The “easy-online” guide
Good Day, I am guessing that everyone wants to get their business online at this time. Get that online shop that works well without the headache.
Well I’m going to help you.
What you’re going to use and I’ll be inserting links with exclusive discounts.
Woocommerce
Yoco
Canva
Afrihost
Step 1
Get your website… Here is a link to HostAfrica. https://my.hostafrica.co.za/aff.php?aff=164 . They have a Wonderfull WooCommerce package and amazing technical support. Their Woocommerce Package works out @ R99 per month.
Just follow their instructions and let them assist you.
Step 2
Now you get the pictures. Get your logo, product photos, ads, sliders (these are on top of the of your webpage and they highlight the specific product or page you want them to)
Use Canva, they have easy to use templates and a lot of options, and it’s FREE.
https://www.canva.com/join/dynamic-scale-post
Step 3
Get a Yoco. They have a once-off fee for the card machine, and their point of sale app is FREE. They have a payment gateway that enables online payments, gist cards and payment requests. Their Card Machines starts @ R499, here is an link to your discounted offer.
https://referral.yoco.com/36bp8N
Step 4
Setup Woocommerce.
Go to “Get you business online” a free course for more detailed information and guidance. https://creating-waves.teachable.com
https://www.projectdesign.co.za/setting-up-hosting-on-afrihost/
Setting Up Hosting On Afrihost
Click here for AFRIHOST DISCOUNT: https://my.hostafrica.co.za/aff.php?aff=164
How To Setup Hosting On Afrihost, For A WordPress Website?
Want to know how to Setup Hosting? It is much spoken about, and not often understood. Many new website owners have no idea about what hosting is, why it is there, or how it works. But do not worry. You don’t need to know about hosting to set it up for your new website. There are many different hosting platforms such as GoDaddy, Hetzner and so forth.
Since we are in South Africa, and we deal with a lot of basic WordPress builds, we generally instruct clients to use Afrihost. Afrihost is a secure and top level service provider, and is one of the best priced (For the amazing service you receive and call centre help) in South Africa, and on top of that, if you set up a hosting package with them, you get a free .co.za domain with it! Their domain renewal prices are also very reasonable as well.
I am ready To Setup Hosting For My New Website
So you want a website and you need to host it. How do you setup hosting? The steps listed below from Lionel Singh will show you how to setup hosting on Afrihost for a WordPress website. This is for a normal website or ecommerce store that only requires one database. If you have a complex website, or you aren,t quite sure how to set it up, or you have some questions on hosting please do not hesitate to contact us.
Step 1
– Use the following link to go to the exact page described in the instructions below (https://www.afrihost.com/site/product/linux_hosting?src=website_nav) -> Scroll about 3/4 way down the page and select the Gold Home package @ R39 p/m
Or
– Open Afrihost in your browser (afrihost.co.za) -> Hosting -> Linux Hosting -> Scroll about 3/4 way down the page and select the Gold Home package @ R39 p/m
Step 2
Click “Sign Up Now!” you will be sent to a page asking the following :
– Hosting Product -> Choose the first option listed as “Shared Hosting” (should already be selected)
– Server Technology -> Choose “Linux Hosting” (Should already be selected)
– Hosting Package -> Choose “Gold Home” @ R39 p/m (third option from the left)
– Cost Summary should read R39p/m and then you can click the red button on the right that says “Proceed to next step”
*Note – Prices might have changed since writing this article.
Step 3
– Fill in new user details
– Follow to next step when complete
Step 4
Domain management -> Choose New Domain -> proceed to the next line and enter the domain you would like.
– Proceed to the final step
Step 5
Enter the payment details for your card from which the monthly debits will be taken, you will be emailed further instruction to the address you had used to register client details from step 3Setting up your WooCommerce Website
From: https://woocommerce.com/posts/how-to-set-up-a-new-woocommerce-store/
WRITTEN BY CODY LANDEFELD
This week we’ve been looking at some of the thing business owners should consider when choosing an eCommerce platform. To close things out, let’s walk through how to set up a WooCommerce store — a two-part process.
If you are starting from scratch, head to WooCommerce.com/start to get a basic site in place. If you already have a self-hosted WordPress site or a WordPress.com site with a Business plan, head to the Plugins section of your dashboard to search for, add, and activate the WooCommerce plugin.
