*How-to › Start here*

# How to Build Your First Store with WP EasyCart

Go from a fresh WordPress site to a store that is ready to take orders. You install, run the wizard, add a product, get paid and launch. 11 parts.

Quick links

- [What you need](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#what-you-need)
- [Step 1. Install and register](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#install)
- [Step 2. Run the setup wizard](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#wizard)
- [Step 3. Check your three store pages](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#pages)
- [Step 4. Add your first product](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#product)
- [Step 5. Connect a way to get paid](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#get-paid)
- [Step 6. Set up shipping and tax](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#ship-and-tax)
- [Step 7. Place a test order](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#test)
- [Step 8. Work through the launch checklist](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#launch)
- [Find your way around the admin](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#find-anything)
- [If it does not work](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/#troubleshooting)

**Where to find it:** WP Admin › EasyCart › Settings › Setup wizard

*Before you start*

## What you need

What is free, what is not, and how to install the plugin.

### What you need

The free plugin is enough to open a store

**What you need.** A WordPress site on PHP 7.3 or newer, and admin access. The free WP EasyCart plugin includes unlimited products, orders and customer accounts, so you can build and launch a complete store without paying for anything.

**Payments.** Bill later, where the customer orders now and pays you offline and which shoppers see as Pay by bank transfer, is free. Stripe, Square and PayPal connect in a few clicks through EasyCart Connect, with a 2% EasyCart fee on each sale on the free edition. A PRO or Premium license removes that fee and adds more gateways. There is a 14-day free trial if you want to try it first.

The whole job takes eight steps: install, run the setup wizard, check your three store pages, add a product, connect a way to get paid, set shipping and tax, place a test order, then work through the launch checklist.

### Step 1. Install and register

Plugins, Add New, then a trial or key only if you want PRO

In WordPress go to **Plugins › Add New Plugin**, search for **WP EasyCart**, press **Install Now** and then **Activate**. A new **EasyCart** menu appears in the admin sidebar.

**The free plugin needs no key.** Skip registration if you are staying on the free edition.

To add PRO or Premium, open **EasyCart › Registration**. The page called **Registration & activation** offers three routes: the 14-day trial, which installs and activates the PRO plugin in one click with no card required, entering a key you already have, or choosing a PRO or Premium plan (billed yearly or monthly with AutoPay). A license covers one site, and entering the key on a new site moves it there.

> **💡 Note:** Registration and license keys are covered in [Registration](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/registration/). Adding extensions later is covered in [Installing Extensions](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/extension-guides/installing-all-extensions/).

*Set it up*

## Eight steps to a working store

The wizard, your three pages, a product, payment, shipping, tax and a test order.

### Step 2. Run the setup wizard

Four short steps that set up location, payments, shipping and the basics

Until your store is set up, opening **EasyCart › Settings** starts the **Setup wizard**. You can leave with **Save & exit** at any step: **Settings › All settings** then leads with a **Set up your store** card that shows the steps done and continues with the next one.

**Location & currency**. Where is your store based? Choose your **Country** ( and your state or province in the US and Canada ). The country sets your **Currency**, how prices are written, such as $1,234.56 or 1 234,56 €, and whether you weigh in pounds or kilograms and measure in inches or centimetres. Then the tax your country expects: sales tax, VAT or GST, with today’s rates, which you refine later in Settings › Payments & Taxes › Taxes. On a site still on WordPress’s UTC clock, your country and state also set the time zone.

**Payments & checkout**. **Who takes your card payments?** Connect Stripe or Square, or, with PRO, another gateway; then PayPal’s checkout buttons, and Bill later for no fees. Only the gateways that take payments in your country are shown. On the free edition you first agree to the EasyCart Connect terms. This step also has the **Allow guest checkout** switch, which lets customers buy without creating an account. It is on the recommended side, because forcing an account loses sales.

**Shipping**. **How do shoppers pay for shipping?** Under My own rates, pick a starting point: **Flat rates**, **By cart total** or **By weight**, and the wizard adds starter rates in your currency and weight unit. Live rates from your carrier accounts ( PRO ), Shippo and ShipStation ( Premium ) are offered where they work, and **I don’t charge for shipping** suits downloads, services or collection only. Then say where you ship: only within your country, across your region or worldwide. You refine the rates later in Settings › Shipping › Rates.

Go back to any step and it shows the answers you gave. **Save & exit** saves the step you are on before it leaves.

**Finish up**. This step shows your store pages, terms and privacy policy pages, and order email settings. It comes back in the launch checklist below.

