How to Create an Online Store with WooCommerce from Scratch

Introduction

WooCommerce is the most widely used online store system in the world. It works as a WordPress plugin and lets you sell physical products, digital goods, services or subscriptions without writing code.

In this guide you’ll see the complete process: from hiring your hosting to processing your first test sale. It’s designed for people without technical knowledge, so every step is explained clearly.

What you need before you start

Before installing WooCommerce you need three things ready:

1. A domain, for example mystore.com. It’s the address your customers will type to reach your store.
2. Hosting compatible with WordPress and WooCommerce. It needs PHP 7.4 or higher (PHP 8.x recommended), MySQL or MariaDB, and HTTPS enabled.
3. An SSL certificate. It’s mandatory for selling online: it protects customer data and enables the address to start with https://.

[Imagen sugerida: screenshot of WooCommerce server requirements]

At miHosting all professional hosting plans include free SSL, PHP 8.x and the automatic WordPress installer, so they more than meet WooCommerce requirements.

Step 1: Install WordPress

WooCommerce runs on WordPress, so your first step is having WordPress installed on your domain.

If you have cPanel, the quickest way is to use Softaculous or the included WordPress installer:

1. Log in to your control panel (cPanel or DirectAdmin).
2. Find the application installation section.
3. Select WordPress.
4. Fill in the details: domain, site name, administrator username and password.
5. Click Install.

In under two minutes WordPress will be up and running.

[Imagen sugerida: screenshot of the WordPress installer in cPanel]

Step 2: Activate the SSL certificate

Before configuring the store, make sure your website loads with https:// and the visible security padlock.

1. Log in to cPanel or DirectAdmin.
2. Find the SSL/TLS section.
3. Activate the Let’s Encrypt certificate for your domain (at miHosting it installs automatically).
4. Check that typing https://yourdomain.com loads correctly.

If your site doesn’t load with HTTPS, WooCommerce will show warnings. It’s important to resolve this before adding products.

Step 3: Install WooCommerce

Now that WordPress is installed and SSL works, install WooCommerce:

1. Log in to the WordPress admin panel (yourdomain.com/wp-admin).
2. Go to Plugins → Add New.
3. Search for WooCommerce.
4. Click Install Now and then Activate.
5. A setup wizard will open.

[Imagen sugerida: screenshot of the WooCommerce setup wizard]

The wizard will ask you for:

• Product type: physical, digital or both.
• Store location: country and address (used for taxes and shipping).
• Currency: the currency you’ll charge in.
• Payment methods: Stripe, PayPal or others.

You can complete the wizard now or skip the steps and configure them later from WooCommerce → Settings.

Step 4: Configure the essential pages

During installation, WooCommerce automatically creates these pages:

Page	What it’s for
Shop	Lists all your products
Cart	Where the customer reviews what they’re buying
Checkout	The payment and shipping details form
My account	Where customers manage their orders

These pages are essential. If you accidentally delete them, WooCommerce may stop working properly. You can review them under Pages → All Pages.

Step 5: Add your first products

To create a product:

1. Go to Products → Add New.
2. Write the product name and description.
3. In the Product data panel, specify:
   • Regular price and sale price (if applicable).
   • Type: simple, variable, grouped or virtual/downloadable product.
   • Stock: available units (optional but recommended).
4. Upload a featured image and gallery if needed.
5. Select the product category.
6. Click Publish.

[Imagen sugerida: screenshot of the product creation screen in WooCommerce]

Product images strongly influence sales. Use sharp photos with a clean background and a size between 800×800 and 1200×1200 pixels. If you need to reduce their weight, optimize them before uploading.

Step 6: Configure payment methods

To charge you need at least one active payment gateway. The most common ones are:

• Stripe: accepts credit and debit cards. Ideal for Europe and many countries.
• PayPal: widely known and builds customer trust.
• MercadoPago: recommended for Latin America.
• Bank transfer: for customers who prefer to pay without a card.

