For 13 years I have been going to the smaller and local WordCamps and when the first flagship WCUS started, I jumped on the opportunity and have been lucky enough to attend all of them so far.
Last year, I attended my first WCEU which of course was far from their first. It was an amazing event and even pushed us to move to Porto, which we are doing end of March.
Then comes WCAsia
Judy and I were excited that we would be able to attend the very first WCAsia. Neither of us had been to any part of Asia, so Bangkok was soon to be our first.Â
Now with all that comes for anyone attending a WordCamp, it can be anything from intimidating, to exciting, or both. I did not know what to expect from this very first flagship event. I knew that it would be good, but I didn’t know I would be blown away.
The event itself
The event was held on the top floor of what’s called Iconsiam. A gigantic mall with a conference center.
And everything about the organization of the event was top notch. The sponsor area was strategically placed. And I personally experienced a volunteer approaching me a few times and asking how I was doing and if they could help with anything. It was amazing.
Contributor day
This was my second contributor day. And it did not disappoint. I spent my time with the Community team and we had several very good discussions. Of course a lot of time was put into the day-long event from both organizers and volunteers. And I had to get a shot of all the team table leads from around the world.
This was just how big contributor day was.
Two days of WordCamp Asia
The minute I walked in that morning and headed straight for the expo area, this is what I saw. It was one of the most busy WordCamps I had ever been to, at least from this perspective. And the vibe in the air is what I believe energized everyone.
The community, the people
There is no single word to describe all the new and old friends that I met with. There were hugs, fist bumps, handshakes, and a lot of conversation. I had the chance to meet people who had literally been reading or listening to my stuff for over a decade. It was incredible humbling.
Although I don’t have these tagged, here is are bunch of selfies and other pics that were taken by others and myself.
Three things really stood out to me
As I mentioned earlier, this was likely the best WordCamp I have been to. If asked, I would have to say that there are three words that come to mind if I was to describe it as a whole.
The energy
I have never been to a WordCamp that had as much energy as I experienced here. I’m sure it was a combination of it finally happening for the Asian community (the first time it was cancelled due to covid), the pride they felt and the fact that so many of the attendees were experiencing their very first WordCamp of any size.
Everyone seemed hungry for community and education. Even the sponsors who frequent many WordCamps, the teams they brought were energized and kept very busy. There was a vibe of this energy with everyone you met.
I know that both my brand BobWP and Do the Woo is very popular in that part of the world. But until you are able to talk, shake hands or hug, you just don’t know. I met strangers and people who I have been connected with online for a decade or more. I was in what felt like hundreds of selfies with friends and new friends. The energy there was contagious and even by day two, it did not let up till closer to the end of the day.
The graciousness
This is probably the most powerful word that stuck with us during our entire stay, both at the event and beyond. We felt welcomed wherever we went. The kindness and consideration of each individual we had contact with and I had contact with at the event, was something that added to the energy I previously talked about.
Culturally, between the greeting with a bow and hands held together, and those who held their hands over their hearts as they approached you, other parts of the world could learn from those warm and loving gestures and how they made us feel each and every time.
The empathy
Empathy has always been a huge part of my life, and I wish more people would naturally feel it in all circumstances.
As I mentioned previously, a lot of the attendees where first time WordCampers. Because of the nature of our business, many are introverts and that first event experience can be overwhelming. But it was different. There was a natural born vibe of empathy coming from everyone.
The vendors talking to community members. People meeting each other for the first time. Questions asked and answered. I would often catch pieces of conversation near me, and more times than not there was a tone of empathy. A tone that said we are the community and here to help each other, no matter who you are, what skill level you have or where you come from. The glass was half full, if not brimming over.
Of course all the other stuff
There was so much to the event, but at the same time the entire experience.
Having a little fun and a good laugh
There is nothing better than a good laugh. You may or may not know Nathan Wrigley from WPBuilds. A great friend of mine and a treasure to the WordPress community. Unfortunately Nathan could not make it, so our friend Mark Westguard from WS Form created a “Nathan head”. And it started popping around here and there at WCAsia. Make sure and click on the images so you can easily find “Where’s Nathan?”
Nom nom
The food was incredible. I’m not a foodie as much as many who travel, but the tastes I experienced are really beyond words. I am still deciding my favorites between Thai, Indian and Japanese. Unfortunately, I am terrible when it comes to taking pictures of our food. In fact, I likely got more from the food served on our flights than at the event.
There was this amazing Espresso Martini that we had, in some kind of a chalice at a restaurant in a local marketplace.
And the best experience I had was a cup of Spicy Coconut Soup with Scallops at a restaurant in the Iconsiam. Unfortunately I didn’t think to take a picture until I was half-finished. Trust me, the untouched presentation was pretty impressive. The taste, out of this world.
Bangkok
And then there was the host city. As mentioned, this was the first time Judy and I have been in Asia. The city was interesting and amazing at the same time. The weather was another thing. We spent an extra three days and found we could spend very little time outside because of the heat and humidity. Average days temp while while there were around 94°F / 34°C. We thought we would either melt away or simple pass out. But between the hotel, a boat ride down the river and a few other places, I do have a few shots to share with you.
What have I left out?
Likely a lot. But still recovering from jet lag and a good chunk of this post was written on the flight back.