Let the WooCommerce Wizard be your guide
Every new installation of WooCommerce starts with a setup wizard for key questions like what kind of currency you’ll use, whether you sell physical or digital products, and more.
It will also prompt you to add services relevant to your country, and you’ll also be asked to select a payment processor.
Select bank transfer, check, or COD. Additional payment gateways can be added later.
Next, you’ll be asked to choose a shipping option:
You’ll be asked to identify weight and dimension units to use for shipping cost estimates.
WooCommerce supports flat-rates shipping, free live rates, and at-home label-printing for the U.S. and Canada through a free service called WooCommerce Shipping.
Next up is the “extras” section, where you’ll see if the theme you installed — you may have done this when you first set up your WordPress site — is compatible with WooCommerce. You’ll also get some additional recommend extensions (free):
You can choose to install WooCommerce’s default theme, Storefront
Finally, if you’re in a country where any of WooCommerce’s cloud-based services are offered to automatically calculate shipping rates and calculate tax at checkout:
If you’re in the U.S., you’ll want to enable this given the new laws.
Once you’ve completed the setup wizard, you’ll land in your newly eCommerce-ready WordPress site. Head to the Settings tab to review your information:
Make sure a SKU is created for each product — you will need it for data collection and inventory management. Read more about why you should use SKUs for WooCommerce, even if your store is small!
SKUs can be added in the Product Data area of any WooCommerce product page.
Read more about adding and managing WooCommerce products.
Differences between WooCommerce and WordPress Pages
If you’re already familiar with WordPress, you’ll notice that WooCommerce has some differences, particularly with pages.
Page layout. For most WordPress veterans working on WooCommerce for the first time, the most startling feature is where to put content. That main editing panel you see on a fresh new WordPress page is not where you put the content viewers first see about the product featured on that page. That very important piece of writing goes in the “short product description” field further down the page.
That large field at the top is where you put in details about the product, like its construction, components, country of origin — whatever you think will interest buyers enough to scroll down and get more information.
Attributes and Variations. Since WooCommerce is an online store, it includes items that may be unfamiliar to those accustomed to using WordPress simply for blogging.
On each WooCommerce page you set up, you’ll see a place for attributes and variations.
- Attributes are details about each product. This includes individual sizes, different colors, v-neck versus scoop neck, and so forth.
- Variations combine attributes and simplify choices you present to the customer. Instead of listing colors and sizes separately and making a customer tick lots of boxes, you can list each size with a drop-down list of available colors.
Read more about the difference between attributes and variations.
Extensions play a similar function to WordPress plugins, but are add-ons for WooCommerce (itself a plugin). I have my favorite ones for shipping, marketing, and payment, or you can browse the WooCommerce marketplace.
Finally, I do think it’s important to make sure you don’t get carried away with extensions. Too many can slow down your site. Remember to focus on extensions that boost the user’s experience, which should always be first and foremost.
Once you have create your store, be sure to check out our New WooCommerce Store Owner Guide with content to help you in the early stages of your store build.
Join the WooCommerce Community and share the journey
As you build up your expertise with WooCommerce, you’ll probably want to learn more about other tools and functions. This is where things can get fun (really!). Because there are a lot of friendly WooCommerce and WordPress experts out there who are ready to lend a hand.
This concludes our introductory series to eCommerce for WordPress, we hope it has been helpful!
The First 5 Things You Should Customize in WooCommerce
WRITTEN BY NICOLE KOHLER
Starting a WooCommerce store? You’ve got a lot to consider, from what you plan on selling to how you’re going to market it.
Deciding what to start with first is tricky. As you’re setting up your store, you have a lot of decisions to make, and likely not a lot of time to make them in. You may wonder what you should set up or customize first to make the rest of the process as smooth as possible.
To help you properly prioritize, we’ve put together this short list of the first few things you should customize in WooCommerce. These items will get you started on the right foot and ensure you have the groundwork covered before you add products or set up marketing methods.
Let’s take a look at the first five things that should be customized on any new WooCommerce site, plus some helpful articles that will give you a deeper dive into getting these aspects right as you work on building your store.
Your store’s identity — name, logo, and more
Your new store is a blank canvas. It has no identity, no distinguishing marks, and nothing to set it apart from any other site.
As such, the first thing you should customize is your identity. This means taking basic steps like:
- Adding the name of your store
- Uploading a logo
- Creating a tagline or motto that is added in one or more places
- Choosing the colors that represent your brand
The first step you take should be customizing your branding: the colors, logo, and text that represent who you are to shoppers.
