- Allison Ko
- Apr 25
- 12 min read
Turn your ideas into sales and start selling with Wix eCommerce →
Turning an idea into an online store might seem overwhelming at first—especially if you're building it from scratch. But it has become a whole lot easier in recent years, especially with platforms like Wix that handle a lot of the heavy lifting. Whether you're selling physical products, digital downloads or a mix of both, Wix offers a straightforward way to get started.
This walkthrough covers the basics of opening an online store using Wix's eCommerce tools. Keep reading for steps on going from blank page to open shop.
Ready to start your start a business in eCommerce? Now’s the perfect time to bring your vision to life. With Wix eCommerce, you have the tools to build a professional online store and create a website that captivates your audience, drives traffic and boosts sales. Take the first step and explore Wix eCommerce today.
The essential steps to building your online store with Wix
01. Build your storefront
In eCommerce, good design is all about finding the sweet spot between looks and usability. It’s the blend of layout and visual elements that helps guide shoppers through the buying process in a way that feels natural.
Wix makes it easy to put those design principles into practice. You have two simple ways to get started: either browse from 900+ designer-made templates, or tap AI for help. Here’s a closer look at both.
Option A: choose an eCommerce template
Pick from a variety of free eCommerce website templates. As a starting point, consider is the size of your product catalog.
For a large product catalog: Consider a template that comes pre-built with several product categories, deep search and store navigation functions. This will help organize your catalog and make it easy for customers to shop your site.
For a small product catalog: Choose a template that puts your products front and center and showcases your entire catalog from your homepage.
For just one product: Choose a template that focuses on a quick buyer flow by putting your product at the center and focusing on a quick purchase experience.
Wix Graphic Designer Kobi Michaeli further notes, "Don’t judge a template simply by its looks. Think about what you need your website to do. At minimum, you should know the main purpose of your website, the main pages you need, the main action(s) you want visitors to take and the types of content you want to add."
"At the end of the day, the template you choose should reflect your unique needs," he adds. "Don’t get too distracted by how attractive a template is—look first at its features and usability.
Option B: use Wix's AI website builder
If you’re looking for more bespoke designs, Wix’s AI website builder might be your best bet. Simply chat with AI to receive a fully functional website.
The builder will weigh your business goals with industry best practices—plus Wix's decades worth of experience in web design—to suggest the best design for you. The finished site will include custom images, text, essential pages and integrated apps.
02. Add your branding and customize the design
Once you’ve got the bones of your store in place, you'll want to spend some time customizing the design to your liking. No matter if you started with a template or AI, you can use the Wix Editor to make precise changes.
Start by uploading your logo, custom fonts and brand colors into the Editor; you can set a site theme that keeps everything consistent across your site. You've also got multiple AI tools at your disposal to help fine tune your layout, graphics and more.
Tip: If you're starting an eCommerce business for the first time, Wix's free store name generator and logo maker may come in handy. Or, pair up with a professional designer in the Wix Marketplace.
As you tweak your site, pay attention to several details that could heavily impact the experience on your site:
Clear navigation: Organize your online store with menus, categories and helpful filters. Add a search box so shoppers can find what they’re looking for right away.
Clear visual hierarchy: Ensure the most important elements stand out using size, color and placement (e.g., product titles should be prominent, with calls-to-action [CTAs] like “Add to Cart” in bold).
Clean layout: Avoid clutter. Use white space strategically to draw attention to products and CTAs.
Trust signals: Include customer reviews and ratings for social proof. Display any visual cues (such as “Secure Checkout" symbols and logos of reputable customers) that can reassure visitors that they’re dealing with a legitimate brand.
Mobile-first design: A huge chunk of traffic is mobile—your store should look and work great on phones and tablets, not just desktops. Every Wix site is automatically optimized to look great on mobile, but the more you change on the desktop version, the more you may need to adjust on the mobile view. Make sure to review both the desktop and mobile layouts of your store from the Editor.
Accessibility: Ensure your site is accessible to people with disabilities by following WCAG guidelines. Use high-contrast text, descriptive alt text for images and keyboard-navigable menus.
Checkout: Customize the checkout form according to expected behaviors. On Wix, you can set conditional rules, custom fields, policy checkboxes and/or subscription checkboxes (among other things).
View more eCommerce website optimization tips.
03. Add your products
Now that your store’s set up, it’s time to fill it with the products you'll be selling.
If you’re creating a new product catalog from scratch, upload your products individually to your store through your Wix dashboard. Or, if you want to upload all of your product info at once, format your inventory in a CSV file or use Cart2Cart, an app that will move your existing products over to your new store.
Wix allows you to add physical products, digital items (like eBooks) and services—which your customers, in turn, can bundle together from your Wix store. But before we get ahead of ourselves, here are some things you'll want to keep an eye on.