If we connected at WCAsia, you are now a big part of one of my favorites memories since using WordPress.
And if you were an organizer, volunteer or sponsor this year, a big thanks and hug for one amazing event. You should be proud of what you did and the community that you brought together.
An innovative and trendy solution of sharing your contact information, doup. (it rhymes with “soapâ€), aims to save the planet with a convenient way of connecting people. But when user data is the core of your business, you need secure and reliable hosting that can keep up.
Business cards are a product ripe for innovation. Low-tech and resource-intensive, taking those easily-lost pieces of paper online just makes sense. That was Mantas Michalauskas’s reasoning when he cofounded doup., which represents a new era of business cards.
Unlike some other digital business cards, doup. doesn’t require the user to download an app and allows everyone with an internet connection to see your contact details. This innovative system found its home on Hostinger, the ideal hosting provider to meet doup.’s high demands.
A Mantas on a Mission
For co-founder and COO Mantas, entrepreneurship is in his blood. His superpower is to take simple solutions and make them more attractive and convenient to users. The key is listening to users’ needs and translating them into an indispensable product.
Mantas initially put his marketing degree to work as a Marketing Manager for various brands before embarking on his own venture. His company, doup., was initially founded as a 3D design agency long before the idea of business cards was on the table.
After finding success in Lithuania with a different side project – a fundraising platform called Contribee – Mantas and his colleagues put doup. on the back burner while the designers found other jobs. Mantas was about to close doup. when a colleague from previous projects suggested the idea of selling business cards.
Mantas was intrigued, and together they started to think about what they could offer to their clients and how they could differentiate themselves from the competition.
Why Business Cards?
The need for business cards has remained in the digital age, and companies are still actively using them. While face-to-face meetings were less common during the lockdowns, now they’re back, with people actively sharing their contacts and ordering business cards.
The aim of doup. is to replace an outdated product with an alternative that saves the company money, is sustainable, and extends the possibilities of contact sharing. People can save their contacts on the phone, eliminating the risk of losing them and allowing synchronization and edits at any time.
“The idea itself came to my colleague because of the sustainability aspect,†explains Mantas. “As the owner of another company, he was faced with a high turnover of employees, which meant that he had to change their business cards very frequently. That’s when he started looking for potential solutions.â€
Digital business cards have been gaining traction over the past decade as people increasingly recognize the drawbacks of relying on physical, printed cards. By digitizing the product, fewer natural materials are used, the costs are lower, and the user has more flexibility when changing their details.
“doup. is not an innovation that we exclusively invented.†Mantas says, “There certainly are alternatives, but none have caught on in the Lithuanian market and the surrounding countries. We saw a niche, realized that we could offer a more practical and better product, and decided to seize the opportunity.”
The company created a platform, which was launched at the end of 2021, and began a communication campaign with influencers that winter.
This showed positive results, and sales immediately started to increase. It was an indication that with doup. they could achieve something special.
Behind the Curtain of doup.
While the idea behind digital business cards may not be a novel one, what doup. has innovated is the design of its system.
A doup. customer buys the physical card product and pays a one-off fee. This gives them free access to the online platform. They can edit their account and choose what to display on their profile, whether it’s personal and contact information, page links, social network accounts, documents, photos, or videos.
All this is available to users through a single product purchase and without the need for an app download. There are then several options for sharing contacts. All doup. products are equipped with an NFC chip, so when you touch your phone with the card, an account opens on your phone. There are also QR codes that can be shared with others.
“We are developing and improving the product daily, expanding the range and improving the functionality,†Mantas says. “We have recently launched a Pro version.”
If you prefer to use an app, doup. has you covered, too. The company recently launched an app that allows you to edit all your contacts. Even if you leave the physical product at home, you can open the app anytime and show the QR code. You can also create unique links to your profile that can be put on a social media description or sent to other people via email or Messenger.
The broad number of options, flexibility, and focus on the eastern European market means that doup. has been attracting a lot of interest from customers and investors alike.
A Word-of-Mouth Success
A promotional campaign with influencers helped to kick doup.’s success off strongly. “Just posting a visual on Facebook is not enough to sell our product effectively,†explains Mantas. “People need to see how the connection between the card and the phone works to understand how cool it is and that they actually need it.â€
While needing customers to see the product at work to understand its value may seem like a drawback, once a few doup. products were out in the world, it became a strength. Word-of-mouth marketing would become one of the most effective sales tools for the company.
“There was a period from February to April or May when we did absolutely no marketing campaigns because we had a limited budget, and it was mainly spent on improving the platform, developing the app, and launching new features,†says Mantas. “Sales did not stop at all. Every customer brings us at least one additional customer because they are satisfied and truly use our product.â€
Impressed by the company’s success so far, a Maltese company is investing almost €200,000 in doup. This investment will fund an expansion, create new jobs, and allow doup. to open a branch in Malta to facilitate access to southern Europe.
“We have great ambitions and goals for a technological solution that will take doup. to the next level. I won’t reveal too much yet, but it’s coming soon,” Mantas smiles.
How Reliable Hosting Makes doup. Possible
At the core of doup. is its website and the system inside. Naturally, then, the company’s success rests on reliable hosting that allows the team to securely collect users’ data while enjoying the flexibility to create and innovate.
