How to build a physical product marketplace will be described in this article. It’s incredible that online marketplaces like Etsy can produce product sales of up to $65 million in a single month. However, it must cost thousands, if not millions, of dollars to set up and operate these physical product marketplaces.
That’s not always the case, though, as you can build a physical marketplace website on a tight budget by utilising a few tools like WordPress, a hosting package, a marketplace theme (like Marketica), WooCommerce, and WC Vendors.
And I’ll walk you through every step of the process. Now is the time for you to benefit from the growth of e-commerce. Selecting a topic where users can visit your website and sell their own products is the first step. Keep reading to find out how you may build a physical product marketplace with a small budget. Marketplaces often provide profile creation tools for both sellers and buyers.
Despite the fact that there are other marketplace solutions available, WordPress with WooCommerce and the WC Vendors plugin is by far the most affordable and effective solution.
How To Build a Physical Product Marketplace In 2023
In this article, you can know about how to build a physical product marketplace here are the details below;
Get Your Domain and Hosting First
Finding hosting and a domain name is the first step in creating any website, whether it’s a marketplace or not.
There are hundreds of hosting providers, however due to Bluehost’s security and dependability, we advise utilising them.
Not to mention, Bluehost offers excellent customer service, and the backend is quite user-friendly.
- Consider reading my complete Bluehost review first.
- To get started, visit the main Bluehost homepage.
- To move forward, click the large Get Started Now button.
Installing WordPress through Bluehost
Go to the next page after choosing your preferred plan.
Since it’s inexpensive and provides you with all the storage and support you require, the Standard plan is typically a smart place to start.
You can select a brand-new domain name or transfer an existing one on the next page.
Enter the domain name you’ve chosen and then press the Next button.
You can find out here if the domain name is available and how much it is currently selling for.
If you already have a domain name, you can copy it and paste it in the space on the right to proceed with transferring it to Bluehost.
Usually, this only requires a few minutes.
Enter the details for your account, including your name, address, and email address.
For the one you wish to pay for, scroll down to the Package Information module.
Remember that all of these payment plans are payable annually, but they become more affordable if you choose to sign up for additional years.
Since you can typically find items like backup tools and search engine plugins for free, feel free to uncheck all of the add-ons.
Then, at the bottom of the page, press the Submit button after completing your billing information.
You will be logged into your CPanel once you generate your Bluehost login credentials and complete your hosting account payment.
You may handle things like domains and site files in the backend hosting area.
The world’s best free and open source content management system, WordPress, should now be installed.
Fortunately, Bluehost offers a WordPress installation option that only requires one click.
On your CPanel’s home page, locate the Website Builders header and select the WordPress symbol. Given that it guides you through each step, this process is really straightforward.
If you follow the instructions, installing WordPress on your website hosted by Bluehost should just take you a few minutes.
Creating Your Physical Product Marketplace with WooCommerce and the WC Vendors Plugin
Step 1: Using WooCommerce and the WC Vendors Plugin to Create Your Physical Product Marketplace
Begin by searching for a WordPress marketplace theme on ThemeForest.
You have a number of alternatives available, some of which are simpler to use than others.
The following is a index of some of our favourite physical marketplace themes:
- Makery
- Market
- MarketHub
- Marketica
Although Marketica also works with the WC Vendors plugin, all of the aforementioned themes have WooCommerce support.
In light of this, using it while following this guide might be a little simpler.
There are many more marketplace themes available, but before selecting one, be sure it enables the sale of physical goods.
The well-liked Marketify theme, for instance, used to accept both digital and physical goods, but now it only supports digital ones.
It would be useless to purchase a theme that only supports digital goods, therefore use Ctrl + F to search the sales page for any references to “physical” items.
Users frequently discuss if a marketplace theme supports both digital and physical goods, so you can also read the comments and reviews.
Will This Work With Any Theme?
Yes, most themes are compatible with WC Vendors and WooCommerce.
They might not look that amazing, which is the sole drawback.
You are welcome to try out your current theme with the setup offered by the marketplace, but I would at the very least suggest looking for a theme designed to work with a WooCommerce store.
