A clothing store has a few needs that most online shops don't: every design comes in several sizes and colours, customers want a size chart, and returns and exchanges are part of daily life. WordPress with WooCommerce handles all of this well and costs little to run. This guide walks you through building a garments store on Domain India cPanel hosting, from installing WordPress to taking your first payment.
Install WordPress from Softaculous or WP Toolkit in cPanel, add the free WooCommerce plugin and a WooCommerce-ready theme such as Astra. Create Size and Colour attributes once, then add each garment as a variable product with its own price, stock and photo for every variation. Connect an Indian payment gateway and cash on delivery, set shipping zones, confirm GST treatment with your accountant, publish your policies, and place real test orders before you launch.
1. Plan the store before you build it
An hour of planning saves days of rework. Decide these first:
- Your catalogue structure. Categories such as Men, Women, Kids, then sub-categories like Shirts, Kurtas and Sarees.
- Your variations. Which sizes (S to XXL, or numeric waist sizes) and which colours each product type comes in.
- Photos. Consistent, well-lit photos on a plain background, with one photo per colour. Resize them to about 1,500 pixels wide before upload.
- Your policies. Returns, exchanges, shipping times and cash on delivery. Payment gateways usually ask to see these pages before they approve your account.
2. Install WordPress and WooCommerce
On Domain India cPanel hosting you can install WordPress in a few clicks with Softaculous or WP Toolkit, both in cPanel. Step-by-step instructions are in how to install WordPress. Make sure your domain points to your hosting and has its free SSL certificate before you start, because a store must run on https://.
Then add WooCommerce:
- Install the plugin.In WordPress, go to Plugins › Add New, search for WooCommerce, click Install Now, then Activate.
- Run the setup.WooCommerce opens a setup screen. Enter your store address in India, choose the fashion or clothing option as your industry, and set the currency to Indian rupee (₹).
- Skip extras you don't need.The setup offers extra plugins and services. Install only what you will use; every plugin adds weight to your site.
For more detail, see installing WooCommerce on cPanel hosting.
3. Choose a theme and a starter design
Astra is a free, lightweight theme that works well with WooCommerce. Install it from Appearance › Themes › Add New. Its companion plugin, Starter Templates (formerly Astra Starter Sites), imports a ready-made shop design, including a fashion store layout, which you then edit.
Import a starter template before you add your own products and pages. An import on a site that already has content can mix demo pages, menus and images in with yours. Delete demo products you don't need afterwards.
Then go to Appearance › Customize to set your logo, colours, fonts, header menu and footer contact details. Any other theme marked as WooCommerce-compatible will work too; see top WooCommerce-compatible themes.
4. Set up sizes and colours once
Create attributes globally so every product can reuse them:
- Go to Products › Attributes.
- Add an attribute named Size, then click Configure terms and add S, M, L, XL, XXL.
- Add an attribute named Colour and add your colours.
Global attributes also let customers filter your shop by size and colour, which matters in clothing.
5. Add garments as variable products
- Create the product.Go to Products › Add New. Enter the name and a description covering fabric, fit and care instructions.
- Make it variable.In Product data, choose Variable product.
- Add attributes.On the Attributes tab, add Size and Colour, select the values this product comes in, and tick Used for variations.
- Generate variations.On the Variations tab, click Generate variations. WooCommerce creates one for every size and colour combination.
- Fill in each variation.Set the price, SKU and stock quantity, and upload the photo for that colour. Delete combinations you don't stock.
- Add a size chart.Put a size chart image or table in the description, or use a size chart plugin to show it on every product.
- Publish.Add the product to its categories, set a main image and gallery, and click Publish.
Turn on stock management under WooCommerce › Settings › Products › Inventory so sold-out sizes can't be ordered.
6. Payments, shipping and GST
Payments. Indian gateways such as Razorpay, PhonePe, PayU and Cashfree offer WooCommerce plugins for UPI, cards and net banking. Each needs you to apply and complete their verification. Cash on delivery is built into WooCommerce; enable it under WooCommerce › Settings › Payments. Many clothing buyers in India still prefer it, though it brings more returns.
