building an e-commerce site

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  tborody · Member · May 25, 2014 at 3:53 pm

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  Hi! I’m interested in building an e-commerce site to sell products with WordPress. I’m over whelmed by all the info on the site(s) here and need some guidance. Can you outline for me my choices? 1. Do I need to have a store at Ecwid, Shopify, or Shoplocket first? 2. Can I start with a WP site and THEN add the e-commerce capability? 3. Is Woocommerce a whole different option, and why is it different? 4. Is Paypal an option?

  Thanks for your help,

  Terra B

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  gracejiyoung · Member · May 26, 2014 at 6:42 pm

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  Hi Terra,

  I’d be happy to help! I’ll answer your questions by the way you numbered them :).

  1. Do I need to have a store at Ecwid, Shopify, or Shoplocket first?

  Yes, you would need to have a store at either one of the three above, and then you can activate and connect to your store. Please view this guide on details about doing this:

  Sell Online on WordPress.com

  Here are links to the support docs of the individual stores:

  Shoplocket
  Ecwid
  Shopify

  2. Can I start with a WP site and THEN add the e-commerce capability?

  Yes! You can create your WordPress.com site first and then add the eCommerce capability by purchasing the WordPress.com Business upgrade. In addition to eCommerce features, you would get a free domain, Custom Design upgrade, VideoPress, Unlimited Space, and access to 50+ Premium Themes. View the guide for more details.

  3. Is Woocommerce a whole different option, and why is it different?

  Yes, Woocommerce is a self-hosted, WordPress.org plugin. To clear up any confusion, WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two different entities. At WordPress.com, we provide hosting, support, and tons of features for blogs. Users also have the option to purchase a variety of upgrades to customize the look and feel of their blog. WordPress.org is a software for self-hosted sites. With WordPress.org, users are provided access to all backend files and can upload custom themes and plugins like Woocommerce.

  Check here to learn more about the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org:

  WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org

  So in order to do this you would have to move to WordPress.org, and find a host.

  4. Is Paypal an option?

  Yes! So if you don’t want to have a full on store, and just add a PayPal Buy now or Donate button you can! You can add this button to any page/post/widget on WordPress.com for free. Here’s a guide on setting this up.

  Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!