Wix is a popular website builder that makes it easy for beginners to create an online store. Whether you’re a small business owner or someone new to e-commerce, Wix offers a user-friendly platform with various tools to help you sell products online.
Why Sell on Wix?
Wix is a great platform for anyone looking to start an online store. Its ease of use, flexibility, and robust e-commerce features make it ideal for beginners. Some key reasons to sell on Wix include:
- Drag-and-Drop Builder: Wix’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows you to create a beautiful online store without any coding knowledge.
- Design Flexibility: With hundreds of professional templates and customization options, you can create a store that fits your brand’s style and personality.
- All-in-One Solution: Wix offers everything you need to run an online store, including hosting, payment gateways, marketing tools, and customer management.
- Affordable Pricing: Wix provides competitive pricing plans for businesses of all sizes, making it an attractive option for budget-conscious entrepreneurs.
Setting Up Your Wix Store
The first step in selling on Wix is to set up your online store. Wix makes this process simple with a few steps.
Choosing the Right Wix Plan
Before you can start selling, you’ll need to choose a Wix plan that supports e-commerce features. Wix offers a variety of pricing plans, but the most suitable ones for selling products are:
- Business Basic: This plan allows you to create a fully functional online store with payment processing capabilities.
- Business Unlimited: In addition to basic e-commerce features, this plan includes advanced marketing tools and more storage.
- Business VIP: The most advanced plan, which offers priority support and additional marketing features.
Each plan comes with its own set of features, so choose one based on the size of your business and the tools you need.
Creating Your Wix Account
Once you’ve selected your plan, you’ll need to create a Wix account. Go to the Wix homepage, click on “Get Started,” and sign up using your email or social media accounts. After that, you’ll be able to start building your site.
Choosing a Template
Wix offers a variety of professionally designed templates that are specifically created for online stores. When choosing a template, consider:
- Design: Choose a template that aligns with your brand’s aesthetics. Wix offers themes for different industries, such as fashion, electronics, and home decor.
- E-commerce Features: Make sure the template you choose has the necessary tools to display products, handle payments, and manage inventory.
Once you’ve chosen a template, you can start customizing it with the drag-and-drop editor.
Customizing Your Wix Store
After choosing your template, it’s time to personalize your store to match your brand. Wix’s customization options allow you to make your website unique and functional.
Customizing Your Website Layout
Wix’s drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to customize your store’s layout. You can:
- Move Elements: Change the placement of elements like product galleries, buttons, and navigation menus.
- Add Pages: Create additional pages like an About Us page, contact page, and blog.
- Edit Text and Images: Replace default text and images with your own branding materials to make your site stand out.
You can also adjust the colors, fonts, and overall style of the site to align with your brand identity.
Setting Up Your Online Store Pages
To create an effective online store, make sure to include the following pages:
- Homepage: This is the first impression customers will get of your store. Ensure your homepage features an attractive layout and highlights your best-selling products.
- Product Pages: Each product should have its own dedicated page with a detailed description, images, and pricing information.
- Checkout Page: Make the checkout process simple and secure. Wix integrates with various payment gateways to ensure smooth transactions.
- Cart Page: Ensure customers can easily view and modify the products they want to buy.
- Customer Account Page: Allow customers to create accounts to track their orders and save their details for future purchases.
Adding Products to Your Wix Store
Now that your store is set up, it’s time to add products. Wix makes adding products straightforward, whether you are selling physical or digital items.
Creating Product Listings
To add a product, go to the Wix dashboard, click on the Store Products section, and select “Add New Product.” Then, you will be prompted to provide the following information:
- Product Name: Give your product a clear and descriptive name.
- Product Description: Include detailed information about the product, its features, and its benefits.
- Product Images: Upload high-quality images to showcase the product from different angles. You can also add videos or 360-degree views if applicable.
- Pricing: Set the price of the product and, if necessary, apply discounts or sales prices.
- Inventory Management: Track your stock levels and set up notifications for when products are running low.
For digital products, you can enable an automatic download option once the customer has completed the purchase.
