My Own Store with WooCommerce on a Web Space or Managed Server
Introduction
WooCommerce is a plugin for the content management system (CMS) Wordpress that allows you to manage an online store. This guide describes the installation and basic configuration of WooCommerce to make running an online store possible. This includes:
- Installing WooCommerce,
- Basic system configuration,
- Setting up tax billing, e.g., VAT,
- Configuring delivery conditions,
- Installing a plugin for the French language,
- Configuring payment methods,
- Customizing emails sent by the store,
- Creating products in the store,
- Customizing the store theme,
- and testing the store.
Installation and Configuration of Wordpress and WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a Wordpress plugin, so Wordpress must be installed first. How to proceed is described in the article “Installation of Wordpress”.
Once Wordpress is installed, the “WooCommerce” plugin must be installed. Installation is possible via the “Plugins” page. Please search for the plugin using the search function and install:
The “Install Now” button turns into an “Activate” button once the installation is complete, please activate WooCommerce in the next step:
Here, you will be asked for the address that will later be displayed in the store. For data protection reasons, it is recommended to disable the option “Help WooCommerce improve by allowing usage data tracking.” In the next step, payment methods for the store can be pre-configured:
Please configure the payment methods according to your wishes. In the next step, you will be asked for information about delivery conditions:
Please also configure the delivery conditions according to your wishes. In the next step, several options for extending the installation will be offered.
Please activate the “Storefront Theme” option to install it. The additional features “Automated Taxes”, “Mailchimp”, and “Facebook” are optional. Please carefully check the legal conditions if you wish to use them. In the next step, WooCommerce will ask for Jetpack activation:
Jetpack promises additional site protection, but for this, visit data from your customers will be sent to Jetpack during site operation. We therefore recommend not activating Jetpack or sufficiently examining the data protection background and, if necessary, taking it into account in your privacy statement. Click “Skip this step” to not use Jetpack.
Now, you access the following display:
Here, you can create a first product as a test by clicking on “Create a product”.
Create your first test product.
Perform General Store Settings
After installing WooCommerce, the store settings should be checked. To do this, click in the Wordpress backend on “WooCommerce” > “Settings”.
Please check the following settings:
- Your company’s address
- Product presentation
- Data protection
- Sender addresses for emails sent by the store
Set Up Tax Rates
Tax rate management must be activated separately in WooCommerce. To do this, please click in the backend on “WooCommerce” > “Settings”. Activate the option “Enable tax rates and calculations” in the “General” tab.
Then, the “VAT” tab will appear in the “WooCommerce” settings. Basic settings for tax calculation and display can be made there.
You can access other sub-menus via the menu at the top of the tab. What is important here is the “Standard” tax rate menu:
Here, for example, you can set a VAT rate of 19% for the country code “FR”.
Configure Shipping
The settings for shipping are found under “WooCommerce” > “Settings” in the “Shipping” tab.
Here, you can define shipping zones, shipping options, and shipping classes.
Shipping zones are geographical regions to which you want to ship the product. For example, you could create “France”, “EU”, and “international”. In a zone, several shipping options can be offered. The shipping options that the customer can choose can be automatically determined based on the geographical regions defined in the zones.
In the shipping zones, different shipping methods can be defined, such as “Standard Shipping”, “Express Shipping”, “Free Local Pickup”, etc.
Additionally, shipping classes can be created, which modify the shipping methods based on the products. For example, you can assign products to a particular class if the shipping costs for these products are exceptionally high.
The following screenshot shows an overview of the settings for the zone we created “France”.
The next screenshot shows the settings for the “Standard Shipping” method. Generally, the option “Per order: shipping costs correspond to the highest shipping class of the order” is chosen here.
The “Germanized for WooCommerce” Plugin
The free “Germanized for WooCommerce” plugin adapts the store to the conditions of the French market. This includes:
- better presentation of delivery times,
- options to add legal notices such as T&Cs, withdrawal notice, data protection notice,
- adding the payment methods “Invoice” and “SEPA Direct Debit”,
- online withdrawal form,
- delivery to DHL parcel stations.
Please install and activate the plugin via the “Plugins” > “Install” menu in the backend if you wish to use it. After clicking on “Activate”, the following message appears:
Please activate all checkboxes and then click on “Install Germanized”. Then, in the main menu of the backend, click on WooCommerce. The following message will appear:
The message requests adjustments to the Storefront theme. Please click on “hide this message”.
Configure Payment Methods
WooCommerce offers different payment methods by default:
- Direct bank transfer,
- Check payments,
- Cash on delivery,
- PayPal,
- PayPal Checkout.
Thanks to the installation of the “Germanized for WooCommerce” plugin, the following payment methods have been added:
- Direct debit,
- Invoice.
The overview of available payment methods in your installation is found under “WooCommerce” > “Settings” > “Payments”:
Cash on Delivery
The configuration of the payment method in the store is done quickly. Simply click on the “Enabled” slider and then on “Configuration”. The payment method can be limited to different delivery modes. For example, cash on delivery is not advisable for in-store pickup.
