Why is it important to install the best WordPress ecommerce plugins? Why not just pick any free and available one? Simply stated: The right ecommerce plugins will help you make more money.
Your digital store is already taking up a big chunk of your time and effort. You need a user-friendly interface to organize your digital shop and promote your products. At the same time, your customers want an engaging, fun, and fully accessible shopping experience.
The best plugins would help you to add products, offer your customers different payment methods, allow them to buy gift cards, or create endless wish lists. It’ll also match your business, whether you’re selling physical or digital products.
In this post we’ll go through the best WordPress ecommerce plugins. Let’s see which one tops the list!
The Best WordPress eCommerce Plugins Reviewed.
Here’s a roundup of the best WordPress ecommerce plugins. They’re also the most popular among users, and the easiest to add to your digital store.
1. WooCommerce
There’s a good reason why WooCommerce is becoming everybody’s favorite plugin. That’s because it has almost everything digital shop owners need. Including a thriving community of users and developers.
The very first module of WooCommerce was created in 2007, and that was merely a novel WordPress theme. It was the joint effort of three brainy guys: Mark Forrester, Magnus Jepson, and Adii Pienaar.
Soon, the idea grew into a full-fledged ecommerce plugin, that was launched into the world in 2011. Millions of downloads later, and having aced the ecommerce plugins market, this startup caught the eyes of the big players. In 2015 Automattic bought WooCommerce, and integrated it with its CMS platform: WordPress.
With this plugin, you can build a digital store, of any size, that sells anything at all, to any part of the world. It’s highly flexible in its appearance, payment methods, and integration with other apps. You can even manage your orders from a smartphone.
The WooCommerce Storefront is another good reason why you should consider this plugin. Choosing a theme for your online business is much easier and conflict-free when it’s integrated within the plugin.
Pros
- Easy online-business set up
- Works well with any business model
- Utilizes the benefits of WordPress capabilities
- Getting noticed by Google, thanks to WordPress SEO
- Multiple themes for a fully customized look
- Secure payment methods
- Inventory management module
- Mobile app for working via smartphone
- Multilingual content for overseas shopping
Cons
- Could be overwhelming for beginners
- Customizing themes might be too complicated, many users opt for readymade themes
2. MemberPress
Several business models base their profits on user subscription to their services. Netflix is the poster boy for that model, but there are many other platforms that utilize the same principle. Another example is the continued use of certain software packages, which is often tied to a yearly fee.
It would be a waste to use an ecommerce plugin that covers shipping of physical goods, managing an inventory, and receiving cash-on-delivery payments. Whereas, a dedicated plugin that handles everything subscriptions seems to be a far more logical choice.
MemberPress comes highly recommended from some reputable entities like WPEngine, Member Site Academy, wpbeginner, and Chris/Lema. It’s well deserved, as it can handle digital downloads and customer subscriptions with remarkable proficiency.
It’s easy-to-use, and connects like a charm with several third-party solutions. You can use it to integrate affiliate programs, secure payment processors, and mailing services. It’s also free, and hand tailored to fit WordPress.
Pros
- Lightweight plugin dedicated for subscriptions
- Handles several digital services
- Detailed definition of user access
- Several restriction levels on subscribed content
- Various membership plans
- Instant set up for an up-and-running platform
- Integrates smoothly with other apps and 3rd party services
Cons
- Subscription plans are based on a yearly calendar only
- Limited payment methods
3. Easy Digital Downloads
This WordPress ecommerce plugin is fully dedicated to selling digital services. Easy Digital Downloads, as the name implies, has the full scoop on this niche. It’s powerful, versatile, and remarkably easy to use.
It’s designed to connect with popular services like mailchimp, affiliateWP, Stripe, Dropbox, Jilt, and a host of other major players. This makes for a smooth transition from one function to the next. Also, this provides the customers with a broad range of options for file downloads and payments.
This plugin is mostly free, but it has a premium segment that comes at a hefty price tag. The yearly personal pass is sold for around $100, whereas the yearly full-access pass comes at approximately $500. The basic free package of the plugin is quite sufficient though.
