Create first product in WooCommerce

After you WooCommerce basic settings you have made, you can create your first product.

WooCommerce only requires a few details for a very simple product. For a proper online shop, however, you should take a little more time. A fully maintained product helps your customers understand what they are buying and provides WooCommerce with the necessary information for price, inventory, shipping, and order processing.

In this guide: We are creating a normal physical product without variants. In WooCommerce, this product type is called Simple product designated. We handle products with sizes, colors, or other variants separately.

What is a simple product? #

WooCommerce has different product types. For your first product, we will use a Simple product.

A simple product is a single item where the customer does not have to choose between different variants.

Typical examples are:

• a book
• a single cup
• a tool in a specific design
• a spare part
• a specific electronic device

For example, if you sell a T-shirt in multiple sizes and colors, a simple product is usually not the right choice. For this, WooCommerce uses variable products.

We explain the differences between simple, variable, grouped, and external products in detail in the article WooCommerce Product Types Explained: Simple, Variable, Grouped, and External.

Open new product #

Log in to the WordPress backend first.

Then open:

Products
→ Add new product

Depending on the WordPress and WooCommerce version, the exact label may vary slightly.

Now the product editor opens. Here you enter all the information WooCommerce needs for this product.

Note: The appearance of the product editor may vary depending on the WooCommerce version, theme, and installed plugins. Additional extensions may add further fields and sections.

1. Enter product name #

At the very top, you enter the name of your product.

The product name should clearly describe what you are selling.

Instead:

Cup

is for example:

Ceramic coffee mug – 350 ml

much more meaningful for a client.

The product name is usually displayed in various places throughout the shop, for example on the product page and in product overviews. Exactly how and where it appears also depends on your theme or shop design.

The product name also affects the URL #

When a new product is saved, WordPress usually automatically generates a so-called Slug. This forms the product-specific part of the URL.

From:

Ceramic coffee mug – 350 ml

can result, for example, in a URL with the following product slug:

ceramic coffee mug 350 ml

You can edit the automatically generated slug if needed.

Tip: Do not change the URL of an already published product without a reason. If an existing URL changes, a redirect may be necessary so that old links continue to work. We explain how to do this in the article Set up 301 redirect.

2. Write a detailed product description #

Underneath the product name is the detailed product description.

Here you can explain your product in detail.

For example, a good product description answers:

• What is the product?
• What is it used for?
• What important properties does it have?
• What material is it made of?
• What dimensions or technical data are relevant?
• What is included in the scope of delivery?
• What should the customer know before purchasing?

In addition to normal text, the detailed description can also contain headings, lists, and other content. Which design options are available also depends on the editor used and your WordPress configuration.

Example of a simple product description #

This ceramic coffee mug has a capacity of 350 ml and is suitable for coffee, tea, and other hot beverages.

Features:
- Ceramic
- Capacity: 350 ml
- Height: 10 cm
- Diameter: 8 cm
- Scope of delivery: 1 mug

Do not write just for search engines. After reading, a customer should know as precisely as possible what they are ordering.

3. Select product type #

Scroll to the section Product data.

WooCommerce uses the product type by default for new products Simple product.

For our example, we leave this selection unchanged.

Product data:
→ Simple product

In addition to the product type, simple products can also have the options Virtual and Downloadable displayed.

What does „virtual“ mean? #

A virtual product does not require physical shipping. This can be the case, for example, with a service.

When you mark a simple product as virtual, WooCommerce removes the shipping fields that are not needed for this product. A virtual product on its own also does not trigger any shipping calculation in the cart and checkout.

For our physical coffee mug remains Virtual therefore disabled.

Downloadable #

The option Downloadable is intended for products where the customer can download files after purchase.

These can be, for example:

• PDF files
• E-Books
• Pictures
• Music files
• other digital files

After activation, additional settings for downloadable files, download limits, and a possible expiration date will appear.

A downloadable product is not automatically virtual, too. For example, WooCommerce can offer a physical product that also includes an additional file to download.

For our normal physical product, we also Downloadable Disabled.

4. Enter regular price #

Open the section within the product data General.

Here you will find the field for the simple product Regular price.

Enter the regular selling price of the product there.

Example:

Regular price:
29.90

The currency used in your shop is determined via the WooCommerce basic settings set. Therefore, you enter the amount in the price field and not the currency name additionally every time.

