Starting an eCommerce business can help you make money online, but choosing the right niche is important for success.
Finding profitable eCommerce business ideas that meet current market demands and match your interests can give you a competitive edge and boost your site growth.
Over the years, we have learned a lot from running several successful eCommerce businesses. From selling plugins like WPForms and MonsterInsights to offering online video courses at WPBeginner, we’ve gathered valuable insights into scalable niches, effective marketing strategies, and data-driven analysis.
In this article, we will share our list of some profitable eCommerce business ideas. This way, you can make an informed decision about where to focus your efforts.
Why Start an eCommerce Business in WordPress?
If you want to make some money on the internet, then starting an online store is a great idea. It allows you to sell your products worldwide and gives you the flexibility to work from anywhere.
Plus, an online store is open 24/7, letting customers shop at their own convenience. Other than that, eCommerce businesses also require lower investments in rent, inventory, and overhead costs compared to physical stores.
WordPress.org is the best website builder on the market, used by over 43% of sites worldwide. We recommend opting for this platform to build your store because it is free, easy to use, and scalable.
It is also SEO-friendly, and many popular brands, like Disney Books and Ladybird Education, use it to sell their products as well. WordPress’s extensive customization capabilities allow you to tailor your online store to your exact needs.
With a vast array of plugins, you can add different functionalities and fine-tune your website’s appearance to reflect your brand.
Why Trust WPBeginner?
At WPBeginner, we are a team of experts with over 15+ years of experience in WordPress, SEO, online marketing, social media strategies, and more.
We have thoroughly researched each business idea in this showcase to give you reliable recommendations. For more details, see our complete editorial process.
Having said that, let’s take a look at some profitable eCommerce business ideas that can help you make money. Here’s a quick overview of what we will cover:
Feel free to use the links to jump to a specific section.
1. Build a Dropshipping Store
Dropshipping is a popular eCommerce business idea. In this model, an online store doesn’t keep products in stock. Instead, when a customer purchases an item, the store owner places the order with the original vendor (supplier) and has them ship the product directly to the customer.
This allows you to have a wide product selection in your store without worrying about inventory management. Plus, it requires minimum investment compared to other business models.
For instance, we have seen our readers start a print-on-demand shop to sell t-shirts and swag. These products are only printed once the customer places an order, reducing financial risk.
The nice thing about dropshipping is that if a product doesn’t sell well, you can easily remove it from your store without incurring inventory losses.
To start a dropshipping store in WordPress, you can opt for AliDropShip. It is a popular dropshipping plugin that makes it super easy to import products from AliExpress into your WooCommerce store.
We have tested this plugin in real time and found it to be user-friendly and scalable, making it an excellent option for newcomers.
It lets you show products from your favorite vendors in the store, and when a customer places an order, you will get a commission while the vendor takes care of the product shipping.
For detailed instructions, see our beginner’s guide on dropshipping made simple.
2. Sell Handmade Products
Another great idea is to sell handmade products in your eCommerce store. Customers often value the craftsmanship, quality, and personalized touch that handmade items provide, which sets them apart from mass-produced goods.
This target audience is often willing to pay a premium for items that are crafted with care and attention to detail. You can sell things like wall art, jewelry, handbags, candles, ceramics, cards, and more.
A great example of a thriving homemade products business is Urban Southern, a popular brand known for its handcrafted leather bags and accessories. They have seen impressive growth by using OptinMonster’s popup feature to build a list of 9,000 engaged fans.
They now use this email list to promote their newest releases, discount offers, sales, and more. For details, check out this complete case study.
Many users sell their handmade products on platforms like Etsy.
However, we recommend using WordPress because it is scalable, offers more payment options, and, unlike Etsy, doesn’t charge a fee per listing.
You can easily start a store for your handcrafted products with WooCommerce. It is a free and popular eCommerce plugin that lets you add products with just a few clicks.
For details, see our guide on how to create an Etsy-like store in WordPress.
3. Start a Clothing Store
Clothing is always in high demand, and the fashion industry is constantly evolving, offering new trends and opportunities for product launches throughout the year.
