How to Start an Online Store in 1 Hour or Less (6 Easy Steps)

Do you want to start your own online store? Well, it’s not as hard as you might think! In this article, we’ll show you how to start an online store in just six easy steps.

We’ll discuss everything from choosing the right platform to setting up your website. We’ll also explain what tools you need to create an online store and how to market them.

Once you’ve completed these simple steps, you’ll have a successful online store that customers will love!

So, are you ready? Let’s jump in…

What You Need to Start an Online Store

In order to start a brand new online store (or an e-commerce website), you need the following:

• Domain Name – This is going to be your website’s URL like my website URL is: www.masteryblogging.com. 
• Web Hosting – This is a place where you can store your website’s data and files.
• WordPress Theme – I personally recommend the Astra theme for creating an online store.
• WooCommerce – #1 WordPress plugin for e-commerce.

So with the help of these things, you can create a new eCommerce website within 1 hour, and you don’t have to be an expert in coding.

Yes, that’s true, and we’ll show you everything from start to finish, step by step. Below, we’ll also cover how to sign up for a web hosting plan and get a free domain name. Keep reading…

How to Start and Build an Online Store (In 6 Easy Steps)

There are six simple steps to build your online store in 2022:

• Step 1: Choosing the best eCommerce platform
• Step 2: Buy a Domain Name and Hosting Account
• Step 3: Installing WordPress in your Hosting account
• Step 4: Designing your eCommerce site with the right theme
• Step 5: Installing WooCommerce on your website
• Step 6: Install necessary plugins to grow your Online shop

At the end of this tutorial, we will give some tips on how to promote an online shop so you can get results super quickly. That being said, let’s begin the process right away.

The very first thing that you need to do is pick the best eCommerce platform for your online store.

There’re plenty of options that you could use but we highly recommend using WordPress.org as it’s one of the best website builders in the World and powers over 43% of all websites that are live on the web.

Quick Note: Don’t be confused between WordPress.org and WordPress.com as both are totally different platforms.

To get started with WordPress.org, you will need a domain name and a WordPress hosting account. If you’re hearing these term for the first time, you can find more information about them here.

Now, let’s move on to step #2 and see how to purchase web hosting along with a free domain which will be your store’s name.

People use Bluehost the most to create an eCommerce website and we’re 100% satisfied with their service (we mostly use Bluehost for our new projects). They are one of the largest hosting companies in the world that power 2+ million websites and are officially recommended by WordPress.org.

Here are some more reasons to consider Bluehost:

• Free Domain 1st Year
• Free SSL Certificate
• Free Website Migrations
• Jetpack Daily Backups
• Automated WordPress Updates

To sign up with Bluehost hosting, you need to visit their homepage (open a new window) and from there, you need to click on the ‘Get Started’ button.

This will scroll down your page and bring you to the pricing plans section where you have to choose one of the four plans. You can get started with any of their plans and click on the select button to proceed.

Note: Are you on a tight budget? You can also subscribe to Hostinger’s $1.99 per month deal by going to this link (use our Hostinger coupon code: OFF7 to receive a 7% additional discount).

Next, Bluehost will ask you to choose a domain name for your website. It will also be called the name of your online store, so invest some time in it and choose a well-branded domain name which should be unique, creative, and interesting.

After this, you will be redirected to the checkout page where you will be asked for some basic details and you have to fill in all those details carefully. And finally, complete your payment.

Within a few seconds, you will receive a congratulations email from Bluehost containing your web hosting dashboard link and log in information.

Once you have purchased hosting, the next step that comes after that is to install WordPress but the good news is you don’t need to do anything here as Bluehost will automatically install WordPress on your domain so you can start building your website right away.

Simply log in to your Bluehost account and you’ll see a blue button that says ‘Login to WordPress’. On clicking that button, you will be taken to your WordPress admin panel where you can manage your whole website. It looks something like this;

Congratulations your WordPress website is ready and now we move on to the next step and choose the right theme for your store. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a professional web designer to make an online store creative and beautiful 😉.

To create a successful online store, you’ll need to design it correctly. That means choosing the right WordPress theme. There are thousands of themes available in the market which you can use, but not all of them are suitable for an eCommerce site.

There are certain factors you need to take into account when choosing a theme for your store:

• The theme needs to be easy to use and install. It shouldn’t require any special skills or knowledge to set it up correctly.
• The theme should be responsive so that it looks good on all devices, from desktop computers to smartphones and tablets.
• The theme should have an easy-to-use customizer so that you can change the look and feel of the site easily.
• The theme should be SEO-friendly so that it ranks well in search engines.
• The theme should be updated regularly so that it remains compatible with the latest WordPress versions.

And if you want to know our suggestion that which WordPress theme we recommend for building an online store then it is — Astra, because it is by far the most popular theme of all time in the WordPress industry. It comes with both free and premium versions.

