Woocommerce for Small Business: Step-By-Step Guide

Currently, there are giant platforms such as BigCommerce, Shopify, Magneto, and more. But Woocommerce itself empowers 42% of eCommerce stores worldwide, which is massive. 

Therefore, it has become popular and the most reliable platform to establish Woocommerce for small Business startups.

WooCommmerce is entirely free, which you can install after setting up your WordPress website. It allows you to incorporate eCommerce capabilities into your WordPress-based website. 

This platform is the most effective method for converting a startup business into a fully grown eCommerce business. All you have to do now is install and activate the plugin, and you’re good to go!

Most of the features in WooCommerce are entirely free and adequate to set up your small business startup.

However, you can easily install plugins and run your business effectively for additional features. In the beginning, your objective should be spending minimal but earning more. 

Furthermore, as a startup, you want to make sure you’re on the proper track and solid ground. In reality, you may take advantage of WooCommerce’s prominence in the eCommerce world.

This article will guide you on WooCommerce for small business startups to help you thrive in the competitive marketplace. 

Why is Woocommerce ideal for small businesses? 

In your mind, you have a dream to turn your WooCommerce small business into success as soon as possible. This implies you must launch your eCommerce site with a small investment. 

This is where WooCommere outperforms other eCommerce platforms. It has the most user-friendly interface that will make your eCommerce site up and running in no time. 

WooCommerce facilitates the success of both startups and small enterprises with the following benefits: 

1 – A Free Platform

The basic version of WooCommerec includes almost all the functionalities that a startup business requires. The amazing fact is that the initial version and the setup process are entirely free. 

All you need is a person with technical expertise who can install and customise the WooCommerce store properly. There are no repeating fees to pay to an eCommerce service provider, which reduces your profit margin.

WooCommerce makes online selling simple and doesn’t charge anything at first. Once you’ve established your brand, you may spend part of your profits on adding functionality and enhancing other aspects of it. 

There are extensions available for the Subscription module; setting up reservations, Suggesting related items to consumers who are suitable for your service are just a few of the enhancements available.

2 – Add More Functionality With Plugins

WooCommerce includes several free and paid plugins that you can use to add more functionality. Here are some examples of official and third-party plugins that are fully compatible with WooCommerce: 

• WooCommercec Product Table: This is an ideal plugin to represent a sortable table view of your WooCommere products. It’s excellent for product directories, commerce, wholesale sites, and quick order forms, among other things. It’s often regarded as the best technique to boost your website’s conversion rates.

• WooCommerce Product Feed: Today’s marketplace consists of immense competition, even if you are a startup. This is because thousands of stores out there have just established Woocommerce for small business startups. So, you have to spread your product information as soon as possible in multiple marketing channels. 

But how? You need to create a WooCommerce product feed file via a product feed plugin and then transfer it to marketing channels. You can create ads and promote them after transferring the feed file according to your preferred marketing channel’s requirements. 

• Multi-Currency & Language Support:  There are plugins in WooCommerce that can make your store suitable for the international environment. Plugins such as WPML can translate the language of your website into any language that you prefer. Also, it can convert your site’s currency according to the ongoing currency rate. As a result, you can sell your products to foreign customers. 

• WooCommerce Private Store and Password Protected Categories:  These two types of plugins will enable you to protect and conceal specific sections of your woocommerce store. It’s ideal for customer-specific items, full-service members-only businesses, or general stores with wholesale sections.

• Table Rate Shipping: This plugin allows shipping options, such as weight-based shipping, integrated with WooCommerce. With this plugin, you can efficiently operate the shipping option for Woocommerce for small business startups. 

• WooCommerce Bookings: This extension is ideal for sites that allow people to schedule events online. This plugin, which includes Date Pickers and Calendars, allows you to schedule or book events quickly. 

•  WooCommerce Subscriptions: If your WooCommerce store allows a subscription system, this plugin will help you collect recurring payments. As a result, customers will be able to use your service or product uninterruptedly. 

3 – Secure and Safe for Store Owners 

Your clients want to know that their personal information is kept private in today’s era of cyber-attacks and lack of security. No one should have access to their residential address or credit card information. 

WooCommerce protects you from this problem by providing your customers with a highly secure trade platform. Especially while running Woocommerce for small business startups, it’s a significant priority because you don’t want to lose your primary investment. 

Frequent version upgrades and revisions guarantee that any security flaws and vulnerabilities are found and corrected as soon as possible. Updating WooCommerce is a breeze, thanks to a one update option.

4 – Easy analytics 

As a WooCommerce business owner, you want to know the source of incoming sales and conversion. Also, you want to know when most of your consumers desire to buy things. 

With WooCommerce’s built-in analytics, you’ll be able to keep track of essential data and tweak it to enhance your site’s overall performance. 

From WooCommerce, you can get easy access to tools such as Google Analytics. Also, some plugins can assist you in measuring every single analytics report and also suggest you improve specific segments. 

