WooCommerce store setup

Setup areas in order

Tax settings need care

WooCommerce can calculate tax in several ways: prices entered with or without tax, different rates for different products or locations, and display choices in the shop and cart. The right configuration depends on your tax position and where you sell, so confirm the approach with your accountant before setting it up. Getting it wrong can mean charging customers incorrectly or under-collecting tax you owe.

Record the decisions made, so anyone changing settings later understands why.

Shipping zones and rates

• Zones

  Group destinations that share rates, such as mainland, islands and international.

• Methods

  Flat rate, free shipping thresholds, local pickup or calculated carrier rates.

• Classes

  Different rates for bulky or fragile items.

• Clarity

  Show costs and delivery times before checkout.

Information customers need

What GOV.UK says sellers must provide

GOV.UK guidance on online and distance selling lists information businesses must give before an order is placed, including business name, contact details and address, the price including all taxes, how customers can pay, delivery arrangements and costs, and how customers can cancel. It states customers must be told they can cancel up to 14 days after delivery, with certain exceptions. Setting up policy pages and checkout text to cover these points is part of a proper store setup.

Setup sequence

1. 01

   Foundation

   Hosting, WordPress, WooCommerce and security set up.

   Output: Secure base

2. 02

   Rules

   Tax, shipping and payments configured from your decisions.

   Output: Store rules

3. 03

   Catalogue

   Categories, attributes and products added.

   Output: Products live on staging

4. 04

   Test and open

   Test orders, emails and policies checked.

   Output: Open store

Test before you open

Place test orders for each combination that matters: each payment method, each shipping zone, a discount code, a product with variants. Check the order emails, the stock change, the tax shown and how the order appears in the admin. Refund a test order to check that process too. Fixing problems now is far easier than after real customers are waiting.

Setting up products well

Before adding products, plan categories and attributes such as size, colour or material. Attributes used consistently make filtering and variations work properly. For variable products, decide which attributes create variations, set prices and stock per variation, and add images for each. Weights and dimensions matter if shipping rates depend on them.

For larger catalogues, importing from a spreadsheet is faster and more consistent than entering products one by one.

Order emails

Customers receive emails when they order, when orders are processed and when refunds are issued. Check that these carry your branding, the right contact details and accurate information, and that they arrive rather than landing in spam. Sending store emails through an authenticated mail service improves delivery.

Securing the store from day one

Use strong, unique admin passwords and two-step login, limit admin accounts to those who need them, keep WordPress, WooCommerce and extensions updated, and make sure backups include the database with orders. Payments should go through established gateway extensions so card details are handled by the payment provider.

Check on a phone

Browse, filter, add to cart and check out on a phone before opening. Many customers will shop that way, and small layout problems are easiest to fix before launch.