How to sell plants online
If you are wondering how to sell plants online, you’ll need to learn how to create your online store, build your product catalogue, set up a delivery service, define your brand, and set pricing for your products. We can talk you through each step of the process and recommend the best tools to use to ensure that your store offers your customers exactly what they need.
Selling plants online – your step-by-step guide
Step 1: Defining your brand and niche
While some reading this article might already have an established physical plant store and fully developed brand, for those starting out, defining your branding and niche is a crucial step to ensure that you are able to bring a unique offering to a crowded marketplace. Your USPs will help engage customers and set you apart from the competition, so make sure that you have a clear vision, and have defined your niche to help you stand out.
For example, your online plant store could specialize in:
- Rare plants: Exotic and hard-to-find species for serious collectors.
- Low-maintenance plants: Perfect for beginners or busy customers.
- Eco-friendly offerings: Sustainable packaging and organically grown plants.
- Indoor plants for home decor: Focus on trendy, Instagram-worthy plants like monstera, fiddle-leaf figs, or succulents.
- Customizable plant packages: Create bundles for special occasions, such as housewarming gifts or corporate events.
Before you decide, thorough research is key. Align your passions and interests with industry trends and insights you gain through in-depth research and gaining a clear understanding of who your target audience is, their needs, and how you will fulfill them.
Step 2: Building your product catalog
When selling plants online, the way you present your products from a visual perspective is paramount. High-quality images of healthy plants, displayed so they capture attention, alongside vivid, engaging descriptions will play a crucial role. Remember, your customers won’t be able to touch, smell, or see the plants in person, so your online store must offer a rich, sensory experience through imagery and content.
- High-quality images: It’s worth investing in professional photography to showcase your plants in the best way. Utilise natural lighting to highlight leaf textures, vibrant colors, and the various plant sizes on offer. Include photos from multiple angles so your customers can get a proper perspective of what the plant will look like in real life. In some industries, the wholesale suppliers have professional photos that they supply to their retail clients, so it’s always worth asking them too.
- Detailed product descriptions: A good description will not only contain an engaging description of the product, but will also include key information such as:
- Plant care instructions (e.g. sunlight, water needs).
- Growth potential (e.g. height and spread).
- Pet safety (e.g. whether the plant is toxic to pets).
- Climate suitability (e.g. for indoor or outdoor use).
- Custom options: If you can offer your customers options to customise their products the way they like, this will be an added incentive to buy. You could include options for planters, soil types, and gift messages. The WooCommerce Product Add-Ons Ultimate plugin has all these customisation features included to let customers personalize their orders.
- Categorize smartly: Organize your plants into intuitive categories like size, type (succulent, flowering, etc.), and care level (easy, advanced). Doing so will make your customer’s experience of using the website far easier, and enable them to discover the products they are looking for with ease.
Step 3: Packaging, presentation, and pricing
Plants are delicate, so to ensure your products arrive safely at their destination, your packaging must strike a balance between attractive aesthetics and intelligent functionality.
Here are some tips:
- Eco-friendly packaging: Use biodegradable or recyclable materials – these will appeal to an increasingly environmentally conscious customer base.
- Secure transport: Include protective layers like cushioning and ensure proper ventilation in packaging. This will help ensure your plants are protected as they make the journey to your customers. Add care instructions inside the box so your customers know how to look after their new purchase.
- Unboxing experience: Consider branded tissue paper, thank-you notes, or small freebies like fertilizer samples to create a memorable unboxing experience.
When it comes to deciding on the price at which you will sell your plants, you will need to calculate your costs. Your outgoings will include not only the cost of the plants themselves, but also packaging, labor, shipping, and desired profit margins. Research competitor pricing to ensure your products are competitive while covering your costs.
Step 4: Legal and financial considerations
Before launching, it is important to ensure your business complies with legal and financial regulations. To do this you must:
- Obtain relevant permits and certifications: Check if your region requires specific licenses for selling plants online, especially if shipping across state or country borders.
- Adhere to plant health regulations: Obtain necessary certifications to confirm your plants are pest-free and disease-free.
- Secure business insurance: Protect your business with liability insurance, especially if selling high-value plants.
- Ensure you are tax compliant: Keep accurate financial records and consult a tax professional to understand sales tax requirements for your area.