Organizing Products into Categories
To make it easier for customers to navigate your store, organize your products into categories, such as “Clothing,” “Accessories,” or “Electronics.” This helps customers find the items they are looking for quickly and improves the shopping experience.
Setting Up Product Variations
If your product has different sizes, colors, or other variations, Wix allows you to create product options for each variation. For example, a t-shirt could have options for color and size. Simply add these options to the product listing, and customers will be able to choose the variation they want before purchasing.
Managing Payments and Taxes
For an online store, it’s crucial to set up secure payment options and manage taxes effectively.
Configuring Payment Gateways
Wix supports various payment gateways, including:
- Wix Payments: Wix’s own payment solution that supports credit card payments, debit card payments, and other local methods.
- PayPal: A popular option for online payments.
- Stripe: Allows for credit card payments directly on your site.
- Other Third-Party Options: Wix also integrates with several third-party gateways like Square and Authorize.Net.
To configure payments, go to the Accept Payments section in your Wix dashboard and choose the payment methods you want to offer.
Managing Taxes
Wix provides an option to automatically calculate taxes based on the customer’s location. You can set up tax rules by navigating to the Taxes section of your dashboard. Make sure to configure taxes for both local and international orders to comply with tax laws in different regions.
Shipping and Delivery
Setting up shipping is an essential part of running an online store. Wix allows you to customize your shipping methods based on your needs.
Setting Up Shipping Methods
Wix allows you to offer multiple shipping options, including:
- Flat Rate Shipping: Charge the same shipping fee for all orders, regardless of the item.
- Price-Based Shipping: Charge customers based on the total price of their order.
- Weight-Based Shipping: Calculate shipping based on the weight of the items in the cart.
- Free Shipping: Offer free shipping for certain conditions, such as on orders above a certain amount.
You can also integrate with shipping carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx to provide real-time shipping rates and tracking.
Managing Shipping Zones
Wix allows you to set up different shipping zones based on regions. This helps you charge appropriate shipping fees depending on the destination. You can set up zones for local, national, and international shipping.
Promoting Your Wix Store
To increase sales, you need to drive traffic to your Wix store. Wix provides several built-in marketing tools to help you promote your online store.
Using Wix SEO Tools
Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to ensure your products are visible on search engines like Google. Wix offers built-in SEO tools that allow you to:
- Optimize Product Pages: Add relevant keywords to your product titles, descriptions, and URLs.
- Meta Tags and Alt Text: Edit meta tags and add alt text to your product images to improve SEO.
- Site Analytics: Use Wix’s analytics tools to track your site’s performance and adjust your SEO strategies accordingly.
Social Media Integration
Wix allows you to integrate your store with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. You can:
- Add Social Media Buttons: Allow customers to share products on their social media accounts.
- Social Media Ads: Run paid ads on Facebook and Instagram to increase brand visibility and sales.
- Instagram Shopping: If you’re using Instagram, you can enable the Instagram shopping feature to tag products in your posts and stories, making it easy for followers to purchase.
Running Email Marketing Campaigns
Wix offers an email marketing tool that allows you to create and send newsletters, promotions, and updates to your customers. You can segment your audience based on their purchase history, location, and preferences to send personalized emails that drive sales.
Managing Orders and Customer Service
Once your store is live, it’s important to effectively manage orders and provide excellent customer service.
Processing Orders
When a customer places an order, you will be notified through your Wix dashboard. You can:
- View Order Details: Access the customer’s information, items purchased, and shipping address.
- Update Order Status: Mark orders as “Processed,” “Shipped,” or “Delivered” based on their status.
- Print Shipping Labels: Wix integrates with shipping carriers to allow you to print shipping labels directly from the dashboard.
Customer Support
Wix provides tools to help you handle customer inquiries. You can set up:
- Contact Forms: Allow customers to reach out to you for support.
- Live Chat: Integrate a live chat feature for real-time communication.
- Return and Refund Management: Set clear return and refund policies and handle customer returns smoothly.
By setting up these features and using Wix’s marketing tools, you can efficiently manage your store, attract customers, and increase sales.