One of the first things that comes to my mind when I think about WordPress is the blog I started my senior year of college. I don’t know why this is my association, it just is. It’s not like this was my first encounter with WordPress.
Actually, I worked managing the student newspaper website for a year before that, which was powered by WordPress. So it’s interesting to me that this would be what comes to mind.
I don’t think I’m alone in this thought pool, though. I think it is pretty common for people, when they hear of WordPress to associate it with blogging. While blogs are a big portion of what WordPress does, there are so many other kinds of websites WordPress can power. Like I said, I managed the website of the student newspaper for my university.
Outside of blogs and student newspapers, WordPress is host to many other website opportunities for small businesses, big businesses, and even e-commerce stores. This notion of using WordPress for an e-commerce store seems foreign, but there is definitely a lot of potential there.
Can I Use My WordPress for My E-Commerce Store?
WordPress sites are designed to change and meet your needs. It is designed to permit additions, like an e-commerce component.
Let’s say you’ve had your website for a while and you have cultivated a following. Now, you want to branch into selling merchandise.
You definitely don’t want to abandon all of this progress you’ve already made.The adaptability of WordPress allows for it to be one of the better content management systems on the market. All you have to do is go to your Plugins and add whichever e-commerce option you want.
If you are new to WordPress, plugins are the things that you can add to your website that go on the header, footer, or sidebar of your site. Plugins allow for further customization of the site and can range from Social Media links to advertisements to, yes, e-commerce selections. There is even a WordPress header plugin for customizing the header that could determine the WordPress header size and if we indulge in more examples bloggers can even benefit from the WordPress header template for super personalized WP headers! Afterall an awesome WordPress header and the visuals give a good first impression in front of the customers.
You can also decide where you want Plugins to show up and when, giving you the ability to turn your website into an e-commerce machine.
If you don’t sell merchandise, let’s say you offer services instead, there’s a plugin for that too
What Types of Website Design Does WordPress Offer?
If you are new to WordPress, you might not know about the hundreds of templates they have available. As a WordPress beginner, you maybe selected the first option that seemed somewhat right.
Well, let me be the first to tell you that you only scratched the surface of what WordPress has to offer. WordPress has many options that are ideal for any situation, allowing you to choose the one that is going to best showcase your products or services.
You can select a design that shows large pictures providing potential clients with an idea of your products/examples of your services. Or, if you think your products or services are better shared through the descriptions, you can go with smaller pictures with large captions.
Outside of the purpose of your site being for e-commerce, you can add plugins to your existing site as mentioned above, and push your products or services in a more subtle route.
The e-commerce world is your oyster when you are using WordPress.
Is WordPress Right for Me?
WordPress offers a lot of resources for the newcomer. I didn’t understand WordPress at first either, but I stuck with it. I watched some tutorials, read what I could and fell in love.
What makes WordPress ideal for everyone is that it is customizable even though it is pre-formatted. I know, it’s counterintuitive, but hear me out. WordPress comes with these themes that allow you to accomplish all the heavy lifting of designing the website fairly quickly. Then, you get to spend time creating and curating your content to appear how you want it to.
Once you’ve accomplished this, you can download plugins that increase your customization and give you the website that you want.
Adaptability, Versatility, Customizability
WordPress websites serve as an ideal option for anyone seeking to get into the e-commerce business.
It allows you to update your existing website to adapt to your new service or product offerings. You can continue to use your website how you were using it prior, providing versatility. Finally, the ability to customize it and make it the way you want it to be ensures that you’re website is a true representation of you and your products or services.