How to Sell WooCommerce Virtual Products Internationally

Natalia

4 years ago

How to Start an International WooCommerce Store
How to Sell WooCommerce Virtual Products
How to Implement International Shipping
Best WooCommerce Themes to Sell Virtual Items
Conclusion

If you go back to the past, it becomes clear that all the ordinary things for a modern man today used to be thought of as mere fiction. Talking to people on the other side of the globe, you realize that things like instantly sending and receiving an e-mail, flying, or selling WooCommerce virtual products – all this seems incredible and magical.

Technology has become an essential part of our everyday routine. We can hardly imagine our life without the endless flow of information. And, it is enough to have just a smartphone in your pocket and internet access.

Today, the sale of virtual goods has become especially popular. Virtual (or digital) products include music, videos, audio files, images, e-books, software, text files, graphics sources, 3D projects, and more. They can be either downloadable or not downloadable.

There are a lot of advantages to selling virtual products. Among them are:

the technology of creating a digital product is available to all
such a product has a low price
an intellectual product is an invisible asset
high profitability from the sale of digital goods

Selling a virtual product internationally is a good way to expand the audience of customers and make more money. So, today, we will talk about how to sell digital products online and promote them internationally.

How to Start an International WooCommerce Store

A huge number of online stores successfully work on the basis of WordPress. This is possible thanks to WooCommerce, the world's most popular online trading platform. WooCommerce is used by an incredible 93.7% of all WordPress e-commerce websites.

WooCommerce is a free plugin for WordPress. It extends the functionality of websites and turns them into full-fledged online stores. WooCommerce can boast of the main advantage of WordPress - you can cope with the plugin for your online store without any specific knowledge and experience in web development.

To start an international WooCommerce store is a great step forward for your business. But through it all, you should not hurry. Take a look at a few tips to make sure you are ready to launch an effective international WooCommerce store.

Explore the foreign market and decide who you want to sell to. Check whether there are analogs of your product in the foreign market. Search by the product name in Google search, on Ebay.com, Etsy.com, and other trading platforms. If found, investigate the similarities and think over the benefits you can offer.
Customers. Keep in mind that foreign buyers may differ in preferences and manner of communication. Still, all of them appreciate a high quality and unique design.
Find out the prices of foreign competitors. The average price minus the cost of delivery - you are getting an approximate cost, which is not recommended to go above. Your prices should be displayed in multiple currencies. A Currency Converter Widget is a great solution to make your client feel comfortable.
Legislation. Before you start selling abroad, find out all the restrictions that apply to your products. For instance, tax and duty rates vary from country to country. Somewhere you can skip them at all to a certain value of the goods. Also, while trading with Europe, you need to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Website localization is painstaking work that requires attention to detail. If a visitor sees some text, which he cannot understand, he may leave at once. Therefore, translate all the texts (including the pictures).Click here to download WooCommerce in another language.Google Translator Plugin is usually used to translate the front end of your website into all languages.
The site should clearly indicate the rules of product return (return policy), information about delivery and payment. Not every buyer will want to request a refund, but it is still worth it to provide such an opportunity.
Inform in writing about the privacy policy to comply with the GDPR.
Consider how you will deliver orders to customers and how they will be able to return the goods.
Choose the payment method.
Use advertising channels. To attract foreign customers, you can use social networks, contextual advertising, and search engine optimization.

To go through all the steps above, you have to spend some time and effort. Do not stop half way. Your efforts will pay off.

How to Sell WooCommerce Virtual Products

Now we will talk about WooCommerce digital downloads and how to sell virtual products on the WooCommerce platform.

Since your virtual products can be both downloadable and not downloadable, you should add either shipping details or download details to the product page. For example, you sell some music, so you can offer a download link along with a CD to ship. In regards to the non-downloadable goods, these might be some services and memberships.

Let’s go through the main steps on how to start selling virtual products in your store.

Download WooCommerce and activate the plugin. If it is installed, make sure it is updated.
To add a new product, you should navigate to Products from the WordPress Dashboard and click ‘Add New’.
Add the product description.
Make sure to adjust the virtual and downloadable options.

Also, you may deal with a variable product. For example, you sell digital media online and its physical version. In this case, make sure to select Variable product in the Product data tab.

While you are in the Attributes tab, you can specify different versions of the product you offer. Here you can use Licensing, packages, media type, etc. Also, make sure the “used for variations” box is checked.

