How to build an auction site with WordPress
Are you looking to build an auction site like eBay with WordPress? An auction website allows users to bid on your products. You can maximize your profits by selling your products to the highest bidder. You can also allow your users to list your products on your auction site to earn a portion of each sale.
In this article, we will show you how to create an auction site with WordPress.
Why build a WordPress auction site?
Building an auction site is the best way to give your community the opportunity to buy and sell products in an online auction environment.
While you can find many giant auction sites like eBay, a niche-specific auction site has its own place in the marketplace.
For your users , the benefit is that they can easily buy and sell products to like-minded people in their community. Unlike eBay, auctions are surrounded by an engaging community. That means users can easily reach your target audience with your auction site.
Many users also choose a community powered auction site because it provides them with a better ROI.
For you , creating an auction site means that you can sell your products to the highest bidder without intermediaries between you and your buyer. You can avoid the fees and blocking of other auction platforms. You can also set a fee for listing products and get a commission on each sale. Not to mention, building an auction site is one of the best ways to make money online.
Requirements to build a WordPress auction site
To create a website for your auction business, you will need the following:
- A domain name – This is the web address of your website, such as IsItWP.com or Google.com
- A web hosting account – This is where your site files are stored.
- SSL Certificate: Allows a secure connection on your site to accept payments online.
- An eCommerce Plugin – Allows you to add the Buy Now button, supports different payment gateways, item search, reviews, and much more. We always recommend WooCommerce, the best WordPress eCommerce plugin out there.
- An Auction Plugin : This eCommerce plugin integrates auction features into your website.
We will show you how to easily create an auction site with WordPress.
Step 1: Set up your auction site with WooCommerce
Just like any website, you need to purchase a domain name and web hosting to set up an auction site. You will also need to purchase an SSL certificate to provide a secure connection on your site so you can safely accept payments online.
When you start out, the combined costs to build a site can seem pretty high.
A domain name costs you around $14.95 per year, web hosting around $7.99 per month, and an SSL certificate costs you $49.99.
That’s why we’ve struck a deal with Bluehost to offer our users a free domain name, free SSL certificate, and 50% off their WooCommerce hosting. With Bluehost, you only have to pay $6.95 per month.
With your WooCommerce hosting plan, you can easily set up an auction site without the tedious WordPress + WooCommerce installation steps.
For a detailed setup guide, you can check out how to set up an eCommerce site with WooCommerce.
2. Install a WooCommerce Auction Plugin
Next, you will need to install and activate a WooCommerce auction plugin, YITH WooCommerce Auctions.
After plugin activation, navigate to YITH Plugins » Auctions to configure plugin settings. Make sure to make the necessary changes based on your requirements.
You can then start listing the auction items on your website.
2. Install a WooCommerce Auction Plugin
Next, you will need to install and activate a WooCommerce auction plugin, YITH WooCommerce Auctions.
After plugin activation, navigate to YITH Plugins » Auctions to configure plugin settings. Make sure to make the necessary changes based on your requirements.
Step 3: List an auction item
Because the YITH plugin is a WooCommerce plugin, you can list auction items just like you would add products to your online store.
To add an item, go to Products » Add New . You must fill in the title, details and add images of your auction item.
Underneath the publisher, next to the Product Details option, you’ll need to choose Auction . This will show you the settings for your auction items.
You can set the auction starting price, bid, minimum increment amount, and all other aspects of listing and bidding on auction items on your website.
After adjusting the auction details, you can publish your listing. Your auction will now appear on your WooCommerce store page. Auction items will be highlighted with a hammer icon along with your WooCommerce products.
If required, you can list dedicated auction pages to display only auction items on your site. All you have to do is create a page and insert the following shortcode into the content area and then publish your page.
Step 4: Manage your auctions
The YITH plugin allows you to choose an auction start time on your product page. That way you can choose the best time to list and end your auction.
Once the auction starts, any registered user can bid on an item. On individual auction pages, you can see the following details by default: Current Highest Bid, Time Remaining, Auction End Time, and Bid Button.
The main benefit of the YITH plugin is that it gives you full control over your offers. You can easily remove any bid on your auction listing page by logging into your WordPress dashboard. All you need to do is click the Remove Bid button on what you don’t want to display on your auction page.
You can also set a Buy Now price on your auction listings. This allows users to purchase your items right away.
All users who participated in an auction will receive email updates for each new bid, auction grace time, auction end, etc. When the auction item ends, an email will be sent to the auction winner to complete payment for the product purchase.
Step 5: Allow other users to list auction items
To allow other users to list auction items on your site, you’ll need to transform your website into an auction marketplace by installing a free plugin, WC Vendors.
After activating the plugin, go to WC Providers » Settings . From this page, you can also allow users to apply to become vendors. In the Commission tab, you can set the commission rate for each successful auction.
For more details, you should read these articles on how to create an online marketplace and the best e-commerce platforms for multi-vendor marketplaces.
WordPress Auction Website: Recommended Plugins
Now you know how to build an auction website with WordPress. Let’s look at some of the best plugins you’ll need to install on your site after setting up your auction site.
WPForms – Contact forms are an integral part of any website. WPForms allows you to easily create a contact form and even integrate your form with many different plugin plugins. Read our WPForms review.
MonsterInsights – MonsterInsights is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress. With MonsterInsights, you can easily install Google Analytics to track visitor interactions on your site. Read our MonsterInsights review.
OptinMonster – OptinMonster is the best lead generation plugin. It allows you to easily convert your visitors into subscribers and customers. You can create time-limited behavior-based campaigns to drastically reduce overall cart abandonment rates and increase sales. Read our OptinMonster review.
Yoast SEO – Improve your WordPress SEO with Yoast SEO. Read our Yoast SEO review.
WP Super Cache – Improve the performance of your WordPress site by installing the best WordPress caching and other WordPress performance plugins.
We hope this guide has helped you build a WordPress auction site. You can also check out our articles on how to create a micro job site like Fiverr and 25 must have WordPress plugins for business websites.
