This article serves as a beginner’s guide, providing step-by-step for how to set up an Ecwid store in 2024.
If you’re here, you might already know about Ecwid and want to sell stuff online. But if you’re new to it, take a look at our detailed Ecwid review first.
Making and looking after a website is a big task, especially for small businesses. That’s where Ecwid helps out. They sort out setting up and looking after your website, giving you tools to start quickly.
With Ecwid, you can concentrate on growing your business while they handle your website. Interested? Let’s make a free online store with Ecwid.
8 Easy Steps for How to Set Up an Ecwid Store
Usually, to make an online store from scratch, you need a CMS (Content Management System). CMS helps you build, handle, and change a website. But it’s hard and needs website-making skills.
If you want a simple way to make an online store, you can try paid eCommerce platforms. They take care of all your back-end needs and give you tools to make a website without needing lots of tech knowledge. They handle your online presence and let you focus on your products or services.
Then there’s Ecwid, which offers both free and paid plans.
If you’re a business owner who wants to start an online store without much tech trouble and for free, Ecwid is great to start with.
With Ecwid, you don’t just get a website to tell people about your stuff, but also a built-in store to help you sell your stuff.
You don’t need coding skills or tech knowledge to use Ecwid. Just add your products and business details, and you’re set to sell online.
If you already have a website but want to sell stuff on it, Ecwid has a simple plugin or extension. It works well with common website-making platforms like WordPress. It helps turn your site into an online store without much fuss.
With that said, let’s start making your online store with Ecwid.
1. Create your Ecwid Account
Starting with Ecwid is easy and free. Just visit Ecwid.com and find the “Get started for Free” button at the top-right corner. Click on it to begin.
Next, you’ll need to provide some basic information. Simply enter your name, email address, and create a password. It’s a quick step that should only take a minute.
Once you’ve filled in your details, click the “Next: Set up your store” button to proceed to the next step.
Now, you’ll be guided through a four-step process to finish setting up your account. Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Step 1: Enter Your Store Name and Information
Every store needs a unique name that shows what it sells. So, first, add your store’s name and choose your country and currency.
No worries! You can change your store’s name later if you want.
Step 2: Add Your Company Address
Now, let’s add your company’s address. Enter the city, region, and postal code where your company is located.
This step is important because it’s used for verification and payment. If you don’t have a company address yet, you can use your home address or another address where you ship orders.
Step 3: Answer Some Questions
Next, Ecwid will ask you three simple questions to help set up your store later.
If you’ve already started, you might have seen these questions:
- Have you sold things online before?
- What will you sell in your store?
- Are you setting up the store for someone else?
You can skip these questions, but it’s good to answer them if you’re new to this.
Step 4: Add or Create a Website:
Before you finish signing up and go to your dashboard, Ecwid asks if you have a website already.
If yes, pick your website platform from the list. You can connect it later.
If not, you need to choose a domain for your store. Ecwid will give you one for free.
Click “Finish and Proceed to Dashboard” to go to the Ecwid dashboard.
2. Add Products to Your Store:
After setting up your Ecwid store, you’ll see your dashboard.
Go to “Catalog” in the left sidebar under store management to add the products or services you want to sell.
Remove the sample products and click “+Add New Product” to add your own.
When you’re adding a product to your store, remember to include these important details:
- Images: You can add lots of pictures. The first one you add will be the main picture people see. You can move the image around to change its position.
- Name: Put the name of the product. Keep it simple and clear. Don’t add too much extra stuff.
- SKU: It’s short for Stock Keeping Unit. It’s a code that helps identify each product, like who made it, the brand, what it looks like, and its size.
- Weight: If you’re selling something you can touch, like a physical product, add how much it weighs. This helps figure out how much it costs to send it to you or your customers.
- Product Description: Write a good description of the product. This helps customers understand what it is and why they might want it. It’s also a good place to put words that help people find your product when they search online.
- Price: Put the price of the product. If you have a paid Ecwid account, you can also put in sale prices or compare prices to show what a good deal your product is.
