Updated: March 4, 2024
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Website builders are fascinating tools. The idea that you can create an online store, with all the complicated bells and whistles, with no line of code on your part, is simply amazing. You can get started and have your online shop set up in a matter of hours. You could be selling from your store by Monday morning. Well, unless you are reading this on a Monday morning.
There are many website builders out there, but we are gathered here today because of one: Wix. Wix offers different types of websites and the online store is but one of them. The online store is part of the Wix ecommerce plan and it differs from other website types because you can display products and accept payments.
Let us look at how to set up a Wix ecommerce store.
Step 0: Login or create your account
You need to have a Wix Account if you are going to create an online store.
To create your account on Wix, start by navigating to the homepage.
The image and theme may change but the layout won’t change much. At the top right of the homepage, you will have the option to Log In, or Get started. You can use Google to Sign in if that is your preference. It is faster than typing your credentials down or having to memorize a Wix password; it is safer too.
If you choose to Sign in with Google, follow the process to completion. Google will ask for verification that it is you and that is pretty much all you’ll need to do.
If you click on ‘Get Started’, you’ll get multiple options to sign in. Note how you can use this to Log in too.
Choose your favorite option between Google, Facebook or Apple, and follow the instructions from there. The last alternative is to type in your email and password. If you are going to use the same email and password as one of the other options, you might as well use the former; they are more secure.
After successful log in or sign up, Wix will redirect you to your account home. It looks something like this.
If you have created another website before, your account homepage might look more like this:
For both, click on Create New Site.
Choose Platform
Wix then asks you to make a choice in the platform you would like to use.
Since we are working as beginners, I would advise going with the friendly Wix option. In case you are wondering what Editor X is and whether it is better for you, I’ll prove that there is no necessary difference in our task today as we proceed on.
Enter Website Type
There are many options available for the types of websites you can choose. You may be wondering why Wix should care about the kind of website you want to start. Your choice will influence the templates they present to you. They help you narrow down the list of templates out of the possible hundreds, it’s a filter.
Click Next after you have chosen the type of website.
Enter Store Name
Wix requires you to enter your intended store name. Remember to choose a store name that is related to your business. There are several other important factors to bear in mind when choosing a business name; some are best to avoid.
Click Next after entering your store name.
Add Apps
Wix gives you several apps to add to your website. An app is a separate feature you can add or remove from your website. You can do so in the beginning or later on when your website is already up and running. We will go with the recommended ones: an online store, a chat app, a form and an instagram feed. Feel free to add others you would like your online store to have.
Click Next after you have added what you want.
Go to Dashboard
You’ll now be directed to a page where you choose which direction to take. Click Go to Dashboard so we can navigate the website from the dashboard.
Set up store
Wix directs you to your online store dashboard. On the homepage, you will notice that Wix makes it simple for you to know what you need to do next. It does this by breaking down the process into a series of steps.
Look at the top left of your dashboard and you’ll see ‘Editor X’. Editor X is the dashboard that Wix offers its users to create and edit their online application. Earlier on, when you had the option of ‘Wix’ and ‘Editor X’, this is where you would have ended up either way.
The next step in the process is to add a product. We will later set up payments, shipping and design. But first things first.
Click on the Add Product button.
Products Page
The button you clicked will direct you to the products page. You will find a couple of draft items already in place.
Each row provides a product’s basic information. You can customize your display by adding or removing the columns you would like. Also note, the default currency displayed on your products is based on your location settings. I’m currently in Kenya and the local currency which is used in my product prices is the Kenyan Shilling, Kes.
Your online store is probably going to operate worldwide. For simple bookkeeping, you could change your currency to the almighty dollar. While I would like to show you how to do it here, for the sake of continuity here, we detail the steps in a separate article. Read more on how to change your currency in Wix.
Here is how it looks once I’ve changed the currency.
The next step is to replace these placeholder products with the ones we are selling. The process deserves to be in its own article which is what we did. Here is how you add products to your online store.
After adding products to your online store. They are displayed in the products page like so.
Head back to Home once you have completed this so we can set up payments.
Set Up Payments
On your website homepage, Wix shows you that the next step is setting up payments.
Click on the Set Up Payments button. If the button is missing, you can use the alternative method. Navigate to Settings on the left tab and click on Accept Payments.
Either of the methods outlined above will take you to the page with payment options.
Wix recommends the Credit/Debit Card option. Click on Connect for the method that suits your business.
