How to Set Up WooCommerce in WordPress: Complete Beginner Guide

WooCommerce is the free plugin that turns WordPress into an online store, with products, cart, checkout, payments and orders. This guide walks through setting it up from scratch.

Before you start

• A WordPress site on decent hosting (see installing WordPress).
• An SSL certificate so the site runs on HTTPS (see installing SSL).
• A WooCommerce-compatible theme such as Astra, Kadence, Blocksy or Storefront.

Step 1: Install WooCommerce

Go to Plugins > Add New, search for WooCommerce, install and activate it. The setup wizard asks for your store address, industry and product types. Skip optional extensions you do not need.

Step 2: Add your first product

1. Go to Products > Add New.
2. Enter the name, a helpful description and short description.
3. In Product data, set the price, sale price, SKU and stock.
4. Add a main image and gallery images, and assign a category.
5. Use Variable product for sizes or colors.

Step 3: Payments

Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments. Enable a gateway for your country (for India, Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree are common; internationally, Stripe and PayPal), plus Cash on Delivery if needed. Use test mode first.

Step 4: Shipping

In Settings > Shipping, create zones (for example your state, the rest of the country, international) and add methods: flat rate, free shipping above an amount, or local pickup.

Step 5: Tax

Enable tax in Settings > General if you need to charge it, then add rates under the Tax tab. Ask your accountant which rates apply; Indian stores often configure GST rates by product class.

Step 6: Check store pages and emails

• Shop, Cart, Checkout and My Account pages exist under Settings > Advanced.
• Customise order emails in Settings > Emails and make sure they arrive (see fixing WordPress emails).
• Add privacy, refund, shipping and terms pages.

Step 7: Place a test order

Buy a product in test mode, check the order appears in WooCommerce > Orders, and confirm both customer and admin emails arrive. Then switch payments to live.

See a real example in building a jewellery store with WooCommerce.