With Astra Theme, you don’t need to spend hours creating a custom website from scratch. All you have to do is select one of the pre-made templates (known as the Astra Starter Site) and customize it to your needs.

Plus, there are plenty of additional features available if you want to go beyond the basic template options. Here are some of the best features of Astra which I really like:

• Performance focused theme
• Lightweight theme – less than 50KB
• Powerful design options
• 230+ ready-to-import websites
• Page builder integration
• User-friendly interface
• SEO friendly markup
• Extensive support for WooCommerce

If you like any other WordPress theme then you can go with that one too but in this tutorial, we will use the Astra theme.

To install Astra, navigate to your WordPress admin panel and click on Appearance » Themes » Add New. Search for Astra, click Install, and Activate.

With that, you’ve successfully installed the Astra theme. If you want to further customize your site then you can use any one of the drag-and-drop website builders in which Elementor and Thrive Architect are popular.

CSS Hero is another great option for creating custom styles without any code.

Now we have reached the 2nd last step of our tutorial on building an eCommerce website and in this section, we will set up the WooCommerce plugin for your online shop so let’s begin.

First of all, you need to visit Plugins » Add New and use the search box to find a WooCommerce plugin. Then, click the Install Now » Activate button to finish the installation process.

Once the plugin is activated, open the Home tab and you’ll see the configuration wizard of WooCommerce. Just complete the on-screen process to get it working.

For more details, you can read the complete step-by-step tutorial on setting up an online store using WordPress and WooCommerce that Astra has shared on their blog.

There are a few essential plugins that you should install if you want to grow your online store. These plugins will help you improve your website’s speed, security, and overall performance.

Here are a few of the most popular plugins that you may want to consider:

• OptinMonster – It is a powerful and easy-to-use WordPress plugin that allows you to easily create opt-in forms for your website. This plugin is a must-have if you want to increase your email list and convert more visitors into subscribers.
• Formidable Forms – This plugin helps you to create custom forms and surveys that can be used to gather user feedback and survey users on their preferences (check out the free version).
• MonsterInsights – A powerful WordPress plugin that allows you to track and analyze your website’s performance, including traffic, conversion rates, and more (check out the free version).
• Elementor Pro – It is a popular WordPress plugin that lets you create custom layouts and pages for your eCommerce website (check out the free version).
• Advanced Coupons – It’s a great plugin for managing coupons in WooCommerce.
• Rank Math SEO – A SEO plugin that helps you optimize your online store for better search engine rankings (check out the free version).
• Sucuri – A service that specializes in WordPress Security. It will keep your store safe and secure.
• WP Rocket – This plugin speeds up your website by caching pages and reducing the load time for users (get an exclusive 10% off).
• ConvertKit – A leading email marketing service that helps you create beautiful, interactive email newsletters, track subscribers’ engagement, and much more (get started for free).

In addition to these popular plugins, there are many others that can be used depending on the needs of your online store.

Promoting Your eCommerce Store (Best Ways)

There are a few things you can do to promote your online store, depending on what you’re selling and how much money you want to spend. Here are a few ideas:

#1. Run paid advertising campaigns – Paid advertising campaigns can be a great way to draw more attention and customers to your online store. By targeting specific demographics with ads, you can get high-quality leads that you can then convert into sales.

#2. Use social media platforms wisely – Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are perfect for sharing news about your business and building relationships with potential customers. Make sure to use effective hashtags and keywords when posting so that your content is easily found by potential customers.

#3. Create engaging content – When promoting your online store, make sure to create engaging content that is both informative and visually appealing. This will help increase website traffic and lead conversion rates.

#4. Generate word-of-mouth marketing – One of the best ways to promote your store is by generating positive word-of-mouth marketing. This means recommending it to friends, family, and colleagues. If they like what they see, they’ll likely tell their friends too!

Regardless of the strategy you choose, make sure to measure the results of your campaigns regularly to ensure that you are reaching your target audience. Also, consider offering free samples or coupons as a way to increase conversion rates and boost sales. Good luck!

Final Words on Creating a Website to Sell Products Online

And that’s all for today.

If you have followed our steps properly then congratulations, your first online store is live on the internet, and if you haven’t started yet, what are you waiting for?

To summarize, here are the steps you have to follow to start an online store (or an eCommerce website):

• Step 1: Choosing the best eCommerce platform
• Step 2: Buy a Domain Name and web hosting
• Step 3: Installing WordPress in your hosting account
• Step 4: Designing your eCommerce site with the right theme
• Step 5: Installing WooCommerce on your WordPress website
• Step 6: Install necessary plugins to grow your Online shop

Do you have any other questions about how to launch an online store with WordPress? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll try to help you out.