5 – Better Stock Management 

WooCommerce performs an outstanding job of assisting users in keeping track of their inventory. 

Some plugins keep track of your products and mark them as out of stock whenever it starts running out. As a result, you can be confident that your business is constantly well-stocked to fulfil all of your clients’ requests.

How you can Establish Woocommerce for small business startups

At this point, you know what the benefits of WooCommerce for small business startups are. We will guide you by establishing your online dream store to run your startup business efficiently. We’ve analysed WooCommerce and sorted out the practical guideline to form any online business. 

By following the below-mentioned factors, you can successfully compete in the marketplace: 

1 – Define Your Customer-base

Take your time to figure out who your target market is. It will help you establish your speciality and boost subsequent marketing efforts by improving any step you take during the life of your brand.

Start with something you believe about but don’t have a particular idea in mind. Do you have a strong desire to help small company owners? Do you enjoy working with children? Are you a vehicle enthusiast who is drawn to other car lovers?

Once you’ve decided who your target audience is, determine their difficulties or demands. Do they require clothing that fits them properly and is comfier? Are they looking for a way to relieve stress? Are they seeking opportunities to satisfy individuals who have common interests to them?

Some ways to define your Customer-base are:

• Spend time on forums, online forums, and comment threads where they hang together, such as Facebook Groups. 
• Surveys can help you understand more about them.
• Conduct face-to-face conversations.

You will assist them more effectively if you understand their desire deeper.

2 – Select Products for Your WooCommerce WebShop

This step has to finalise what type of product you will sell via the WooCommerce store. 

Hand-made Products: Jewellery, apparel, paper products, wooden furniture, and cuisine that you produce yourself. This is an excellent alternative if you’re clever, want complete control over manufacturing, and save money.

However, keep in mind that it might be more challenging to capitalise on progress because scaling is tougher when you manufacture every product yourself.

Manufactured Products: Cutlery, footwear, cosmetics, electronics, and car parts are examples of manufactured goods, which are objects developed in-house or by a private entity then kept, sold, and distributed by you. 

If you can’t physically make a product or want to grow, this is a terrific choice, but still, it comes with higher initial costs because you’ll need to order stock upfront.

Virtual Products: eBooks, music, online courses, membership programs, and fitness videos are examples of things that are given online without the need for a tangible format. Virtual products are often flexible and have inexpensive setup and continuing manufacturing costs.

DropShipping WooCommerce Items: T-shirts, wallpapers, and phone accessories are examples created, collected, and dispatched by a third party. This method eliminates the inconvenience of stocking and transporting things, but it also removes a degree of control.

Services via WooCommerce store: These are activities completed for customers without any physical resources. Mentoring, advising, graphic design, event organising, hotel reservations, and interior design are just a few examples. These services can be provided remotely via the WooCommerce store. 

Keep in mind that you can set a specific category and sell it from your WooCommerce store or combine different types of products or services. Either way 

3 – Craft Your WooCommerce Business 

Legal Steps: 

There are legal requirements that you must fulfil to establish a WooCommerce business. Even if it is a small business startup, the rules are the same. 

• Register your company and choose a business structure. Depending on your legal requirements, tax and regular activities are affected by a legal obligation. 
• Obtain tax identification numbers and become familiar with the tax system. In most cases, the architecture you select influences how you pay taxes.
• Get all the licenses and avoid selling illegal or restricted products according to your government’s authorisation. 

If you are running the store from the United States, Follow this guideline. 

Set up a Business Bank Account: 

Setup an account dedicated to your WooCommerce.

• Businesses and organisations prefer writing a cheque to your company, not directly to you. 
• Separating your personal and business account gives you a layer of protection.
• Omit the complexity of managing taxes by separating your personal and business accounts. 
• You can create a separate credit history and easily monitor your account by distinguishing personal and business accounts.  

Managing Accounting: 

Set your accounting correctly for the startup business via WooCommerce. Here is a guide that will provide all the basics. We recommend you hire an accountant to manage your expenditure. 

Select Your Payment Collection Method: Before establishing your WooCommerce store online, determine the product’s price and a strategy. Define – (1) how much you want to charge?, and (2) How you will collect the payments, or what will be the payment gateways. 

You can select the following methods:

• One-time payments: Receive the total payment at once.
• Subscriptions: Charge customers on a monthly or yearly basis.
• Payment Packages: Enable customers to pay over time.  

4 – Build your online startup

With a solid business plan in place, you need to build your website. 

Get a domain name and hosting plan.

The first step is to get a domain name; the address consumers use to find your site. Choose something that reflects your company and is catchy, avoiding digits and complicated terms. 

Your website’s data are stored and displayed to visitors via the host. The WordPress.com eCommerce hosting package, which contains all you need for a web store, is a beautiful place to begin when it comes to website security and performance. 

Install WordPress CMS 

WordPress is a renowned CMS that provides the most user-friendly website building platform. It comes with a visually stunning editor that allows you to create pages without knowing how to code and is entirely configurable. You will get plugins in this platform for additional features, and most of them are free.

