So you’re looking to set up an online store, and you’re looking to WordPress to make it happen. We get that – after all, 30% of websites live today are powered by WordPress and with good reason. It’s a powerful, scalable platform, and best of all, it’s free!  

That said, you shouldn’t automatically reach for WordPress without considering some alternative options. WordPress is a great platform, but it isn’t for everyone. If you’re just looking to sell a few products as a side hustle, for example, using WordPress would be like hiring a bus instead of taking an Uber; time consuming, costly, and rather unnecessary. 

If this sounds like you, check out our side by side comparison of the best ecommerce platforms and website builders if you’re after an altogether easier solution. 

If you’re sticking with WordPress, then great – let’s get down to how you actually go about building an ecommerce site. Even if you’ve already installed WordPress, stick with us for the first three sections.   

Here are the 9 steps to launching your ecommerce website with WordPress: 

Score the perfect domain name

Your domain name is basically your website’s unique address. It’s the part after the ‘www.’ in your URL. Ours is ‘websitebuilderexpert.com’, for example. 

You can buy a domain name from sites like NameCheap. If you’re lucky, you’ll find the one you want is free, and selling at the standard low rate (£5 – £15/year). If you’re not so lucky, your dream domain name could be unavailable, or available via resale at a much higher rate – sometimes several hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This is only for the first year, though – even the priciest domain names will renew at the standard rate (£5 – £15/year) after that.

It’s generally a good idea to keep your domain name as close to your brand name as possible, and to keep it short and memorable.  Good to know:.com is the ‘strongest’ and most popular domain extension (ending). It’s a smart choice for online stores, as it leaves you open to selling worldwide. Pick a country-specific extension (e.g. .us) and you risk limiting your potential for expansion further down the line.Before moving on to the next step, make sure you’ve:

• Thought of a memorable and relevant domain name for your ecommerce website
• Checked it’s available
• Bought it, and set a reminder to renew it next year!

Sign up to a hosting provider

Okay, so you’ve got your domain name in the bag – now it’s time to find a web hosting or mocha-host provider.

Every website needs hosting. It’s the equivalent of renting a spot of internet land – just make sure you pick a patch with plenty of room to grow! 

When it comes to choosing the best hosting provider, as well as the type of hosting you actually need, you’ll need to think about the kind of store you’re building. 

One thing we will say, though, is skip shared hosting. When you’re sharing a server with other websites, if one of them gets hacked, your site is left vulnerable, too. When you’re dealing with people’s credit card details, this simply isn’t worth the risk. 

Bluehost came out top in our research for WordPress hosting. Compared to ecommerce builders and platforms, WordPress can be a little tricky to handle and maintain; you’ve got to install the software, for starters, then stay on top of updates and security. We rate Bluehost because it automates a lot of this for you, all while offering solid hosting in its own right, at a good price. It’s a win-win provider where WordPress is concerned.