Product images
Most customers won’t commit to a purchase if they can't clearly see what they’re buying. To that end, make sure that your photos are high quality. Follow product photography best practices, such as:
Using different types of photos: For each product, include minimalist studio shots (i.e., images of your product against a clutter-free, solid color background), lifestyle shots (e.g., images of your products in real-life settings, so customers can envision themselves using it) and other helpful shots.
Showing different perspectives: Show products from multiple angles to give a 360-degree view of it, and to demonstrate its size, fit and other key features. Enable the zoom feature on product photos so that customers can get a detailed look.
Displaying product variations: Include a photo of each variation of your product (fabric, color, pattern) to avoid any confusion.
Using product videos strategically: Videos can be an effective tool in helping sway shoppers, and are especially useful if your product requires assembly in any way. You can create and add product videos using Wix Video Maker.
Being consistent: By default, image thumbnails in your product gallery will be square. You can change the image ratio to fit your needs. Whatever image dimensions you choose, make sure they’re consistent across all of your product pages.
Product titles and descriptions
Clear product titles and product descriptions go a long way when it comes to establishing trust. As you add copy to your product pages, aim to:
Highlight key features: Prioritize your product’s most important features—like size, material, color, functionality, care instructions, etc. Think about the features that your target audience will find the most important, such as, "Soft cotton fabric, breathable, machine washable."
Use persuasive language: Focus on benefits, not just features. Instead of just saying "waterproof," say "keeps you dry in the heaviest rain." Show how the product solves a problem or makes life better.
Write with your target customer in mind: Tailor your language to match the preferences and needs of your ideal customers. Whether they’re tech enthusiasts, fitness buffs, or fashion lovers, adjust your tone accordingly.
Incorporate keywords for SEO: Use relevant keywords to help your product pages appear on your site search, as well as on search engines like Google.
Consider size and fit (for apparel or accessories): Provide size charts and fit details to help customers make confident purchasing decisions. For example, “Model is 5’9” and wearing size Medium.”
Reinforce your policies: Include details around your shipping, return and refund policies in the description. That way, customers can decide to buy without needing to leave the product page.
Other trust-building features
Great product pages do more than just show and tell. Use this space to build trust—add social proof, product suggestions and real-time support to help shoppers along the way.
Product suggestions
With Wix, you can easily add AI-powered product suggestions to any page. In fact:
Wix stores that display related items on their product pages get an average of 43% more sales transactions.
Customer reviews
Add customer reviews to turn interest into action. Download the Wix Reviews app to collect and display real customer feedback. Ask your buyers to submit photos and videos—and stay in control with review management capabilities.
On-site chat
Let visitors contact you in real time through an on-site chat box, which is available in two different forms: the classic Wix Chat or the Wix AI Site Chat. The AI Site Chat can engage your customers in conversation and answer their questions based on your site content and other details you train it on.
Wix stores that offer live chat see an average of eight to12 times higher revenue, and those that recommend products to customers via live chat generate an average of 71% more sales.
Clear policies
Your shoppers need to understand what they’re getting into when they buy from your store. Clear, accessible shipping and return policies show you’re a business that plays fair—no surprises, no fine print. Take a moment to update your store’s policy section with terms you’d feel confident standing behind. You can additionally add an FAQ page using Wix FAQ.
Looking for some great examples of high-converting product pages? Check out these product page examples for inspiration.
04. Choose how to get paid
Now for the fun part: getting paid. To accept online payments, you need to connect at least one payment gateway to your site. But more often than not, you'll want to offer multiple payment options at checkout so shoppers can choose the method they trust most—whether that’s credit card, PayPal or digital wallets like Apple Pay. The easier you make it to pay, the more likely they are to complete the purchase.
On average, Wix stores with three or more payment methods have 39% higher sales revenue.
Add payment methods
To start accepting payments online, go to your Wix dashboard, click "Settings," then "Accept payments." Choose from one of the 80+ payment providers that Wix supports, including the ones listed below. Note: however your customers pay, you’ll be able to review all your payments in detail from your Wix dashboard.
Wix Payments. Our native payment provider gives you the most efficient way to accept debit/credit card payments for your business without setting up a third-party payment gateway. With Wix Payments, you can offer recurring payments, subscriptions, additional payment methods and more, while managing your entire business and payments—right from your Wix dashboard.
PayPal. Accept PayPal at checkout and open your store to their wide network of users. If customers choose PayPal at checkout, they’ll be directed to PayPal’s website to quickly complete the purchase. Once they’ve paid, they’ll be sent back to your online store.
Stripe. If you decide not to use Wix Payments, you can select Stripe for debit/credit card payments. Stripe currently accepts 135+ currencies and supports recurring payments.