How to set up your WooCommerce store to sell plants online
In this section, we can focus on the practical steps you’ll need to begin selling plants online using WooCommerce, a popular ecommerce platform based on WordPress that means you can create and manage an online plant store with ease.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a free, open-source WordPress plugin that transforms a WordPress site into a fully functional eCommerce store. It’s designed to be user-friendly while offering huge opportunities for customization. By choosing WooCommerce, you can manage products, accept payments, handle inventory, and track orders directly on your WordPress site. Here’s why WooCommerce is the ideal choice for selling plants:
- Cost-effective: It’s free to use, with no mandatory monthly fees.
- Highly customizable: Choose from thousands of themes and plugins to match your brand.
- Scalable: Grow from a small hobby shop to a large plant empire with ease.
- SEO-friendly: Attract more traffic with SEO tools integrated into WordPress.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is one of the most popular open-source content management systems (CMS) available because business owners can create high-functioning websites for their products and services using WordPress without needing extensive coding knowledge. Originally developed for blogging, WordPress now powers over 40% of the web and supports a huge variety of different websites, spanning multiple industries. From portfolios to news sites to eCommerce platforms, its flexibility, and huge library of themes and plugins are what makes it so appealing to a wide customer base, looking for the ability to customize, design and add functionality to their sites by following simple and intuitive steps.
Why opt for WordPress and WooCommerce over other platforms?
1. Affordable and scalable
- Open source: Both WordPress and WooCommerce are free to download and use. Unlike subscription-based platforms like Shopify or Wix, you’re not locked into monthly fees, though premium plugins or themes may incur optional costs. However, you’ll need to budget for web hosting, which is an ongoing expense, as hosting providers typically charge a monthly or annual fee to keep your website live.
- Flexibility: Being open-source allows you to retain control over your store, making it simple to migrate to a new host or export data without restrictions.
- Room to grow: WooCommerce is designed to scale with your business, supporting small ventures and large enterprises alike. Start small and expand as your needs grow.
2. Extensive customization options
- Themes: Choose from thousands of WordPress themes to ensure your store’s design aligns perfectly with your brand identity.
- Plugins: WooCommerce’s ecosystem includes countless plugins to add features such as advanced shipping options, SEO enhancements, or personalized product add-ons—no coding required.
- Full control: Unlike platforms like Shopify, which can impose design or backend limitations, WooCommerce offers complete control over your site’s functionality, allowing for a tailor-made customer experience.
3. Superior SEO and content integration
- SEO-friendly: WordPress is renowned for its SEO capabilities. Plugins like Yoast SEO enable you to optimize your store’s search engine visibility, helping you attract more customers.
- Content-driven: If your site relies heavily on content—such as blogs, guides, or multimedia—WordPress and WooCommerce seamlessly combine eCommerce with robust content management tools to boost engagement and visibility.
4. Community and support resources
- Vast community: As one of the most widely used platforms, WordPress and WooCommerce have an active community of users, developers, and experts. Tutorials, forums, and guides abound, making troubleshooting and learning easy.
- Access to developers: With countless developers specializing in WooCommerce, finding help for custom development or enhancements is straightforward and affordable.
5. Flexible payment gateways
- Global options: WooCommerce integrates with major payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Square, giving you the flexibility to cater to customers worldwide.
- Cost savings: Unlike some platforms that charge additional transaction fees, WooCommerce only requires you to pay the standard fees from your chosen payment gateway—helping you save on operational costs.
6. Robust security features
- Enhanced protection: WooCommerce can be fortified with a variety of security plugins to safeguard your store from potential threats.
- Hosting control: By choosing your hosting provider, you gain the ability to opt for high-security standards that can often surpass those offered by hosted platforms like Shopify.
With WooCommerce, you’ll have the tools, flexibility, and resources to create a powerful online store tailored to your unique needs. Let’s dive into the setup process and get your e-commerce journey started.
How to start selling plants online using WooCommerce
Step 1: Choose a hosting provider and install WordPress
WordPress.org is the open-source version of WordPress that you can download and install on your own web hosting provider, giving you full control over customization, plugins, and themes. It’s free to use, but you’ll need to pay for hosting and domain registration. On the other hand, WordPress.com is a paid service where WordPress handles the hosting, but it comes with limitations in terms of customization and flexibility. For more control and freedom to grow your online plant store, we recommend using WordPress.org with a reliable hosting provider.
- Select a hosting provider
Since WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, the first step is to set up a WordPress site. Choose a hosting provider that supports WordPress and WooCommerce. Reliable options include: - Register a domain name
Pick a unique domain name that reflects your plant business (e.g. greenleafplants.com). Many hosting providers offer free domain registration for the first year. Suggested registrars include:
Use the domain search bar to check availability, and the registrar will suggest similar options if your first choice isn’t available. Select your preferred domain extension (.com, .net, .shop, etc.) and proceed to checkout.