The visual elements you select and use to represent your store, present in your theme, and possibly also visible on your packaging or printed materials as well. Avoid using one color scheme online and another on a manual or product packaging — it can potentially create confusion.
Taking your store online? Use the same colors online & off to avoid confusing customers.
If you already have logo, packaging, or printed materials, use those to guide the branding you create for your online store. If necessary, you can always work with a designer to create web-ready assets (like a digital version of your logo, or a style guide) that can be used repeatedly for your store, social media pages, etc.
Related reading:
The theme you use
The next important step to take is changing your store’s design. With WooCommerce, this is accomplished by installing a WooCommerce compatible WordPress theme.
Themes can be easily switched in and out, so you don’t have to commit to one for life. If you try one and find that it’s not right for your store or its customers, you can always swap it for a different one.
The free Storefront theme comes packaged with WooCommerce, and it and its inexpensive child themes are good starting points for many stores and industries. You can also find many free themes that declare WooCommerce compatibility on WordPress.org.
If you’re willing to pay a bit to get a truly custom theme, you can hire someone who is experienced with WordPress theme design and WooCommerce customization to create or customize something for you. Many of our WooExperts have provided this service for their clients and can help you, too.
Related reading:
- The most important features of your store’s design
- How to make your store mobile-friendly
- The official Storefront theme, child themes, and extensions
Your homepage’s layout and design
Your job doesn’t end once you’ve chosen a theme. It’s fine to use a WooCommerce theme straight out of the box without adding any custom code, but you should still customize the way you present elements of that theme to ensure you’re meeting the needs of your customers.
By this we mean ensuring that the images, widgets, text, and other elements on your homepage are fully customized. Customers expect to see and experience vastly different things depending on what they are shopping for at that time, which necessitates a vastly different experience.
For example, if you’re in the clothing or fashion industry, your customers will expect large, attractive photos of your products on models on a sleek, visually attractive homepage. If they are instead greeted with lots of text and the need to scroll, they are likely to feel frustrated or lost and leave your store.
Customers expect to see vastly different things on your store depending on what they’re looking for, who you’re targeting, what industry you’re in, and so on. A mismatch might drive them away, so tread carefully with those customizations.
On the other hand, a shopper looking to purchase digital guides on writing better copy will expect to read some educational text on your homepage. If they instead see stock photos or a lack of information, that’s another mismatch.
Related reading:
Any checkout, billing, or tax settings
After you decide how your store is going to look, you may be tempted to start filling in the blanks by adding products. But there are still two more things you should customize first before you jump into that process, so don’t get ahead of yourself!
The next thing we recommend changing are the settings that involve payment of any kind. This includes:
- The payment methods you are accepting (credit card, bank transfer, PayPal, cash on delivery…)
- The payment gateway you are using
- Taxes or VAT (if you are shipping or operating outside of the United States)
- Any special payment settings (ex. additional shipping or delivery fees on specific items)
By setting up these aspects early, you’ll be fully prepared to accept payments and properly charge customers the correct amounts when your store launches.
Additionally, depending on the payment gateway you plan to use, you might find that you need to apply for a special bank account (called a merchant account) in advance of your store’s launch. Being approved for a merchant account can take up to a few weeks, so the earlier you tackle these items, the better — and all the more reason to customize your payment details before you add products.
Related reading:
- How to choose the right payment gateway
- 5 ways to take payments for your products with WooCommerce
- An introduction to sales tax for WooCommerce
- How to charge your customers the correct sales tax rates
How you plan to ship or deliver your products
The fifth thing we recommend customizing during the setup process involves how you plan to ship or otherwise deliver your products to customers.
If you’re using WooCommerce to set up a digital store, this won’t take you very much time at all: since there are no physical goods to ship, you’ll simply need to set up your products as digital ones and remove the shipping options.
On the other hand, stores with physical goods will need to consider:
- The shipping methods offered
- The shipping carriers integrated with via extension
- Which extensions, specifically, to use
- How much to charge for shipping
- When, if ever, to reduce or waive the shipping fee(s)
- Where you will ship all or some of your products to
There are quite a few things to consider here. And as we mentioned above with payment settings, it’s better to customize these aspects of your store prior to adding products or doing any highly specific tweaks because negotiating better shipping rates or even setting up an extension can take a little time and dedication.
