What should you look for in an eCommerce plugin for WordPress?
There are many WordPress eCommerce plugins on the market. Not all plugins are created equal.
An eCommerce solution with better drop-shipping support is essential if you are looking to start a drop-shipping company.
You need to think about what you are selling and what features you need to run an online store.
These are just a few of the important things to consider when selecting an eCommerce platform.
- Payment solutions – Your eCommerce plugin must support your preferred payment gateways either by default or via an extension
- Design and customization – Your customer’s first contact with your business is through your store’s design. You should ensure that there are many templates available and plenty of customization options.
- Apps and Integrations – Check out the integrations available to third-party apps such as email marketing services CRM software Accounting software, etc. These tools will be essential to help you manage and grow your eCommerce store more efficiently.
- Support options – Ensure that you have access to support options. Support can help you save a lot of money over the long term.
What are the Essentials to Start an eCommerce Website?
Ecommerce websites are resource-intensive, so the first thing you will need is the best WordPress hosting that you can afford.
If you’re on a budget, then you can start with Bluehost. You will receive an SSL Certificate, dedicated IP, and support line for your Ecommerce plan. You also get WooCommerce installed by default. This is the most powerful WordPress eCommerce plug-in (as you will see later in this article).
If budget is not an issue, and you want the best performance, then we recommend using a managed WordPress hosting provider like WPEngine.
Next, choose a domain name to host your website. This guide will help you choose the perfect domain name for your eCommerce website.
OptinMonster is one of the essential business plugins you’ll need. It helps you decrease abandonment and increases sales.
Let’s now take a look at the top WordPress eCommerce plugins.
Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins: The Contenders
These are our top picks to help you choose the best eCommerce platform for WordPress.
- WooCommerce
- BigCommerce
- MemberPress
- Easy Digital Downloads
- Shopify
Let’s have a look at them all and see what their pros and cons are:
1. WooCommerce
Pros of Using WooCommerce:
These are the benefits of WooCommerce is an eCommerce plugin for WordPress:
- Extensions and Themes – Hundreds of themes and extensions are available for WooCommerce. This makes it easy to add new features to your eCommerce website. You have a lot of options for designing and layout your website.
- Both digital and physical goods supported – WooCommerce allows you to sell both physical and digital downloads (ebooks, music, software, etc.).
- Selling Affiliate Products or Other Products – WooCommerce allows you to add external or affiliate products to your website. Affiliate marketers can create product websites and offer a better user experience.
- Complete inventory management – WooCommerce has tools that make it easy to manage inventory and even assign it to store managers.
- Shipping and Payment Options – WooCommerce supports popular payment gateways and allows you to add additional payment options via extensions. It also calculates shipping and taxes.
- Documentation and Support – WooCommerce documentation is available online in excellent quality. There is also a knowledge base, help desk, and community forums.
Cons of Using WooCommerce:
- Too many options – WooCommerce is easy to use but can be overwhelming for new users due to the sheer number of options on the settings page.
- Find Add-ons – WooCommerce has many add-ons, so it is possible for users to not find the add-on that provides the features they are looking for.
- Support for themes – While WooCommerce can be used with any WordPress theme it is not as easy to set up or look good with all themes. To fully take advantage of WooCommerce’s features, you need a WooCommerce-ready theme.
- Scalability – You will need to migrate to managed hosting providers as your store grows.
WooCommerce is the best choice for any type of eCommerce website. It has a large community of developers and users, a lot of addons and themes, excellent support for multilingual websites, and the best free and paid support options.
2. BigCommerce
The pros and cons of BigCommerce:
- High Scalability – This includes all the features that you need for enterprise-grade security, high performance, and easy scaling.
- Keep it Simple – It is easier to manage your WordPress site if your eCommerce engine is kept separate from the rest.
- Multichannel selling – It can be used to sell on your website as well as on other channels such Instagram, Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram.
- No transaction fees – It does not charge for each transaction, unlike other eCommerce platforms. There are many top payment gateways available. You only need to pay the service provider.
Cons of Using BigCommerce:
- Limited Integrations – BigCommerce integrates seamlessly with the most popular third-party tools and apps. Its app store is still expanding, so you might not find integrations for less popular apps.
- Annual Sales Threshold – Each plan has a sales threshold that must be reached each year. You are automatically upgraded to the next plan if you exceed that threshold. As your business grows, this could lead to higher costs.
BigCommerce is a powerful and easy-to-use eCommerce platform. It is a SaaS eCommerce platform, but with their BigCommerce WordPress plugin, you can have the best of both worlds.
