Recently one of our readers asked if it was possible to add an automated T-Shirt shop in WordPress. Ideally a solution where you simply upload the designs and the rest of the process (printing, shipping, etc) are handled by someone else. Luckily there is a solution. In this article, we will show you how to easily create a t-shirt shop in WordPress with Spreadshirt, so you can add merchandising on your blog.
Why Build Your T-Shirt Shop in WordPress with Spreadshirt?
Spreadshirt is an online store selling t-shirts with custom designs. Anyone can upload their own custom designs and print them on t-shirts as well as other products.
You can purchase the products for yourself, sell your designs in their marketplace, or create a shop and sell items with your design to your blog readers.
Spreadshirt handles inventory, payments, printing, and shipping. You get paid for the design and comission on each product you sell. This allows you to make money from your blog by selling your custom designed t-shirts and accessories.
Getting Started with WordPress and Spreadshirt
Spreadshirt allows you to create your own Spreadshop with a unique web address. You can display your designs and products on this Spreadshop page.
However, you do not have the same design flexibility in a Spreadshop page that you get with a professional website builder.
If you don’t have a website already, then we recommend using self hosted WordPress.org as your blogging platform (See the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org).
To start a self hosted WordPress.org website, you’ll need a domain name and a WordPress hosting account.
We recommend using Bluehost. They are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.
More importantly, they are offering WPBeginner users free domain name and discount on hosting. Basically, you can get started for $2.75 / month.
Once you have purchased hosting, follow the step by step instructions in our guide on how to make a website. You will be up and running in no time.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to create your t-shirt shop with Spreadshirt and add it to your WordPress website,
Creating Your T-Shirt Store with Spreadshirt
First you need to visit Spreadshirt website and click on ‘Sell’ button at the top.
Choose ‘Open your own online shop’ option to continue.
You will be asked to create an account and choose a name for your shop.
Once you have signed up, you will be taken to your Spreadshirt account dashboard.
Next, click on the Designs option from the left menu to upload your t-shirt designs.
You can upload your designs in an image format with supported file types.
Once you upload your design, Spreadshirt will ask you to select products. You can choose clothing for men, women, kids, babies, and accessories.
After you have chosen the product, click on the next button to continue.
Now you’ll be asked to describe your design. You can add tags and description to explain your design. This information will help Spreadshirt customers discover your design in their marketplace.
Once you are done, click on the next button to select your sales channel.
You can sell products with your design on your Spreadshop as well as their Marketplace. Click on the button next to each option to turn them on.
After you have enabled the sales channel, click on the next button to continue.
Now you need to set a design price. Your earnings will be the design price + commission.
After you have selected the design price, click on the create button to finish the design.
You can continue adding other designs or go to your shop page and publish it.
When publishing the shop, you will be asked to enter your name and address. After that your shop will be live, and you will be ready to sell.
Adding Your Spreadshirt Shop in WordPress
Now that you have designed your t-shirts and created your Spreadshirt shop, it is time to add it to your WordPress site.
Visit your Spreadshirt dashboard and click on the shop icon. On the shop page, you need to click on the edit button.
This will bring up the shop edit section where you need to click on Advanced Settings » Embed Shop in Website menu.
You will now see the code which you can copy to paste later on your website. Below the embed code you need to paste the URL of the shop page on your WordPress website.
You can now head over to your WordPress admin area and create a new page for your shop. On the shop page, switch to the text editor and then paste the embed code you copied earlier.
You can now save or publish this page and click on the preview button to see your Spreadshirt shop in action.
Want to change the appearance of your Spreadshirt shop? You can do so by editing the shop from your account. You will be able to change the header image, shop title, currency, and more.
We hope this article helped you learn how to create a t-shirt shop in WordPress with Spreadshirt. You may also want to see our step by step WordPress SEO guide for beginners.
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