Wix has grown into one of the most complete e-commerce platforms for first-time store owners: hosting, checkout, payments, shipping tools and store design all live in a single dashboard. There is no plugin stack to assemble, no separate hosting account and no code required. The trade-off is that Wix's plan structure decides what you can do — and getting that first decision wrong is the most common (and most avoidable) mistake new store owners make.
This guide walks through the entire setup, from choosing a plan to placing your first test order. For most owners the process takes a weekend, not a month — and every step below is doable without writing a line of code. Prices are in USD and verified September 2026 — always check wix.com for live figures.
First: choose a plan that can actually take payments
Not every Wix plan can run a store. The Free plan and the Light plan ($24/mo, or $17/mo billed yearly) are for websites only — you cannot accept online payments on either. To sell, you need at least:
- Core — $36/mo month-to-month or $29/mo billed yearly. The entry point for selling: 50 GB storage, online payments and the core e-commerce tools.
- Business — $46/mo month-to-month or $39/mo billed yearly. Adds the full e-commerce suite: subscriptions, memberships, deeper selling workflows and 100 GB storage.
- Business Elite — $172/mo month-to-month or $159/mo billed yearly. Unlimited storage and priority support for high-volume stores.
For most first stores, Core is the right starting point. Move up to Business when you genuinely need subscriptions or memberships — not before. Our pricing guide breaks down every tier if you want the full picture.
The deal math before you spend: annual billing saves roughly 25–35% versus monthly on every plan, and Wix's seasonal sales can push discounts up to about 50% off while they run. Core billed yearly is $29/mo instead of $36 — and every paid plan includes a free custom domain for the first year.
Check the Current Wix DealSetting up your Wix store, step by step
Step 1: Choose your plan and create the store
Sign up on Wix's plans page and pick Core — or Business if you already know you need subscriptions. During setup, Wix asks what kind of site you're building; select the online store option so the editor loads with store pages, a product gallery and a cart already wired in. You can start from one of the store templates or describe your business to Wix's AI builder and let it draft the site for you. Choose carefully: once a Wix site is live on a template, you can't swap templates without rebuilding.
Step 2: Add your products
Open the Products section of the dashboard and add items one by one, or import them in bulk via CSV. Wix supports physical products and digital downloads; each product gets its own page with a media gallery (images, and video where relevant), a description, pricing and inventory tracking. If a product comes in sizes, colors or materials, add variants so each option can carry its own price and stock level. Two habits pay off immediately: name product image files sensibly, and write descriptions that answer the questions a shopper would ask in a physical store — materials, dimensions, care and delivery time.
Step 3: Set up payments
In the Accept Payments section you can activate Wix Payments — Wix's own processing, available in supported countries — or connect alternatives such as PayPal and other regional gateways. Two facts matter here: Wix itself charges no platform transaction fees on your sales, whatever plan you're on; and payment processing fees still apply, charged by the payment provider per transaction. Where Wix Payments is available in your country, it keeps payouts, refunds and order management in one place, which simplifies bookkeeping considerably. Check the current processing rates for your chosen provider before launch so your margins are realistic, not hopeful.
Step 4: Configure shipping and tax
Set up shipping regions (for example, domestic and international), then attach rules to each: flat rate, weight-based pricing, free shipping above an order threshold, or local pickup. Keep it simple at first — a single flat rate plus free shipping above a threshold covers most new stores. Then configure tax: Wix can calculate sales tax automatically for US orders once you enable it and set your obligations for the states where you have nexus; elsewhere, set the rates that apply to your region. Don't skip this — sorting out tax after you've taken real orders is far more painful than configuring it up front.
Step 5: Customize your store design
Now make the template yours: replace placeholder imagery, set your logo and colors, and rewrite the homepage headline so it says exactly what you sell and who it's for. Keep navigation shallow — shoppers should reach any product within two clicks. Add the trust pages buyers look for before paying: shipping and returns policy, a contact page and an FAQ. The Wix editor is drag-and-drop throughout, so you can adjust any layout without touching code.
Step 6: Connect your domain
Every paid plan includes a free custom domain voucher for the first year. Redeem it from your dashboard — or connect a domain you already own — then set it as your site's primary address. A store on its own domain looks dramatically more credible than one on a subdomain, and it's included in what you've already paid. Our full walkthrough covers every step: how to claim your free Wix domain.
Step 7: Test with a real order
Before announcing anything, place a real test order end to end: add a product to the cart, check out with a real card (most gateways let you refund the test payment afterward), confirm the order confirmation email arrives, then process the refund to see how that flow works. Test the mobile view at the same time — a large share of store traffic happens on phones. If anything fails — a missing confirmation email, a broken redirect, a miscalculated shipping rate — you've found it for the cost of one test order instead of one customer relationship. Fix everything that feels confusing while the only customer is you.
Launch checklist
Run through this list before you go public:
- Payments tested end to end, including a refund
- Shipping regions and rates match what you promise
- Tax calculation enabled for your regions
- Shipping, returns and privacy policies published
- Contact page with a working email or form
- Mobile view checked on product pages and checkout
- Custom domain connected and live
- Order confirmation emails switched on
That's the whole setup — most first-time owners can complete it in a weekend. The single biggest lever on cost is billing: Core billed yearly runs $29/mo instead of $36, and buying during a Wix sale window can push the price lower still. Start lean, verify every step with a test order, and upgrade plans only when your store actually needs it.