Start with WooCommerce in 5 Steps

In this Getting Started guide, we teach you how to set up a website with WooCommerce.

Choose Hosting

See Official WooCommerce Hosting page for our recommendations.

Use a Different Host and Install WordPress

If you choose another host instead of WordPress.com you can use the free WordPress software platform. Many hosting companies have one-click WordPress installation available, so be sure to look for this option or ask if it’s available. Otherwise, you can download from WordPress.org and then install by following instructions at How to install WordPress.

Activate WooCommerce

With your self-hosted website up and running, it’s time to install ecommerce functionality with WooCommerce. There are three ways to do this.

Create a free account on WooCommerce.com
- Sign-up for an account on WordPress.com and WooCommerce.com
- Select from:
  - A pre-installed solution with a trusted host
  - Auto-installing WooCommerce if you have a WordPress site already
  - Download the zip file and do it yourself
Install WooCommerce
- Download the WooCommerce plugin
  - Download the plugin
  - Go to your website
  - Go to: Dashboard > Plugins > Add New > Upload
  - Select the downloaded plugin
  - Install
  - Activate
- Search for the WooCommerce plugin from within your website
  - Go to your website
  - Go to: Dashboard > Plugins > Add New > Search Plugins
  - Search for “WooCommerce”
  - Install
  - Activate

Upon activating the plugin, you are prompted with a Setup Wizard. We strongly advise following these steps, as it takes you through initial setup.

Pick a Theme

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In the Setup Wizard mentioned above, you will be asked to pick a theme. The theme you choose will determine the starting look and layout of your store/site (though you can customize it from there!). You can use a free theme included with WordPress or purchase a premium theme.

We recommend Storefront and its child themes because they are built and optimized for WooCommerce. Storefront is free. If you wish to add functionality, you can purchase Storefront extensions.

If Storefront isn’t for you, there are lots of other themes that work great with WooCommerce.

Extend WooCommerce

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Grow your store by adding functionality with extensions. We sell extensions for nearly everything: Subscriptions, Bookings, Memberships, payment gateways, shipping, and much more.

You can start a store/website for free and scale up as your customer base and revenue grow. Each extension is purchased on a subscription that gives you access to support and product updates. A subscription is billed annually.

Learn More

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Head over to our WooCommerce documentation for next steps.

Questions and support

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Do you still have questions and need assistance?

This documentation is about the free, core WooCommerce plugin, for which support is provided in our community forums on WordPress.org. By searching this forum, you’ll often find that your question has been asked and answered before.

If you haven’t created a WordPress.org account to use the forums, here’s how.

If you’re looking to extend the core functionality shown here, we recommend reviewing available extensions in the WooCommerce Marketplace.
Need ongoing advanced support or a customization built for WooCommerce? Hire a Woo Agency Partner.
Are you a developer building your own WooCommerce integration or extension? Check our Developer Resources.

If you weren’t able to find the information you need, please use the feedback thumbs below to let us know.