Incorporating Woo-commerce without change of domain

  • Unknown's avatar
    maikaelelo · Member ·

    I would like to ask, can I build an eCommerce platform without having to pay. I am currently learning how to build one with basic knowledge of web development.

    WP.com: Yes
    Correct account: Yes

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to moderators and staff)

  • kokkieh · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    Can you tell me what type of online store you want to create? What type of products do you want to sell, and do you want something simple, or something with multiple payment and shipping options built in?

    Or are you just trying to learn how ecommerce sites in general work without having anything to sell just yet?

    If you just want to build one to learn, you can do this for free by installing WordPress and WooCommerce locally on your computer. You’ll need special software to do this – popular options are WAMP, or Local by Flywheel, both of which are themselves free. That software creates a virtual server on your computer, where you can then install the WordPress software and access it in your browser, without the site actually being online.

    You’ll be using the open source version of WordPress in that case. You can find their installation instructions here:

    https://wordpress.org/support/article/installing-wordpress-on-your-own-computer/

    And you can find their forum specifically for help with local installations here:

    https://wordpress.org/support/forum/localhost-installs/

    The moment you want the site to be accessible online to other people, however, you’ll need to pay. This is because you’ll need a server to store the site’s data on, and that server needs to be connected to the internet, and both servers and bandwidth cost money.

    You can either set up and maintain your own server (really just a computer with a specific operating system for servers installed), or you can pay a web hosting provider to use their servers instead. Paying for hosting is generally much cheaper and much easier than running your own servers :)

    Here on WordPress.com, you’ll need to be on our Business or eCommerce plan to use WooCommerce, as those are the only plans where you’re able to install plugins. But our hosting is optimized for WooCommerce, and support for both WordPress and WooCommerce is included in those plans, which you won’t get anywhere else.

    You can also go with a traditional WordPress host like Bluehost or Pressable where you might be able to get a cheaper hosting plan, but that most likely won’t include support for the WordPress software, and definitely won’t include support for WooCommerce. You can read a bit more about the difference between hosting with us or with another provider here:

    https://wordpress.com/support/com-vs-org/

    This is a lot of information, so let me know if you have any questions or if anything is unclear.

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