Are you planning to convert your WordPress blog into an e-commerce site? Here is the comprehensive guide to building your favorite design and stylish look to promote your business online.

Most people will tell you that WordPress is a blogging platform. And while that is true, a more informed way to state the same would be to say, that while WordPress started off as a blogging platform, it can be used for more, than just blogging.

Today, you can convert your WordPress blog into a complete e-commerce site easily, thanks to a few plugins. And what’s more? You probably don’t have to invest much, either. With numerous WordPress plugins available, you could set up your e-store for no money at all! Ecommerce platforms are becoming increasingly popular for online businesses.

But, hold on! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s understand a few basics, and break down the entire idea into attainable steps. The core of your e-commerce blog will be the best WordPress e-commerce plugin you choose. So let’s talk about that before we continue.

WordPress + e-Commerce Plugin = e-Store

The best WordPress eCommerce plugin helps you set up your online shop. This basically includes managing your user interface, product inventory, purchases, invoices, and so on. Your e-Commerce plugin is like your “Store Manager.

All you have to do is set up products and product information, such as product descriptions and pricing. Your plugin will take care of the rest. Any customization you would need here would be in terms of styling.

How to turn a WordPress blog into eCommerce?

WordPress is one of the most popular CMS systems in the world. It has a large community and can be used to create a massive variety of websites, from blogs to complex e-commerce stores. But occasionally, you want to convert your WordPress blog into an e-commerce site to sell your products online.

Before you select an e-Commerce plugin for your site, you have to weigh your options. When I talk about a WordPress blog, it could mean a blog hosted on WordPress.com or a self-hosted blog that uses WordPress.org.

Either way, you could convert it to an e-Commerce blog. But a difference you have to know here is that with WordPress.com, you have limited options.

With WordPress.com, you will have to upgrade to ‘WordPress.com Business’. This includes a $299 cost per year. And you have two options to select from, Ecwid or Shopify, as an ecommerce platform. A cost-effective (and recommended) option you could consider here would be to switch to WordPress.org and use a popular e-Commerce plugin.

If you have a self-hosted blog, you’re in luck! You just need a freely available e-Commerce plugin, and you’re good to go!

How to choose an e-commerce plugin?

Next is, of course, selecting an e-Commerce plugin from several available. Okay, so this is the most crucial step. Because down the road, you do not want to realize that you made the wrong choice. And yes, there are plugins that help you port your store from one e-Commerce system to another. But you could just save yourself all the trouble, and make an informed decision right now.

Must-Have Features of an e-Commerce Plugin

You must select a plugin before you start, taking into account both your present needs and your anticipated future needs. There are plugins that can only be used to sell digital goods, for example. Additionally, even if you’re currently only selling digital or virtual goods, you’d be better off choosing a different plugin if you ever want to sell physical or shippable goods. Let’s move on and list some “must-have” features an e-Commerce plugin you choose should have after you’ve outlined your requirements.

1. Product Settings

No surprises here! A must-have feature is the possibility to setup products. When I say this, it means the possibility to add information about a certain product and the ability to differentiate it from posts and pages. To do this, products would need to be custom post types or be put into a category. Having products as a custom post type is always better. It provides you with more control over display and filtering options.

2. Payment Gateways

Your plugin must provide an ‘Add to Cart’ and ‘Checkout’ functionality to handle product purchases. This means, there should be a way for customers to purchase more than one product at a time, and a way to receive payments, with the use of payment gateways. Of course, if your business is based on a single purchase in order, you will require Add to Cart functionality. But payment gateways, as you would expect, are a must.

3. Shipping

If you want to sell shippable goods, your plugin must provide you with the options to set up shipping information as well. This would mean enabling different shipping methods and allowing users to select the shipping method they need.

4. Invoices & Notifications

Your plugin must also send notifications when purchases are made, to handle the remainder of the transaction, which would be shipping the goods across to the customer.

Once you’ve decided on plugins that suit your requirements, you could look at other features provided as well. For example, if you only have a small number of an item in stock, you may want to use a plugin that helps you keep track of your stock.

If you want to schedule sales or offer discounts, you have to look at plugins that provide discount codes or coupons. And if you want to separate out tax management, you could look at a plugin that provides for the same.

There are several plugins that fit these criteria. But a plugin I would recommend here is WooCommerce. With WooCommerce, you have all the functionality in place, it’s easy to use, and has a good number of add-ons.

How do I start an online store with WordPress?

Starting with an online store on the WordPress platform is a good idea. If you are interested in starting, you need to think about a domain name and the best web hosting service to make your store business online.