Important: Whether you need to enter prices including or excluding tax depends on your WooCommerce tax settings. Therefore, check the tax configuration before entering a larger product catalog with prices.

We explain the technical setup of the tax calculation in the article Properly setting up taxes and VAT in WooCommerce.

5. Use offer price #

Below the regular price you can Offer price or enter a reduced price.

Example:

Regular price:
29.90

Sale price:
24.90

WooCommerce can then display the regular price and the reduced sale price accordingly in the shop.

How the price display looks exactly depends on the theme you are using or the design of your product page.

Schedule offer #

WooCommerce also allows you to schedule a sale price.

You can set a start and end date. This means a time-limited offer does not necessarily have to be switched on and off manually.

For scheduled offers, always check whether the date, price, and requested time period are correctly entered.

6. Check tax status and tax bracket #

When tax calculation is enabled in WooCommerce, you will find it in the section General also tax-related settings for the product.

The Tax status determines if or to which component of the WooCommerce product the configured tax calculation should be applied.

The Tax class determines which of the tax classes stored in WooCommerce is used for this product.

Important: Do not choose a tax class based on a gut feeling. WooCommerce only executes the calculation you have configured. Which tax treatment is correct for your product depends on the regulations that apply to your business and the product.

If you are unsure about the tax classification of a product, you should have it professionally clarified.

7. Open inventory #

Open the section within the product data Inventory.

Here you can determine how WooCommerce should manage this product's inventory.

Depending on the configuration, important information includes, among other things:

• SKU or item number
• Warehouse management
• Inventory
• Backorders
• individual sale or quantity limitation per order

Inventory management can be set up very simply or more extensively. Therefore, we will cover this area again in detail later in the article Manage inventory, SKU, and delivery status in WooCommerce.

8. What is an SKU? #

SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit. Put simply, this is a unique internal identifier or article number for a product.

An example:

KER-TASSE-350-WEISS

An SKU is particularly helpful if you manage many products or work internally with item numbers.

Do not confuse the SKU with the product name. Customers may see multiple similarly named products, while you can uniquely distinguish them internally by their SKU.

Tip: If you use SKUs, establish a traceable system right from the start. With a hundred or a thousand products, a disorganized system will quickly become confusing later on.

9. Enable inventory management #

If WooCommerce should automatically track the available stock of this product, you enable stock management for the product.

Then you can enter the available quantity.

Example:

Stock:
25

WooCommerce can then reduce the inventory accordingly upon sales.

If you are not using quantity-based inventory management, only the basic stock status of the product can be used instead.

10. Understanding Backorders #

With backorders, you can define how WooCommerce should react when there is no longer sufficient inventory.

Depending on the setting, orders can be allowed or prevented even if inventory is missing.

Enable backorders only if you can actually reorder products or deliver them despite a lack of current stock.

Example: If you have zero units of a cup in stock and cannot procure new goods at short notice, you should not simply let customers continue ordering.

Sold individually – only one piece per order #

WooCommerce can be configured so that a customer can buy at most one copy of a product within a single order.

This is not a normal inventory limit, but rather a limit on the product quantity per order.

For a regular coffee cup, this setting would not normally make sense, because a customer might want to order four cups.

On the other hand, it can be useful for certain unique items or other special offers.

12. Enter product shipping data #

For a physical product, you will find the section within the product data Shipping.

Here you can enter details such as the weight and dimensions of the product.

Depending on your WooCommerce configuration and installed shipping solutions, this information may be relevant for shipping calculation.

Weight #

Enter the product weight according to the weight unit set in WooCommerce.

Example:

Weight:
0.35 kg

Which unit of measurement WooCommerce uses is determined in the product settings.

Dimensions #

WooCommerce can also manage product dimensions:

• Length
• Width
• Height

Here, too, you should pay attention to the unit of measurement configured in the shop.

Important: Whether weight and dimensions actually change the shipping price depends on the shipping method or shipping solution used. Simply entering a weight does not automatically generate a matching parcel price.

The actual shipping configuration is done via Shipping zones, shipping methods and shipping costs.

13. Shipping class #

In the shipping department, a product can also be assigned a Shipping class to be assigned.

Shipping classes help group products for specific shipping calculations.

This can be useful, for example, if you have products with different shipping requirements.

For your first simple product, you don't necessarily have to use a shipping class. It is only needed when your shipping configuration works with it.

14. Linked Products #

In the field of Linked products Can you establish relationships between products.