Install WooCommerce Plugin 

WooCommerce is a WordPress-specific eCommerce framework that combines all the capabilities you need to sell online. It includes all the ability to add items, accept payments, ship, register customer accounts, and so on. Install and activate the plugin and then configure the plugin. 

Select your Prefered Theme 

Select a theme that relates to your business style and defines your product. Choose a theme that matches the online trend of the online marketplace. There are thousands of options in WordPress when it comes to theme design. So, select one after going through complete research. 

Pick a Payment Gateway 

By setting up a payment gateway, you can collect the payments from credit cards or other methods. The default option provided by WooCommerce are – PayPal and Stripe, but you can add additional payment gateways via compatible plugins. 

Before selecting your gateway, answer these questions: 

• How will the gateway charge? Regularly or monthly 
• Is the payment process easy or complex to finalise the process?
• Does the platform redirects the customer to other sites or keep them on your site?
• Do they allow repetitive payments?
• While receiving payments, does it convert foreign currencies?

Analyse your company’s particular requirements. If you offer subscriptions or membership, you’ll need to have a recurring payment gateway; but you’ll need a one-time payment option when you need to collect one-time purchases. 

Tax Settings 

If needed, set up the sales tax according to your local legislation. There are plugins such as WooCommerce tax that are free and automatically calculate the proper tax settings. Also, the process is done according to your location and the customer’s shipping address. 

Expand your Stores Functionality 

There are numerous plugins in the WooCommerce marketplace that are free and paid. Therefore, You can enable additional features on your Woocommerce for small business startups within a few clicks effortlessly. Revise the “Add more functionality” section mentioned earlier to know about the functionality. 

5 – Publish Website Content

Craft Your Web Pages 

Now, it’s time to publish your online content in your WooCommerce stores. The primary material of your website is included on web pages, which include data about you, your shop, and business policies. 

While the specific pages will vary depending on your goods and goal, several pages are necessary for every website:

• Home Page: Summarises our company, deals, and offerings. 
• About Page: Detailed information, story, mission, and vision of your store.
• Contact Page: Allows customers to contact your business.
• FAQ Page: Answers some basic questions that customers query about. 
• Shop Page: Where you represent your products and services. 

Use the latest Gutenberg block editor of WordPress to add texts, images, videos and other elements to your pages. 

Represent your Products

The Product option of WooCommerce features specialised parameters for selling online, such as pricing, inventory levels, sizes, and categories. You may add items to pages so that clients can see them when they visit your site.

You can set up various products on your WooCommerce store, but the common types are (1) Simple products with no variety and (2) Variable products with multiple categories. 

6 – Product Delivery and Order Fulfilment 

When your online business website is nearly complete, the following step is to figure out how you’ll handle and transport products. 

Managing the WooCommerce Inventory 

• You can store your products at your place or in your business location. The self-storage option is ideal for Woocommerce for small business startups.
• You can also store products in a dedicated space or warehouse. When your store is grown enough, utilise this option.
• You can store your goods via third-party or drop shipping options. As a result, the manufacturing part and 

Shipping

Learn about the shipping methods and fulfilment options available in WooCommerce. Then form your shipping strategy and implement it. You can add plugins to extend this option in your online store. 

While offering physical goods, you must deliver them to clients safely, timely, and cost-effectively. You can charge flat rates, provide free shipping, or charge based on 

• Weight
• Size
• Distance
• Delivery speed.

7 – Start Marketing Your WooCommerce Products 

Lastly, place your items and store them in front of prospective buyers. There are numerous marketing strategies to choose from, and it will take some experimenting to discover the best fit for your products and target demographic. 

Here are some proven solutions: 

• Email Marketing: Communicate professionally with customers before and after selling products. 
• Social Media Marketing: Spread the message about your brands and products via social media.
• Content Marketing: Create content and publish it on your webpage to add value for your customers. Information is valuable, and you can attract your customers with valuable information.  
• Paid Promotion: Paid promotion via marketplaces such as Google, Facebook, Instagram is very effective because your product info will stay ahead in search results. 
• Product Feed Marketing: Spread your product information in multiple marketing channels such as Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Bing, eBay, etc. 
• Search Engine Optimisation: Optimise your site’s content to stay on top of organic search results. As a result, customers will rely on your store’s service and keep buying your products. 

Final Thoughts 

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get immediate results; finding the correct business strategy takes time and trial. 

Focus on providing valuable, relevant content to your client, and you’ll make an impact that will contribute to growth.

Woocommerce is the right place to start your online business operation. This is because most of the services are free, user-friendly, and easy to implement.

With our mentioned guide, you can effectively utilise Woocommerce for small business startups and launch your dream web store. 

Author Bio: Atanu Das is a professional content writer actively writing SEO-optimised content. He has been writing creative content on WordPress, WooCommerce, Google Merchant, eCommerce, and other topics for the last four years. He is currently working as a content writer at Webappick – a giant WordPress Plugin development company.

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