Set up WooCommerce in the right order: check the requirements, install the plugin, run the setup flow, set currency and products, add payments, shipping and tax, place a test order, then go live.
To set up WooCommerce, install the free plugin on a WordPress site that meets its requirements, run the setup flow, then work through the store checklist: products, payments, shipping, tax, pages and emails. Place test orders and switch the store from Coming soon to Live. This guide follows the official documentation and the WooCommerce 11.2.1 listing on wordpress.org (21 October 2026), so your labels may differ slightly.
In short
Every later step depends on the host, so check it first. The order of work is: requirements, installation, settings, products, payments, shipping and tax, test orders, launch.
The server requirements page, which applies to WooCommerce 10.8 and later, says the host should support:
| Item | What the documentation says |
|---|---|
| WordPress | 6.9 or greater |
| PHP | 8.3 or greater, tested up to 8.4 |
| Database | MySQL 8.0 or greater, or MariaDB 10.6 or greater |
| Memory | A WordPress memory limit of 256 MB or greater |
| HTTPS | Required |
| Multibyte String | Needed for non-English stores, which includes Arabic |
WordPress's own requirements page recommends PHP 8.3 or greater and MariaDB 10.11 or greater (or MySQL 8.0), so ask your host for the higher figure. The WooCommerce page on wordpress.org lists the minimum WordPress version for the release you install, 7.0 for 11.2.1: if it differs from the table, that page decides. It still lists PHP 7.4 as the lowest version, but the documentation says versions that old are end of life and may expose your site to security vulnerabilities.
To choose a host, read how to choose WordPress hosting. For a Gulf store, check where the server is and test speed from where your customers are, as the speed guide explains.
On an existing site, take a backup first (how to back up WordPress) and try a staging copy if you can. Then follow the installation guide:
The setup wizard opens on first activation, and WooCommerce also creates its pages and the Shop manager and Customer roles. The setup documentation calls it the Onboarding Wizard. You choose Set up my store, say whether you are starting a business, already selling or building a store for a client, and enter your store name, kind of products, location and email. A Free Features step recommends tools for payments, shipping, tax, marketing and security: keep only what you need, as the guide to the best WooCommerce plugins explains.
You then land on WooCommerce Home with the Store Setup Checklist: Add your products, Set up payments, Customize your store, Collect sales tax, Select your shipping options (shown only when needed) and Launch your store. To see the wizard again, open the Help tab on a page such as WooCommerce > Status and choose Setup wizard.
Open WooCommerce > Settings > General. The General settings documentation lists:
WooCommerce allows one base currency per store. Other currencies need an extension, and the page says to confirm that your payment gateway supports a currency before you change it. The list includes the Saudi riyal (SAR), UAE dirham (AED), Kuwaiti dinar (KWD), Qatari riyal (QAR), Bahraini dinar (BHD), Omani rial (OMR) and Indian rupee (INR). The Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani currencies are normally written with three decimals, so check the number of decimals against your provider's rules and see payment gateways in Saudi Arabia.
Two more decisions belong here. For an Arabic store, set the language and an RTL theme as in building an Arabic WordPress website. And choose product URLs before you publish: WordPress's Settings > Permalinks has a Product permalinks section, and changing it later changes every product URL.
The add-product guide starts at Products > Add New. Enter a product name, keep the Product type under Product data > General on Simple product, enter the Regular price (and optionally a Sale price), set a product image and click Publish. A name and a price are the minimum.
| Product type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Simple | One item with no options |
| Variable | Sizes or colours with their own price, SKU and stock: see the variable products guide |
| Grouped | Several products on one page, each added to the cart on its own |
| External/Affiliate | A link to a product sold on another website |
Virtual (no shipping) and Downloadable (digital files) can be combined with a type. Start with a handful of complete products, with images, prices, stock, categories and descriptions, so you can test the whole path. For a large catalogue, use the product import and export guide.
Payments. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments. Enable switches on an available provider, Manage opens one already enabled, and Take offline payments holds bank transfer, cheque and cash on delivery. Card payments need a gateway that serves your country: see WooCommerce payment gateways.
Shipping. Open WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping. Shipping zones are regions with their own methods and rates, and the tab also holds shipping classes and local pickup. The shipping setup guide goes through the options, and shipping and cash on delivery in Saudi Arabia covers couriers.
Tax. Tick Enable tax rates and calculations in the General tab and a Tax tab appears. What you charge depends on your registration, so follow the tax and VAT setup guide, read VAT and invoices for online stores in Saudi Arabia and confirm your choices with an accountant.
The WooCommerce pages documentation says the setup creates a Cart page with the Cart block, a Checkout page with the Checkout block, and a My Account page using the [woocommerce_my_account] shortcode. It also creates a Refund and Returns Policy as an unpublished draft with sample text: edit it, then publish it. Assign pages under WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced (Page setup) and the Shop page under WooCommerce > Settings > Products. Create pages in WooCommerce > Status > Tools recreates missing ones.
Blocks have been the default for new stores since WooCommerce 8.3, and existing stores keep what they used. The page shortcodes documentation recommends the blocks but says the shortcode versions sometimes work better with extensions. A 2023 developer FAQ said there were no plans to phase out the classic checkout, so check the current documentation. The block checkout guide warns that a gateway without block support may not appear at checkout, and explains how to go back: select the block on the Cart page, use Transform and choose Classic Shortcode, then do the same on Checkout.
Open WooCommerce > Settings > Emails. The emails documentation lists what is sent, including New order, Processing order, Completed order and Failed order. Store emails go to the recipient you set, which defaults to the administration email in Settings > General. Set the From name and From address, using an address on your own domain, as WooCommerce recommends. See customising WooCommerce emails for wording and design.
The testing orders page says test orders behave like real ones: they can trigger emails and appear in Analytics, and WooCommerce does not mark them as tests. It advises testing on staging and deleting test orders afterwards. Place one order with each payment method you enabled, using the gateway's test mode, on a phone as well as a computer. Bank transfer and cheque orders should arrive On hold, and cash on delivery orders as Processing. Then refund one.
Stores that finish the setup flow start in Coming soon mode. The documentation says the whole site is protected if the first admin user was registered less than a month ago, and otherwise only the store pages. To launch, open WooCommerce > Settings > Site visibility and switch to Live. Caching can delay the change, so ask your host to clear the cache.
The plugin is free to install from wordpress.org. You still pay for hosting, a domain, any paid extensions or themes, and your payment provider's fees. Our cost guide for Saudi Arabia lists the usual items.
Yes. Back up, try it on staging, and use the Apply to store pages only option so Coming soon mode covers the store and not the whole site. It is on by default when the first admin user is over a month old.
WooCommerce has one base currency per store. Other currencies need a multi-currency extension, and your gateway must support each one.
Use the blocks on a new store unless an extension you need does not support them, and switch to the shortcodes only if you must.
Once the store takes a test order, choose extras by job with the best WooCommerce plugins guide, then speed up your WooCommerce store and protect it with the WordPress security checklist. You can also browse WooCommerce plugins and WooCommerce themes on DevMarket, and check each listing's support period and update policy first.
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