I’m completely new to building websites and decided to create one for selling my handmade products. Multiple people recommended WordPress so I purchased a domain and picked a theme to get started.
The problem is I keep making mistakes constantly. I accidentally remove important elements, add features I don’t need, and generally mess things up. It’s really frustrating because I invested money into this but I’m clearly in over my head.
I’m wondering what my options are at this point. Should I hire a professional to help me set it up properly? I don’t personally know anyone with web development skills. Or would it be better to cut my losses and try a different platform that might be more user-friendly?
Any suggestions would be really helpful right now.
honestly, try shopify or squarespace before hiring anyone. wordpress has a steep learning curve - these platforms are much more beginner-friendly for ecommerce. you can always switch to wordpress later once you’re comfortable with website management.
Before you ditch your current setup, check if your hosting provider has WordPress tutorials or support. Most hosts offer free one-on-one help with basic WordPress stuff. I had the same overwhelming experience starting my first site - turned out my host had tons of resources I didn’t know existed. Also, grab a child theme so you don’t lose your customizations when things break. WordPress works great for handmade product sales, but yeah, the learning curve sucks. If you’re sticking with it, buy a basic WordPress course instead of hiring a developer right away - you’ll be way better off long term.
Been there. WordPress is powerful but awful for beginners doing ecommerce.
Skip the theme/plugin nightmare and automate everything instead. Connect your inventory, payments, and customer emails without any coding.
Just helped my friend launch her jewelry store this way. We automated product uploads, order confirmations, shipping notifications - the works. She went from constantly breaking her site to running smooth in days.
Start simple. Connect your payment processor to email marketing. Auto-update inventory. Set up customer service replies. Once automation handles the grunt work, you can focus on making great products.
No expensive developers or complex platforms needed. Automation does the tech stuff while you do what you’re good at.
Back up your site first - use WordPress backup plus whatever your host provides. I went through this exact mess when I started my pottery business. Here’s what worked: strip everything down to basics instead of adding more stuff. Pick one simple ecommerce theme that has good reviews and stop there. Don’t pile on plugins to fix problems - that just creates new ones. WordPress works great for handmade products, but you’ve got to resist the urge to customize everything right away. Get your products listed properly first. Add features later once you actually understand how they affect your site.
Consider switching to WordPress.com if you haven’t tried it yet. The hosted option alleviates most of the technical challenges while still allowing for decent store customization. I experienced a similar situation by diving into self-hosted WordPress without knowing the learning curve ahead. Alternatively, setting up a staging site can help you experiment with changes without affecting your actual site; many hosts provide this feature now. If you decide to stay with your current setup, take it slow and focus on one change at a time, documenting what works for future reference.