Making money with WooCommerce (WordPress e-commerce)

Making MoneyAndrew Wikel - WooThemes

@slash1andy

About WooThemes

• We make the #1 e-commerce plugin for WordPress.

• We currently power approx. 30% of every online store.

I Like Legos.And Star Wars.And Star Wars

Legos.

My Background

• I love WordPress

• I’ve been working with it since 2008

• I worked for a non-profit for 7 years before coming to WooThemes

• I work in Payment Gateways Support for WooThemes

The #1 tip to get people to give you money is this:

Make it as easy as possible for them.

–Chris Lema

“You need more than a website. You need a platform.”

It Typically Happens Like This:

• Someone (a user or a boss, or somewhere in between) looks at you and says “We need a website”.

• So you go build one or hire someone to build one.

• Then you start to realize that there is so much more that you want it to do than what it does.

Then Someone Says This:

• “Why don’t you have a store online?” (Or “Why can’t I donate online?”)

• So you start doing research on e-commerce, but you get kind of intimidated when you read about VAT collection in the EU, and PCI compliance, etc.

Then It’s All Downhill From There

• Should you use this software?

• What about this one?

• What about selling digital content? Physical products? Donations?

Think About It This Way:

• You have a message that you want to share with anyone that will listen.

• That message takes many forms, and you need a system that will allow you to harness as many of these as possible.

Your E-Commerce Platform is Just the

Start

Why Having One Platform is Better

• Compatibility

• Maintenance

• Ease of finding someone to maintain/modify

You Have Options:

• A Blog

• Digital Downloads - Images, etc.

• Physical Goods - Swag

• Donations (one-time and recurring support)

Remember that when you say “We need a

website”.

Think About This:

• Whatever you need, and whether or not you hire someone to build it, there’s one thing that you need to know:

You need to plan out what you need, and then express what you need clearly.

• Sooner is better than later. It will affect everything that happens to your platform.

Here are Some Ideas:

• Blog

• Event Calendar and Ticketing

• Free and Paid Downloads

That’s in Addition to This:

• Selling Physical Items

• Donations

Now, For Some Practical Tips

What are Customers Looking For?

• They are looking for ease of checkout

• Reasonable shipping with alternatives

• Multiple Payment options (PayPal, Credit Cards, Amazon, etc.)

• A mobile friendly experience

User Trust

• This is huge. If you don’t have the users’ trust, they won’t give you money.

• There are many factors, and not all of them are technical

Do

• Have a clear, user-friendly privacy policy

• Make your email lists strictly opt-in

• Use an SSL on EVERY SINGLE PAGE that has a checkout form, log in form, etc. There are no exceptions.

• Foster trust in other methods of communication as well

Don’t

• Don’t obscure your return policy or privacy policy

• Don’t ever have a credit card form on a plain HTTP page. Please just don’t.

• Don’t mail people without their permission or sell or give their info to others.

Cart Abandonment

• Approx. 42% of customer on average never get past the 1st part of checkout

• There is a huge barrier in getting customers to checkout

Optimize Checkout Process• Tear down the “sign-in” barrier - don’t disconnect

your customer from giving you money. Customers can resent being forced to create an account.

• Provide a progress indicator - just let people know how long the process is, and where they are in it.

• Match the checkout with your site’s look and feel

• Never send your customer outside the checkout process once they are there.

• Visually reinforce all sensitive fields on the payment page

Smashing Magazine Study

• There is a clear divergence between the customer’s mental model of form-field security and the actual security.

• Many test subjects didn’t think about security until they had to enter their credit card details.

• As one test subject who had just abandoned their purchase said, “It didn’t look safe enough.” Her reaction wasn’t based on the technical security of the website, but rather on the perceived security of the fields.

• Source: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/04/06/fundamental-guidelines-of-e-commerce-checkout-design/

Payment Options

• I recommend three payment gateways:

A. Stripe

B. PayPal

C. Amazon

Shipping

• Have a few different options

• People want to see calculated rates

• People *really* like free shipping. They are willing to jump through hoops, add more to their cart, wait for promos, etc.

Taxes• Don’t mess with the government. (As much as

you might want to, it’s just not going to turn out well)

• It should be fairly straightforward to figure this out. If not, ask your accountant.

• TaxJar is a great service for managing tax rates.

• I’m not giving tax advice. :)

Store Design• Pick a theme that supports your e-commerce

plugin or pay someone to make it for you.

• Make sure that you pick a developer that is reputable and supports their product well. It’s critical.

• If you have questions, ask the e-commerce software maker. Their recommendations are probably better than a theme maker (when it comes to your store).

Pay Someone

• If you set this up yourself, give yourself a pat on the back. Then hire someone.

• Hire someone to look over your work and test everything before it all goes live. This can save your bacon.

The #1 tip to get people to give you money is this:

Make it as easy as possible for them.

@slash1andy@WooThemes