If you are like the thousands of other people who are using WooCommerce for their WordPress online store, it is important to keep your site running smoothly. Nothing can hurt your conversions as much as a website that loads slowly, or even worse, doesn’t load at all.

Here are a few tips that you can use to ensure that your site is running at its optimum level at all times.

Updates

The WordPress engine will keep the core of your website up to date for you. However, you will need to make sure that your plugins and themes are kept up to date as well. Updating both your themes and plugins is important. Security and functionality are being improved regularly so missing even one of the available updates from WooCommerce could mean that your site is not running as well as it could be. It also may not be as secure as possible. If you miss several updates you may be missing out on important security, efficiency and functionality improvements.

Use Staging to Test Changes

There are many plugins and extensions available for WooCommerce; the makers of WooCommerce developed some but many are development by third parties. While the plugins developed by WooCommerce are guaranteed to work with the latest version of the plugin, the plugins developed by other independent developers may not be. When you are updating your site always test it in a non-production environment, or staging site, first. This is important in order to make sure that any changes will work with your current version of WooCommerce. If your staging site crashes, try disabling third party plugins first to see if that fixes the issue. If this works you should contact the developers and tell them the plugin is not working and ask when it will be compatible with your version of WooCommerce. Using staging to make changes first will ensure that your site is always ready for your customers.

Clean Up Earlier Implementations

Once you have everything updated, the next step is to get rid of any old payment integrations, old products, or other configurations or settings that are not accurate any longer. Any plugins that you are not currently using should be deleted as well. These processes could be slowing down your site. Keep your site clean and simple so that your customers will get the best experience.

WooCommerce, a popular eCommerce platform for WordPress developed by WooThemes, is an online shopping cart plugin that allows you to make sales from your website. Using WooCommerce allows you to set up an online store without having to write any code or hire a developer to do it for you.

One very popular feature of WordPress is the fact that you can use themes to change the entire styling of your site  the look, the feel, the font, etc.

WooCommerce takes full advantage of this WordPress feature by allowing you to use WordPress themes that can change the entire look of your online shop in an instant. You don’t like the look of your online store? Just buy (or download for free) a new theme. Install, activate it and voila, you have a brand new online store.

Although there can be some bumps along the way, it truly is that easy to redesign your online store. That is the power of WordPress and WooCommerce.

Choosing a WooCommerce Theme

Once you have your WordPress site set up and have downloaded the WooCommerce plugin, you will have the option to customize your site using one of many different themes that are available.

WooThemes, the open source community, and other third party designers have developed numerous themes for WooCommerce. Many of these themes are free, but there are also premium themes that offer more advanced capabilities. Premium themes can run anywhere from $39 to $139, depending on the features you want.

ThemeForest is a great place to find a premium theme. Here you will be able to find a wide variety of themes that can match just about any niche you are in. Many niches will have themes that are directly created for them!

There are several factors to consider when choosing a WooCommerce theme. It is extremely important to make sure that the theme that you choose is completely compatible with the plugin. In addition, make sure that updates are offered frequently so that when WooCommerce is updated the theme will remain completely compatible with it.

Here are some other tips for choosing a WooCommerce theme:

Fully responsive design
User-friendly
SEO optimized
Fast loading

These are just a few tips for choosing a theme for WooCommerce sites. Overall, simple is better as it will allow you site to load quickly and will provide users with easy access to the information they are looking for.

When considering an ecommerce site through WordPress most of the focus is on selling products. How can you add and manage products with WooCommerce? How can you add variations? How can stock be managed? While these are all great questions for selling products, what if you are selling services instead? Can you still use WooCommerce effectively in order to sell your services?

When selling services there are some features of the plugin that you will not need such as shipping capabilities. However, there are some of the other features of the plugin that can be useful such as sending invoices or managing orders. Here are some ways to determine the best features for your service-based business.

What is Being Sold?

Is your site only going to sell services or are you going to sell other things as well. For example, you may be offering freelance development work, but are you also going to sell eBooks, themes, and plugins? You may add on tools that can help your customers down the road. If you think that you may sell something besides your services it is a good idea to start out using WooCommerce, as it will allow you to easily integrate other products as you increase your offerings.

Bookings Extension

WooCommerce allows you to sell almost anything at all. There are many extensions available that will help you sell your services. One of the extensions is called Bookings, which allows you to be able sell your time or to sell appointments. This is a great option for a service-based business that offers coaching or installations and other products that require a set time commitment.

Payment Options

WooCommerce will provide you with different payment options as well. You will need to determine whether your customers will pay when the service is booked or if they are going to be provided with a quote in order to pay later. If you are selling products as well you will be able to manage your revenue using WooCommerce rather than creating an invoice system.

WooCommerce is a quality plugin with many different features that can be used for both product-based and service-based sites. The plugin is free should be considered for use by all ecommerce sites that are using the WordPress platform.

WooCommerce is one of the many free plugins offered for WordPress websites. It is an eCommerce platform that lets you transform your WordPress website into an online shop that offers physical products, digital downloads or even services.

Unlike some free plugins that do not deliver what they promise, WooCommerce is a user-friendly plugin that offers a ton of features. This is one of the reasons that many startups use WooCommerce. Here are some other reasons why WooCommerce is probably the best choice for your startup ecommerce site.

1. It’s Free

If you are just starting out chances are you do not have a very large budget. WooCommerce is free to use. There are some premium extensions that do cost money, but they are not necessary in order to get started and can be added on as you build up your business.

2. Seamless Integration

If you are using WordPress for your website, WooCommerce will integrate seamlessly with your site making it easy to get started right away. Because it is a WordPress plugin, you will recognize the dashboard.

