There are many different ways to make money from a blog. You can run pay-per-view or click ads, use affiliate links, post sponsored blogs, or sell your own products. If you’re looking to sell your own products, you’ll need to know how to set up a store. It is very easy to do, and in this article I will show you, step by step, how to set up a store on your blog.
Step 1: Make sure your blog is self-hosted
If you want to create a shop on your blog, you’ll need to install a plugin. To access the plugins, you will need to have a WordPress enterprise account or be running WordPress on a self-hosted site (such as Bluehost).
I am hosted by Bluehost, it is one of the most popular web hosting services, and for good reason. It is one of the most affordable hosting service providers and has a great interface and customer support.
Bluehost is also over 3x cheaper than WordPress Business (for the exact same features)!
Learn more about free blogging vs. to self-hosts in my article on what I wish I knew before starting my blog.
Step 2: Install the Woocommerce plugin
Once you are self-hosted you will have access to plugins. You can create a store on your blog using the free WooCommerce plugin. You will need to be running WordPress on a self-hosted site (such as Bluehost) to have access to the WooCommerce plugin. With Woocommerce you will be able to create the exact eCommerce website that you want.
Visit my store to see the Woocommerce plugin in action!
You can install the Woocommerce plugin as follows:
- Downloading the WooCommerce plugin on your site. Then go to your blog sidebar > Plugins > Add New > Upload, select the downloaded Woocommerce plugin and install it and then activate it.
- Search for the WooCommerce plugin from your website (Blog Sidebar > Plugins > Add New > Search Plugins). Then install and activate it.
Once you activate the plugin, a setup wizard will appear. Follow these steps to complete the initial setup.
Step 3 – Decide what products you will sell
Once you have the plugin Woocommerce installed on your blog, you need to fill it with your own products!
They can be digital or physical products. I personally only sell digital products. Lightroom editing presets are the most common digital products sold by bloggers. I also sell eBooks on how to grow and monetize your Instagram and how to take better photos.
Step 4: set up the store on your blog
Once you have installed the Woocommerce plugin and decided which products you want to sell, you can start creating the store on your blog.
How to set up a store on your blog:
- Under the Woocommerce plugin in the side menu, go to > Products > Add New to start creating your products.
- When you create a product, you will be able to add a description, product images, pricing, shipping information (if applicable), as well as uploading the digital products so your customers can download the product once purchased (again, if applicable).
- Go to Woocommerce > settings < checkout to set up different payment methods (I personally use Paypal and stripe).
- In settings you will also be able to enter your business details and select payment options. taxes.
How to change the design of your store:
The design of your blog store ecommerce will depend on your blog template. There are a number of free WordPress templates available, however in general the templates you can buy will look much more professional.
My blog uses the Laurel WordPress blog theme, which is optimized for shops of blogs and it’s only $39 for life.
Personally, I would recommend using your own blog as your ecommerce platform, as it you can benefit from traffic to the store while keeping your audience on your site.
If you don’t currently have a blog, but still hope to sell your own digital or physical products, you can use Sellfy, an e-commerce platform for creators.
I hope this step by step guide on how to create a store on your blog will help you set up your own online store so that you can start selling your products and monetize your blog. Learn more about making money online.
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