Today, it's easier than ever to get your own online store up and running in no time. There are numerous e-commerce SaaS (software as a service) products available online, such as Shopify and BigCommerce, as well as numerous e-commerce WordPress plugins readily available. With WordPress, you have the option to turn an existing website or blog into an online store. So if you already own a WordPress website, all you have to do is integrate one of these eCommerce plugins and you'll be ready to start selling.
Popular WordPress eCommerce Plugins in 2022
WordPress ecommerce plugins provide exactly the same features as ecommerce SaaS products like Shopify, and come with the added benefit of a thriving support community and easy integration into the world's most popular CMS. In fact, numerous website development companies prefer to create e-stores using WordPress. However, you will have a few hundred eCommerce plugins and extensions to choose from. Therefore, we have compiled the top 5 that you can choose in 2022.
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is perhaps the king of WordPress eCommerce plugins, and rightly so. WooCommerce is currently in use by over 28% of all e-commerce stores, and around 22% of the top XNUMX million e-stores. It is generally considered one of the best solutions if you want to quickly create and expand an e-store, and is preferred by e-commerce website development services around the world. It's free and can support an unlimited number of products (including digital goods, appointments, and subscriptions) and visitors, as long as your own servers can handle it. It comes with an integrated payment system with some of the major gateways.
You can pay more to get premium themes that have been designed specifically for WooCommerce e-stores, with easy integration and attractive product galleries. If you need to add an extension to increase the functionality of your store, WooCommerce also has its own extension store. It hosts a variety of third-party extensions made by independent developers for a wide range of prices.
2. BigCommerce for WordPress
While BigCommerce has been running their own SaaS ecommerce platform with a dedicated CMS and hosting, they are now also trying to create a niche of their own in the WordPress market. It's an attempt to merge the content power of WordPress with the sales and e-commerce clout that BigCommerce has gained over the years. You can place your BigCommerce module on more than one site and there will be no syncing issues.
BigCommerce for WordPress allows you to manage your entire sales and inventory from one dashboard. The engine is extremely scalable and can handle complex algorithms and easily manage large volumes of traffic, orders and simultaneous analysis. To minimize the requirement for additional extensions, it comes with instant access to many common and advanced e-commerce tools and features such as global payment gateways, taxes, complex catalog support, currency management, shipping calculators, and centralized channel management. BigCommerce also partners with several processing companies, often resulting in significantly better credit card processing facilities for users.
3. Ecwid
The Ecwid Shopping Cart eCommerce plugin has great ratings from numerous users and is very similar to WooCommerce. It can also be used on other websites, so if you want to change your CMS from WordPress to Drupal or Squarespace, you can take Ecwid with you. It's easy to install, has a great interface, and offers a free plan for up to 10 products. And while their paid plans can be a bit pricey, they come with a great set of built-in tools that minimize the need for expensive external add-ons.
Ecwid has a strong focus on allowing you to sell through multiple channels. Even the lowest paying plans set up Facebook Shops for you. There are also other options for Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, mobile, and regular outlets. And all plugin updates are done automatically, unlike many other platforms. Integrates with most major carriers for shipping and automatic tax calculation. The Ecwid Shopping Cart plugin also gives you free apps for iOS and Android that will allow you to manage and sell on the go.
4. Easy digital downloads
Easy Digital Downloads is a simple and intuitive plugin for easy management and selling of digital products through WordPress. While many other popular plugins also have this support, EDD has been created specifically for digital sales and comes with a much cleaner interface and some attractive themes. Therefore, it should definitely be your best option if your products are limited to digital items such as e-books, software, audio, etc.
While the core plugin is free, there are also several pricing plans for upgrades, all of which come with site licenses, customer support options and upgrades, as well as several unique extensions and integrations, such as easy options for multiple payment gateways and email marketing. . Its extensions library has numerous useful plugins that can help you create a much more advanced digital store, such as one that includes software licensing and frontend shipping as well. Some of the features you get out of the box are a complete shopping cart, clean checkout procedure, payment flexibility through multiple gateways, complete customer management, detailed e-commerce reports, secure file protection and much more. further. It is also available in more than 2 dozen languages.
5. WP EasyCart
Although it is not the most popular, the WP EasyCart eCommerce Store & Shopping Cart plugin is slowly but surely gaining ground. The main focus here is small business owners who want to be able to quickly create a beautiful e-store without training. The setup process is incredibly easy and comes with basic and understandable tools for any non-developer. WP EasyCart also features seamless and easy integration with useful business tools like MailChimp, ShipStation, and TaxCloud. It allows you to sell anything from retail items to downloadables, subscriptions and gift cards, and comes with multi-currency and multi-lingual features.
The free plan itself is incredibly advanced, with support for unlimited products, advanced product variants, and live shipping calculators. Paid plans come with additional benefits of coupons, gift cards, promotions, abandoned cart systems, and a host of extensions that have been curated very specifically for small businesses. It also comes with excellent free customer support in the form of blogs, forums, and video tutorials (paid customer support is also available).
WooCommerce and EDD are clearly the most popular options on this list. However, that doesn't mean they are necessarily the right tools for your exact business needs. In fact, every eCommerce business comes with its own set of requirements. That's the great thing about WordPress. You have so many options to choose from that you are sure to find one that is a good fit for your business.
