What is WooCommerce? Installation and Usage Guide

May 24, 2024
Content of the post
Content of the post

E-commerce websites are a fiercely competitive market. To enhance the customer experience, website owners will need the support of various plugins. WooCommerce is one of the popular and easy-to-use plugins that help users be more flexible in online buying and selling, and it's completely free to install. If you still don't understand what WooCommerce is, then let's find out in the article below!

 

What is WooCommerce? 

 What is Plugin Woocommerce? WooCommerce open-source plugin on WordPress that serves the purpose of swiftly and easily designing e-commerce websites, and it's available for free. This plugin encompasses all the essential functions needed for designing a website, including product inventory, shopping carts, payment processing, customer registration, promotions, and more.

 

Functions of the WooCommerce Plugin 

The WooCommerce plugin offers a wide range of useful features for websites, such as:

  • Creating product lists for users to choose from and search for product information, including product codes, models, names, quantities, sizes, etc.
  • Accurately and quickly calculating the total cost of a customer's order.
  • Supporting various payment methods, from cash on delivery to online options like PayPal, Cash, COD, and Credit Card.
  • Handling VAT and business taxes.
  • Providing templates and supporting the creation of user interfaces for businesses.
  • Confirming the order status, allows sellers and buyers to track the progress of orders (order confirmation, delivery, location of the product in the warehouse, successful payment, refund requests, etc.).

 

Detailed Installation and Usage Guide for WooCommerce 

CanhCam will guide you on how to install and manage product features with WooCommerce Products.

How to install and manage product features with WooCommerce Products
How to install and manage product features with WooCommerce Products

 

How to install WooCommerce? 

Step 1: Access the WordPress Admin interface using your username and password at a URL 

Step 2: Click on the "Plugin" option on the left side of the screen's menu, then click "Add New."

Step 3: Enter the keyword "WooCommerce" in the search bar within the software.

Step 4: The system will return search results; click to select the WooCommerce Plugin and press the "Install Now" button to install the program. Once the installation is complete, click "Active" to make it operational.

Step 5: After the installation is complete, you will receive a welcome message from WooCommerce. Press the "Let's Go" button to proceed to the step of integrating the plugin into your website.

Step 6: The system will sequentially display the basic items you need to complete before using WooCommerce:

Setting up pages: At this point, WooCommerce will send a notification that it will create the main pages (checkout, shop, cart, and my account). Simply scroll through and press the "Continue" button.

Store location: Here, users need to configure information about the store's location, currency unit, currency type, order weight, and product dimensions, among other things. Once completed, continue by pressing "Continue."

Shipping and Tax: In this section, you will be allowed to configure settings for shipping and taxes. Press the "Continue" button when finished.

Payment: You can choose the payment methods for orders in this section. Once you've set them up, continue.

Step 7: After all the above items have been set up, click the "Create your first product" button to start using WooCommerce.

Using WooCommerce Product - Product Management guide 

How to use WooCommerce to manage your products
How to use WooCommerce to manage your products

 

The process of adding products in WooCommerce is not overly complex; it's simpler than posting a blog on the web. To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1: In the Admin interface, go to WooCommerce -> Products -> Add New.

Step 2: The system will display a page for you to enter product information. On this page, you can complete some basic items, including:

  • Product name: The name of the product.
  • Product description: Providing specific information and high-quality product images.
  • Product data: Here, you can format the type of product. If you're just starting, it's best to choose "Simple Product." Later, as you become more proficient, you can customize options like "Downloadable, External, Grouped, Virtual, Variable..."
  • Product short description: A brief, concise description of the product.
  • Product Categories: Categorize the product for easier management and search.
  • Product Image: The image on the product's cover page.

Step 3: After completing the above items, press the "Publish/Update" button to upload the product to the web.

To manage your products, click on All Products in the left-side menu bar. Here, you can delete, edit, or duplicate products as needed.