For simple products, this includes in particular Upsells and Cross-Sells.

What are upsells? #

Upsells are products that you can store as an alternative or higher-value recommendation to the product currently being viewed.

For example, in the case of a simple coffee mug, a larger or higher-quality mug could be recommended.

What are cross-sells? #

Cross-sells are complementary products. WooCommerce can display these in connection with the cart.

For a coffee cup, for example, a matching pack of coffee could be stored as a complementary product.

Note: Where and how such product recommendations are visible in the shop can depend on the theme used and the design of your shop.

15. Using properties #

Under Properties can you add additional product features.

For our mug, that could be, for example:

Material:
Ceramic

Color:
White

Capacity:
350 ml

Attributes help to describe products in a structured way. They also play an important role in variable products.

We explain the difference between categories, tags, and attributes, as well as their sensible use, in detail in the article How to correctly use categories, tags, and attributes for products.

16. Advanced product settings #

In the field of Extended you can find additional settings for the product.

This may include, among other things, in the WooCommerce core:

• Purchase notice
• Menu order
• Enable or disable product reviews

Purchase notice #

With a purchase notice, you can store a product-specific note that can be displayed to the customer after the purchase or transmitted in connection with the order.

Use this field only for information that actually belongs specifically to this product.

Menu order #

The menu order is a numeric value that can be used for the manual sorting of products.

For your first product, you can usually leave the default setting unchanged.

Enable reviews #

Here you can specify whether reviews are allowed for this product.

For reviews to actually be usable, the general WooCommerce settings for product reviews must also be configured accordingly.

17. Write short description #

In addition to the detailed product description, WooCommerce has Product short description.

This should compactly summarize the most important information about the product.

Example:

Sturdy ceramic coffee mug with a 350 ml capacity. Suitable for coffee, tea, and other hot drinks.

In many classic WooCommerce layouts, the short description is displayed in the upper area of the product page, near the price and the add-to-cart button. However, the exact position depends on the theme and the design of your product page.

18. Set product image #

The Product image is the main image of your product.

Click the function to set the product image in the corresponding area and select an existing image from the WordPress media library or upload a new image.

The main image is used by WooCommerce in various places in the shop, for example on the product page and in product overviews.

Use as clear an image as possible on which the product is easily recognizable.

How to properly use the main image and additional product images is covered in detail in the article Using product images and product galleries in WooCommerce.

19. Add product gallery #

In addition to the main image, you can add further images in the Product gallery store.

For a mug, for example, the following images might make sense:

• Front view
• Side view
• Top view
• Detail shot of the material
• Product in actual use

The gallery complements the main image. It does not replace it.

Multiple gallery images can be rearranged in WooCommerce via drag-and-drop.

20. Produktkategorie auswählen #

Ordne das Produkt einer passenden Product category zu.

Für unsere Kaffeetasse könnte das beispielsweise sein:

Küche
└── Tassen

Produktkategorien helfen deinen Kunden, Produkte im Shop zu finden und deinen Produktkatalog übersichtlich zu strukturieren.

WooCommerce besitzt immer eine Standard-Produktkategorie. Wenn du einem Produkt keine andere Kategorie zuweist, wird die Standardkategorie verwendet.

Tip: Erstelle nicht für jedes einzelne Produkt eine neue Kategorie. Kategorien sollten mehrere sinnvoll zusammengehörende Produkte strukturieren.

21. Produktschlagwörter verwenden #

Zusätzlich zu Kategorien können Produkte mit Schlagwörtern versehen werden.

Schlagwörter sind nicht hierarchisch und eignen sich für zusätzliche Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen Produkten.

Beispiele könnten sein:

Keramik
Kaffee
Geschenkidee

Verwende Schlagwörter gezielt. Eine grosse Menge beliebiger Schlagwörter macht einen Shop nicht automatisch übersichtlicher oder besser auffindbar.

Die genaue Planung von Kategorien, Schlagwörtern und Eigenschaften behandeln wir deshalb separat im Artikel How to correctly use categories, tags, and attributes for products.

22. Produkt vor der Veröffentlichung kontrollieren #

Bevor du auf Publish klickst, solltest du dein Produkt nochmals kontrollieren.

