Lisa Sims - Building Your Online Store With WordPress and WooCommerce: Learn to Leverage the Critical Role E-commerce Plays in Today’s Competitive Marketplace

Any source code or other supplementary material referenced by the author in this book is available to readers on GitHub via the book's product page, located at www.apress.com/9781484238455 . For more detailed information, please visit http://www.apress.com/source-code .

As an online professor, web developer, and entrepreneur, I understand the theory, methods, and implementation behind e-commerce. Throughout my 20-year career, I helped businesses of all sizes implement e-commerce strategies. Some only had a few product offerings while others had an extensive product inventory that was migrated from a brick and mortar location to an online marketspace only. Over the years, I have observed the technology advances that have made it easier and cost efficient for small businesses to create an e-commerce strategy without breaking the bank.

In todays competitive marketplace, e-commerce for businesses is a necessity. No longer is it considered nice to have. E-commerce has become interwoven into our daily lives just like our need for other basic life necessities such as food and air. How important is e-commerce to consumers? Consumers are willing to pay for an annual Prime membership to shop online with Amazon.com and wait two days for their products to be delivered. I love shopping with Amazon because of the Prime delivery. Who does not like opening their door to find an Amazon box outside waiting?

In years prior to e-commerce, this was unheard of, but today it is commonplace. Why is that? Over the years, consumers needs have changed. Due to hectic schedules, the prevalence of mobile devices and apps, and the convenience of online shopping, consumers look for businesses that understand this and can cater to their needs. As a business owner, you do not want to miss your opportunity to connect with a global market 24 hours, seven days a week.

WordPress, one of the popular content management systems, is primarily known for its easy blog creation. However, blogging is not its only function. It can also be used to create an online store using various plugins such as WooCommerce, which will be discussed throughout this book.

As you read this book, each chapter will help you customize your e-commerce strategy for your business to maximize your businesss success. I know that you will benefit greatly from this book and would love to hear from you. Please feel free to follow me on my social media networks and let me know how you enjoyed the book.

Lets get started.

I must first give God all the credit for making this book possible. Without God, I would not have had the book idea along with the strength and perseverance to pursue and write it after my mothers unexpected death. In my darkest hours of grief, God shined His light so that I could see and keep going.

Special thanks and appreciation to Apress for giving me the opportunity to become an Apress author. I appreciate all the dedication and hard work the Apress book team provided throughout the project. All the feedback was invaluable and contributed to bringing this book to fruition. Thank you, Louise Corrigan, James Markham and Nancy Chen, for making it a pleasant and memorable experience along with the technical reviewers who reviewed the content for accuracy.

Most importantly, I want to thank my husband, Timothy, and my two sons, Timothy Jr. and William, for bearing with me as I worked to complete this project. This book illustrates to Timothy Jr. and William that no matter how bad a situation might seem, something good and beautiful can still come out of it as long as you keep the faith and never give up.

Last but not least, thank you for making the investment in your business to reach global online markets by purchasing this book!