3. Flexibility

WooCommerce provides you with a large amount of flexibility from the start. Also, you do not need to have a lot of technical knowledge in order to use the plugin. WooCommerce makes it easy to categorize, provide sale prices, and create independent attributes for each of your products. You will be able to sell virtual, physical, or downloadable products from your site.

4. Professional but Simple

While WooCommerce is free and user-friendly, this does not mean that it is not a professional solution for your ecommerce needs. You will be able to track orders, view any open or past orders, manage your inventory, provide coupon codes to customers, and so much more. This plugin provides you with everything needed to create a professional ecommerce website.

If you have a startup company and have been looking at ecommerce solutions chances are that you have found many different plugin options from which to choose. The problem with many of these plugins is that they are expensive and as a startup may not be within your budget. WooCommerce can be downloaded for free allowing you the option to get your business off the ground immediately. It is easy to use and provides a professional solution with no cost.

If you have been thinking about launching your own online store, one of the best choices to get started is WooCommerce. Paired with WordPress, the WooCommerce plugin is a flexible system that offers a number of tools that will allow you to sell your services and products the way you want to. Perhaps the best part is that WooCommerce is completely free to download and start using.

The question is how do you go from building a startup online storefront into running a business that is successful? The most important thing to focus on is the experience of the user so that shopping on your website is fast and easy. Here are some tips for making your online store a success.

1. Photos

It is important to use good photos of your products. This is what potential customers will browse through before deciding to make a purchase. Either take quality photos of your products or find good pictures through other sources.

2. Content

One of the biggest mistakes that online retailers make is that they do not focus on the content of the page. Having good pictures is simply not enough. It is important to make sure that the content on your website that uses a consistent voice in order to tell the story of your brand. Your about us page, blog, and help pages should all consistently tell your story.

Product descriptions should be vivid and explain what the product does and why the consumer would benefit from it.

3. Newsletters

Reaching out to your consumers regularly using a newsletter will help keep them informed about the products that you offer as well as what your company is currently doing. Email marketing is necessary if you want your business to be a success.

4. Keep it Simple

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when creating your website using WordPress and the WooCommerce plugin is that you need to keep it simple. It is easy to become overwhelmed with all of the different themes and templates that are available. Make sure that your website always remains user-friendly and loads fast. Many templates can bog down the site and make it slow, which can result in potential customers going to a competitor’s website. In most cases, simple is better as users want to be able to quickly find and purchase the products that they are looking for.

Since its creation in 2011 WooCommerce quickly became one of the best plugins for creating WordPress ecommerce websites. The reason it is so popular is because it is extremely easy to use and there are many useful extensions available that add to its functionality. Even though WooCommerce is very easy to use it is important to know what it can and cannot do in order to make sure that your site lives up to its potential. Here are some tips for getting started with WooCommerce.

Choosing a Theme

WooCommerce works well with almost any WordPress theme, but your store will benefit from using a theme that was customized especially for the plugin. For example, the standard theme for WooCommerce is not very mobile friendly so finding a theme that works across all devices will be essential for all the mobile traffic coming your way. In addition, there are several themes that provide customized features that enhance the built-in functionality of WooCommerce.

Payment and Shipping

For payment options WooCommerce only works with Simply Commerce and PayPal by default. It also accepts checks, COD, and bank transfers. If you do not have a large budget to work with then the standard PayPal offering may work fine. Consider adding a payment gateway to your site that allows credit cards to be used. This will look cleaner and provide a less confusing experience for your customers.

When it comes to shipping things can get complicated. The simplest way to set up shipping is by using a flat rate or a table rate. The problem with this is you may lose money when shipping to locations that are far away. You will need an extension in order to set up a table rate on WooCommerce. An extension tie in can be used with almost any of the shipping providers, but this can be a bit difficult to set up as the size and weight of the product must be considered.

When it comes to shipping, do what you are most comfortable with. Just make sure you are not gouging customers with high shipping costs or losing money by charging too little for shipping.

Once you have these things figured out, make sure that you check your site daily and keep it updated. This will ensure that WooCommerce is working for you in the best possible way.

One of the reasons WooCommerce is so popular is because it is easy to integrate and use. Because WooCommerce is easy to use many people make the mistake of thinking that once they install it, configure their store, and add their products, they are done. While this will get you started, there is a bit more to it.

One important thing to remember is that WooCommerce is a tool. It is a good tool and when used correctly can be extremely useful. As a business owner you will need to make sure that you keep your site running smoothly all the time. Here are some common mistakes that many ecommerce storeowners make.

Running Old Versions of WooCommerce

WooCommerce is updated on a regular basis. You should make sure you update your version as soon as you are notified. Security should be one of your top priorities and running an outdated version of the plugin could mean that you are putting your store and your customers at risk. One bad security breach could be the end of your business.

Not Using a Staging Site

A staging site is a separate replica of your live site that can be created to test plugins, themes, and custom code. This is one of the best ways to test out any changes that you are planning to make to your site. If you make a change on the staging site and it crashes will be able to figure out what the problem is without causing any downtime on your live site. The last thing you want to do is to make a change on your live site that causes all sorts of issues and not be able to get them fixed in a reasonable amount of time. A staging site allows you to test all changes first to see how they will work.

Not Running Backups

Another mistake that many WooCommerce users make is not using backups. Some people are running very successful online businesses, but do not have it backed up. A security incident could wipe out their entire business. There are many backup options available and there is simply no reason not to use these methods in order to keep your business secure.

These are just a few mistakes people make when using WooCommerce. If you are running an online business make sure that you are not making these mistakes.