Your website will then have integrated eCommerce capabilities, such as checkout modules and shopping cart symbols.
Step 2: Themeforest will prompt you to download a theme to your computer once you make a purchase.
The theme file is also included in your ThemeForest account.
Theme installation and activation for your WordPress website.
Depending on the theme you chose, this may need a little further tweaking.
For instance, while some themes require you to download and instal sample data, others will handle WooCommerce installation for you.
Step 3: Install WC Vendors in addition to WooCommerce.
The e-commerce features are provided by WooCommerce, while the settings for setting up vendor profiles are provided by WC Vendors.
Additionally, it’s fantastic for allowing customers to purchase goods from various sellers.
It’s critical to instal both of them right away because WC Vendors cannot function without WooCommerce.
Step 4: The majority of setup for WC Vendors and WooCommerce are prepared right out of the box.
But there are a few issues that we must address.
First of all, you’ll see that in WordPress, WC Vendors is situated beneath the WooCommerce tab.
To continue, select the WC Vendors tab.
Step 5: Modifying the commission rates is the first item on the agenda.
For example, you might want to provide your vendors 80% of revenues while keeping 20% for yourself.
Checking off the option to authorise new vendor applications is another smart move.
You can also state whether you want others to submit applications to become vendors.
You have complete control over the shipping and tax settings, although generally speaking, the default options are acceptable.
Step 6: Select the Products tab from the WC Vendors menu.
This section’s sole use is to keep some pages hidden from all merchants.
As a result, if someone wanted to add a product to their vendor shop, some fields or options could not be available.
Making a physical marketplace like Etsy is the sole topic we’re discussing in this case.
To prevent vendors from seeing those, click the Virtual and Downloadable options.
Remember that you can sell both physical and digital goods, but for the time being we’re ignoring the digital component.
Step 7: The permissions you can set are all described under the Capabilities tab.
The majority of them may be kept at their default settings, but you should still go over them to see which ones need to be altered specifically for your website.
The Products heading is the key area of focus.
In essence, it asks you if you agree that any products posted to the site must be approved by an admin.
Although this is excellent for quality control, managing a large facility will be challenging.
You can also restrict merchants from changing or removing products after they’ve been submitted.
Step 8: The WC Vendors plugin automatically generates all of the pages listed under the Pages tab.
It creates a vendor dashboard and a page for shop settings, for instance.
This phase doesn’t require much fiddling, but it’s vital to view the pages and comprehend where they are.
Step 9: When designing your physical marketplace, the Payments tab is one of the most crucial sections.
This is expected to the fact that it links you to the PayPal AP gateway.
More crucially, you decide how frequently you’ll pay your suppliers.
Some webmasters may assume this is a simple setup, but you need consider the effects of each decision.
To begin with, you can configure Instant Pay such that it will automatically pay your merchants following a sale.
You must also set the Payment Schedule to “Now” for this to function.
The Instant Pay box shouldn’t be ticked if you choose any other option for the payment schedule.
There are various payment plans available.
You can receive payments on a daily, weekly, monthly, or other basis.
Remember that a hasty payout might result in chargeback issues.
Additionally, you might discover that you don’t have enough money to pay merchants promptly.
However, you don’t want your vendors to have to wait so long to receive their payments.
If not, your marketplace will lose merchants who are dissatisfied.
Personally, I consider a weekly or biweekly payment to be just.
Despite the fact that you can always return to WC Vendors and change the settings, what we went over above is essentially all you need to do.
Step 10: As previously stated, the majority of WooCommerce settings are perfect right out of the box.
To give your customers a more fluid experience, there is one checkbox you should select.
Is Your Physical Marketplace Ready?
WooCommerce only routinely requests registration from users during the checkout process.
Customers frequently prefer to register before making a purchase in a marketplace, which is unfortunate.
As a result, we wish to display a link for registration right on the account page.
To access accounts, go to WooCommerce > Settings.
There is a checkbox under Customer Registration that reads, “Enable Customer Registration on the My Account Page.”
Mark the box with a checkmark.
Your clients will now see the option to register when they visit the My Account page on the front end of your website.
