How to Start a Wix eCommerce Store

A Wix ecommerce store comes together in a real 10-step sequence, and upgrading your plan to actually accept payments is the very last one, not the first.

You build your entire store, products, categories, shipping, tax, payments, design, before Wix asks you to upgrade.

Know this going in, because if you skip ahead expecting to sell before completing the sequence, you cannot, checkout does not work until you are on a Premium or Studio plan.

This guide follows Wix’s own real 10-step order exactly, verified directly against the current official documentation, not a paraphrase of it.

Every step, every named feature, and every menu path below comes from that source.

Key Takeaways

• Wix is fully hosted, you do not need to buy or manage separate hosting. Unlike WooCommerce, which requires you to choose and configure hosting yourself, Wix handles the server side completely, your setup starts directly at product and store configuration.
• Wix’s official setup has exactly 10 named steps, in a specific order: products, categories, site settings, shipping and delivery, tax, payments, checkout settings, design, members area, then upgrade and go live.
• The plan upgrade is truly the last step, not an early gate. You build the entire store first, then upgrade to Premium or Studio specifically to accept payments and publish.
• Product modifiers are not available for all stores yet. This is stated directly in Wix’s own documentation, confirm availability for your account before planning around them.
• Creating a category does not automatically display it. You have to create the category, add products to it, and then separately go into the editor to actually display it, a real, easy step to miss.
• Wix offers a named automated tax option, Avalara, alongside manual tax entry, most general guides only mention one or the other.

The Real Setup Sequence, Start to Finish

Step 1: Create Products and Product Options

1. Start by creating your store products
2. Choose between two product types: physical items, or digital downloads such as PDFs and image files
3. Physical products can be sold as a one-time purchase, or set up as part of a subscription model
4. If your product comes in different sizes, colors, materials, or other variations, add product options so customers can choose the one they want, you can track inventory separately for each variant
5. If your product has extras like gift wrapping, embellishments, or engraving, add these as product modifiers instead, these do not require separate inventory or different pricing
6. Product modifiers are not yet available for all stores, confirm this is active on your account before planning your listings around them

Step 2: Create Categories and Display Them

1. Categories group similar products together for display, useful once your catalog grows past a handful of items
2. If you sell only one type of product, or a small overall number, you may not need categories at all, a single Shop page can work fine
3. To actually use categories, create the category, then add products to it
4. Go into the editor and display the category separately, creating the category alone does not automatically show it on your site, a commonly missed step

Step 3: Add Your Site Settings

1. Click Settings in your dashboard
2. Enter your basic information in the General section, contact email, location, language, and currency
3. If you have employees or business partners, go to Roles & Permissions to give them full or limited access to your site

Step 4: Choose Shipping, Local Delivery, and Pickup Options

1. For each location you sell from, set up any or all of three fulfillment methods: Shipping (ship to customers), Delivery (hand-deliver via courier within a set area), or Pickup (customers collect from a physical location)
2. Wix supports a wide range of shipping rules, from flat rate to rates that vary by weight
3. You can offer multiple delivery options at different price points, standard and express shipping, for example
4. If different groups of products need different shipping rules, for example large and small items, set up two or more separate delivery profiles to handle this, a specific, named feature for exactly this situation

Step 5: Set Up Tax

1. You have two options for tax collection
2. Manually enter the tax rates you need to collect from customers yourself
3. Or set up automated tax collection through Avalara, Wix’s named integration partner for this specifically

Step 6: Set Up Payment Providers

1. You must connect at least one payment method before you can sell anything
2. Options include: Wix Payments, standard credit card payment providers, PayPal (which can also process credit card payments directly), installment payment providers where available, and manual or offline payment methods
3. Which specific options are available to you depends on your location

Step 7: Choose Additional Checkout and Store Settings

1. Click Settings, then find the Checkout section to customize your checkout page directly, adding custom fields, store policies, or enabling gift card payments
2. Note that these checkout settings also apply to other Wix business solutions on your site, such as Wix Bookings or Wix Restaurants Orders, if you use either
3. Go to Store products & inventory for additional Wix Stores-specific settings, a minimum order subtotal, and whether tax or shipping info displays next to product prices

Step 8: Design the Look of Your Store

1. Select layouts, colors, and fonts to match your brand
2. Several specific pages are worth customizing individually: the category page, product galleries, the product page itself, the side cart, the cart icon, the full cart page, and the thank you page

Step 9: Customize Your Members Area

1. The members area is where customers view their upcoming and past orders, and edit their saved addresses and cards
2. Customize its design so it matches the rest of your store rather than leaving it at the default appearance

Step 10: Upgrade and Go Live

1. Upgrade your site to a Premium plan or a Studio plan, this is specifically what allows you to accept payments, no lower plan supports this
2. Publish your site
3. Consider connecting a custom domain at this point too, for a more professional appearance than a default Wix subdomain

Real Traps in the Wix Setup Sequence

• The plan upgrade timing. You build the complete store before upgrading, not the other way around. Know this going in so you are not surprised partway through, but still follow the order Wix itself uses rather than upgrading early just to feel safer.
• The category-display step. Creating a category is not the same as displaying it. You have to add products to it, then go into the editor separately to actually show it, a common point where people assume they are done when they are not.
• Tax method assumptions. Wix offers both manual entry and an automated option through Avalara specifically, choose deliberately between the two rather than assuming only one exists.
• Checkout settings scope. If you use other Wix business tools like Bookings or Restaurants Orders alongside Stores, your checkout settings apply across all of them, not just your store, a change made for one affects the others too.

FAQ for Starting a Wix eCommerce Store