Let me discuss the domain name first.

What is domain Name?

  • A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control on the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System (DNS). Any name registered in the DNS is a domain name.
  • Domain names are used in various networking contexts and for application-specific naming and addressing purposes. In general, a domain name represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource, such as a personal computer used to access the Internet, a server computer hosting a website, or the website itself or any other service communicated via the Internet.

Choose a perfect Webhosting

You now need web hosting to host your text and media files. In simplest terms, web hosting is the online location where you host your company for your clients. The choice of web hosting is very important. Because choosing the incorrect host will cost you money and valuable clients. So, you must exercise extreme caution. HostArmada is what I would personally suggest. This company offers excellent web hosting at reasonable costs.

Here are the features of HostArmada is offering to their customers

Features of HostArmada hosting

  • It provides free SSL for all sites
  • Free domain name for one year
  • Performing daily backups
  • Offers cloud-based SSD storage
  • An unmetered bandwidth
  • Emails and databases are unlimited
  • Migration of your website is free
  • 1-click WordPress install
  • An easy-to-use drag-and-drop site builder
  • Website caching
  • Free Malware Scan and removal tool
  • Excellent firewall support
  • There is a 45-day money-back guarantee
  • 99.9% uptime is guaranteed
  • 24/7/365 customer support

HostArmada Plans and Pricing

There are three different shared web hosting plans available. They are Speed Reaper, which runs on LiteSpeed, and Star Dock, which is based on NGINX. Web Wrap also runs on NGINX. Each of the three plans has a unique set of features. Customers can upgrade without going over their budget as their website and business grow. 

It has three great plans for managed cloud SSD shared hosting at prices that are easy on the wallet.

1. Start Dock

The cheapest web hosting package from HostArmada costs $2.99 per month. The features and restrictions of the plan will be seen.

  • You can install a single Website.
  • 15 GB Cloud SSD Storage (disk space)
  • 2 Cores CPU
  • 2 GB RAM
  • FREE domain registration or transfer
  • Suitable for the site is getting ~30,000 unique visitors.
  • Regular database backup
  • Malware Scan
  • Malware Removal
  • WAF & IP Firewall

Enjoy 70% OFF on the hosting service (Coupon code: FESTIVEDEC70)

2. Web Warp

You can select this plan if you run multiple websites. For 36 months, it will cost $4.49 per month. The website receives almost 60,000 unique visitors per month, so it is a good plan. You get the following features, as well as unlimited website hosting: 14 daily backups, free malware detection and removal, and a restore manager with just one click.

The plan has the following features.

  • You can host unlimited websites
  • 30 GB Cloud SSD storage (disk space)
  • 4Cores CPU
  • 4 GB RAM
  • Unmetered bandwidth
  • 14 daily backups
  • Free website migration
  • Free Malware Scan and removal
  • 2X CPU and RAM
  • 1-Click Restore Manager

Enjoy 70% OFF on the hosting service (Coupon code: FESTIVEDEC70)

C. Speed Reaper

This is the best strategy to increase the speed at which your website loads. This plan is powered by LiteSpeed servers. You pay $5.39 per month for 36 months, starting at a starting price of $5.99 per month. It has the following features:

  • You can host Unlimited Websites
  • 40 GB Cloud SSD Storage
  • 6 Cores CPU
  • 6 GB RAM
  • 21 Daily Backups
  • Malware Scan and Removal
  • WAF & IP Firewall
  • Warp Features
  • Speed Reaper Features
  • Dynamic Caching
  • 3x More CPU and RAM
  • 3x Fewer clients per server
  • LiteSpeed Webserver
  • Dynamic Caching

Enjoy 70% OFF on the hosting service (Coupon code: FESTIVEDEC70)

For your new blog, you can pick from any of the available plans. You can upgrade to a higher plan once your website starts getting a lot of traffic from different sources. To do this, go to their “Upgrade Center” from your Client Area dashboard and select the plan that best suits the requirements of your website. If you want to know more details about this host, you can read my HostArmda review.

If you buy any of the plans, you will get a free domain name for the first year. So, there is no need to worry about your additional payment for the domain name. As soon as you’re done with the purchase process, you can use the hosting control panel to install WordPress. If you are new to this, you can contact the support team. They will do everything for you free of charge.

How do I use WooCommerce for a WordPress blog?

WooCommerce is a popular eCommerce plugin that can be used to power your WordPress blog. It allows you to create a fully functional online store from scratch, or you can use it to add features to an existing WordPress site.