With these specific needs in mind, Mantas chose to turn to Hostinger, on whose servers all doup. customer contacts are hosted.
“When I choose a service, I always make sure it has good support. We believe that providing excellent customer support is the number one aspect. Hostinger’s 24/7 support was something that stood out about this company from the very first days.”
The developers at doup. find that Hostinger offers the opportunity to bring their concepts to life online, whether it’s NFC business cards, eCommerce, or product usability. “We use the Cloud Professional hosting plan offered by Hostinger. It allows us to operate efficiently and expand our ideas. The main features we use are File Manager, MySQL databases with phpMyAdmin management, cron jobs, FTP accounts, and email accounts.â€
With so much sensitive user data being collected, it’s crucial that security be tight. That’s taken care of – doup.’s hosting plan includes free SSL certificates for data encryption, dedicated resources, IP addresses, and advanced measures to protect against DDoS attacks.
It’s important to Mantas that security doesn’t get in the way of service and collaboration. “I was just saying to a colleague that it’s possible to give the freelancers or developers who work on the app separate access to the hosting account. This way, they could implement any updates needed for the app, but at the same time, they wouldn’t have access to our customers’ sensitive information.â€
Mantas says, “Such flexibility is crucial for a company like ours.” This is why Hostinger remains dedicated to staying flexible as well as functional.
I have always found this transition a bit odd and all of the anticipation around it. How so many of us have this cut off that is dictated by a day of the year. Within 24 hours a new future is on the horizon.
On the other hand it’s nice to have a beginning and end, no matter how enigmatic is may be.
A look back
If you have followed me for more than a year, you know I am not one to write posts on the reflection of the past year. There’s something in me that is always living for the moment and looking at what’s to come.
Sure, I reflect on things. Think about moments in the past as well as how they may affect the future. But sorry to say, I never these down.
If you have been connected with me over the last 12 months you know the story.
If not, you likely are more interested in what is to come vs. what happened the past.
The next 12 months
Well, where do I start? Or should I? On the business side at Do the Woo there is a lot going on this year. Of course, those will be announced in bits and pieces. I have a tendency to organically shift and shape things as the days past. So what I may say today about three months from now, well, let’s just keep that bundled for three months from now.
What if I was to say this coming year is an exciting one? Well, I think a lot of people will express themselves that way. And often it’s just the fact that it is a new year.
But I can truly say that from the depths of my soul. Our relocation coming up to Porto, Portugal is not only exciting, but a life-changer. Moving to a new country, assimilating ourselves into a new culture, I cannot even begin to share with you the excitement we are feeling at this stage in our lives. But rest assure, you can follow all of that over on my Porto blog.
So as much as you may have anticipated a long post about what has been and what will be, sorry to disappoint you.
But I do want to say that if you have read this, I appreciate you as a reader. I hope you are looking forward to this next year as much as we are.
I have purposely chosen to not revisit the actual message delivered at State of the Word. There has been a lot already said and I don’t really need to add to that pile. In fact, I have listed a few posts at the end here that will give you that overview.
I arrived in New York City late Tuesday evening. The SOTW was not beginning till noonish on Thursday. But I was pretty sure Wednesday would be my “hang out with friends and community day”. Of course I was not disappointed.
Community is where community goes
Mid-morning on Wednesday, I ran into Michelle Frechette and her friend Julia in the hotel lobby. Hungry and in need of caffeine, I joined them for a bit of time at Starbucks. Returning to the hotel, we ran into Rich Tabor, and set a time to find a restaurant and have lunch. The four of us ended up at an Italian place, which would be the first of two that day.
Then came a break before I met Robert Jacobi, Rich Tabor at Nancy’s Whiskey Bar across the street. Where eventually we were joined by Robbie Adair and Bud Kraus. Although we didn’t get a group shot then, Robert did grab a shot of Rich and myself.
Do the Woo Dinner at State of the Word 2023 with Michelle Frechette, Allie Nimmons, Bud Kraus, Nev Harris, Aaron Campbell, Rich Tabor, Timothy Jacobs, BobWP, Robbie Adair, Julie and Ryan Marks.
Following that feast, a few of us ended up at the Rockefeller Center.
Michelle, Nev, Ryan, Julia, Robbie and BobWP
And that was the day of true community. Friends coming together and just simply having a great time.
State of the Word Day
Of course the day of the State of the Word has it’s fair share of community. From a casual get together at a cafe beforehand, to the event itself and rounding that off with a small dinner with Robert Jacobi, Robbie Adair and Nev Harris.
The entire day, day two, filled with community. Old and new friends.
Conversations at SOTW
I cannot possibly share with you the conversations I had at the event, primarily because I had too many and cannot recall each one. But a couple of instances stick in my mind.
First, I met Zandy Ring, COO at Tumblr. This was not only a fun conversation but also very timely as I dive into the Tumblr world as BobWP. It’s been an interesting platform to sort out. And the insights that Zandy shared with me confirmed I was doing the right thing by taking my time and finding my groove there.
Secondly, I had a chance to chat with Matt Mullenweg a couple of times. The best thing about the SOTW event if Matt is in his element there. The smaller crowd gives it a much more relaxed feeling and I sense that he is truly enjoying himself.