 

Benefits of Using WooCommerce 

WooCommerce was introduced in 2011 and has received a lot of positive feedback from customers. It remains popular to this day due to the following benefits:

  • Completely free to use: WooCommerce is an open-source plugin and doesn't require any installation fees on WordPress.
  • Simple installation and usage: Users can efficiently set up WooCommerce with just one click within the WordPress plugin. This step doesn't require high technical expertise.
  • Compatibility with Litespeed Cache for significantly improved website speed.
  • High-security capabilities: WooCommerce ensures the safety of user data and information.
  • Continuous feature updates and improvements by developers.
  • Extensive template library providing a vast selection of user-friendly interfaces for designing e-commerce websites to attract customers.
  • Allows users to freely customize features and extensions for more effective website management according to user preferences.
Using WooCommerce and its benefits
Using WooCommerce and its benefits

Some Effective optimization methods for WooCommerce 

Using WooCommerce Multilingual 

This is a plugin that CanhCam highly recommends for our customers. This plugin is an excellent tool for reaching potential customers all around the world.

This plugin provides translation features on your website, allowing easy language switching. Additionally, WooCommerce Multilingual can send emails to customers and administrators in their native language.

Using Beeketing Plugin Features 

The Beeketing plugin is an essential tool for supporting Marketing Automation. It also helps increase new customer numbers and encourages first-time buyers to complete their purchases.

Furthermore, you can use the Beeketing plugin to launch promotional programs to expedite the payment of pending customer orders. You can also apply Beeketing to offer special incentives to customers who follow your company's brand on social media or have registered their email.

Using Newsletters and Email 

Newsletters and Email are ideal tools for promoting products. When you have customer data, send them discount codes through messages, newsletters, and email. Discount vouchers and attractive promotions will leave a strong impression on your business's products. Customers will reap the benefits and seize the opportunity to purchase at a lower price from the emails you send. The conversion rate for shopping actions through newsletters and email for online products will be more effective.

Effects of YITH WooCommerce Wish Wishlist 

The function of YITH WooCommerce Wish Wishlist is to save the favourite products that customers have visited. You can use this plugin for free. Users will see the products they want to purchase displayed again. They can also easily share these lists on their social media. This is done to create momentum to encourage consumers to make purchases more quickly.

Creating Advertising Videos 

The feature of creating marketing videos or advertisements is one of the outstanding utilities that deliver high business efficiency. Currently, websites, YouTube, and social media platforms all embed videos to promote products. You only need to prepare interesting, unique, and engaging videos that are 30 to 50 seconds long to advertise to customers.

 

Evaluating WooCommerce compared to Shopify 

Differences between Shopify and WooCommerce
Differences between Shopify and WooCommerce

 

WooCommerce and Shopify are two highly rated extensions. So which extension should you use? Refer to the detailed comparison of Shopify and WooCommerce below:

  • Cost: While WooCommerce is free to install, Shopify has service fees starting at $29 per month. Because Shopify offers more outstanding features, its costs will be higher.
  • Applicability: WooCommerce is more complex and harder to install compared to Shopify. Installing WooCommerce extensions can be time-consuming. However, based on CanhCam's guidance, the steps are not too difficult, and this open-source extension can be customized according to your preferences.
  • Payment methods: Shopify offers a wider range of payment methods. If you choose Shopify with a price of $299 per month, withdrawal and payment costs will be significantly lower. WooCommerce effectively supports payments through PayPal and Stripe. Many other popular payment gateways can also be applied to this extension. WooCommerce is suitable for e-commerce websites that focus on payment methods.
  • Scalability and development capabilities: Shopify and WooCommerce are equally flexible with various packages.
  • SEO optimization support: WooCommerce is rated higher than Shopify.

 

Conclusion

The article on CanhCam has explained the concept of "What is WooCommerce." Hopefully, this article has helped you better understand WooCommerce and put it into practice. Stay tuned for more informative articles on design and technology.

Frequently asked questions
01. What is the definition of web design?
02. What do you need to effectively prepare for a website design?
03. What is SEO-friendly web design?
04. How is a professional and high-end website design?
05. How much does it cost to design a website at CanhCam?
06. Is there a contract for website design service?
Holding a leadership role in the company, I aspire to fulfill the mission of bringing bespoke website solutions to empower businesses to thrive in the digital age, fostering both operational effectiveness and competitive advantage, ultimately contributing to sustainble business growth and success.
Mr Hua Thien Vuong
Co-Founder & CEO