Prüfe mindestens:

• Ist der Produktname korrekt?
• Ist die Beschreibung vollständig?
• Ist der richtige Produkttyp ausgewählt?
• Stimmt der reguläre Preis?
• Ist ein Angebotspreis wirklich beabsichtigt?
• Ist die steuerliche Produkteinstellung entsprechend deiner Shop-Konfiguration gewählt?
• Ist die SKU korrekt, falls du eine verwendest?
• Stimmt der Lagerbestand?
• Sind Gewicht und Abmessungen korrekt, falls sie benötigt werden?
• Ist das richtige Produktbild hinterlegt?
• Ist die Produktgalerie vollständig?
• Ist die richtige Kategorie ausgewählt?
• Ist die Kurzbeschreibung vorhanden?

23. Produkt veröffentlichen #

Wenn alle Angaben stimmen, kannst du das Produkt veröffentlichen.

Klicke dazu auf Publish beziehungsweise auf die entsprechende Schaltfläche deines verwendeten Produkteditors.

Das Produkt wird damit gespeichert und kann – abhängig von seinem Veröffentlichungsstatus und der Konfiguration deines Shops – auf der Website sichtbar werden.

Important: Nur weil ein Produkt veröffentlicht wurde, bedeutet das nicht, dass dein gesamter Shop bereits bereit für echte Bestellungen ist. Versand, Steuern, Zahlungsmethoden, E-Mails und Checkout müssen ebenfalls korrekt eingerichtet und getestet sein.

24. Produkt als Kunde ansehen #

Nach dem Veröffentlichen solltest du das Produkt nicht nur im WordPress-Backend kontrollieren.

Öffne die Produktseite im Shop und betrachte sie aus Sicht eines Kunden.

Check:

• Ist der Produktname vollständig sichtbar?
• Stimmt der Preis?
• Ist das Hauptbild korrekt?
• Funktioniert die Produktgalerie?
• Sind Beschreibung und Kurzbeschreibung verständlich?
• Ist der Lagerstatus korrekt?
• Kann das Produkt wie vorgesehen in den Warenkorb gelegt werden?

Öffne die Produktseite am besten zusätzlich in einem privaten Browserfenster. Dadurch siehst du sie ohne deine angemeldete WordPress-Administratorsitzung.

Ein vollständiges Beispiel #

Unser erstes einfaches Produkt könnte am Ende beispielsweise so konfiguriert sein:

Setting	Example
Product name	Ceramic coffee mug – 350 ml
Product type	Simple product
Virtual	No
Downloadable	No
Regulärer Preis	CHF 29.90
SKU	KER-TASSE-350-WEISS
Warehouse management	Activated
Inventory	25 Stück
Weight	0.35 kg
Material	Ceramic
Color	White
Capacity	350 ml
Category	Küche → Tassen
Product image	Hauptansicht der Tasse
Product gallery	Weitere Ansichten und Detailbilder

Damit besitzt WooCommerce die wichtigsten Informationen für dieses einfache physische Produkt.

Was ist bei Produkten mit Grössen oder Farben anders? #

Wenn dein Produkt beispielsweise in den Grössen S, M und L oder in mehreren Farben erhältlich ist, solltest du nicht automatisch für jede Kombination ein separates einfaches Produkt erstellen.

WooCommerce bietet dafür variable products.

Dabei kann beispielsweise jede Variante eigene Angaben besitzen, darunter Preis, SKU, Lagerbestand oder Bild.

Bevor wir variable Produkte erstellen, schauen wir uns im nächsten Artikel zunächst die verschiedenen WooCommerce-Produkttypen an. Danach zeigen wir Schritt für Schritt, wie du create variable products with sizes, colors and other variants.

Summary #

Ein neues Produkt erstellst du im WordPress-Backend über Produkte → Neues Produkt hinzufügen.

Für ein einfaches physisches Produkt wählst du den Produkttyp Simple product. Hinterlege danach mindestens einen verständlichen Produktnamen und den Verkaufspreis. Für einen vollständig gepflegten Shop solltest du zusätzlich Beschreibung, Kurzbeschreibung, Lagerbestand, SKU, Versandinformationen, Bilder und eine passende Produktkategorie eintragen.

Kontrolliere vor der Veröffentlichung besonders Preis, Steuer- und Lagereinstellungen sowie die Produktbilder. Nach der Veröffentlichung solltest du die Produktseite zusätzlich aus Sicht eines normalen Kunden öffnen und prüfen.

Produkte mit Auswahlmöglichkeiten wie Grössen oder Farben werden in WooCommerce anders aufgebaut. Dafür verwenden wir später variable Produkte.