The great thing about using WordPress is that it’s ridiculously easy to use. You can either chose from one of their many templates, or configure the PHP/HTML/CSS to make things entirely your own. And with so many plug-ins, it’s impossible not to configure it so that you can use something like RepricerExpress to get even further ahead. Here’s how to make it work for you.
Decide How Much Help You’ll Want
In the intro, we briefly mentioned you can either start your WordPress ecommerce site from scratch, or set things up a pre-existing template. If you want to go with the former, then you’ll need a bit of coding experience under your belt. WordPress uses the PHP language, but if you’re already versed in another language, whether it’s Ruby, JavaScript or something else, you shouldn’t have too hard of a time in making a go of things.
You can also use one of the templates they have and choose from a free (not recommended) or paid template (better quality and selection). And if you want to configure an existing template to really suit your needs, you can go behind the scenes and mess around with the code to add or remove things. Plus, if you know how to build your own plug-ins, you can make your WordPress ecommerce site completely indistinguishable from anyone else’s.
Choose How You Want Your Products to Appear
In the most basic sense, you can choose between a horizontal or vertical layout.
If we had to choose, RepricerExpress would probably select the vertical (aka ‘standard view’) layout because it’s clean, easy on the eyes and tends to follow the path of ecommerce giants, like Amazon and eBay. Why mess with a proven product? You know they’ve spent millions in testing to see which customers prefer, so why not take advantage of that?
Of course, it goes without saying that you should put in only amazing photos (and we’ve written plenty about that), but also offer a selection of them with a zoom feature, too. You’ll probably also want to put in videos that show and explain how your products work, even if you think they already have a fairly universal level of understanding. People like videos, so give them what they want.
Ooh, and we also can’t forget to stress the importance of writing good product descriptions. No matter which alignment you choose, look at awesome product descriptions and try to model yours after theirs. Oh yeah, and don’t forget about optimising the product titles so they stand out in terms of SEO!
Clearly Outline What You’re All About
Remember that part in Alice in Wonderland where she’s playing a game of croquet and the balls are made of hedgehogs and the mallets of live flamingoes? Alice can’t play croquet, let alone win, because the rules keep changing and she has no idea what’s what.
You want your WordPress ecommerce site to be the opposite of Alice’s croquet game by clearly outlining what your policies are. If you don’t allow returns, say so explicitly. If people have to spend a certain amount before they qualify for free shipping, also say so. And if you have sizing charts, certain methods of payment or any other snippets of info that would make a shopper’s life easier, put it all up there in an FAQ section.
Don’t Forget about the Niggly Little Details
When you’re assembling your WordPress ecommerce site, there are several other little things to keep in mind:
- Structure your permalinks in such a way that they add street cred (i.e. have the part that comes after the ‘.com’ read with actual words instead of numbers)
- Find some good CSS to distinguish your site from others so that it looks pretty and efficient (remember: keep is simple, sweetie)
- Put in store categories so shoppers can easily browse through your merchandise, and see if you can put in breadcrumbs in there, too
- Have a registration form in place that’s safe and secure (Mint.com is good for simplicity’s sake, while using OAuth is better if you know what you’re doing behind the scenes)
- Make the purchase process as quick, short and simple as possible
- Keep your contact info in a little banner at the top of the page so shoppers always know how to reach out to you (and get back to them quickly when they do.
Presto, you’ve just created your own WordPress ecommerce site…Now go forth and prosper!
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