You can start a clothing store in a particular niche, like sustainable fashion, thrift stores, vintage clothing, or plus-size apparel to target a specific audience. Plus, you can easily boost conversions with social media marketing, as it has proven super effective in driving sales to boutiques and stores over the years.
If you already sell clothes in a physical store, then opening a website for it will allow you to reach customers worldwide, expanding your market.
To start with your journey, take a look at our tutorial on how to start an online boutique shop in WordPress.
4. Offer Food Ordering Online
Food is an essential product in constant demand, ensuring a steady customer base. It is a super profitable eCommerce business idea, where your main focus will be to serve the local community.
If you already have a restaurant, then you can just set up online food ordering on your WordPress site. This will allow users to order food while sitting at home, boosting revenue.
To do this, we recommend WPForms, which is the best online order form plugin for WordPress on the market. Having worked with many tools, we have found it to be the most efficient for creating a simple, user-friendly ordering form.
Its ease of use and smooth integration with multiple payment gateways, along with powerful spam protection, make it a top choice.
For details, see our tutorial on how to set up online food ordering in WordPress.
5. Sell Furniture Online
You can also start selling furniture online to generate income. Based on our experience in eCommerce, we have seen how furniture usually involves larger purchases compared to other product categories. This also translates to higher revenue potential.
What’s more, over the years, the home improvement trend has grown due to remote jobs, changing lifestyle preferences, and social media influence. This has resulted in a high demand for stylish yet ergonomic furniture.
These items promote comfort and productivity by supporting the body’s natural posture and reducing strain on muscles and joints. They can include ergonomic chairs, cushions, adjustable desks, monitor arms, and more.
If you opt for this business idea, then you should target office workers, students, and gamers. These are the people who often spend long hours sitting and will be more likely to buy ergonomic products.
To start with the business, just see our tutorial on how to sell furniture online.
6. Build an Ebooks Store
Selling ebooks in your online store can be a great idea as they have minimal production costs, global reach, and instant delivery.
If you are an author, then you can sell your already published books in ebook format, or you can even convert your blog posts into ebooks and start selling them.
To do this, you will need MPL-Publisher. It is an ebook creator plugin that lets you convert your blog posts into ebooks with just a few clicks. Having tested various tools, we have found that MPL-Publisher stands out with its beginner-friendly interface.
It not only simplifies the conversion process but also provides protection against unauthorized distribution, offers pricing discounts, and lets you control download restrictions based on your needs.
You can also use Easy Digital Downloads to easily sell digital files like ebooks, music, and software.
To learn more, see our tutorial on how to create and sell ebooks in WordPress.
7. Sell Photos Online
Another profitable eCommerce business idea is to sell photos online. You can sell these pictures as downloadable files and make money without having to pay for shipping or printing.
You can also sell the same file countless times, making it a great way to earn some passive income.
To sell images, we recommend Easy Digital Downloads (EDD). It is the best plugin for selling digital goods on WordPress and lets you sell unlimited photos without any transaction fees.
We have personally tried and tested this tool, which you can read about in our complete Easy Digital Downloads review.
Plus, we have even used EDD to sell plugins such as WPForms, MonsterInsights, and SeedProd. From our hands-on work with these products, we have discovered that EDD is both reliable and scalable, effectively growing with your business.
It can also integrate with the most popular payment gateways. For details, see our tutorial on how to sell photos online.
8. Create a Pet Products Store
Pets are an important part of many households. So, there’s always a high demand for pet products like supplements, treats, collars, chew toys, traveling gear, carriers, beds, and grooming supplies.
Creating a store for these items can help you generate a lot of revenue. Plus, there is an increased likelihood of repeat purchases since pet owners need to regularly purchase items like food, treats, and supplies.
However, keep in mind that you will need to take care of factors such as product sourcing, shipping costs, and quality if you opt for this business idea.
That said, if you still want to start an eCommerce store for pet products, then see our expert picks for the best WordPress themes for animals and pets.
9. Start a Beauty and Skincare Store
Starting a beauty or skincare products store is a profitable idea since these items are always in demand. Additionally, you can choose a specific niche within the industry like organic, natural, vegan, or luxury products.