You can activate them from WooCommerce → Settings → Payments. Each one requires creating a merchant account and configuring the API keys.

If you want more detail on each gateway, we have specific guides to configure Stripe and PayPal in WooCommerce.

Step 7: Configure shipping methods

Before selling, define how products will be shipped:

1. Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping.
2. Create shipping zones by region (for example: Spain, Europe, Rest of the world).
3. For each zone, add a method: flat rate, free shipping, local pickup or weight-based calculation.

A good shipping configuration prevents the customer from abandoning the purchase due to confusion about the final price.

Step 8: Review legal pages

To sell online properly you need basic legal information visible on your site:

• Terms of use.
• Privacy policy.
• Cookie policy.
• Sales and returns conditions.

WooCommerce doesn’t create these pages for you. You can write them yourself or hire a professional.

Step 9: Run a test purchase

Before opening the store to the public, complete a full purchase in test mode:

1. Activate sandbox or test mode on your payment gateway.
2. Add a product to the cart.
3. Complete the checkout process.
4. Verify that the confirmation email arrives.
5. Check that the order appears under WooCommerce → Orders.

If everything works correctly, you can disable test mode and start selling for real.

Useful tips

• Choose a WooCommerce-compatible theme. Not all WordPress themes look good in a store. Look for themes tagged “WooCommerce ready”.
• Don’t install too many plugins. Each plugin consumes resources. Install only the ones you truly need.
• Back up before every major update. Updating WooCommerce, WordPress or plugins can break something. Always keep a recent backup.
• Set up transactional emails. WooCommerce sends automatic emails to the customer (order confirmed, shipped, etc.). Customize the design and text so they convey your brand.
• Check your store’s speed. A slow store sells less. Enable caching and optimize images.

Common problems

WooCommerce shows a warning that my PHP version is outdated

It means your hosting uses an outdated PHP version. WooCommerce recommends PHP 8.x. From cPanel you can change the PHP version under Software → Select PHP Version.

Products don’t appear on the shop page

Check that the page assigned as “Shop” is correct under WooCommerce → Settings → Products.

The checkout shows an error

The most common cause is a misconfigured payment gateway (incorrect API keys) or SSL not being active. Verify both points.

My store is very slow

WooCommerce consumes more resources than a regular blog. If your store has many products or visitors, your hosting plan may be too small. In that case it’s worth considering a higher plan or hosting optimized for WooCommerce.

Frequently asked questions

Is WooCommerce free?

Yes, the WooCommerce plugin is completely free and open source. What may have a cost are additional extensions (specific payment gateways, shipping plugins, etc.).

Do I need to know how to program to create my store?

No. WooCommerce is designed to be managed from a visual panel. If you can handle WordPress, you can handle WooCommerce.

How much does it cost to create a store with WooCommerce?

The software is free. The costs are: domain, hosting, SSL certificate (free at miHosting), and your payment gateway commissions. If you hire a professional for the design, add that cost.

Can I sell digital products with WooCommerce?

Yes. WooCommerce lets you mark a product as “virtual” and “downloadable,” and manage the automatic file delivery after payment.

How many products can WooCommerce handle?

WooCommerce can handle from a few products to tens of thousands, as long as the hosting has sufficient resources. For very large catalogs, a hosting plan with more memory and a good caching system is recommended.

Your store is ready

Creating an online store with WooCommerce requires several steps, but each one is simple if you do them in order: install WordPress, activate SSL, install WooCommerce, configure products, payments and shipping, and test a purchase before opening to the public.

If your store grows and needs more resources, at miHosting you have plans optimized for WooCommerce with LiteSpeed cache, frequent backups and support from real technicians. You can also commission us to design your complete store from €350 with WordPress and WooCommerce, including domain and hosting.

If you have questions during configuration, open a support ticket from your client panel and we’ll help you step by step.