And the cool thing. There would never be the opportunity where I would be able to share with him the new stuff we are doing over at Do the Woo in the new year. But this event gave me that chance. And even better, he loved what we were going to be doing.
Now with both of these conversations, I was fortunately to be given the opportunity to have them. But I did for two simple reasons.
The WordPress community is incredible, no matter who you meet
I am extremely fortunate to have such amazing sponsors for Do the Woo that made it possible for me to represent DTW at the event.
Learn more about the State of the Word
Matt’s SOTW was great and there was some really cool stuff he shared. But I am not into reinventing the wheel, so here are a few options for you to catch up with it if you haven’t already.
Interestingly enough, since I have been thinking of where to go from here with the site, primarily the building of the site, I was looking at different themes and options. You know, that rabbit hole. Then something occurred to me. I have yet to really take the time to experience blocks and the site editor from scratch.
With Do the Woo, I hired someone to do the redesign, but in a way, I feel like I lost touch, literally, physically, with the new way to build sites with WordPress.
So I have decided I am starting with the Twenty Twenty-Three theme and going from there.
What will transpire?
That is a good question, as I literally have no idea. The blog is here. And that is now the foundation. What is built around this will come to me day by day, or by trial and error. I’ll build it out live as I continue to post on this blog.
You know, laying things out. Exploring blocks. Choosing colors and type. Adding or not adding plugins. The typical WordPress build.
If you have landed on this site, you will notice that I have yet to work on the rebrand. But in the meantime, I learned something about myself.
I cannot create a new site, or redesign a site of my own without it having a blog. I can’t really explain why. It’s like some feverish moment I have where I feel that the site is naked. Lacking substance. Like peanut butter without jelly. Well, maybe not exactly like that.
In any case, in my delirium, I feel I must do what needs to be done. And damned the fact that I haven’t even launched this site yet.
With all the advances in web and technology, and social media beckoning us in all directions, I fall back on a blog. It’s like something that needs to be here. I have no promises of what it will hold. Which is okay, since I have always have something on my mind to write about.
So I have done it. Published the first post here. In fact, I will likely start blogging here before I even finish the site. Crazy huh?
Whether you sell physical products, digital items, services, bookings, or courses, an online store can be an incredible opportunity to reach your target audience. It helps you reach people where they already spend their time, even if they’re always on the go. And it allows you to share the benefits and strengths of your products in the best way possible.
But how do you get started selling online? And what tools do you need to build the best ecommerce store?
Let’s take a look at WooCommerce, a powerful ecommerce platform. We’ll learn what it is, how businesses use it to run their stores, and the steps you can take to get started.
What is WooCommerce in WordPress?
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that includes all of the functionality you need for an online store — product templates, cart and checkout functionality, coupon codes, payment processor integrations, shipping tools, and more. It’s built and supported by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, so you can trust that it integrates seamlessly with your site and can rely upon excellent support and high-quality code.
While WooCommerce itself includes everything that many stores will need, you can also choose from a vast library of extensions that offer extra functionality. Feature a wide variety of product types like memberships and subscriptions, integrate with marketing or accounting tools, create detailed product configurators, and more!
What is WooCommerce used for?
One of the biggest benefits of WooCommerce is its endless flexibility. You can create any kind of ecommerce store you’d like! Let’s take a look at a few ways you can use WooCommerce and WordPress.
1. An ecommerce store for physical and digital products
Out of the box, WooCommerce includes functionality to sell both physical and digital products. You can list your items, accept payments, design your storefront, host sales and offer discounts, market your products across a variety of platforms, and more.
If you sell physical products, you can charge for shipping based on factors like weight, size, and product type. If you sell digital products, you can deliver them to customers via email and make them downloadable from an account right on your site.
Orange Amps chose WooCommerce to sell their merchandise — like amp accessories, t-shirts, and gig bags — and ship to customers around the world. Shoppers can select a product, choose from options like size and amp model, then pick from multiple shipping speeds and payment methods when checking out.
TipoType uses the same platform, but sells digital fonts. When someone checks out, they can select the font they’d like, choose a license type, then easily download the fonts after paying.
2. A fully-customizable online marketplace
Want to run a multi-vendor marketplace similar to Etsy? You can, with WooCommerce and the Product Vendors extension.
Pick a niche or area of focus, then allow artisans to apply for your marketplace. Set commission rates, allow vendors to manage their products, quickly view sales reports, and pay vendors on a schedule of your choosing. The possibilities here are endless!
Dumpster Market is a collection of dumpster rental companies located across the U.S. Site visitors enter their location, choose the size dumpster they want, and can see a list of vendors in their area, along with information about each one.
Jinja Gift is an online gift shop chock full of handmade items from Uganda. Vendors all apply through a registration form on the website, then sell everything from energy bars and stuffed animals to candles and board games. Those products are then shipped to customers around the world.
If you’re a wholesaler, you can also use WooCommerce to easily sell to your retailers instead of manually managing each and every account. This keeps customers happy, helps you grow, and even saves you time!
Simply add the Wholesale for WooCommerce extension to unlock features like special wholesale pricing, minimum order quantities, wholesale roles, visibility settings, and more. You can either sell just wholesale products, or list your retail products alongside them with different rates.