You definitely don’t want to hold up the launch of your store simply because you’re waiting on the UPS to call you back. Customize these aspects in advance and you’ll feel more confident about meeting your deadlines.
Related reading:
- 8 shipping options to consider for your store
- Adding shipping classes in WooCommerce
- Setting up downloadable products
Customize WooCommerce to make it your own from day one
The five items we’ve just covered are the most important things to do first — starting points to ensure you get off on the right foot and don’t have to backtrack later.
By customizing these aspects of WooCommerce first, you’ll have set the groundwork for a store that is fully prepared for product setup, category additions, and other more specific customizations.
Do you have any questions about setting up or customizing a new WooCommerce store? Or any suggestions to make about the first few customizations that you consider top priority? Chime in below and let your voice be heard.
Setting up the Yoco Payment Gateway on WooCommerce
CLICK HERE FOR YOCO DISCOUNT:
Article published by Katy Shears
Latest update: Sunday at 18:24
You can now accept payments in your online store, using the Yoco Payment Gateway. Integrate the Yoco Payment Gateway into your Woocommerce Wordpress website, by following a few simple steps and start accepting online payments within minutes.
You can learn more about the Yoco Payment Gateway here
These steps have been illustrated below:
1. Find Plugin menu and click ‘Add New’
2. Search for Yoco payment gateway plugin (typing Yoco is sufficient)
3. Click ‘install Now’
4. Once the plugin has installed, click ‘Activate’.
The Yoco Payment Gateway is now displayed in the list of plugins
5. Click on ‘Settings'
Your API key information is captured on this screen. If you would like to do a test transaction on your online store, follow the steps below. If you prefer not to, skip to the next page.
6. Click ‘Enable Yoco Gateway’
7. Check which Mode you are in – ‘Test’ or ‘Live’. Choose ‘Test’
8. Your API keys can be found in your Business Portal. Go to Sell Online on the menu, and click on ’Payment Gateway’. Copy and Paste the Test Secret and Test Public keys.
9. Click ‘Save Changes’
In order to set up your ‘Live’ API keys and start receiving payments, you need to do the following.
10. Click ‘Enable Yoco Gateway’
11. Select ‘Live’ Mode
12. Copy and Paste the Live Secret and Live Public keys, as displayed in your Business Portal
13. Click ‘Save Changes’
You’re now ready to start receiving Payments!
We suggest you do a test with a small amount of money (R5 will do). Once the transaction is successfully completed, both you and your customer, will receive payment confirmation emails. If the transaction fails, a payment failure message will be displayed on the payment screen. All plugin payments information can be viewed on your Sales History Report.
You're all set to go! All the best and please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any assistance or have any questions.
Logo Design with CANVA
Designing a logo doesn’t have to be daunting. Canva's logo maker provides all of the ingredients you need to create a custom logo, fast – and free. Learn how to design a logo online with ease.
Logo design made easy
Your logo is the face of your business. Start your new venture on the right foot with a professional logo.
No design experience? No problem. Canva’s logo maker and editor is made for non-designers: Simply drag and drop.
When you’re finished, you can download your new logo—or print it on business cards, letterheads and more. The options are endless.
How to make a logo
- Choose from our range of professionally designed logo templates.
- Add your brand name to your logo template.
- Customize your logo with your brand colors.
- Download and share your finished logo.
- Add your logo to business cards, brochures, flyers and more.
Set the mood with the right colors
Your brand colors communicate the essence of your brand. Is yours bold and bright, or traditional and refined? Think about what you want to say about your brand, then choose the colors that project the right image.
Canva’s logo templates are created with designer-approved color combinations. Or if you’ve got something specific in mind, you can easily adjust the colors throughout your logo design.
Make it iconic
A great logo builds recognition and inspires trust. Make your logo unforgettable by featuring an image that captures the essence of your brand.
Canva has an extensive library of icons and illustrations to choose from. Simply enter a keyword into the search bar, pick the image that suits your business best, and drag and drop it into your design.
Make it pixel perfect
Now that you’ve designed a logo that you love, you’ll want to use it everywhere. So what file format should you use?
PNG is the best choice for most web uses – it produces a clearer, higher quality image than other file formats. The added bonus with a PNG image is that you can use a transparent background, so your logo can be used on top of different colored backgrounds without any awkward color clashes.