# Creating a Simple Product in WooCommerce

> **Source video:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OJSAn6A5mA

This guide walks through adding a new simple product in WooCommerce: naming it, writing descriptions, setting price and sale price, configuring inventory and shipping, adding a product image and gallery, assigning categories and tags, and publishing it to your store.

## Create the product and add a name

1. In the WordPress dashboard, go to **Products → Add New**.
2. Give your product a name. In the example, the product is a button-down dress called "Ruby".

## Add the product description and short description

There are two descriptions on a product page:

- **Product description** – shows below the product itself.
- **Product short description** – shows below the title and price.

1. Copy and paste your text into the **Product description** field.
2. Scroll down and copy and paste the same or similar text into the **Product short description** field.

## Set the product type and price

1. Scroll to **Product data**. The available product types are: **Simple product**, **Grouped product**, **External/Affiliate product**, and **Variable product**. For now, keep it on **Simple product**.
2. Enter a **Regular price** (e.g. $40).
3. Optionally add a **Sale price** (e.g. $30) to show a discounted price.

## Configure inventory

1. In the **Inventory** tab, add a **SKU** identifier if you want one. This is only for your own tracking.
2. Tick **Track stock quantity for this product** and enter the quantity currently in stock (e.g. 100). The number decreases automatically when someone purchases the product.
3. Set **Allow backorders?**:
   - **Allow** or **Allow, but notify customer** – people can still buy when stock hits zero.
   - **Do not allow** – purchases stop when stock reaches zero.

## Configure shipping

In the **Shipping** tab, you can add:

- Product **weight**
- Product **dimensions**
- A specific **shipping class**

Use these if you want to charge shipping rates based on weight, dimensions, or a shipping class.

## Link products and attributes

- Under **Linked products**, you can add **Upsells** or **Cross-sells**.
- **Attributes** are mainly for variable products, so skip them for a simple product.

## Add a product image and gallery

1. On the right side of the screen, go to **Product image** and click **Set product image**.
2. Upload an image and click **Set product image**. This shows on your store and as the first picture on the product page.
3. Under **Product gallery**, click **Add product gallery images**, upload your gallery image, and click **Add to gallery**. Gallery images let shoppers scrub through different angles of the product.

## Assign categories and tags

1. In the **Product categories** box, click **Add new category**, create a category (e.g. "Dresses"), and click **Add new category**. The product is now added to that category.
2. In the **Product tags** box, add all relevant tags (e.g. "dresses", "summer").

## Publish and view the product

1. Scroll up and click **Publish**.
2. Click the **View product** link, or right-click **View product → Open in new tab**, to see the product page with its image, gallery, price, name, short description, stock count, and main description.
3. Back in the dashboard, go to **Products** to see the new product in the list.