Pros
- Dedicated platform
- Integrates with a multitude of services
- Regulated customer access
- Advances shopping cart options
- Possibility of unlimited file downloads
- Possibility of setting file download limit
- Product files accessible only to authorized customers
- Creates discount codes easily
- Full tracking of download activity
- Elaborate stats, reports, and bookkeeping
- Thriving users and developers community
Cons
- It’s a pricey plugin, if you buy the optional extensions
How to Choose the Right WordPress eCommerce Plugin?
Sometimes we don’t have the luxury to try a number of products till we stumble upon the one we like best. You can change the wall color of your living room many times, but you can only build your house once.
Same way, you can only set up your digital store once. More than that is a serious hassle. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind as you start your digital shop. This should help you in proceeding with confident and correct steps.
Business Matching
The plugin you choose should fit your business model, the same way your sports gear fits the activity you’re doing. Otherwise, you’d end up with a situation similar to wearing a swimsuit on a skiing trip.
Mainly, consider the products/services you’re selling. Do you ship heavy objects overseas? Are you into drop-shipping? Do you sell subscriptions for music-streaming? or download software to users? In each case, one plugin would serve you better than the others.
Choosing well is not hard, just takes a few more minutes in weighing all the options.
Templates and Customization
Potential customers visiting your site are in fact buying more than your products. They see your aesthetic values in the design of each page. And the mood you set in your digital store, can be one of your best marketing tools.
People perceive shopping as an experience rather than a utility. Even when they’re buying a 5-dollar bar of soap, they still enjoy making the transaction at a shop ‘they like’.
Themes and templates help you in creating a digital store that reflects your personality. The more of them there are, the better you’d be able to create an original store. Using these templates should also be easy enough, and not time-consuming.
Payment Methods
Giving your customers the freedom to choose a suitable payment method makes your sight automatically accessible. This also adds to the professionalism and trustworthiness of your digital shop.
Most plugins support payment with Paypal, and offer various other billing features like cash-on-delivery, or using credit cards.
Care should be taken, that data-intensive features like this one are always the target of hackers. The financial information of clients is a goldmine for these cyber-criminals, so make sure to use malware protection, and choose secure plugins whenever possible.
Expandability and Linking with Apps
To run a successful online business, you’d need to handle tasks that aren’t directly related to customers and shopping. Processes like accounting, communicating with suppliers, inventory management, marketing, and even blogging, are indispensable for any commercial endeavor.
When you have a flexible plugin that can link seamlessly with these apps, you save money, time, and effort. Not to mention the frustration that comes with apps that refuse to talk to one another. Imagine receiving payments that your accounting app can’t see! Better avoid that.
Expandability has to do with the amount of possible scaling up in subscribers, products, services, server space, or any other parameter needed for your business. A business that’s just starting isn’t the same as one that has been in the market for ten years.
A good plugin would suit your needs in all phases of development.
Tech Support
Plugins, in general, need sustained support. At the outset, you’d need some guidance on how to set up the plugin, and make good use of its various features. Then, you’d need someone to turn to if there’s a hitch while you’re working.
Since plugins are made from code, that’s why they’re constantly undergoing development. Debugging and upgrading plugins isn’t unusual, but there are things to take note of: first, if a plugin needs frequent debugging, that’s a red flag.
And second, you’ll probably need professional help with each upgrade. So make sure that the provider has a 24/7 reliable online support. It also helps if there’s an active users’ group or forum. Such communities are quite helpful.
Conclusion
Back in the day, setting up a shop required bushels of cash, a ton of products, and finding a spacious store in a decent neighborhood. Today, all you need to do is build-up a store front, and sell your products or service right away. And from that platform, you can reach people around the globe.
Online stores are a cornerstone of people’s lives nowadays. Can you imagine what life would be like if you can’t order what you like by clicking a mouse? That’s why this is a great time to take your business online.
One of the things that can contribute to the success of your business is choosing the right platform. The way your store appears to others and how your products are organized is a predictor of your future profits. We’d readily recommend WooCommerce for that.
Now that you’ve seen the best WordPress eCommerce plugins, it’s time to pick the one that works best for you. And you can certainly contact us for any further information. Good Luck!
