter (@sujaypawar).
Author’s Email: mail.sujaypawar@gmail.com
