5 best e-commerce WordPress plugins

Are you looking to build an online store? Want to know what is the best WordPress e-commerce plugin? Choosing the right e-commerce plugin is an important factor for your business, because a good platform means more opportunities to grow. This article will compare the five best WordPress e-commerce plugins in 2018.

What element of e-commerce plugin for WordPress website?

There are many WordPress e-commerce plugins in the market. But not all of them have the essential features you need to start your ecommerce site.

Some e-commerce plugins are good for selling digital goods such as e-books, photos, music, etc. While other plugins are more suitable for selling goods that need transportation management. and inventory. There are also e-commerce plugins suitable for both of these needs.

You need to choose a plugin depending on what you will sell and what kind of features you will need to be effective for your online store.

Next, you need to consider which payment gateway you will use to accept payments. Make sure the plugin you choose supports those payment gateways by default or through add-ons.

The e-commerce plugin will not come with a theme. You will need to select a theme that matches your plugin.

E-commerce plugins cannot have all the features. Most plugins will solve this problem with add-ons. These add-ons extend the functionality of e-commerce plugins. Make sure there are enough additional plugins to connect your e-commerce website with other services.

Last but not least, you need to see what kind of support options are available for the plugin. Even if you will hire a developer for your site, you will still need help at any time. Make sure the plugin has a support system where you can get help when you need it.

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What do you need to run an e-commerce site?

E-commerce website is an intensive resource, so the first thing you need is a good WordPress hosting.

If your budget is limited, you can start with Bluehost.com. Bluehost's e-commerce package comes with the SSL certificate you need to collect secure payment information, dedicated IP and a dedicated support line.

1. Compare web hosting Bluehost and HostGator

If the budget is not a problem and you want the best performance, then you should use a managed WordPress hosting service provider like WPEngine.com.

Next, you will need to select a domain name for your site.

Finally, you will need to choose the necessary business plugins like OptinMonster.com, which helps reduce customer abandonment of shopping cart and increase sales.

5 best e-commerce WordPress plugins

1. WooCommerce

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WooCommerce.com is the most popular WordPress e-commerce plugin. It was acquired by Automattic (the company that owns the blog hosting service WordPress.com) in 2015.

There are a large number of add-ons and themes available for WooCommerce. WooCommerce also has a large support community of users and developers behind. Recently, some hosting companies are creating hosting solutions specifically for WooCommerce.

Advantages of using WooCommerce

Here are some advantages of using WooCommerce as WordPress e-commerce plugin:

1. Extensions and themes : There are hundreds of utilities and themes available for WooCommerce, making it easy to add new features to your ecommerce site. Large theme collection means you have many options for the design and layout of the website.
2. Support both digital and physical goods : With WooCommerce you can sell physical and digital products (such as e-books, music, software, etc.). With Envira Gallery's WooCommerce integration, you can also easily sell photos from your website.
3. Selling affiliate products or external products : Using WooCommerce, you can add affiliate products or external products to your website. Affiliate marketers can create product websites and provide users with a better experience.
4. Complete inventory management : WooCommerce is equipped with tools to easily manage inventory or even deliver it to store managers.
5. Payment and delivery options : WooCommerce has supported popular payment gateways and you can add more payment options using extensions. It can also calculate shipping and tax fees.
6. Support and documentation : Great documentation is available online for WooCommerce. In addition to materials, there is a knowledge base, a help center and a community forum ready to help when you need it.

Disadvantages of using WooCommerce

1. Too many options : WooCommerce is easy to use, but the number of options available on the settings page can make users feel a little overwhelmed.
2. Find add-ons : There are many add-ons available for WooCommerce, but sometimes a user may not find the appropriate add-on for the features they need.
3. Theme support : WooCommerce works with any WordPress theme, but it's not always easy to install or fit all themes. You need a theme available for WooCommerce to take full advantage of its features without too much trouble.

WooCommerce is the perfect choice for any kind of e-commerce website. It has a large community of developers and users, lots of utilities and themes, great support for multilingual websites, as well as the best free and paid support options.

2. Easy Digital Downloads

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Easydigitaldownloads.com allows you to easily sell digital downloads online using WordPress. It is very easy to use and comes with powerful features to create beautiful and feature-rich digital goods.

Advantages of using Easy Digital Downloads

1. Designed to sell digital goods : Easy Digital Downloads is built right from the start to sell digital downloads. Unlike e-commerce plugins used to sell all kinds of products, EDD provides a much better digital sales experience.
2. Easy to use : Easy Digital Downloads is easy to use. You will immediately find out how to add products and display them. This is really useful for beginners.
3. Extensions : There are hundreds of extensions available for Easy Digital Downloads. There are add-ons for many payment gateways, platforms and services to add additional features.
4. Theme : Easy Digital Downloads works with almost all WordPress themes, but if you have not selected a theme, Easy Digital Downloads has themes created specifically for it.
5. Great support : Plugin is well-guided and has free forums, videos, tutorials and even IRC chat rooms. There is also a priority support option for advanced users.

