Setting up a WordPress eCommerce website

If you’re new to the world of ecommerce and you’re looking for a cheap option to build your site, I’d highly recommend using WordPress. Turning this free blog builder program into a functional site where you can process orders and control your design is more confusing to set up initially than many all-in-one builders out there, but could save you money in the long run. Plus, you will have the flexibility to take your site to another hosting company in the future, or even take it offline for awhile without losing everything if you change your mind.

WordPress is designed to build blogs, but instead of writing posts, you can create pages that will stay in place. By having it hosted yourself (usually $6-8/month), you’ll have full ecommerce abilities like using your own domain name, attaching a shopping cart plug-in to process sales, and using new themes, etc.

Initially, you can sign up for a free blog at www.wordpress.com and play around with various options, like uploading pictures, changing templates, changing widgets, etc.

Once you decide to have it hosted on your own, you’ll need to take a few steps:

1. Visit http://wordpress.org/hosting and pick a host that’s easy-to-use with WordPress.
2. Install an FTP client on your computer. This will enable you to save all the files you’ll need for your site and send them to your host. I highly recommend downloading the free option at http://smartftp.com.
3. Download the latest version of WordPress from http://wordpress.org/download.
4. Follow the instructions at http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress to connect the dots.

Here are a few more resources that will be useful:

• http://www.wordpress.org – a collection of tutorials
• http://free-wordpress-plugins.blogspot.com – a list of plugins to make various functions work
• http://www.instinct.co.nz/?p=16 – a free shopping cart plug-in

Try out Word Press

If you’re new to web design, Word Press is one of the best web design options for affordability flexibility. It was designed as an an open source blogging program, but there are tons of options to design pages to go the traditional website route. In addition to running the eCommerce SOS blog, I also have a few other accounts including a Word Press account to keep my siblings in touch sharing updates on everyone’s families. It’s a great place to share pictures with loved ones and friends who live far apart!

Register for a Word Press account and play around with various options, like uploading pictures, changing templates, changing widgets, etc.

Technically, Word Press “hosts” the site for you, but if you want to use a different domain (that doesn’t have Word Press in the name) you have to sign up for an additional hosting provider, like Blue Host, 1 and 1, iPowerWeb, or Hostmonster, just to name a few, once you’re ready to launch the site. You’ll have a lot more flexibility if you have the site hosted by a company that gives you FTP access so you can attach a shopping cart plug-in, use new themes, etc.)

See www.wordpress.org for a collection of tutorials, as well as http://free-wordpress-plugins.blogspot.com/, where you can find a list of good plugins to make various functions work. You can get a free shopping cart plug-in at http://www.instinct.co.nz/?p=16.