There are also other extensions you can use to sell wholesale products, like B2B for WooCommerce. This offers similar functionality, like wholesale registration forms, “get a quote†buttons, the ability to hide products based on user role, customer-specific pricing, and more.
Porta Pro Chem, a portable restroom product distributor, uses this extension on their B2B wholesale store. Some of their products can be ordered by anyone, while others are only available to wholesale customers, requiring new visitors to request a quote instead. They also have special pricing and shipping rules for each wholesale client.
Subscriptions are a powerful way to generate recurring revenue. Help loyal customers restock on the products they use over and over, sell themed subscription boxes, or charge monthly for your services — there are a lot of great options!
You can do this with the WooCommerce Subscriptions extension. This versatile tool sets up automatic recurring payments, on a variety of schedules — yearly, quarterly, monthly, etc. Customers can manage their own plans, upgrading, downgrading, or canceling without having to connect with your service team. You can also access detailed reports, send renewal emails to subscribers, and more.
Brodo offers subscriptions of their delicious, nutritious bone broth. Customers can choose from pre-built bundles or build their own combination of broth flavors, then opt to get their order just once, every two weeks, or every month. Then they can easily edit their own subscription, change the frequency, skip an order, or cancel, saving Brodo customer service time and headaches.
4. A donation solution for nonprofit organizations
You don’t even need to sell products or services to benefit from WooCommerce. Nonprofits can also use it to collect donations to support their cause. And, if they do sell merchandise, too, they can do so on the same site.
The Donation for WooCommerce extension allows you to accept both one-time and recurring donations, show how close you are to meeting your goals, and even allow customers to round up their order total to contribute. Or you can use the Name Your Price extension to let site visitors donate whatever amount they’d like.
Supporters of Priority One Worldwide, for example, can donate the amount they’d like one time or on a monthly basis. They can also choose a specific area to support, such as Haiti or Mexico.
Of course, restaurants want to make it as easy as possible for diners to order food. Adding an online ordering system to your website helps hungry visitors select food for pickup or delivery no matter where they are, without having to call. You get to avoid the hefty fees that come with third-party ordering apps and can even sell merchandise — seasonings, sauces, shirts — alongside your food.
The Restaurant for WooCommerce extension makes this simple, letting you quickly create a restaurant menu, add delivery options, display hours, and more.
It also works seamlessly with other extensions, so you can include add-ons (sauces, upgraded sides, etc.), create customizable meals, or design a food-hall-style marketplace.
7. An online learning system
Online courses are a great way to create relatively passive income and share your knowledge with the world. Whether you’re an expert on knitting, woodworking, accounting, cooking, or travel, there’s someone out there who wants to hear what you have to say.
And with WooCommerce and Sensei LMS Pro, you can create courses full of helpful information, media, and quizzes, then sell access to them on your website. Offer standalone classes, certification programs, or subscriptions to a course library, then let students consume your content at their own pace. You can grade their work, communicate with them one-on-one, and even offer completion certificates.
AvantageLearn.com, for example, sells courses that prepare students for their academic exams. The courses include video lessons, practice quizzes, and downloadable worksheets.
8. A membership program
With WooCommerce, you can also sell membership programs online. Customers can pay a one-time fee or subscribe to get regular access to your products. And you can include a huge variety of perks in your program — videos, templates, music, discounts, free shipping, or special products.
PHLEARN created a membership program for design professionals. They can choose to pay monthly or yearly, then get access to a library of software tutorials, presets, brushes, and more. Plus they benefit from Photoshop support just for members.
9. A hub for your services
You don’t just have to sell physical or digital products to use WooCommerce. Service-based businesses can benefit, too!
You might accept online payments for your services, whether they’re one-time or subscription-based, in a way that’s easy for all of your clients. You could charge for service upgrades, book appointments, create a client portal, offer digital guides and manuals, and more.
YourBenefitStore.com offers insurance services, allowing clients to select between a variety of plans based on their needs. This creates a perfectly seamless system and reduces paperwork and phone calls for the company’s team.
If you sell accommodations, excursions, in-person classes, or even virtual consultations, you can use WooCommerce for bookings. Customers can book appointments, rentals, or reservations directly on your site, choosing between the time slots you make available.
You can offer multi-person classes or single-person consultations, let attendees cancel or reschedule through their online account, and send reminders when the date is getting close. It’s a complete booking management system, all on your website.
Icon Cookery School, for instance, offers access to their in-person cooking classes. Interested patrons select the number of people who will attend, along with the date, then pay for the class online.
11. A customer relationship management system (CRM)
A CRM is incredibly valuable for any type of business, compiling all of the details about your customers and clients in one central location. Collect order details, contact information, communication history, and more, so that team members can always be up-to-date on a specific lead. And you can use this data to send hyper-personalized emails to increase loyalty and sales.
But there’s no need to use a completely separate platform from your website. With WooCommerce and Jetpack CRM, you can pull all of this powerful functionality directly into your site. Your WordPress dashboard becomes your CRM dashboard, and you can do everything from view information and create marketing emails to send invoices all in one place. Your sales data will seamlessly sync, letting you avoid complicated third-party connections.
Why choose WooCommerce as your ecommerce solution?
Now that you know a bit more about WooCommerce and how businesses use it, let’s take a look at why it’s the best ecommerce solution.