To get started, first install the WooCommerce plugin on your WordPress site. Once it’s installed, go to the WooCommerce main menu and select “Add New Product.” This will open up the Add New Product screen.

Next, enter the details of your product. You’ll need to give information about your product, such as its name, price, description, etc., as well as any other information, such as pictures. You can also choose whether you want this product to be available for purchase immediately or only after a certain amount of time has passed.

Once you’ve finished entering all the information, click on the “Create Product” button. This will take you to the congratulation page! Your product has been created! Screen.

Now it’s time to add your product to your WordPress blog. To complete this, go back to your WordPress blog’s front-end and click on the “Appearance” tab. Under “WooCommerce Products,” click on the link next to your newly created product name and then select “Add Product.”

You’ll now be able to add additional information about your product (such as a description), as well as images and other content related to your product. Finally, make sure that you set up a payment gateway, so customers can pay for their products using credit cards or PayPal.

Setting up Your e-Store

Once you’ve selected a plugin, you have to install it on your WordPress website, configure basic settings, and set up products. And you’re done! (Not a one-line task, but the final step in the conversion process).

Now, I do understand that this article does not address every possible use case, and some of you might face some hiccups along the way. Those of you who have any questions should be sure to ask them or provide feedback in the comment section below for fellow readers. Start an eCommerce Business by using the above How-to Ecommerce Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is eCommerce?

eCommerce, also known as electronic commerce or online commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services over the Internet. It covers a wide range of activities, from online shopping and auction sites to online banking and online stock trading.

Is WordPress good for eCommerce?

WordPress is a popular platform for creating eCommerce websites. It is easy to use and has a wide range of features that can be customized to meet the needs of your business. Some benefits of using WordPress for eCommerce include:
• It is a stable platform that is reliable and secure.
• It has a wide range of plugins that can be used to improve the functionality of your website.
• It is easy to create custom pages and posts, which makes it perfect for managing your product catalogs and customer data.
• It has a built-in SEO system that can help you rank higher in search engines.

How do I start an online store with WordPress?

To start an online store with WordPress, you will need to have a good understanding of the platform and some basic coding skills. First, you will need to create a website or blog using WordPress. Once that is done, you will need to install the WooCommerce plugin and configure it to work with your website. Next, you will need to create product pages and add images and descriptions for each product. You will also need to add prices and shipping information for each product. Finally, you will need to add a payment gateway like PayPal, so customers can pay for their products.

What WordPress plugins are useful for my online store?

There are many WordPress plugins that can be useful for your online store. Some of the most popular plugins that are used for online stores include:
1. Gravity Forms: Gravity Forms is a plugin that allows you to easily create and manage forms, surveys, and contact forms on your WordPress site. This plugin is very popular because it is easy to use and has a wide range of features.
2. Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO is a plugin that helps you optimize your website for search engines. It includes features such as keyword research, metadata optimization, and more. This plugin is very popular because it is easy to use and has a wide range of features.
3. WPForms: WPForms is a form builder plugin that allows you to easily create custom forms on your WordPress site. This plugin is very popular because it is easy to use and has a wide range of features.

What is the WordPress eCommerce plugin?

WooCommerce is a free and open-source shopping cart plugin for WordPress. It’s one of the most popular eCommerce plugins available today, used by millions of websites. It allows you to sell online through your WordPress site, with unlimited products, categories, and tags. WooCommerce is powerful, and it can do numerous things that you might not be able to do with other eCommerce plugins. For example, it has built-in payment processing, order tracking, and shipping capabilities. You can find WooCommerce on the WordPress plugin repository.

What is the best way to turn my WordPress blog into an eCommerce site?

There are many ways to turn a WordPress blog into an eCommerce site. One way is to create a custom theme and plugin that allows you to sell products on your blog. Another way is to use a plugin like WooCommerce that allows you to easily create a store, add products, and manage orders.

Final words:

WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that can be used to create websites of all types. It’s easy to use, so anyone can get started quickly. You can use it for personal or commercial purposes, but to make the most of your investment, you should consider making your site an e-commerce platform store.

To convert your WordPress blog into an e-commerce platform, you need to learn how to use the WooCommerce plugin. With this plugin, you can make a fully functional online store in just a few minutes. It has all the same features as any other e-commerce site. It is the best e-commerce plugin. You must be using the latest version of WordPress and have all the necessary plugins installed before you can install this plugin.

Once this is done, all you need to do is go through some basic steps and create your first product page. You can then upload images and add descriptions to your products before adding them for sale on your online store. If you want additional information about how to use WooCommerce, take a look at our previous blog post here.

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