WooCommerce is one of the world's leading online commerce solutions today. This free plugin allows you to sell anything online in an aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate online shop. But although the platform is very user-friendly, there are some important things to consider to ensure the success of your WooCommerce website. Here's a checklist of tips and tricks to keep in mind before and after you launch your shop.
It is easy to overlook small, yet important, details when you are too focused on launching your products or services online. To make sure that you stay ahead of your competition, do the following before your e-store goes live:
With a robust social media presence, you will easily be able to reach potential customers, grow a following, and stand out from the crowd.
Though a simple press release might get the job done, you want your store launch to attract as much attention as possible. Plan a big announcement and consider offering an opening day discount or contest.
Example: https://vaultpress.com/
Backing up your website on a regular basis may be time-consuming. But if something goes wrong, you risk losing all the content on your website. For good measure, backup your website from the start.
Adding a web analytics tool allows you to get a better picture of how well your store is doing and whether or not your marketing plans are effective. You can use the data to improve and boost your store's performance.
Through email newsletters, you can introduce new product lines, announce sales and promotions, offer discounts, and deliver other helpful information to your target audience.
Make things easy for your customers by bringing them your products in an efficient manner.
Check everything numerous times. Proofread content. Double check links, business contact details, and social media information.
Another factor to check is your store security. Many new store owners are uninformed about the importance of ensuring the safety and protection of all data stored on their website. Surely, built-in security features are available in both WordPress and WooCommerce, but you don't want to rely solely on them. Here are additional safety measures:
Example: https://brighthosting.io/
When choosing a website host, find a reliable service that makes your security a top priority. Look for safety features like up-to-date attack monitoring and virus prevention software.
Choose a long password that uses a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers. Avoid predictable passwords that use important dates like birthdays and anniversaries.
Example: https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/two-factor-authentication
When available, always enable two-factor authentication. It may add time to the login process, but the security of your business is worth it.
Set a limit on the number of times anyone can unsuccessfully attempt to login to your store. This will stop spammers and hackers dead in their tracks before they can infiltrate your site.
Example: https://wordpress.org/plugins/sucuri-scanner/
Consider adding software to your website that will provide an active defense against security threats. Choose software that performs automatic backups, data security scans, and provides protection against comment spam.
Example: https://sucuri.net/
Lock down your website’s sensitive databases via FTP to keep unwanted files out.
Keep yourself constantly abreast of WordPress or WooCommerce updates and update your shop as soon as possible. Ignoring updates can leave you especially vulnerable to attacks.
Congratulations, your WooCommerce website is published and orders are flowing in! Now what? Your website's security is even more important now. If you are not paying attention to security trends, keeping your store up-to-date, and improving or increasing the security of your website, you are making your business vulnerable to cyber attacks and putting your customers at risk. Below are five things to keep in mind as your business expands.
Hiding the WordPress version number can be helpful especially if you tend to lag behind when it comes to installing software updates. Using out of date versions of WordPress can make you vulnerable to attacks and advertising this information makes it even worse.
Always select the “Force secure checkout” option in your WooCommerce settings to ensure the protection of your customers' private billing and shipping information.
Backups and security scans are vital for the safety and security of your business. Security scans help you to find any potential vulnerabilities, and backups give you something to fall back on in case something goes wrong.
When you are running an online store, it is not recommended to use a WordPress admin account. Hackers know this account is the default, which gives them an easier way to force themselves into your site.
So the line would look like this:
1$table_prefix = 'wp_a123456_';
Note: You can only change it to numbers, letters, and underscores.
Changing the default database tables settings during installation can help prevent malicious code from being injected into your server.
Expanding your business and launching a WooCommerce store can be overwhelming. There are many things you must keep in mind if you want to be successful, including cyber security. At Bright Vessel, we understand the importance of a robust security strategy. Contact us now for more information about our WooCommerce Store Management plans.
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