How To Create an Ecommerce Website Using Joomla

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted businesses and consumer behavior. People are embracing shopping online safely from their homes. The trend of online shopping is expected to thrive in the post-quarantine world.

Given the circumstances, businesses are making a beeline to have an ecommerce website or combine their existing website with ecommerce capabilities to stay relevant and increase customer reach.

Given that creating such websites with a content management system like Joomla is very popular to create and modify online shop content such as purchase orders, listings and more, many people like you end up thinking of giving it a try but don’t know where to start.

In this article, you will learn how you can use Joomla to create your ecommerce website.

But before we jump into the tutorial, let us get the answer to one of the most discussed business questions and answers.

Why is Joomla the Best CMS to Create an Ecommerce Website?

Joomla is a go-to content management system (CMS) that helps you create a modern and fully professional ecommerce site in just a few clicks.

Frequently compared with WordPress, Joomla boasts an upper hand in several areas.

The platform offers impressive features for the functionality, design, and security of the ecommerce website.

This secure and flexible CMS is a popular choice for business owners. Here are some of the main reasons why:

  • Easy to use, mobile-ready, user-friendly, and quick to deploy.
  • Helps you produce any website keeping the costs low.
  • Offers a vast library of templates, extensions, and plugins.
  • Has every element to extend your website’s functionalities.
  • Offers built-in multilingual support and flexibility to display non-standard content attractively.

Now that you are aware of the basics, follow the step-by-step guide on building your online store like a professional using Joomla.

Step #1 Get A Unique Domain Name

The very first thing that you’ll need to create your ecommerce website, without which you cannot start, would be a domain name, i.e. your website’s name. In other words, a domain name is your website’s address on the internet.

You can use platforms like GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc., to buy a unique domain name.

Step # 2 Find Server space

Now that you’ve got the website name, where would you host the site?

For that, you need to have server space or hosting space where the website, including its files and folders, are stored.

Your options are HostGator, SiteGround, etc. You can also ask for hosting from the company that registered your domain name.

To keep things within the budget, you can find shared hosting services.

Step # 3 Purchase SSL certificate

Buying an SSL certificate is a must when you have to run an online store. When purchasing from an ecommerce site, users need to enter their personal information like name, passwords, banking information like codes and credit/debit card numbers, etc.

SSL certificate is a small data file that encrypts the data from the user’s computers to your server to keep the user’s personal information and your site’s crucial information safe and secure.

An SSL certificate is reflected in the website’s URL as “https://.”

Step # 4 DNS Settings Configuration

Now you’ve bought the domain name and hosting space. But, that’s not enough to take your ecommerce website online. You need to link the domain name and server space.

Follow the below-mentioned steps to do so:

  • Open the DNS settings dashboard of the registered domain.
  • Enter the hosting space’s name server and IP related information.
  • Wait till 72 hours for DNS propagation initiation.

Afterwards, you need to configure your SSL certificate with your hosting and domain.

Step # 5 Install Joomla on the Server

After managing the essentials, download Joomla from its official website.

After you have downloaded this CMS, you can install Joomla either using the

  • One-click method
  • Manual method

The ease of installation depends on your choice of web hosting provider.

Manual installation is the most common to upload and implement Joomla onto your website. After signing up for web hosting, you’ll get an account that gives you access to a control panel. Access the control panel of your website and create a MySQL database.

For a one-click method, log into the website control panel. In the menu, look for the one-click installation option and click Install Joomla.

Step # 6 Select a Well-Designed Template

A great template is vital to alter the overall layout, look, and feel of your site. Having a ready-made template that takes care of all the aspects of designing, functionality, and layout gives administrators enough time to work on the website’s content.

Joomla offers you thousands of free and paid templates to choose from. On installing Joomla, you automatically get access to them.

There are two types of Joomla CMS templates:

  • Front-end Templates: Monitors the way your site looks to your website users.
  • Back-end Templates: Manages your ecommerce site’s administrative tasks like the user, category, menu, component, module, plugin, and template management.

To manage templates, select the template manager from the extensions menu, located on the website’s back-end or administrator area.

You can also buy from other Joomla template online stores to get started or reach out to a website developer for your own customizable template.

Step # 7 Obtain ecommerce Extension

Ecommerce extensions host a standard set of variables that enables customization of an ecommerce site.

Joomla offers nearly 8,000 extensions. You can pick from their free and premium ecommerce Joomla extensions and download them from the website.

How To Create an Ecommerce Website Using Joomla

Amongst all the extensions, VirtueMart is considered the pioneer one. It’s the most popular ecommerce -related Joomla extension. It is easily customizable, open-source, boasts a stable interface and clear architecture.

Next comes, HikaShop, a free ecommerce extension that comes with minimal restrictions.

You can also go for other popular ecommerce-related extensions like:

  • Digicom
  • MijoShop
  • j2Store
  • Eshop
  • redSHOP

When creating your ecommerce Joomla website, the extensions let you specify the following things:

  • Product categories
  • Products, their characteristics, and details, including prices and images
  • Payment gateways
  • Cart and checkout
  • Customer profile
  • Shipping page

Important note: Always set up an automatic backup for your online store to prevent any loss of data.

Conclusion

Joomla is one of the awesome ecommerce tools that can help your business achieve sales goals in the most efficient and creative manner.

Before you use the steps mentioned above to implement Joomla to create your ecommerce website, you can go through the key questions for business and forums related to Joomla to better understand the product and its unique features.

Author Bio: Samuel Alfie is a blogger at ProProfs Discuss, the #1 Q&A website with millions of wisdom seekers collaborating to ask questions and get the best answers. He loves reading and writing about a variety of topics including technology, business, e-commerce, science, philosophy, Pop culture, digital media, and more. With a knack for writing, enthusiasm for research and an editorial mindset, he loves creating content that resonates with the audience.

 

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