Buy now, pay later (BNPL). Get paid in full while letting your customers buy now and split their costs into affordable payments over time. Add popular BNPL solutions like Affirm, Afterpay, Sezzle and more.
Wix Point of Sale (POS). Unify all your online and in-person sales with Wix POS. Accept payments from customers in person, at your physical store or when selling on the go, like at a festival, marketplace or pop-up. Wix POS is available to select U.S.-based Wix Stores users and includes a dedicated POS solution for Wix Events, too.
Discover the wide network of payment providers offered on Wix.
Set shipping rates
Calculate shipping in your online store by defining your shipping regions and rates. You can add custom rules to incentivize purchases, like free shipping for purchases over $100. You can also give customers options for expedited shipping.
There are many ways to approach how you determine shipping methods and rates. Keep in mind that things like free shipping can serve as a strong incentive for online shoppers. In fact, Wix eCommerce stores that offer free shipping have an average of 18% higher average order value.
If you have a brick-and-mortar location, offering in-store pickup and local delivery can similarly serve as an incentive while reducing your shipping costs; Wix stores that offer in-store pickup have an average of 10% higher revenue.
Set up tax collection
To include store tax at checkout, you can enter tax rates manually in your dashboard. It’s important to note, however, that tax rules can be complicated depending on where you are based, where your customers are based, and what you sell.
Wix works with an automated third-party software, Avalara, to provide automated tax rates for transactions across the U.S., the EU and elsewhere around the world, so you don’t have to calculate your store’s tax yourself. The Avalara tax calculator works with up-to-date tax rules based on your region. Activate Avalara in your "Tax" settings by entering your business location.
Automate order confirmation
Customers expect communication about their order status, which you can set up and send automatically with order email notifications.
Your Wix store comes with a few preloaded automatic emails: order confirmation email, shipping confirmation email, 'resend download links' email (which lets you resend download links to digital products) and a 'ready for pickup' email (if you enable curbside pickup). Edit the design and text of these emails to fit your branding.
Within Wix, you can additionally create a range of customized automated emails, such as abandoned cart automations—as well as virtual receipts.
05. Optimize your site for SEO
Search engines are one of the first places shoppers go when they’re looking for something to buy. Investing in SEO (search engine optimization) can improve your chances of showing up in the top results—bringing more eyes (and potential customers) to your products.
Wix offers several SEO solutions that can help bring your store to the forefront.
Wix SEO Setup Checklist: As its name suggests, the SEO checklist is a step-by-step plan designed to help you improve your site's SEO. It walks you through setting up the basics, and shows you how you can continue to boost your online presence over time. To get a custom checklist, simply enter your business location and keywords.
Built-in AI tools: Wix offers a variety of native AI tools to help with SEO, including an AI meta tag creator and blogging tools, which can help you generate fully optimized content in a matter of minutes.
Wix SEO Learning Hub: Get more in-depth guides and expert advice for improving your SEO skills.
Google Business Profile: A Google Business Profile is a free online listing that allows your business to manage how it appears in Google search results and Google Maps, providing key information like location, hours and customer reviews. From your Wix dashboard, you can create a new profile or connect an existing one so that everything is managed in one place.
06. Publish and manage your store
At this stage, your store is ready to go live. Pick a short, memorable domain name—ideally, your store’s name—so customers can easily find you. You can either buy a new domain through Wix or connect one you already own. After securing your domain, preview your site to ensure everything looks perfect, then hit publish and launch your store.
Remember, your job isn't done after you hit "publish." Moving forward, you'll want to continue keeping a close eye on website performance and/or expanding upon your site. At minimum, consider taking advantage of the following tools.
Wix Analytics
Wix Analytics shows you how visitors engage with your business, so you can organize your workflows, manage your customer relationships and maximize your sales. You've got a number of different reports to choose from, including a "Top Traffic Sources" report and "Sales Over Time" report. You can even tap Analytics AI to get quick answers to any questions you have about your business or website performance.
Wix App
Download the Wix App to run your online store from anywhere. Review your orders, add new products, manage coupons, create social posts and more from your phone.
Depending on your region, you can also accept payments from customers on the go—whether you’re selling at a temporary location or run into a customer on the street—by setting up a mobile point of sale.
Marketing tools
Now that you know how to start an online store, get it out there. Test various eCommerce marketing strategies and ways to drive traffic to your online store with the help of AI-powered advertising and marketing tools. Easily create professional promo videos, social posts and email campaigns, all from your Wix dashboard.
Extra resources
Connect with our online community of fellow eCommerce professionals who use Wix. In addition, explore Wix's eCommerce courses or check out the Wix eCommerce Help Center as needed.
Related reading:
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