Bank Transfer
The configuration of this payment method is also simple. The payment method must be activated. Then, you can enter your account number:
PayPal Payment
The configuration of payment via PayPal is relatively complex but highly appreciated by many customers, making it an almost indispensable payment method for many stores. For the store owner, payment processing is also simplified, as PayPal has an interface for the site to automatically record the payment made.
For payment processing, it is recommended to open a professional PayPal account. This is done on the PayPal website.
The configuration is done in the backend under “WooCommerce” > “Settings” > “Payments”. Click on the “Configuration” button for PayPal to access the following display:
Here are the settings to be made:
With the checkbox “Enable PayPal Standard”, you can enable or disable the PayPal payment function in the store.
Under “PayPal Email”, please enter the email address associated with your professional PayPal account.
Under “PayPal Identity Token”, a token must be entered, which can be found on the PayPal site under “My Profile” > “Account Settings” > “Seller/Merchant” > “Website Settings”. This token is not necessary, but the configuration is recommended.
Under “Invoice Prefix”, a prefix for invoice numbers can be defined. PayPal accepts each invoice number for payment by professional account only once.
The option “Send shipping address to PayPal instead of billing address.” must be enabled so that PayPal’s customer protection works.
The “Payment Action” option must be set to “Capture”.
Optionally, access information for the PayPal API can be defined. This is useful, for example, for processing refunds via WooCommerce.
It is possible to initially test the configuration with a PayPal sandbox account. This allows transactions to be made for testing purposes without real money being transferred. For this, you can create two test accounts on PayPal: a customer account and a seller account. These should not be created via the normal site, but via https://developer.paypal.com/. Alternatively, you can use a private account for tests and possibly refund later.
Invoice Payment
The invoice payment feature is added with the “Germanized for WooCommerce” plugin, which can be installed as described above.
The payment method can be activated in the Wordpress backend under “WooCommerce” > “Settings” > “Payments”.
The option can easily be activated in the overview of payment methods. An interesting option is “Enable payment method only if the customer has already placed a successful order” under “Configuration”.
SEPA Direct Debit Payment
The SEPA direct debit payment feature is added with the “Germanized for WooCommerce” plugin, which can be installed as described above.
The payment method can be activated in the Wordpress backend under “WooCommerce” > “Settings” > “Payments”.
The plugin allows synchronizing bank information stored in the database with a key, which is stored in the Wordpress configuration file. If someone accesses the database content, they cannot decrypt the bank information without accessing the key in the file. The plugin itself generates a random key and offers it to you:
Please copy the line with your key:
define( 'WC_GZD_DIRECT_DEBIT_KEY', 'abc...' );
and please insert it into the wp-config.php file on the web space. #TODO: Follow instructions!
Adjust Email Sending
WooCommerce automatically sends generated emails to both customers and store operators. The templates for emails must be adapted to the conditions of your store. Please note that emails sent by the store in France must also meet certain legal requirements. Please check this. The paid plugin “Germanized Market” can help you in this regard.
The settings for emails sent can be adjusted in the backend under the “WooCommerce” -> “Settings” menu in the “Emails” tab. If you scroll down, you will get the following display:
Here, you can define the sender from which the emails should be sent. Additionally, the color scheme of the emails can be changed and a preview can be displayed. The settings regarding email templates can be made by clicking on the “Manage” button in the table at the top of the page:
For order confirmation, you will reach the following page, for example:
The setting options that are directly presented on the interface are unfortunately quite limited. Email templates are part of the theme and can be reworked with knowledge of PHP, HTML, and CSS markup languages by clicking on the “Copy file to theme” button. For easier handling of email templates without advanced programming knowledge, there is the paid plugin “Email Designer for WooCommerce”, with which email templates can be modified in a web-based interface.
Product Management
Product management is not done via the “WooCommerce” tab in the backend, but directly via the “Products” menu. By clicking here, you will get an overview of the currently created products:
With the “Create” button, new products can be created:
Categories can also be created for products:
Additionally, other properties for products can be added via the “Products” menu, such as units, delivery times, and price information.
Customize the Theme
All themes for WooCommerce are themes for Wordpress, which have been specifically adapted for stores.
Storefront Theme
As part of the WooCommerce installation, the “Storefront” theme is automatically installed. This can be customized according to your needs. For this, Wordpress has a built-in theme editor. Please click in the backend on “Appearance” and then on the Storefront theme on “Customize”:
Then, you access the theme editor:
Here, different theme settings can be adapted.
Other Themes
Many other themes are offered for WooCommerce, some of which are also paid. Sources for other themes include, for example:
- WooCommerce Developers’ Theme Directory
- Evanto Market offers about 1200 themes for WooCommerce.
Of course, you also have the option to create your own custom theme. However, this requires considerably more effort than adapting a pre-designed theme.
Test the Store
Finally, you should place a few test orders on your store, test payments, and also check the content of emails sent by the store.
Further Reading
- Official WooCommerce Documentation
- “Jetpack and the General Data Protection Regulation. Jetpack and data processing.”
- WooCommerce “Getting Started” (English)
- MarketPress Blog