These products are visually appealing and can easily be marketed using social media strategies and partnering with influencers. We have seen how effective these strategies can be in maintaining high customer retention rates due to the regular use of these items.
However, if you don’t want to start your own makeup or skincare line due to manufacturing costs, then you can opt for white label companies like Alibaba.
These suppliers produce a range of beauty and skincare products under their brand but also offer these items to other businesses to rebrand and sell under their own labels.
This way, you won’t have to worry about production and can start selling products once you get in touch with a good supplier. To do this, you will need to use WooCommerce on your website.
For details, see our tutorial on how to create an online store.
10. Build and Sell Subscription Boxes
With a subscription box, customers pay a recurring fee to receive a selection of products on a regular basis.
These boxes can contain a variety of items, depending on the niche like beauty products, books, snacks, clothing, and more. It is a great business idea because these boxes usually generate a predictable income stream, providing financial stability. Plus, you get to create a loyal customer base.
To sell subscription boxes, you can opt for WooCommerce Subscriptions. It is a powerful plugin that lets you create a subscription box service and even allows customers to create their own boxes and change their box plan.
Our testing revealed that you can also set up recurring payments, trial periods, coupon codes, customer portals, and so much more.
For detailed instructions, see our guide on how to create a subscription box service in WordPress.
11. Sell Online Courses
If you are a teacher or have a particular skill set that you would like to use to make money, then you can start selling courses for it.
For example, if you are a skilled guitarist, you could create and sell courses ranging from beginner to advanced levels, covering different playing styles and techniques.
With this business idea, you can tap into a vast market of learners worldwide. Plus, this passive income model lets you earn revenue continuously, even as you focus on other projects.
To set up this eCommerce store, you will need MemberPress. It is the best WordPress LMS plugin that comes with course management, lesson plans, subscriptions, access control, payment management, and more.
At WPBeginner, we learned this tool inside and out when creating our complete MemberPress review.
We’ve also personally used MemberPress to run our free video membership course. Overall, our experience with it has been very positive. It has helped us streamline our course management process and get more subscribers.
For details, see our beginner’s guide on how to create and sell courses in WordPress.
12. Create a Music Store
Another profitable eCommerce business idea is to sell music in your store. This industry is in constant demand. Plus, it has tons of niches, like classical, rock, jazz, and electronic – so you can target highly specific audiences.
If you are a musician, then you can sell your own songs in the store without having to pay for shipping or manufacturing costs.
To sell music, we recommend opting for Easy Digital Downloads because it is the easiest way to sell digital files. The plugin lets you create categories and tags, add download files, set up payment gateways, and build an attractive store without any coding.
For details, you can see our tutorial on how to sell music online in WordPress.
Bonus Things You Need to Start an Online Store
Once you have chosen a niche for your store, it is time to start building your website in WordPress. You will first need to purchase a hosting plan and domain name. A hosting provider stores all your website’s data, while a domain is its name on the internet.
For an eCommerce business, we recommend Bluehost. It is a powerful hosting service that offers a huge discount to WPBeginner readers.
Plus, you can get a free domain name and SSL certificate with the hosting plan. To get the discount, just click the button below.
Or, check out our full Bluehost review to help you make a decision.
Once you have set up web hosting, you need to install WordPress and start building your online store.
You will also need to choose a WordPress theme for your website to make it look visually appealing to visitors.
Expert Tip: Looking for a custom, professional design for your eCommerce website? Why not leave it to our team of design experts? We can create a beautiful website that’s optimized for performance, SEO, and online sales. Check out our WPBeginner Design Services today!
When that is done, you can download an eCommerce plugin that is suitable for your business needs. For instance, from our experience, WooCommerce is the best choice if you plan to sell physical products.
Using this tool, you can easily add products to your store by visiting the Products » Add New page. Here, type a name, description, and pricing for your product. Then, add some pictures for it and click the ‘Publish’ button on the right.
Now, just repeat the process to add all the products to your store. For detailed instructions, see our beginner’s guide on WooCommerce made simple.
We hope this article helped you learn some profitable eCommerce business ideas. You may also want to see our guide on how to secure your eCommerce store and our article on the real costs of eCommerce websites.
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