How to Create an eCommerce Website with WordPress – Step by Step Guide

As more and more people are turning to the internet to do their shopping, building an ecommerce website is becoming a necessity for many businesses. But getting started can be daunting, especially if you don’t have any coding experience. Luckily, WordPress makes it easy to build a professional ecommerce website without any technical know-how. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Choose a Domain Name and Hosting

The first step in building your eCommerce website is to choose a domain name and hosting. Your domain name is how people will find your website, so make sure it’s easy to remember and type. When it comes to hosting, you’ll want to choose a reliable hosting provider that can handle all the traffic your website will get.

Step 2: Install WordPress

Once you’ve chosen a domain name and hosting, you’ll need to install WordPress. This is the core software that will power your website. Most hosting providers offer a one-click installation of WordPress, so this step should be relatively easy.

Step 3: Choose an Ecommerce Plugin

Now that WordPress is installed, you’ll need to choose an ecommerce plugin. There are plenty of plugins available, but the most popular ones are WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. Both of these plugins are free and easy to use.

Step 4: Set Up Your Payment Options

Once you’ve chosen an ecommerce plugin, you’ll need to set up your payment options. You’ll need to choose a payment processor, such as PayPal or Stripe, and then connect it to your plugin

Step 5: Design Your Website

Now that your payment options are set up, it’s time to design your website. You can use a pre-made theme or create your own custom design. If you’re not a web designer, there are plenty of resources available to help you create a professional-looking website.

Step 6: Add Products

Once your website is designed, you’ll need to add products. This is where your ecommerce plugin comes in handy. You can easily add products, descriptions, prices, and images using the WordPress admin dashboard.

Step 7: Test Your Website

Before you go live with your website, it’s important to test it first. Make sure all the links and payment options are working properly. You should also test the checkout process to make sure it’s smooth and secure.

Step 8: Launch Your Website

Once you’re sure everything is working properly, you’re ready to launch your website. Make sure to let your customers know when you’re ready for business, and don’t forget to promote your new website on social media and other channels.

 

Building an ecommerce website on WordPress is relatively easy, and you don’t need to be a coding genius to do it. With the right domain name, hosting, and ecommerce plugin, you can have a professional-looking website up and running in no time. Good luck!

What is the advantage of using Woocommerce?

Are you looking for a way to create an online store for your business? If so, then you should consider using WooCommerce, one of the most popular eCommerce solutions available today. With WooCommerce, you can easily create a robust online store that is tailored to meet the needs of your business. Here are some of the advantages of using WooCommerce.

1. Easy to Use: Setting up an online store with WooCommerce is much easier than other eCommerce solutions. You don’t need to be a web developer or have any technical knowledge to get started with WooCommerce. All you need is a WordPress website, and you can be ready to start selling online in no time.

2. Cost-Effective: WooCommerce is an open-source platform, which means it is free to download and use. There are some premium features that require payment, but for most basic needs, you can get by without spending any additional money.

3. Flexible: WooCommerce is incredibly flexible and can be used to create stores of any size. Whether you’re selling a few items or a large selection of products, WooCommerce can handle it. You can also customize it to match your store’s unique look and feel.

4. Secure: Security is a top priority for any eCommerce platform, and WooCommerce is no exception. It is regularly updated to ensure your store remains secure from potential threats. It also has several built-in security features such as two-factor authentication and secure payment gateways.

5. Mobile-Friendly: With the increasing number of people using their mobile devices to shop online, it’s important to make sure your store is optimized for mobile. WooCommerce is fully responsive and works with any device, making it easy for customers to browse and purchase your products on the go.

WooCommerce is an excellent choice for anyone looking to start an online store. It offers a simple and cost-effective way to get started, while also providing all the features you need to run a successful online business. With its flexibility, security, and mobile-friendliness, there’s no reason not to give it a try.

Thanks for using WordPress to create an eCommerce website.

How to Speed Up WordPress Site

WordPress speed optimization is the process of improving the performance of a WordPress website, by reducing the loading time of pages and improving the overall user experience. Speed optimization can be achieved by optimizing the code, images, and other elements of the website, as well as by using caching plugins and CDNs. This can help to reduce page loading times and ultimately improve the user experience.

