How to Build a WordPress Ecommerce Website

There is a lot more to make a profitable e-commerce store up and running on WordPress than installing a few plugins. Yet, people everywhere are setting up WP shops in droves.

And why not?

Setting up an e-commerce site on WordPress is an attractive option for entrepreneurs.

• Once you have your ecommerce store idea, you can go live in a few clicks without spending much money, if any.
• You have full control over your site and can customize it as you see fit.

That’s plenty of convenience, but it doesn’t address the real goal of your site – driving a profitable business online. If you think hitting “publish” is all you need to drive traffic and sales – you’re sadly mistaken.

Turning WordPress into a selling machine requires a lot of moving pieces. When you sell online, you obviously need a beautiful, user-friendly site that’s secure. But you also need an online business plan, SEO, shopping cart software, payment gateway, social media, email marketing and conversion rate optimization to succeed in the long term.

From choosing an online store builder to ramping up traffic and sales, this guide has the best collection of ecommerce WordPress plugins and resources.

Choosing a Plugin to Build a Scalable Shop

When selling online, there’s no shortage of ecommerce platforms to choose from. From hosted to open source options, the choices are innumerable. Everyone has an opinion on the best platform, but the numbers don’t lie: WooCommerce is the overall leader.  In terms of a hosted ecommerce platform (done for you ecommerce platform) Shopify is at the top.

Choosing the Best Theme for Selling Products

Themes are more than just skin-deep. Your theme needs to connect with your ideal customer, but it also has to be SEO- friendly and geared towards ecommerce. These resources will guide you in choosing a solid theme and get your creative juices flowing.

How To Build A Secure, High-Performance Site

Site security is mission-critical for e-commerce. Every second your store is down is lost revenue. Keeping your site secure and running at peak performance is a must. A slow loading site can send your hard-earned visitors shopping somewhere else.

These resources will help you minimize security risks and create a fast-loading, bloat-free e-ecommerce site.

Create a Full-Fledged Shipping and Fulfillment Program

Shipping and fulfillment are often overlooked because they’re complicated and a little boring. However, it’s an important part of your brand’s marketing. You have to determine shipping terms, partners and packaging. You also have to make it easy for customers to calculate shipping costs (if any) and track their order.

You’ve worked hard to get a sale, so don’t flop when its time to deliver the goods. Brands like Zappos build their customer service reputation on shipping and fulfillment.

Ecommerce SEO: Turn a Trickle Of Traffic Into A Steady Flow

Almost every new ecommerce site struggles to get traffic. Stop following blogger advice for search engine optimization (SEO) and invest some time understanding the real info on site architecture, keyword research, and link building.

Just because a theme or plugin is ”SEO-friendly” doesn’t mean you can tick SEO off your to-do list. I can vouch for all these ecommerce SEO resources because they have helped me on several projects.

How To Make Email Marketing A Powerful Sales Channel

When you buy something online, I guarantee you open the order confirmation email. I am also willing to bet that the email is boring and doesn’t get you to go back to the store.

Getting a sale marks the beginning of a relationship with your customer —  not the end. Let smart email marketing do the heavy lifting for you. An effective campaign automates cart abandonment, upsells, builds loyalty and creates user-generated, optimized content for your site.

Kick Your Branding into High Gear with Social Media

I’ll be the first one to say that social media can be a huge time suck. When compared to search or email marketing, the ROI with social media just isn’t there. But its where your customers are.

To compete with big brands like Amazon, you have to build a real relationship with your customer. You need more than a “presence”– you need to integrate your persona into your overall digital marketing strategy to build a brand. These resources will help you maximize your time on social media.

Separate Your Storefront from the Pack with an Amazing User Experience

Most of the WordPress ecommerce sites I see are riddled with web store design usability issues. Hidden ecommerce software “add to cart” buttons and cumbersome menus hurt sales. User testing is the best way to identify usability issues on your website, but surprisingly few shop owners make this a priority. A superior user experience is a sure way to separate your site from the others that just use the base themes.

Maximize Sales with Conversion Rate Optimization

CRO has come to the forefront of ecommerce marketing, and deservedly so. Conversion rate optimization is a data-driven discipline designed to increase sales without increasing traffic.

The first step to CRO is collecting and analyzing accurate data. These resources will help you set up Google Analytics for eCommerce and give you ideas to test.

Remember: Testing is the only way to improve conversion rates.

Build A Better WP Site

A successful ecommerce business is more than just setting up a theme and adding products. When trying to build a website, it takes an integrated approach to turn your site into a well-oiled sales machine.

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Am I missing anything? Broken links? Let me know in the comments.