WooCommerce adds catalog, inventory, cart, checkout, payment and order-management capabilities to WordPress. Before installing it, make sure WordPress is updated, a compatible theme is active and the site has basic pages for the homepage, contact information and content.
Prepare WordPress
Set the intended homepage and posts page under Reading settings. Use a descriptive permalink structure, configure the primary navigation and create a staging backup. These basics prevent the store setup from being mixed with unrelated site-structure changes.
Install and create required pages
Install WooCommerce from the plugin directory or an approved package. The setup process creates Shop, Cart, Checkout and My Account pages. Confirm that each page is assigned correctly in WooCommerce settings before testing products.
Configure store operations
Set the selling location, currency, product units, tax behavior, shipping zones, email notifications and supported payment gateways. Add only the product fields the business actually uses so administration remains understandable.
Test before launch
Place test orders using each payment and shipping route. Check tax, stock reduction, confirmation email, order status and refund behavior. Review privacy and terms pages, secure the checkout with HTTPS and keep plugins updated through a staging-first release process.