1. It’s free to install and use
Like WordPress, WooCommerce is completely free to install and use. There are also a variety of free extensions you can use to add functionality for shipping, marketing, payments, and more. For the majority of online stores, this will be more than enough for you to get off the ground running!
That being said, there are premium extensions available for more advanced functionality.
2. It’s flexible
The flexibility of WooCommerce cannot be beat. You can sell absolutely anything you’d like, from physical and digital products to subscriptions, memberships, bookings, services, online courses, and more.
You can create any design you can imagine thanks to the WordPress block editor. Drag and drop paragraphs, headings, images, videos, columns, and more to build custom pages. And WooCommerce blocks for products, categories, reviews, filters, and checkout elements enable you to construct landing pages and checkout experiences that are perfect for your customers.
There’s also an entire library of free and premium extensions that provide any additional functionality you can imagine. From marketing and growth tools to payment gateways, shipping options, and third-party integrations, there’s something for everyone.
3. It integrates seamlessly with WordPress
Do you already have a WordPress site? Then WooCommerce will feel like an old friend. It’s built and supported by Automattic, the team behind WordPress.com, and integrates seamlessly. You’ll use the same dashboard you’re already familiar with to add products and manage your store. And you can trust that it works with the latest version of WordPress and popular themes and plugins.
4. You gain access to a close-knit community
The WooCommerce community is like no other, full of store owners and developers who are ready to help. Connect via in-person or virtual meetups, dive into the active support forums, chat with experts on the official Slack channel, or get involved on Facebook.
5. It scales with your business
WooCommerce is equipped to grow alongside your online store, no matter how many products, visitors, or customers you have. You can add an unlimited number of products and variations, and won’t experience any sort of additional fees because of your growth. The code is optimized and regularly updated for scalability, and there are powerful extensions designed specifically for large stores.
Even if you have very little tech experience, you can work with WordPress and WooCommerce. Use the block editor to design a beautiful site without any code whatsoever. Add products using a simple interface. Get help from detailed documentation and excellent support.
And if you are a developer, you can take advantage of the open-source nature of WordPress and WooCommerce. Edit the code however you see fit, and use the REST API to connect with external applications.
How to install and use WooCommerce
Ready to get started with the top ecommerce platform? Let’s take a look at the process of creating an online store with WooCommerce. Note that if you already have a WordPress site, you can skip to Step 4.
1. Find a domain name and host for your WordPress site
Your first step is to purchase a domain name — the URL that a visitor types in to access your site. You’ll want to pick one that’s easy to remember and representative of your business.
Then, find a hosting provider for your site. A host stores your website files and makes them available to visitors online. It’s the foundation of a quality site, affecting things like security and speed, so it’s important to choose one that’s high quality.
When choosing a host for your online store, look for ones that offer excellent support and maintenance, keep their servers updated, include security and speed features, allow you to scale easily, and have lots of WordPress experience.
Jetpack has an in-depth list of recommended WordPress hosts to help you get started. Or, for a simple and reliable route, try the WordPress.com eCommerce plan. It includes absolutely everything you need to build a WooCommerce store in one managed package.
2. Install WordPress
Now, it’s time to install WordPress. Most hosting providers offer easy, one-click installations and WordPress.com comes with the software already installed. But for a full guide, check out the documentation from WordPress.org. Then, take the time to log in and explore a bit.
The theme that you choose impacts the design and layout of your site, along with some of the functionality that’s available to you. Some themes work as blank canvases, letting you create absolutely anything that you can imagine. Others include in-depth templates and block patterns that are essentially ready-made sites. Just switch out your content and you’re good to go!
No matter which route you want to take, pick a theme that has excellent reviews, is regularly updated, loads quickly, integrates with WooCommerce, and is mobile responsive. You’ll also want to make sure that support and documentation are included.
Want ultimate flexibility? Choose a block theme, which allows for Full Site Editing. This enables you to use blocks — pieces of content like paragraphs, images, and columns — to build your entire website. This means ultimate customizability for more than just pages and posts, but also headers, footers, sidebars, templates, and more.
Next, you’ll need to install WooCommerce. Simply log into your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New and search for “WooCommerce.†Click Install Now → Activate.
You’ll be met with the WooCommerce setup wizard, which will walk you through all the steps you need to get started. It will even customize instructions and settings based on the specific needs of your store!
5. Create pages
The specific content you create for your site will vary based on your needs, products, and audience. Think through the information that potential customers will find most helpful. Most stores will need pages for Home, About, Contact, FAQs, and Shipping.
You can use the WordPress block editor to build those pages in an intuitive, visual way. Start by going to Pages → Add New, then add a title for your new page.
Click the + icon at the top left to view all available blocks. You can either search for one you’d like, or scroll through to get some inspiration. You can also look at block patterns to get ready-made page sections, like pricing tables.
Drag the block you’d like to use anywhere on the page. You can then click on that element to open settings that will vary based on the specific block you’re using. For example, an Image block has options for alignment, filters, size, radius, etc.
Continue to build out your page using blocks until you’re happy with it. Click Preview in the top menu to get a sneak peak of how it looks, or click Publish to push it live. You can then add pages to your menu.