![The setup wizard, step 1: Location & currency.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/basic-setup-location-607.jpg)

### Step 3. Check your three store pages

Store, Cart and Account, each one holds a shortcode

A WP EasyCart store is three ordinary WordPress pages. Open **EasyCart › Settings › Store › Store details** and find the **Store pages** card. Each page shows **Live** when it works:

**Store page**: your catalog. It must contain the `[ec_store]` shortcode. Product, category and manufacturer links are built under this page’s address, so changing its slug later changes those links.
**Cart and checkout page**: where shoppers review their cart and pay. It must contain the `[ec_cart]` shortcode.
**Account page**: where shoppers sign in, register and see their orders. It must contain the `[ec_account]` shortcode.

If a page is missing, unpublished or lost its shortcode, its tile says so and offers the fix. **Change…** uses another page, adding the shortcode for you, or **Create a new page** publishes a fresh one. Then add Store, Cart and My Account to your site menu so shoppers can find them. The wizard’s Finish up step has an **Add all three to your menu** button that does it for you.

![Settings › Store › Store details: the Store pages card, each page Live.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/store-details-store-pages-card-607.jpg)

> **💡 Note:** Every page setting lives in [Settings › Store › Store details](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/store-details/).

### Step 4. Add your first product

A name, a price and a photo is all it needs

Go to **EasyCart › Products** and press **Add product**. Under **What are you selling?** say it your way, such as a T-shirt, an eBook or a monthly coffee box, or pick one of the **Popular** kinds. Not sure? **Answer a few questions**: do you ship it, is there a file to download, does it open members-only pages, do they book it, do they pay every month or year.

The page then asks only what that product needs, with its product page drawn beside it. A name, a price and a photo are enough to start. Nothing is made until you press **Create product**, or **Create & add another**, or **Create and open the full editor** to keep going. Subscriptions, downloads and memberships are PRO product types.

Once you have products, **Quick start** makes a new one like one you already sell, so you only add the name, price and photos. Set a weight in the editor if you charge shipping by weight or use live carrier rates. Open the Store page on your site and the product is there.

![Products › Add product: Quick start, then What are you selling?](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/quick-start-add-product-607.jpg)

### Step 5. Connect a way to get paid

Stripe, Square, PayPal or Bill later

Open **EasyCart › Settings › Payments & Taxes › Payments**. **How do you take payments?** Connect Stripe or Square for cards, and PayPal on its own or beside them, each in a minute, with a test account to try your checkout first. **What shoppers can pay with** lists every way to pay. Shoppers see Bill later as **Pay by bank transfer**, and its wording and bank details take your account in your country’s format, so they print on the order confirmation and invoice. Until a live card gateway is connected, shoppers cannot pay by card on your site.

The full walk-through, with test cards and the switch to live, is in [How to Take Your First Payment](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-take-your-first-payment/).

### Step 6. Set up shipping and tax

Starter rates from the wizard, then tune them

The wizard gave you a starting point. Before you sell, tune both so you do not lose money on shipping or charge the wrong tax.

**Shipping**: see [Set Up Shipping That Does Not Lose Money](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/set-up-shipping-that-does-not-lose-money/).
**Tax**: see [Set Up Sales Tax and VAT](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/set-up-sales-tax-and-vat/).

### Step 7. Place a test order

Buy from your own store as a customer would

Open your store in a private window, so you are not logged in as an admin, and buy the product you made. Go through the cart, checkout and payment exactly as a customer would.

**No gateway yet?** Turn on Bill later in Settings › Payments and choose **Pay by bank transfer** at checkout. The order goes through without a card.
**Using Stripe, Square or PayPal?** Connect the sandbox, described in the payment guide, so no real money moves.

Then open **EasyCart › Orders › Orders**. Your test order should be there, with the right total, shipping and tax. Check that the receipt email arrived in your inbox, and your spam folder.

> **💡 Note:** Order emails are set up in [Settings › Emails & Documents › Email](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/email-settings/), and the readiness checks are explained in [Store Status](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/store-status/).

*Go live*

## Launch and troubleshoot

The checks to pass before you announce the store, and what to do when something is off.