.Be sure to read the list of businesses prohibited by Wix Payments. Failure to read the list and ticking the wrong box may result in you forfeiting your payments. I would also advise you to check out this list of Wix payment processing fees so you know what expenses to expect. Click on Continue once you are confident in your choice.
The next page expects you to choose the specific modes of payments you would like to use. While you can choose any, some have a threshold to meet: tap to Pay on iPhone requires iPhone XS and iOS 15.5 or later, and Wix Point of Sale requires you to have bought the Wix POS hardware. Choose the desired method.
Click Continue once you have activated the payment methods you want.
But of course there has to be a catch. For your online store to start accepting payments, you need to upgrade your website to a Premium plan. Check out the prices here. Wix offers a sweet money back guarantee if you don’t like what you paid for. Other than that, your Wix payments connection is a success.
Let’s carry on and set up shipping next. Navigate to the homepage.
Set Up Shipping
At the homepage, you’ll see that there is progress. We have added products, set up Wix payments, and now we handle shipping.
You can also get to shipping by clicking on Settings then click on Shipping & fulfillment.
Your shipping and fulfillments page is where you set your business’ shipping.
Setting up shipping is a key part of your online store and deserves its full article. Since we believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well, we went ahead and wrote a comprehensive article covering the process of creating shipping regions and rates.
Here is how it looks after you have created regions and set shipping rates for each of them.
Now that shipping on your online store is sorted, let’s head back to the homepage and tackle the next step.
Design Your Website
Our next step is now designing the website. Click on Design Site
You get two options: letting Wix design a website for you or customizing a designed template. We’ll go with the first, you can always use the second once you are familiar with the basics.
Enter your contact details: name, email, address, phone and social accounts.
Choose theme
Click Next after entering your details. You’ll now be asked to choose your theme.
I’ll go with the Wild Rose. It suits my flower shop. Click Next once you have made your choice.
Choose homepage
We now choose a homepage design.
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When we were getting started, Wix asked for the website type I was creating. I said that I wanted to create an online flower store. From my homepage design options, we now see how they put that information to use. The homepage templates are populated with designs suitable for a flower shop. They have done the heavy lifting and have given me a flower shop homepage. I will only need to pick the best one for me.
Once you have picked one, click Next.
Choose pages
You’ll now choose the pages that you would like included in your website. Don’t worry, you can always create a new page later should you need one.
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Click Next once this is done.
Congratulations! Your site is up
Wix will complete the creation of the site for you. The site has the theme, template and pages you chose in the previous steps. You’ll then be notified once your website is up.
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As it stands, this site barely reflects what you want it to reflect about your business. You’ll need to edit it and add customized images, videos and text. We cover how to go about all this in editing your Wix website. For now we’ll go Back to Dashboard.
If you want to view the site you just created, click on Site & App and then click on View Live Site.
Wix will open a new tab to your website. One thing you’ll notice is that the website has a placeholder domain name. You need to get your domain name before you go live. It is inadvisable to work with a domain name of the format ‘youremail.wixsite.com/websitename’. It’s hard to remember. This leads to our next step.
Connect a Custom Domain
Go back to the dashboard homepage, the page that you are now familiar with. Click on Home on the left sidebar. We are now working on connecting your domain to the website.
Enter a domain name that you want or already own and click Lets Go. If you don’t own a domain name, you can get one through Wix. Be sure you know everything you need to know before purchasing a domain name.
If you don’t see the above step, you can still access domains through the settings page.
Confirm the domain name you want is available.
When you click on Get it. You’ll see this notification.
The only way to attach a domain name to your website is through upgrading to a premium plan. This is the case even if you already own a domain name. Wix offers you the option to buy a domain name without upgrading the website, but I would advise against this unless you just want to park it. Besides, some of Wix’s ecommerce plans come with a free domain name for one year.
Get Found on Google
The last step is to get found on Google. You need Google because it is one of the biggest sources of traffic. Click on the Get Started button.
Wix gives you an SEO setup checklist that you need to fill. Click on Get Started to start.
Answer the questions asked and you’ll be done.
That’s it
I know this wasn’t a short read but I promised to help you set up your online store over the weekend, I hope I delivered. There are a couple of things you may want to sort out especially if you want a functional business, such as how you’ll handle your fulfillment and what domain name to use. Don’t worry, one thing at a time and you’ll have your business. The important thing is to get started.
See you on the next one!