6. Create products
Ready to add products to your store? All you have to do is go to Products → Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Start by adding the name of your item in the Product Name box. Then, you can include a quick summary under Product short description, and more details in the large text box underneath the title.
In the Product data box, click the dropdown to choose a type of product. Simple products are items that have no options, while variable products allow for choices like size and color. Here, you can also set your product to be virtual and/or downloadable.
In the Product data section, you can set inventory levels, define shipping details, choose related products, and more.
On the right-hand side of the page, add a featured image, the photo that will represent your product, along with secondary images that visitors can scroll through. You can also assign categories and tags to your products, which will make them easier for shoppers to filter through.
When you’re ready, you can click the Preview button at the top right, or go ahead and click Publish to make your product live.
Your payment gateway allows you to securely accept payments online, and makes sure that money ends up in your bank account. You’ve probably heard of options like PayPal and Stripe, but there are lots of providers you can choose from.
When picking a payment gateway, consider factors like the currencies you want to accept, whether or not you want to offer recurring payments, and the fees involved with each specific provider.
One excellent, simple option for the majority of businesses is WooCommerce Payments. It lets you accept debit and credit cards, alongside digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Take more than 135 currencies, process subscription payments, and manage everything directly in the WordPress dashboard.
8. Set up shipping
If you’re selling digital products or services, you can skip this step, though it’s important that you have a seamless way to deliver those to customers as well. But for physical items, you’ll need to determine the best, safest, fastest way to get them into the hands of your buyers.
There are a variety of ways you can structure shipping. You might offer free shipping for all purchases, or only over a certain amount. You could charge based on purchase total or weight. And there are many carriers you can choose from. This ecommerce shipping guide from WooCommerce walks you through it all.
WooCommerce Shipping is a great place to start. This free extension lets you purchase and print USPS and DHL labels directly from your dashboard, saving you money in the process.
9. Install a security plugin
Security is absolutely critical for any website, but that’s even more true for ecommerce stores. A WordPress security plugin like Jetpack helps you lock down your store and protect both your data and your customers’ private information.
There are several plans available that include features like:
Real-time backups: A copy of your store will be saved every time a major change is made, like an updated page, installed plugin, added post, or placed order. You never have to worry about losing anything on your site!
An activity log: Keep track of everything that happens on your site, along with who performed each action and when it took place.
Malware scanning: This tool scans your website for malware, alerting you if it finds anything. It can also fix the majority of known issues with one click.
Downtime monitoring: You’ll receive an instant alert if your site goes down, so you can identify and fix the issue quickly.
Spam protection: Automatically filter and discard comments and contact form spam.
Brute force attack protection: Block hackers and bots that try to access your site by testing thousands of password and username combinations.
Speed is an important component of a great user experience. After all, people aren’t just going to wait forever for your site to load. And Google prioritizes websites that load quickly in the search results.
There are a variety of factors that go into building a fast site, including the theme and hosting provider that you choose. One of the simplest steps you can take is to install a WordPress speed plugin like Jetpack Boost.
This tool takes just a few steps to configure, and it handles some of the biggest speed optimization tasks, like optimizing CSS loading and deferring non-essential JavaScript. It also runs a performance test on your site so you can get an idea of where you stand and make improvements as necessary.
You can also use Jetpack’s additional performance tools to make even more speed improvements. VideoPress takes the weight of hosting videos off of your server, delivering lighting-fast media without any third-party ads. Jetpack CDN delivers your content from servers located around the world, displaying your site from the location closest to each individual visitor.
Still have questions? Find the answers to some common ones below.
Is WooCommerce secure?
Yes, WordPress and WooCommerce were built with security in mind, and are regularly updated to patch any potential vulnerabilities. However, like any website platform, WooCommerce sites can be hacked. It’s important that you take additional security steps to lock down your site as much as possible. This includes:
Using quality passwords
Choosing a hosting provider that prioritizes security
Only giving full site access to trusted members of your organization
Setting up automatic backups and storing them in a secure location
Regularly updating WordPress, themes, and plugins
Jetpack Security offers a full suite of WordPress security tools that takes care of the majority of these tasks all at once. It’s an excellent starting point for stores of any size.
Is WooCommerce free?
Yes, WooCommerce, like WordPress, is completely free to install and use. There are also a variety of free tools directly from WooCommerce, like WooCommerce Payments and WooCommerce Shipping.
There is, however, a library of premium extensions that add functionality to your online store. You can purchase these individually or in packages to create the exact setup you need.
Does WooCommerce take a percentage of sales?
No, unlike many other platforms, WooCommerce does not take a percentage of sales. You’re free to grow your store as large as you want without paying any additional fees to WooCommerce.
What is the difference between WooCommerce and WordPress?
WordPress is a free website-building tool that enables you to create any sort of site you can imagine. WooCommerce is the ecommerce leg of WordPress, built and maintained by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. It’s an extra, free plugin that provides all the functionality needed to turn your WordPress site into an online store, from product listings to checkout tools.
You can build a WordPress site without WooCommerce, but need WordPress to have a WooCommerce store.
Does WooCommerce only work with WordPress?
Yes, you can only install WooCommerce on WordPress sites. It was built specifically for the WordPress platform, and the two work seamlessly together.
Does WooCommerce have a mobile app?