1. Optimize Your Images

Optimizing your images is one of the most effective ways to speed up your WordPress site. Use an image optimization plugin to automatically optimize images when they’re uploaded.

2. Use a Caching Plugin

Caching plugins create a static version of your site and serve that to your visitors. This can help reduce the number of requests to your server and drastically speed up your site.

3. Reduce External Scripts

External scripts such as Google Analytics, Facebook, and other third-party services can slow down your site. If you’re not using them, remove them. If you are using them, consider using a plugin that can delay the loading of these scripts until after the page has loaded.

4. Minify Your CSS and JavaScript

Minification refers to the process of removing unnecessary characters from your code without changing its functionality. This can reduce the size of your files and improve your page load times.

5. Upgrade Your Web Hosting

If you’re using shared hosting, consider upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server. These types of web hosting offer more resources and can help improve your site’s speed.

6. Keep WordPress and Plugins Up to Date

Outdated versions of WordPress and plugins can have security vulnerabilities and can slow down your site. Make sure to keep everything up to date.

7. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A CDN stores a copy of your website on servers around the world. This can help reduce the distance between your server and your visitors, which can improve your site’s speed.

 

If your are not WordPress expert, you can hire a WordPress speed optimization service to help you optimize the speed of your website. This can be done by optimizing the code, minifying scripts, optimizing images, caching, and compressing the code. They can also help to improve the loading time of the website by adjusting the server settings.

WordPress and xmlrpc.php – why should you block it?

If you took a good look at the WordPress installation on your hosting, you have surely noticed that the xmlrpc.php file is visible in the website directory. This enigmatic name is associated with the XML-RPC protocol, which is used by WordPress to communicate with other external systems. Its mere presence is not as dangerous as its direct use.

What is the xmlrpc.php file for?

WordPress is CMS software that can be used not only after logging into the administration panel, but also using external applications. The xmlrpc.php file is responsible for enabling communication with and to the application using the XML-RPC function, which has been available in WordPress almost from the beginning of its existence. Over the years, it turned out that this feature creates potentially dangerous opportunities and makes it easier to hack into websites that use WordPress applications.

One of the options that used the XML-RPC feature was the site-specific pingbacks and trackbacks. If you are browsing your WordPress settings, you will surely come across these names in your Discussion settings.

What are the dangers of an active xmlrpc.php file?

The xmlrpc.php file and the XML-RPC function, if enabled, are a very easy morsel for a potential hacker. There are many possibilities of using this option, but the most common 2 uses of this vulnerability are:

  • Brute force attacks
  • DDOS attacks on the website

It is worth mentioning that XML-RPC is used in the current WordPress environment much less often than a few years ago. Nevertheless, its presence is a potential threat to the site itself.

How to block an xmlrpc.php file?

Disabling XML-RPC does not delete the file itself (which is not worth doing anyway), but most of all it blocks any potential traffic that may be accessing it. To protect your website, use the options provided by the web hosting and the WordPress application itself.

Block xmlrpc.php via WordPress

For this type of lock, use the functions.php file, which you can find in the AppearanceTheme File editor tab. To the functions already present (this file may also be empty), add the line:

add_filter('xmlrpc_enabled', '__return_false');

 

Lock xmlrpc.php file using .htaccess file on hosting

Thanks to the hosting functionality, you can also block such a file by editing the .htaccess file in the website directory. Add a line to the content of the file:

<files xmlrpc.php>
Order allow, deny
Deny from all
</files>

You do not know how to properly edit this file? Check out the example manual that explains how to use the .htaccess file on any WordPress hosting.

How to check if a WordPress website is using XML-RPC?

At first glance, you cannot tell if your website has XML-RPC enabled. To perform the test, go to the website at https://xmlrpc.eritreo.it/ and enter the full URL of your website.

If the test is successful (green tick) – the page uses this function and is unsecured. A red cross means that access to the script and functions is blocked.