Disadvantages of using Easy Digital Downloads

1. For digital downloads only : As its name suggests, Easy Digital Downloads makes creating e-commerce websites easier for digital goods. But if you want to sell non-digital goods, things will become quite complicated.
2. Selling external products : If you want to add an external product or your EDD store affiliate product, you will need to install additional third-party add-ons for that product.

When it comes to selling digital products online, Easy Digital Downloads is the best plugin to do that. Many projects using Easy Digital Downloads have been successful.

3. Shopify

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Shopify.com is a fast-growing e-commerce platform that can handle everything for you. Shopify is not a plugin but it's an all in one solution with absolutely no hassle. Consider the pros and cons of Shopify.

Advantages of using Shopify

1. Super easy for beginners : No need to worry about the technical aspect of an e-commerce store like SSL setup, integration with different payment gateways, delivery handling, tax worries , etc. . Shopify will handle it all.
2. Supporting both digital goods and physical goods : Whether you're selling physical goods like shirts or digital downloads like tracks, Shopify can handle them all.
3. Complete inventory management : Shopify comes with an inventory manager and a batch importer combined with an order tracker, making inventory management easy.
4. Payment and delivery options : Shopify makes it easy to accept credit card payments both online and directly. Its shipping system streamlines the implementation process, integrating directly with popular providers like USPS.
5. Facebook Store, Buyable Pin buttons and Twitter Buy buttons : Shopify integrates everything. Whether you want to create a store on Facebook, add a Twitter buy button or create Pin on Pinterest, you can do it all with Shopify.

Disadvantages of using Shopify

1. Monthly fee : You will have to pay a monthly fee to use the Shopify platform. This number is equivalent to buying hosting services and individual add-ons when using other plugins on this list.
2. Payment on Shopify : Shopify encourages you to use the payment platform supported by Stripe and is a very good choice for beginners. However, if you want to do too many things and use external systems, Shopify will charge extra.

If you want a powerful platform without dealing with technical issues, Shopify is the solution for you. Even though the monthly fee is a bit confusing, it does not bring any trouble, giving you peace of mind and being able to focus on your business!

4. MemberPress

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MemberPress.com allows you to sell subscription-based digital products and services. This is the best WordPress membership plugin with many built-in options. It can even integrate with WooCommerce. Consider advantages and disadvantages MemberPress.

Advantages of using MemberPress

1. Selling products based on subscriptions : Allows you to easily sell products based on subscriptions, membership packages, pay per view content and more.
2. Powerful access rules : Powerful access control allows you to determine user access levels and content restrictions. Only restricted users can access restricted content.
3. Powerful extension : You can integrate it into WooCommerce or LearnDash LMS store. There are many extensions to connect MemberPress to third party services.

Disadvantages of using MemberPress

1. Limited payment options : MemberPress only supports PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.net.
2. Annual fee : You must pay the cost for packages by year.

MemberPress is the perfect e-commerce plugin to sell products based on registration or membership site building. It is beginner-friendly and can be easily extended with add-ons, allowing you to develop ecommerce websites in any direction you want.

5. Shopp

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The last suggestion in the list of the best WordPress e-commerce plugins today is the Shopp plugin (shopplugin.net). Consider some of its pros and cons.

Advantages of using Shopp

1. Separate tables in the database : Shopp plugin developer, believes that using separate tables in the database will help improve performance for the database itself, creating query results and speeding faster page load for users.
2. Many product types : Shopp plugin supports physical, digital and virtual products. Unlike other plugins in this list, the product type registered in the Shopp plugin allows you to sell products with recurring payments without purchasing extensions.
3. Security and compliance principles : Shopp plugin is designed according to PCI standard. This plugin pays special attention to security and safety to help you create an e-commerce store that complies with PCI-DSS principle.

Disadvantages of using Shopp

1. Limited free support : The most important disadvantages when using the Shopp plugin are that there is no free support forum. You will have to pay for support and access to community forums.
2. Create separate tables : Although this feature has just been mentioned in the above section as an advantage, it can also be a disadvantage. Many people don't think that using separate database tables significantly affects the speed of a website.
3. Theme limit : Shopp plugin works with any WordPress theme. However, if you are looking for themes designed specifically for Shopp, there are very few options available.

Shopp is a great plugin to sell anything you want. But if you are a new user, you may need to purchase a premium support subscription. You may also want to use Shopp, if other plugins do not help you get certified for PCI-DSS compliance.

Where is the best WordPress e-commerce plugin?

If you want maximum control, flexibility and full of features, then WooCommerce is the best solution for you.

If you only sell digital goods, you should consider Easy Digital Downloads.

If you want to set up fast and easy to use, Shopify is the best e-commerce solution for you.

Hope this article has helped you find the best WordPress e-commerce plugins for your website.

Good luck!

See more:

1. Squarespace and WordPress - Which one is better?
2. What is the cost for a custom WordPress theme?
3. How to import images from external sources into WordPress