- Install WordPress
Most hosting providers offer a one-click WordPress installation. Log into your hosting account and find the “Install WordPress” option in the control panel. Choose the domain where you want to install WordPress, then set up your site name, admin username, and password.
Alternatively, hosting providers like Kinsta may pre-install WordPress and WooCommerce for you. Once installed, access your site by visiting yourdomain.com/wp-admin and entering your credentials.
Step 2: Install the WooCommerce plugin*
- Log into your WordPress dashboard
Navigate to yourdomain.com/wp-admin and log in with your credentials. - Install WooCommerce
- Go to Plugins → Add New.
- Search for “WooCommerce.”
- Click Install Now and then Activate.
- Run the WooCommerce setup wizard
Follow the setup wizard to configure:- Store details (e.g. location, currency).
- Payment methods (e.g. PayPal, Stripe).
- Shipping options (flat rate, free shipping).
- Tax settings.
*NB this can be with one-click through Kinsta
Step 3: Add plants to your store
- Create product listings
In the WordPress dashboard, go to Products → Add New. Add:- Product name (e.g. “Fiddle Leaf Fig”).
- Description (e.g. care tips, ideal growing conditions).
- Categories and tags (to organize products, e.g. Indoor Plants, Succulents).
- Pricing and inventory information.
- High-quality images (showcase the plants from multiple angles).
- Choose product types WooCommerce supports:
- Simple products: Single plants like a Snake Plant.
- Variable products: Variants of a plant (e.g. sizes: small, medium, large).
- Grouped products: Sets or collections (e.g. “Succulent Starter Pack”).
- Publish products
Once all details are filled in, click Publish to make the listing live.
Step 4: Customize your store’s appearance
- Select a WooCommerce-compatible theme
Choose a theme that complements your plant store’s aesthetic. Popular options include:- Storefront (official WooCommerce theme).
- Astra.
- OceanWP.
- Install your chosen theme under Appearance → Themes → Add New and click Activate.
- Customize your theme
Go to Appearance → Customize to adjust:- Layout (homepage, product pages).
- Color schemes and fonts.
- Header, footer, and menu designs.
- Add essential pages
WooCommerce automatically creates core pages like Shop, Cart, Checkout, and My Account. Customize these pages to fit your brand using the Pages menu.
Step 5: Set up payment gateways
- Configure payment methods
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments to enable and configure payment gateways like:- PayPal (user-friendly and widely trusted).
- Stripe (accept credit card payments directly).
- Bank Transfers or Cash on Delivery (for offline payments).
- Add advanced payment features
Consider plugins for dynamic pricing, deposits, or subscriptions to offer more payment flexibility.
Step 6: Configure shipping options
- Set up shipping zones
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Shipping to create zones (e.g. local, national, international) and assign methods to each. - Add shipping methods
Common options include:- Flat rate: Fixed shipping cost per order.
- Free shipping: For orders over a certain amount.
- Local pickup: Ideal for nearby customers.
- Use plugins for advanced features
For more complex shipping needs, use plugins like Shipping Table Rates or Local Delivery Scheduler.
Step 7: Install useful plugins for selling plants
- Product Add-Ons Ultimate: Let customers customize orders (e.g. select decorative pots or add plant care kits).
- Dynamic Pricing and Discounts: Offer bulk purchase discounts for plant bundles.
- Request a Quote: Enable bulk-buying customers to negotiate pricing.
Step 8: Test your store
Before launching, ensure your store operates smoothly by:
- Placing test orders to review the customer experience.
- Testing all payment gateways for seamless transactions.
- Verifying that pages (Shop, Cart, Checkout) function as expected.
Step 9: Launch your plant store
Once satisfied, go live! Share your store link on social media, email newsletters, and other platforms to start attracting customers.
Step 10: Maintain and grow your store
- Regularly update your inventory and product listings.
- Run promotions to attract new customers and retain existing ones.
- Optimize SEO with plant-related keywords.
- Engage customers with content like plant care tips, guides, and DIY tutorials.
- Expand offerings with seasonal plants, gift bundles, or subscription boxes.
By following these steps, you can build a thriving online plant business using WooCommerce, combining functionality, customization, and scalability to meet your entrepreneurial goals.