Yes, the WooCommerce mobile app makes running your online store on the go easy. From your mobile device, you can create products, print labels, view store data, and manage orders. Plus, you’ll get real time alerts when customers place an order.
How many items or products can WooCommerce handle?
WooCommerce can handle an unlimited number of items and products. ISC Sales, for example, uses WooCommerce to list more than 17,000 products. And, unlike other platforms, you won’t be charged any additional fees for extra listings or variations.
Can WooCommerce handle high-traffic stores?
Yes, WooCommerce can scale to handle an unlimited amount of traffic. It regularly supports shops with thousands of sales per minute and was built to handle spikes in site visitors.
It is important, however, that large stores choose a hosting provider and plan that can also support large volumes of traffic, and take steps to optimize their WooCommerce site for speed.
Can WooCommerce handle coupons and gift cards?
WooCommerce has built-in coupon functionality, yes. You can create coupon codes, choose the amount and type of discount you want to offer, include free shipping, set usage restrictions, and more. You can also use extensions for more advanced features like coupon personalization, store credits, free gifts, etc.
It doesn’t offer gift card functionality out of the box. However, with the Gift Cards extension, you can offer gift cards to your customers, then allow recipients to use them to make purchases on your store.
Can I add a blog to a WooCommerce store?
Yes, you can absolutely add a blog to your store. Since WooCommerce is an extension of WordPress, you can take full advantage of the powerful blogging features built into the content management system (CMS).
You can use the visual block editor to create beautiful posts, dragging elements like text, images, videos, quotes, and social media feeds wherever you’d like on the page. Then, you can categorize those posts, display them on the front-end of your site, and share them with the world.
Is WooCommerce an SEO-friendly ecommerce platform?
Yes, WooCommerce is a very SEO-friendly ecommerce tool. Again, you can harness the blogging power of WordPress to create high-quality content, one of the most important considerations when it comes to ranking well on search engines. WooCommerce is also mobile friendly, and uses clean, SEO-friendly code.
However, there are also steps that you should take to optimize your online store for SEO. You may want to install an SEO plugin to help you make the most of meta descriptions, page titles, schema markup, and more. It’s also important that you use tools like Jetpack Boost to ensure that your site performance is top-notch.
What are WooCommerce extensions?
WooCommerce extensions are plugins built to specifically add functionality to WooCommerce stores. They’re available directly from the WooCommerce team and there are both free and premium options. WooCommerce extensions offer tools for everything from marketing and growth to merchandising, shipping, and collecting payments.
Where are WooCommerce products stored in the database?
Since WooCommerce products are a custom post type, they’re stored in the wp_posts table. Product data — like price, stock status, etc. — is stored in the wp_postmeta table.
Where are WooCommerce orders stored in the database?
Again, WooCommerce orders are a custom post type, so they’re stored in the wp_posts table. The remaining information about orders — like billing and shipping information — is stored in the wp_postmeta table.
What are good tutorials on how to enhance WooCommerce?
WooCommerce offers in-depth documentation on the platform itself, along with all of its extensions, directly on their website. There, you can also find guides, developer resources, and blog posts designed to help store owners build and grow.
You can also find WooCommerce tutorials on Jetpack’s blog, including:
Picture this: an excited fan comes to your site to buy your newest product, or read your latest article. They go to the search box, type it in…and it doesn’t work. Sadness.
No matter the size of your site, people expect a working search box. That’s why we’re excited to bring the power and ease of Jetpack Search to even the smallest sites.
We’ve simplified our pricing, and also added a free tier and a 3-month free trial. Add Jetpack Search to your site to see how much it helps your fans find what they’re looking for — available today through Jetpack, the new standalone Jetpack Search plugin, and WordPress.com.
Try Search for Free
Sites of all sizes can take advantage of our new free tier — it has a limit of 5k records and up to 500 requests per month. We do not cut off your site from going over the limits for the first three months, so the free tier is also a good way for any sized site to see how Jetpack Search benefits your site and visitors.
Note that sites on the free plan include “Search powered by Jetpack†at the bottom of the UI, support is limited to forums, and searching across multiple sites is not supported. To remove the Jetpack branding, get email support, or search across multiple sites you can upgrade to a paid tier.
Simplified Pricing Based on Monthly Requests and Records
To make our pricing easier to understand and plan around, we’ve gone from having six separate tiers to simply charging $8.25 per month per 10k records or requests. As a reminder, records are all posts, pages, and other types of content you want to be indexed. And requests are every time a visitor searches for something on your site. The price is calculated based on the maximum of either how many search records your site has or the median number of search requests from the past three months.
An example: if your site has 25,000 records and the number of requests for the past three months are 120k, 35k, and 25k then your plan will auto-renew with a 40k limit. At $8.25 per month, the new price with the 40k limit is $33 per month, compared to $60 under the old pricing. We won’t penalize you for one busy month, so you won’t get a surprise bill.
Just like before, we don’t cut a site off for going over the limit, we just recalculate the limit and price when your plan renews based on the recent usage.
This new pricing does not yet affect existing Search customers. We will reach out by email before your pricing changes and it will only change when your plan renews.
Want to try Jetpack Search without adding the rest of Jetpack? We now have a separate Jetpack Search plugin for a streamlined experience.