- Attributes (if any): These are extra things about the product that might be useful for customers to know, like what brand it is, what color it comes in, or how big it is.
- Related products: It’s a good idea to add products that are similar to each other. These will show up on the product page under “Related Products,” and they can help customers find other things they might like.
- SEO Customization: If you pay for Ecwid, you can also change the title and description of your pages to help more people find your online store when they search the internet.
3. Update General Settings
The next step involves adjusting your general settings. Go to the Settings option located on the left sidebar. Under the “Store Profile” section, you can edit your store name and include additional information like your company name (if different from your online business name). You can also link your social media pages from here.
In the “Regional Settings” section, customize your regional information, including currency, language, and how product prices are displayed.
Likewise, in the “Cart & Checkout” section, you’ll configure product display, checkout options, and more.
Under “Legal Pages,” you can add or activate essential legal pages such as terms & conditions, privacy policy, return policy, shipping, and payment info for your Ecwid store.
Lastly, “Tracking & Analytics” enables you to integrate your Ecwid store with crucial tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Pinterest Tag, Snapchat Pixel, and Google Ads Tags. Utilizing these tools can aid in implementing remarketing strategies and understanding the buyer persona of your potential customers.
You can also activate the GDPR cookie consent banner, which prompts visitors to consent to their activity being tracked. Visitors who opt out of tracking are excluded from statistics gathered by Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel.
4. Set Up Shipping Options
If you’re selling physical items, it’s time to sort out how they’ll get to your customers. Navigate to the “Shipping and pickup” section in the sidebar.
To add a shipping method, just click the “+Add Shipping” button. Ecwid will suggest the most popular shipping services in your area.
This is how it looks if your country is India.
Choose or create your shipping method and set the rates based on what your shipping partner charges.
5. Choose Payment Methods
Now, let’s think about how customers will pay you. You need to pick the payment method for your store. Ecwid has lots of options depending on where you are.
This depends on the payment services available where your business operates. You can choose a payment method that follows your country or region’s rules.
You can offer cash payment or add other ways for customers to pay, like Stripe, Paypal, or PayU.
6. Customize Your Store’s Look
Your free Ecwid store might need a little personal touch. To change how it looks, go to the “Design” section in the sidebar.
Once there, you can tweak your website’s appearance in the window that pops up.
Play around with the layout, product image sizes, fonts, and more to make sure your store looks just right for your customers.
8. Get Your Store Online
Once you’ve filled in all the important stuff, it’s time to launch your store! But don’t forget, there are a few more things to think about, like making your invoices look good, sorting out store labels, and setting up taxes.
You can stick with a free Ecwid online store or upgrade if you need more features.
But if you have more than 10 products or want to sell digital stuff, you’ll need to switch to one of the paid plans. The free one only lets you add up to 10 products.
How Much for Ecwid’s Paid Plans?
Making a website using a CMS can be expensive. You might need to hire a web developer who charges between $50 and $250 per hour. And it could take a week or two to finish. Not great, especially for small businesses.
A cheaper option is using hosting and web development platforms. They give you easy tools to make and run your website. It’ll cost you around $30 to $300 a month.
But Ecwid has a better deal. Check out their pricing and plans:
Ecwid gives you an online store, no matter your plan. That means you can start for free. You can upgrade later for more features, but the key is you can begin your online business without spending money.
Setting up your store is easy: sign up on Ecwid, add your products and business info, and you’re ready to go.
Ready to Launch Your Ecwid Store?
In today’s world, businesses want to reach more customers. Many are going online to sell their products. The 2020 pandemic made online shopping even more popular, and it’s still growing.
Research shows that in 2021, there were 2 billion online purchases. So, if you’re thinking about starting an online store, here’s a guide to help you do it with Ecwid.
Having an online presence is essential for business growth today. Platforms like Ecwid make it easy. You can create a great-looking website in under an hour. No need to hire a web developer or pay for hosting. Just sign up, add your info, and Ecwid will give you an online store in no time.
Once your store is set up, check out these articles for more tips on growing your online business.