### Step 8. Work through the launch checklist

Five checks before you tell anyone

The wizard’s last step, and Settings home, show a **launch checklist** that ticks items off as you finish them. These are the ones that matter:

**Turn off test mode.** In Settings › Payments, a gateway still in test mode says so under Worth a look and in its steps, such as **Stripe is in test mode**, with **Live** and **Test** beside it. No real payments are taken in test mode.
**Publish your legal pages.** In the wizard’s Finish up step, pick or create your **Terms & conditions** and **Privacy policy** pages. The terms link from checkout, and you can require customers to accept them before they place an order.
**Check email deliverability.** Open Settings › Emails & Documents › Email. The **Email health** card shows how many emails were delivered or failed in the last seven days, and **Deliverability** lists what to look at in your sender setup. **Send a test receipt** and confirm it arrives.
**Check Store Status.** EasyCart › Store Status runs four readiness checks: Products, Taxes, Shipping and Payment. A failing Payment check means nobody can check out. A failing Taxes or Shipping check means the store is taking orders and not charging for something.
**Review the recommended settings.** Cache compatibility, secure checkout (SSL) and SEO-friendly product links are set for you. Confirm they show as on.

![Settings › Emails & Documents › Email: Email health and Deliverability.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart-launch-607.jpg)

> **⚠️ Careful:** A store left in test mode takes no money. Check [Settings › Payments & Taxes › Payments](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/payments-setup/) shows nothing in test mode before you announce the store, and place one real order to confirm.

### Find your way around the admin

One search for everything, and your store on the WordPress Dashboard

**One admin search.** Press **Ctrl K** ( **⌘K** on a Mac ) on any WP EasyCart screen, or click the search box at the top of the page, or press `/` when you are not typing in a field. One window finds orders, customers, products, subscriptions, categories, brands and option sets, every setting with its current value, the admin pages and the help articles on this site. Type # and a number for an order, or paste an email, SKU or code. Before you type, it offers quick actions such as **Add product**, **Add category**, **Import products** and **Add customer**. Use the arrow keys and Enter to open a result, Ctrl and Enter to open it in a new tab, and Tab to jump to the next group.

With PRO, the same search also finds offers and their codes, classic coupons, gift cards with their balance, and invoice, credit note and PO numbers, each leading to its order, and adds the quick actions **New order**, **Create an offer** and **Add a gift card**.

**Your store on the WordPress Dashboard.** Administrators and store managers get a **WP EasyCart** widget on the WordPress Dashboard: **Sales today** with the number of orders, and **Orders to ship** with how long the oldest has waited, or **All caught up**. Its links open **Ship orders** ( the orders waiting to ship ), **All orders** and **Reports**. Hide it from the Dashboard’s Screen Options like any other widget.

![The admin search after typing weight: matching settings with their current value, then help articles.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart-find-anything-605.jpg)

![The WP EasyCart widget on the WordPress Dashboard: Sales today, Orders to ship and the links to Ship orders, All orders and Reports.](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart-dashboard-widget-605.jpg)

### If it does not work

The usual first-store problems

**Shoppers cannot pay by card.** No live card gateway is connected. Open Settings › Payments and connect Stripe or Square, or turn on Bill later so shoppers can pay by bank transfer.

**Product links show ?model_number= instead of a clean address.** WordPress permalinks are set to Plain. Change them to Post name under Settings › Permalinks, and EasyCart turns on SEO-friendly links by itself.

**The Store, Cart or Account page is blank.** The page is missing its shortcode. The Store pages card in Settings › Store › Store details says which page and offers the fix.

**Checkout is not secure.** Your site is running on http. Ask your host for a certificate, and EasyCart forces secure checkout once https works.

**No order emails.** Order emails go through WordPress mail, which many hosts handle poorly. Use Email health and Deliverability in Settings › Emails & Documents › Email to test, and consider an SMTP plugin.

Still stuck? Open a ticket at [wpeasycart.com/my-account](https://wpeasycart.com/my-account).

*Keep going*

## Related panels

- [Store details](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/store-details/): The Store, Cart and Account page settings and currency.
- [Payments](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/payments-setup/): Every payment gateway and the test mode switch.
- [Rates](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/shipping-rates/): The rate tables behind your shipping method.
- [Taxes](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/tax-setup-and-features/): Sales tax, VAT, GST, duty and tax services.
- [Email](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/email-settings/): Sender addresses, deliverability and the email log.
- [Store Status](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/administrative-console-guide/store-status/): Licence state and the four readiness checks.

## Ready to run your store on WP EasyCart?

Everything in this guide works with the free plugin. PRO and Premium add subscriptions, memberships, wholesale pricing and more. Try every PRO feature free for 14 days.

[Start your free trial](https://www.wpeasycart.com/wp-easycart-professional-14-no-risk-trial/) · [See what is included](https://www.wpeasycart.com/wordpress-shopping-cart-pricing/)

![The WP EasyCart admin: orders and offers](https://docs.wpeasycart.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cta-wpeasycart-pro-v2.jpg)

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Source: https://docs.wpeasycart.com/docs/how-to-guides/how-to-build-your-first-store-with-wp-easycart/ ( updated 2026-11-06 )