The Variations tab allows you to add the different variations of the product.

In regards to the file download method, it is recommended to leave the default one because it keeps URLs hidden. However, some servers may not handle large files reliably. In this case, you will need to select X-Accel-Redirect/X-Sendfile (WooCommerce > Settings > Products > Downloadable Products) to ensure safety.

How to Implement International Shipping

You have already set up your online store, added payment methods, and now it is time to arrange the delivery of your goods. There are many shipping methods available, but WooCommerce offers some relatively simple means of delivery. Let's look at them.

1. Go to WooCommerce > Settings > General

Base location is the country you are shipping from.

Selling Location(s) allows you to select the locations to which you want to sell your products.

Shipping Location(s) allows you to specify the countries you are shipping the products to.

Ship to all countries you sell to
Ship to all countries
Ship to specific countries only
Disable shipping and shipping calculations

Default Customer Location allows you to determine tax and shipping costs before the customer enters the address information.

2. Click Save once the settings are adjusted.

3. Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping. Now you can set up Shipping Zones, Shipping Options, and Shipping Classes.

4. Based on where you want your products to be shipped, you can select your Shipping Zones.

5. After you set up the shipping zone and shipping regions, save the changes.

6. Now the Shipping method(s), relevant to your specific shipping zone, are available:

Flat Rate
Free Shipping
Local Pickup

7. Shipping rate calculations and choosing the shipping destination are adjusted in the Shipping Options sub-menu.

Here you can set up shipping rate calculations, choose a customer’s address, and set a flat rate for shipping.

The flat rate is specified based on such parameters as the type of product, weight and dimensions, shipping location, and whether it is a special product (antique, breakable, etc.).

Make selling physical products easier by offering shipping options, showing live rates from shipping carriers or adding inventory and fulfillment solutions. This is all possible with WooCommerce shipping plugins and extensions.

Best WooCommerce Themes to Sell Virtual Items

In today's online world, there are a huge number of sites that sell digital goods. To be able to create a full-fledged website to sell digital downloads on the internet you need to use professional solutions. You can choose any ready-made themes which include the desired functionality.

I have collected best WooCommerce themes which you will find effective for selling digital products.

Mr. Gizmo - Responsive Technology & Gadgets Blog WordPress Theme

This WordPress theme will work perfectly for your WooCommerce downloads business. Thanks to a great number of pre-build features and tools, you will be able to promote your virtual product with no hassle and no coding experience. Moreover, with its code and structure, the theme will help you reach the top of search results.

Magic - Multipurpose Creative WordPress Theme

Your WooCommerce downloadable products will be sold much faster if you represent them on a beautiful website with excellent functionality. This theme is equally good for WooCommerce subscriptions and downloadable products. Customization has never been easier with a powerful Elementor page builder and extensive modules of JetElements plugins.

Creatica - Multipurpose WordPress Theme

Creatica is a multipurpose WordPress theme which is definitely a good option for selling digital products online. It implements all functions for the sale of any digital goods–from software products and photos to e-books and subscriptions. Sell your virtual downloadable and not downloadable products with Creatica to get your business to the next level!

iRepair - Electronics Repair WordPress Theme

This theme provides advanced capabilities at the same time alleviating the process of pages’ customization. Promote your WooCommerce subscription downloads, digital media, applications, etc. It is very easy to install and customize with no specific skills required. The theme comes with ready-made page layouts and a great set of customization features that allow you to edit the online store with a few clicks.

Gamein WooCommerce Theme

Selling downloadable products on a highly functional website has never been easier. With this WooCommerce theme, you can forget about needing to hire a coder to build a successful web store. The package includes multiple color options, customizable typography, custom widgets, lifetime updates, and much more. Friendly and professional support is available in case any issues appear.

Entertainmnet Responsive WooCommerce Theme

Being 100% responsive and fully editable, the next WooCommerce theme will be your excellent solution to build a professional online store. Whether you are creating an entertainment channel or a store of digital goods, this WooCommerce will definitely fit your needs. Lazy load effect, Parallax effect, fantastic sliders, and built-in theme customizer will make the design attractive and convenient to use.

Conclusion

Currently, selling virtual goods is one of the most common ways to participate in e-commerce. It is a great opportunity to sell informational products (training videos, audio courses, e-books, manuals, etc.), software, graphics, various databases, text files, discount coupons, etc. I hope I was able to show how to sell WooCommerce virtual products online and which website design might be your best choice.