How to Start an Online Store in 1 Hour

In this blog post, we’ll show you how you can start an online store in 1 hour using WordPress, an Astra theme, and WooCommerce.

Have you been thinking about setting up an online store but keep putting it off because you think it will be too much work? Or maybe you’ve started to look into it but feel overwhelmed by all of the steps involved?

But, Is it possible to build an online store quickly?

Yes! It is very possible to build an online store quickly. All you need is WordPress, an Astra theme, and a WooCommerce plugin. These 3 tools are all you need to set up and launch your store.

Step 1: Choose Your Domain Name and Hosting Plan

The first step is to choose your domain name and hosting plan. Your domain name should be something that’s easy to remember and represents your brand well. Once you’ve settled on a domain name, you’ll need to choose a hosting plan.

Finding a managed WordPress host such as Flywheel, WP Engine, or Kinsta is the best option for most people. This is because they take care of all of the technical aspects of running WordPress for you so that you can focus on running your online store.

Most new entrepreneurs would be happy for a long time on the starter plan with Flywheel, and others start with “tiny” because they just aren’t sure how well their website will do. If testing the waters, go with tiny. If you are committing, the starter plan is the most popular for single sites.

You may be able to register a domain name with your host. If not, GoDaddy is a popular and easy-to-use option for registering domain names.

Step 2: Install WordPress

Once you’ve chosen your domain name and hosting plan, the next step is to install WordPress. If you’re using a managed WordPress host, they will usually have a one-click install process that makes it super easy to get WordPress installed. You’ll receive your WordPress email and password from your web host. Always change your password after having been assigned one.

If you’re not using a managed WordPress host, don’t worry—installing WordPress is still pretty easy. Follow the step-by-step instructions provided by your Host.

Step 3: Choose a Theme

Now that you have WordPress installed, it’s time to choose a theme.

While there are many available, a popular choice is a pre-made theme such as the Astra theme. This is a great option if you’re not familiar with coding or if you want to get your online store up and running quickly.

With Astra, you can use one of their ready-made starter templates idea for eCommerce websites, or build from scratch: more on that here. Choose from theme templates including niches such as plants, organics, shoes, toys, furniture, baby, beauty, jewelry, fashion, and more.

Plus, Astra is WooCommerce optimized so it works great with the WooCommerce plugin (more on that in the next step).

Astra offers popular features for eCommerce stores such as:

Step 4: Install the WooCommerce Plugin

Now it’s time to install the WooCommerce plugin. WooCommerce is a free (with premium add-on options) eCommerce plugin that allows you to sell physical and digital products, as well as services and memberships on your website.

Here are 10 reasons to use WooCommerce when building your online store.

1. WooCommerce is free, although it does offer premium options.
2. WooCommerce is easy to use. Even if you’re not a tech-savvy person, you’ll be able to set up and manage your online store with ease. 
3. There are no limits on what you can sell with WooCommerce. Whether you’re selling physical goods, digital products, or services, WooCommerce can help you do it. 
4. You’ll have full control over your store with WooCommerce. With other platforms, you may be limited in what you can do or how you can customize your store. With WooCommerce, there are no such restrictions – you can do whatever you want to make your store look and function exactly how you want it to. 
5. You can extend the functionality of your store with plugins. If there’s something specific you want your store to do, chances are there’s a plugin that will help you do it – and if there isn’t, you can always hire a developer to create a custom plugin for you. 
6. Speaking of plugins, there are plenty of them available for WooCommerce users – and many of them are free. Whether you need a plugin to help with shipping, payments, marketing, or anything else, chances are there’s a plugin that will meet your needs (and budget). 
7. Worried about security? Don’t be – WooCommerce is built on WordPress, which is itself a very secure platform. In addition, there are plenty of security plugins available for WooCommerce stores that will help keep your site safe from hackers and other malicious activity. 
8. Not sure how to get started? No problem – there are plenty of resources available to help you get started with WooCommece, including documentation, blog posts, video tutorials, and more.
9. Are you thinking about expanding your business by selling internationally? No problem – WooCommerce makes it easy to sell to customers anywhere in the world. 
10. Last but not least, choosing WooComerce over another platform could save you money in the long run since it has lower transaction fees than many other platforms (including Shopify). 

As you can see from the above list, there are plenty of good reasons to choose WooComerce when building an online store using WordPress and Astra – so what are you waiting for? Get started today!

To install the plugin, head to your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins » Add New. Search for WooCommerce, then click Install Now and Activate.

WooCommerce will then take you through a setup wizard to help you get started with adding your products, payments, shipping, and more.

Step 5: Add Your Products

Once you’ve gone through the WooCommerce setup wizard, it’s time to start adding your products. You can add as many products as you want, and there are several different product types that you can choose from including physical products, digital products, services, and memberships.

To add a product, go to your WordPress dashboard and click on Products » Add New. From there, you’ll be able to enter all of the details about your product including the name, description, price, images, and more.

Be sure to also add a featured image for your product as this will be what shows up on the shop page and other places around your website.

Step 6: Add a Payment Gateway  

Adding a payment gateway like PayPal or Stripe will allow customers to pay for their purchases directly on your website without having to leave the site (which could result in them abandoning their shopping carts). There are lots of great payment gateway plugins available for WooComerce—just do a search on the Plugin Directory and pick one that meets your needs!

Step 7: Customize Your Checkout Page   

By default, WooCommerce uses a fairly basic checkout page layout. However, there are lots of great plugins available that allow you to customize the look of your checkout page (or even create a completely custom checkout page from scratch). This can be helpful if you want to ensure that your checkout page matches the overall design of your website.

Step 8:  Set Up Shipping Options 

 If you’re selling physical products, you’ll need to set up shipping options so that customers can choose how they want their order delivered (e.g., standard shipping, overnight shipping, etc.). WooCommerce makes it easy to set up shipping zones and rates—just follow these instructions.

That’s it! You now know how to build an online store using WordPress, an Astra theme, and WooCommerce in less than one hour. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and give it a try! We think you’ll be surprised at how easy it is (and how quickly you can get up and running)!