Shipping. Under WooCommerce › Settings › Shipping, create zones (for example, your own state and the rest of India) and add flat-rate or free shipping above an order value to each. Courier aggregators offer WooCommerce plugins that print labels and track parcels.
GST. Enable Enable tax rates and calculations under WooCommerce › Settings › General, then add rates on the Tax tab. GST on clothing depends on the sale value per piece and on whether the sale is within your state (CGST and SGST) or to another state (IGST). Rates have changed in recent years, so confirm the current rates and your invoicing needs with your accountant before you launch.
Place a few real orders with each payment method, including a refund, and check that stock goes down, order emails arrive, and the invoice and tax figures are right. Test on a phone too; most clothing buyers shop on mobile.
7. Policies, SEO and speed
Policies. Publish Privacy Policy, Terms, Shipping, and Returns and Exchanges pages, and link them in your footer. Be clear about exchange windows and who pays return shipping.
SEO. Write your own product descriptions rather than copying the manufacturer's. Use an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math to set titles and descriptions and to create a sitemap, then submit the sitemap in Google Search Console.
Speed. Compress images before upload and keep plugins to the ones you use. On Domain India shared hosting, which runs Apache, use a caching plugin such as WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache, and make sure the cart, checkout and my-account pages are never cached. More in my website is slow.
8. Running your store on Domain India
A few facts about our shared hosting that matter for a shop:
- Order emails. Each cPanel account can send 200 messages per hour. That covers order confirmations for a small store; for newsletters, use a dedicated email marketing service rather than your hosting mailbox.
- Uploads. The PHP upload limit on cPanel is 256 MB, which is plenty for product photos.
- Backups. Accounts are backed up weekly with JetBackup, and you can restore files or databases yourself. Still take your own backup before big plugin or theme updates. See backup and restore with JetBackup.
- SSL. Free SSL certificates are issued automatically for domains pointed at your hosting.
For a new store with one website, cPanel Starter is enough. Choose Growth if you plan more than one site, or want more storage for a large catalogue:
- 25 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- 50 GB Monthly Bandwidth
- 1 Website
- 10 Email Accounts
- 50 GB NVMe SSD Storage
- 100 GB Monthly Bandwidth
- 5 Websites
- 50 Email Accounts
Prices on the cards are Domain India list prices and exclude 18% GST. For a full budget, read the cost of building a garments store with WooCommerce.
Frequently asked questions
Is WooCommerce free?
Yes. The WooCommerce plugin is free. You pay for hosting and a domain, and possibly for premium themes, extensions or payment gateway fees on each transaction.
How do I sell one shirt in several sizes and colours?
Create Size and Colour under Products › Attributes, then add the shirt as a variable product, add both attributes with Used for variations ticked, and generate variations. Each variation gets its own price, stock and photo.
Can I offer cash on delivery with WooCommerce?
Yes. Cash on delivery is built into WooCommerce. Enable it under WooCommerce › Settings › Payments, and you can limit it to certain shipping methods.
What GST rate applies to clothes sold online?
It depends on the sale value per piece and on the type of garment, and the rates have been revised in recent years. Confirm the current rates with your accountant, then add them under WooCommerce › Settings › Tax.
Can I use LiteSpeed Cache on Domain India shared hosting?
No. Domain India shared hosting runs Apache, not LiteSpeed. Use a caching plugin such as WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache, and exclude the cart, checkout and my-account pages from caching.
Which Domain India plan should I choose for a small clothing store?
cPanel Starter covers one website, which is enough for a new store. Choose cPanel Growth if you plan more than one website or need more storage for a large catalogue.
Ready to open your store? Pick a plan on cPanel hosting, register your domain, then follow how to install WordPress to get started.
cPanel hosting with Softaculous, WP Toolkit, free SSL and weekly JetBackup backups, ready for WordPress and WooCommerce.
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