This eliminates the hassle of scaling up your hosting needs as your business grows. You don’t need to worry about security or performance.
BigCommerce is a leader in WordPress headless eCommerce. It manages the technology infrastructure so that you can concentrate on your business.
3. MemberPress
Pros of Using MemberPress:
- Sell subscription-based products – This tool allows you to sell membership plans and subscription products easily.
- Access Rules that Work – You can define access levels and content restrictions for users with powerful access control. Restricted content can only be accessed by users who have the appropriate permissions.
- Built-in Course Builder – MemberPress includes a course builder, which allows you to create and sell courses while offering an online learning platform for your customers.
- Content Dripping – MemberPress allows you to release paid content over time, similar to episodes on Amazon Prime or other platforms.
- Powerful Extensions – It can be integrated into your WooCommerce store or LearnDash LMS. You can connect MemberPress to many third-party services with a variety of extensions.
Cons of Using MemberPress:
- Limited Payment Options – MemberPress supports only Stripe, Authorize.net, and PayPal.
- Yearly Pricing – Pricing plans can be purchased on an annual basis only.
MemberPress is the perfect eCommerce plugin to sell subscription-based products, sell courses, or build a membership website. It’s easy to use and can easily be extended with add-ons, which will allow you to take your eCommerce site in any direction that you desire.
4. Easy Digital Downloads
Pros of Using Easy Digital Downloads:
- Design To Sell Digital Goods – Easy Digital Downloads is built from the ground up for digital downloads. EDD is a better eCommerce plugin than other ones that can be used for all kinds of products.
- Easy to use – Digital downloads are very simple to use. You can instantly add products to your site and then display them. This is a great tool for first-timers.
- Extensions – Easy Digital Downloads has hundreds of extensions, including add-ons for marketing platforms, payment gateways, and other services.
- Themes – Easy Digital Downloads can be used with any WordPress theme. However, if you don’t have a theme in mind, Easy Digital Downloads offers themes specifically designed for this plugin.
- Amazing Support – The plugin is well-documented. You have access to videos, tutorials, support forums, and even an IRC chatroom. Premium users have priority support.
Cons of Using Easy Digital Downloads:
- Digital Downloads Available Only – Easy Digital Downloads – This makes it easy to set up an eCommerce site for digital goods. It can be difficult to sell digital downloads with non-digital products.
- Selling external products – You will need to install an add-on third-party for any external products or affiliate products you wish to add to your EDD store.
Easy Digital Downloads is our favorite plugin for selling digital products online. Easy Digital Downloads has been a great tool for us, both on our client sites and on some of our projects.
5. Shopify
Pros of Using Shopify:
- Super easy – There are no technical issues to worry about when you shop online SSL installation integrating with various payment gateways, shipping, and worrying about taxes are all possible. Shopify can handle it all.
- Both digital and physical goods supported – It’s able to handle physical and digital goods such as shirts, or music downloads.
- Complete inventory management – Inventory includes an inventory editor, bulk importer, and order tracker. This makes it easy to manage inventory.
- Shipping and Payment Options – Shopify makes it easy to accept credit cards online and in person. With direct integration with USPS, their shipping system will streamline your fulfillment process.
- Facebook Store and Buyable Pinterest – it can integrate with everything. Shopify can integrate with everything, so you can create a Facebook shop or pin buyable on Pinterest.
Cons of Using Shopify:
- Monthly Platform Fee – It has charged a monthly fee for its platform. This is similar to buying hosting or individual plugins from this list.
- Shopify Payments – Shopify encourages you to use their payment platform powered by Stripe. This is a great option for beginners. Shopify will charge an additional fee if you try to complicate things or use other systems.
If you want to have a powerful platform without having to deal with technical issues, then Shopify is the solution for you. Although the monthly fee may seem high-priced, it is worth it for the ease of use and the peace of mind that it gives you.
Shopify doesn’t have a native integration to WordPress. BigCommerce #2 is the second solution on our list. It offers everything Shopify has, but also seamlessly integrates with your WordPress website. wordpress ecommerce plugins
Conclusion – The Best WordPress eCommerce plugin:
If you want maximum control, flexibility, and features, then WooCommerce is the best solution for you.
If you don’t want to manage all the technical stuff, then BigCommerce is the best option for you. This allows you to use a SaaS eCommerce platform alongside WordPress.
If you are just selling digital goods, then Easy Digital Downloads could be the best option for you.
We hope you found the best WordPress eCommerce plugins to use on your website.
