48-Hour eCommerce Setup: How a Paris Designer Built Striiiipes.com on WooCommerce

Background: A Designer’s Dream

Arthur Lhermitte studied fashion design in Paris and graduated in 2012. He wanted to control every stage of his work, from concept to final client. After small runs of his lunch bag design became a hit, he decided to launch a full shop online. With no brick-and-mortar store yet, he saw an opportunity to sell direct at fair prices.

Initial Launch and Early Challenges

At first he built simple product pages with PayPal buttons. It worked for basic sales but soon hit limits. There was no site-wide cart. Shipping fees were hard to set per product. Visitors had to leave the site to check out. He spent a few weeks monitoring traffic and comments, but figured there had to be a better option.

Overcoming Early Hurdles

In the first week, Arthur dealt with support requests on shipping rates and checkout questions. He spent time on chat and email clarifying policies. Switching to WooCommerce automated most of these tasks, letting him focus on design and production instead of manual price quotes.

Switching to WooCommerce

A search online pointed him right at WooCommerce, a free plugin for WordPress. He already ran his site on WP, so the integration was instant. On a test setup he installed the plugin, added payment and shipping options, tweaked the layout and tested a full purchase. Less than 48 hours later he had a live shop with a proper cart, clear shipping rules, and a smooth checkout flow.

Design and Responsiveness

Later he updated the design to suit changing screens and a wider look. He moved to a full-window layout that highlights product imagery. Each page gives the customer a gallery of detailed shots, plus an easy-to-spot **add to cart** button. The new design adapts to laptops, iPads, and phones. This gave him room for product announcements, call-to-action banners, and styled landing pages for each launch.

Customizing Your Theme

While the basic WooCommerce templates are solid, a unique look matters. Arthur edited CSS and template files to match his minimalist style. He removed sidebars on product pages, changed button colors to align with his brand palette, and adjusted font sizes for readability. These tweaks ensured the site felt like a reflection of his studio’s aesthetic.

Managing Inventory and Orders

As orders started coming in, tracking stock became important. Arthur used the built-in inventory controls of WooCommerce to set stock levels per SKU. Low stock alerts helped him prepare new batches in his workshop. The order dashboard provided clear status updates, and he connected his email to receive instant order notifications.

Measuring Success with Analytics

Integrating Google Analytics with e-commerce tracking gave real data on sales funnels. He watched which pages brought in most traffic and which products had higher cart drop-off. By comparing ad campaigns and social posts he could see what drove sales. Over time, this led to better ad targeting and optimized homepage banners.

Community and Customer Interaction

Arthur added a basic contact form and built a small mailing list to share new drops. He replied personally to pre-launch questions and feedback, building trust with early buyers. This community feel helped spread word-of-mouth in niche design blogs and on social platforms.

Preparing Your Next Launch

For each new product, he set up a custom landing page that explains the story and function. These pages tie into blog posts, newsletter blasts, and social updates. By focusing a narrative around each drop he turned simple objects into items people felt attached to, boosting share rates and early orders.

Shipping Strategy

Limiting lost sales at checkout was key. Buyers expect fair shipping costs. For most new items he rolled out free worldwide shipping. For rest he priced via the shipping extension. He uses La Poste for daily dispatch from Paris. His best markets today are North America, Japan and Europe.

Payments and Wish List

Payments go through PayPal. In the future he’d like Amazon Checkout or ApplePay, but these are not yet available locally. Even without those options he sees 95% of orders clear without friction.

Key Advice for New Store Owners

If you want to start an online boutique, start with clear photos and concise descriptions. Pick English as your primary language so you can reach a global audience. Use a platform like WooCommerce that you can learn and own, not one that locks you out. Make a test site to try new designs and updates before you push them live. And don’t be afraid to code small changes yourself—each fix you make saves on agency fees.

Ongoing Growth and Learning

Arthur now rolls out a small batch of products every few months, each with its own landing page. He track performance in Google Analytics and customer messages. As his studio grows he plans to add more local artisans. For now, he’s proud that a one-man operation in Paris can reach customers in Tokyo in a matter of days.