In this piece, I will be discussing how you can start using WordPress as your eCommerce website. Whether you are intending to start an online store where you will be distributing tangible products for customers or for digital downloads, this is just for you. Just like most people who like things easy, I am quite sure you love WordPress. Then why should you not consider building your new eCommerce website by using WordPress?
In case you already have a WordPress website, it is very much possible for you to convert it to your eCommerce store as well. The only question that should be bothering you next is how you will be able to achieve this, and which way will be best for you.
After few hours of research and trials myself, I was able to find five good ways to do just this.
- PayPal Button: An easy solution for you is to employ the use of PayPal’s “buy now” button. You can include this button in a page, sidebar, or post. There are two methods for you to use which are the shortcode plugin and also direct from the PayPal site. Doing this is very much easy and you do not need the services of an expert to carry this out. You can carry out a very simple search on how you can make use of the “buy now” button on PayPal. By making use of a simple plugin, you can create a PayPal button using a short code and you do not even need to go to PayPal’s official website to get the button created.
- Premium e-commerce theme: There are a lot of premium e-commerce themes that are available in various marketplaces. Several theme marketplaces such as Woothemes, ThemeForest, and Mojothemes, are available for you to explore to buy your premium WordPress theme. Most of these premium themes come with an options panel where you can customize it to your need and taste. However, if you will need to add some extra features or want to make it particularly unique to your business, then you will need to hire the services of a WordPress developer.
- Custom e-commerce theme: If you are the kind of person that does not like seeing their templates everywhere and prefers a custom look and feel for your store to represent your brand and business, then there is a need for you to get a custom theme. Get the services of someone that will design and develop a custom e-commerce theme for your business.
- E-commerce API – This solution involves employing the cloud to help you sell your products everywhere which includes WordPress, Facebook, Tumblr. These services are provided by Shopify and Ecwid. You might want to consider this option if you have the financial capability to make use of it.
- Custom E-commerce plugin: Do you prefer even a more custom solution? Then you will need to hire the services of a developer to help you to code a fully customized e-commerce plugin and theme just for your website.
These 5 options are there for you to explore, so as to enable shop facilities on your WordPress website for your eCommerce site. You can also go through these 5 options to select which of them will suit your business and your budget.
