WordPress is an excellent eCommerce store builder for its open-source and flexible nature, which allows designers to choose what to integrate into their platforms. Among the many additions are plugins, which are essential for website functionality. However, choosing the best WordPress eCommerce plugin can prove challenging, thanks to the 50,000+ WordPress plugins available.
You should consider several factors when choosing WordPress plugins. Among the considerations include functionality, the SSL certificate for security purposes, and the nature of your business. Below are a few essential plugins for the effective performance of your eCommerce store.
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a widely used and popular WordPress plugin acquired by WordPress designers in 2015. The plugin comes with endless themes and add-ons that make your online store overly functional. Among the many benefits of integrating the WooCommerce plugin to your online store include:
- Access to many themes and extensions
- Support for both physical and digital products
- Being able to add external and affiliate products to your store
- Providing complete inventory management
- Secure payment and shipping options
WooCommerce is an excellent choice for online businesses of all niches. It also benefits from a large community of dedicated developers who upload more themes and add-ons. It also supports multilingual websites.
2. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a popularly known eCommerce platform that recently launched a specifically designed content management system plugin. Integrating this plugin allows you to leverage a scalable eCommerce platform while running your website with WordPress. Some of the advantages of integrating BigCommerce into your WordPress platform include:
- Highly scalable: It has all features needed for enterprise-grade performance, security, and business scalability.
- Low maintenance: Running a separate eCommerce engine makes it easier to manage your WordPress website.
- You can sell across multiple platforms: Affiliate marketing across several platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Amazon, becomes easy.
- No transaction charges: Most eCommerce platforms charge for every transaction. However, BigCommerce is free, and you can choose from various payment gateway. You will only be charged by the payment service provider.
BigCommerce is a powerful standalone eCommerce platform. However, integrating the BigCommerce plugin into your WordPress site offers the best of both sides.
3. Easy Digital Downloads
Also known as EDD, this is another beneficial plugin that integrates to WordPress eCommerce sites only. The plugin is best for eCommerce stores that specialize in selling digital products. This doesn’t mean it is limited to the sale of digital products, as it can also be used for selling physical products. However, you will have to add an extension for selling physical products, which isn’t free.
Benefits of adding EDD to your eCommerce store include:
- Being designed for selling digital goods
- Easy to integrate and use
- Hundreds of extensions and add-ons
- Works with nearly all WordPress themes
- Excellent customer support through support forums, tutorials, videos, and chatroom
The Bottom Line
Many other plugins, such as HubSpot, Cart66 Cloud, MemberPress, and Shopify, can enhance the functionality of your WordPress eCommerce store. However, integrating these plugins into eCommerce stores is a common challenge for online store owners. If you are in this fold, web design Sydney services provide excellent WordPress site customization.
