WordPress Website Series: The Best WordPress Ecommerce Platforms & Tools

When we are approached by clients to build a new WordPress website, or refresh an existing WordPress website, one of the most common questions we hear is: “What are the best WordPress ecommerce platforms & tools?” With an array of options on the market, it’s helpful to know what website development professionals consider to be the best WordPress ecommerce platform for specific business scenarios…and why.

WordPress Ecommerce Platforms: We Consider WooCommerce As The Best Ecommerce Platform For WordPress Websites

We at DeWinter Marketing & PR have been developing or improving / refreshing websites for decades. There are many reasons why we consider one of the best WordPress ecommerce platforms to be WooCommerce. But let’s start with the technical basics about WooCommerce.

The technical hierarchy is that WordPress is the content management system (CMS) that serves as the base software platform for a WordPress website.

WooCommerce is an ecommerce plugin that integrates with the WordPress software and allows organizations to quickly and efficiently build and manage an online store for selling products or services.

Note: A “plugin” is a software component that can be added to websites to provide specific features & functionality. It’s software that essentially “piggy-backs” on top of the main software…in this case, WordPress.

Why Does WooCommerce Integrate So Well With The WordPress Platform?

There’s a very specific reason why the WooCommerce ecommerce plugin integrates so well with WordPress websites. But, first, we must step back in time to understand why.

WooCommerce first came on the scene in 2011 as WooThemes – and it has become the de facto standard and the best option when you want to add ecommerce functionality to a WordPress website. In 2015, Woo was purchased by Automattic – a company that was founded to commercialize and support the WordPress platform. The president of Automattic (Matt Mullenweg) is a co-founder of WordPress open-source software.

This company history highlights one of the key reasons why WooCommerce works so well on the WordPress platform. Once WooThemes was purchased by Automattic (the company that owns WordPress.com), WooCommerce was enhanced to integrate beautifully with the WordPress platform. The obvious reason why is that this ecommerce platform is owned by the same company that owns WordPress.com.

WordPress Ecommerce Platforms: Why Is WooCommerce Considered The Best Ecommerce Platform for WordPress?

There are pros & cons to every software platform. Here are highlights of the Pros & Cons of WooCommerce.

PROs of WooCommerce

It’s Open-Source Software – WooCommerce is free to download and use, which makes it a cost-effective option for businesses, startups, and non-profits.

Flexible & Customizable – WooCommerce offers lots of flexibility and customization of an online store’s appearance and functionality. There literally are thousands of options for how to customize an online store using WooCommerce.

Seamless Integration With WordPress – WooCommerce integrates seamlessly with WordPress software. This allows users to manage their website and online store from a single software platform.

Lots of Tech Community Support – There’s a huge community of users and web developers that use WooCommerce. This means there are lots of support and resources options available for WooCommerce users who need help.

SEO-Friendly – When you’re selling products or services online, it’s not enough to just have solid offerings and a robust ecommerce platform. You must be FOUND by people looking for your products & services. The good news is that WooCommerce is SEO-friendly, with solid options for being able to optimize your product pages with targeted keyword phrases so potential customers can find you from internet searches.

Scalable – The WooCommerce platform is scalable – meaning it works equally well if you’re startup with just a few products or services to sell…all the way up to bigger companies with a larger roster of product or service offerings.

CONs of WooCommerce

Complexity – Because WooCommerce is a powerful, sophisticated ecommerce platform, it can be complex to set up and manage – especially for beginners. In many cases, you’ll need to hire a website development team to help set up your online store.

Possible Additional Costs – The core WooCommerce software is free. But if you want to get more sophisticated with the look or functions of your online store, then you may need to pay a website developer or development team for the setup of a customized online storefront, along with ongoing maintenance.

Page Speed Optimization May Be Needed – A WooCommerce store features many options for customize design & functions, which can slow down page load speeds. As of “press time” for this blog, page load speeds are one of the top ranking factors for the Google algorithm. To both ensure a pleasant, efficient user experience and to ensure that all the customizations of your online store don’t slow down your page load speeds, you will likely need a website developer to help optimize the pages so the page load speeds are faster.

Security Measures Are Required – The WooCommerce platform has powerful security features. But you will still need to deploy security measures for your online store, including getting an SSL certificate and conducting regular software updates that enhance security. This typically requires the services of a website developer or development team.

Customer Support Limitations – The community of users & developers who are proficient in WooCommerce are a helpful tool for getting questions answered. But WooCommerce itself does not offer direct customer support. If you need technical support, you’ll need to commission help from a website developer proficient in the WooCommerce platform.

WooCommerce Vs. Shopify

Both WooCommerce and Shopify are popular ecommerce platforms – but the two ecommerce platforms are vastly different and are appropriate for different skill levels and sophistication of the ecommerce operation. We’ll cover more details of Shopify ecommerce in an upcoming blog. But here’s the main difference between WooCommerce & Shopify:

WooCommerce is a plugin that attaches to a WordPress website to provide an online store. It offers a vast array of options for creating an optimal user experience and lots of ability to customize the online store. It is a more sophisticated option that typically requires more technical expertise and the help of website development professionals. In this scenario, you are tying an ecommerce plugin to a WordPress website.

Shopify is a hosted solution that offers an all-in-one platform for having both a website and an online store. Its focus is on ease of use and simplicity. As a result, Shopify offers less flexibility in designing the pages for the online store. Shopify is more appropriate for startups who want to DIY their online store.

In summary, WooCommerce currently is considered the de facto standard for ecommerce when you have a wider array of products – and you want lots of flexibility in being able to customize the selling pages and optimize them to show up higher in searches. Shopify is more for startups and can be deployed on a DIY basis.

Need help with developing or refreshing your ecommerce presence or an online store? Contact DeWinter Marketing & PR for help.