Configure a POM storefront from start to finish
This path is for a store owner or designer preparing a new WooCommerce storefront with POM Theme. It orders the work so that commercial configuration is stable before presentation and optional features are refined.
Before you begin
You need:
- WooCommerce installed and activated;
- Shop, Cart, Checkout, My Account, Terms and conditions, and Privacy pages assigned where applicable;
- working tax, shipping, payment, stock, account, and email settings;
- at least one simple product, one variable product, one sale product, and one out-of-stock product;
- a staging payment method or gateway test mode.
POM does not replace WooCommerce's order, payment, shipping, tax, or stock configuration.
1. Establish the WooCommerce foundation
- Open WooCommerce → Settings.
- Complete the store address, currency, tax, shipping, payments, accounts, privacy, and email configuration required by your business.
- Open WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced and confirm the assigned Cart, Checkout, My Account, and Terms and conditions pages.
- Open Settings → Privacy and confirm the site's Privacy Policy page.
- Place a test order before styling the storefront.
Expected result: WooCommerce can complete a basic order without relying on POM-specific presentation.
2. Configure the catalog baseline
- Go to Settings → POM Theme → E-Commerce → Storefront → WooCommerce storefront.
- Choose what the Shop and category pages display.
- Set default sorting, products per row, rows per page, image dimensions, and thumbnail cropping.
- Save the settings.
- Regenerate product thumbnails if you changed image dimensions or cropping for existing media.
Expected result: catalog density and image proportions are consistent.
3. Design archives and product pages
- Configure Storefront → Product archives.
- Choose the archive layout, sidebar, pagination method, subcategory presentation, and product-loop behavior.
- If you choose a custom editor layout, assign a feed template and verify its product-card content.
- Configure Product single → Product layout.
- Review the gallery, purchase area, tabs, related products, upsells, sharing, and fixed add-to-cart options.
Do not judge the result with one ideal product. Test long titles, missing images, variations, sale prices, out-of-stock states, and long descriptions.
4. Configure product discovery
Prepare clean product categories, global attributes, and any custom product taxonomies before adding filters. Then open Storefront → Advanced filters settings and configure only filters that help customers narrow a real buying decision.
Expected result: every visible filter has populated terms and changes the product results predictably.
5. Configure cart, checkout, and accounts
- Configure Cart and checkout → Dropdown and side cart.
- Review Cart and checkout → Cart layout and Checkout layout when those sections are enabled on the site.
- Configure Cart and checkout → Checkout behavior.
- Review optional checkout labels, order details, custom fields, and address finder settings only when the store needs them.
- Configure My account → My account layout and any supported custom endpoints.
Complete tests as a guest and as a returning customer. Include a failed validation, coupon, shipping change, payment failure, successful order, and account order view.
6. Add optional conversion features
Enable only features that have an owner and a customer-support process:
- a request information button for products that need pre-sale contact;
- an in-stock waitlist for out-of-stock products;
- wishlists for signed-in customers;
- gift vouchers with a tested product, PDF template, expiry, and email flow;
- a store notice for a short, site-wide message.
7. Complete the launch review
Test on phone, tablet, and desktop while signed out and signed in. Confirm keyboard use, focus, notices, validation, loading states, empty states, transactional emails, and dynamic cart/account content.
Do not apply full-page caching to Cart, Checkout, or My Account. Purge caches only after the underlying configuration is correct.
Verification
The setup is ready when a new visitor can find a product, understand its availability, add the correct variation, complete checkout, receive the expected email, and find the order in My Account without encountering a layout or navigation dead end.