Ecommerce sites are all the rage these days. Everyone uses at least one platform to shop, and tons of people want to start their own online store. Fortunately, creating ecommerce sites is easier than ever, thanks to WordPress ecommerce plugins. You can now create an online store instantly without having to hire professional developers.
However, keep in mind that the plugins are not created equal. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and they cater to different types of users and products. So whether you have a small or big business, selling physical or digital products, there’ll be a perfect plugin for you — and I’m here to help you find that perfect fit.
The Future of Ecommerce is Bright
Global ecommerce sales had been predicted to rise steadily over the years, and the latest statistics have proven it to be true.
The businesses in this industry grew 18% in 2018, and it’s projected to grow at a 15% compound annual growth rate.
Although the 2018 rate is slower compared to that of 2017 (21.3%), the ecommerce share of total global retail sales has been steadily on the rise, increasing from 7.4% in 2015 to 11.9% in 2018.
So it’s easy to see from these statistics that ecommerce growth is only going up, and it’s the perfect time to take part in the trend.
Top 7 WordPress Ecommerce Plugins
Here are eight of the best WordPress ecommerce plugins available on the market.
1. WooCommerce
The Good
- Easy to set up. Upon installation, there’ll be a guide that will help you to set up payment gateways, checkout pages, shipping options, tax calculations, etc.
- As the most popular WordPress ecommerce plugin, there are plenty of both premium and free themes designed for WooCommerce.
- It is cost-effective. You can start small with WooCommerce and spend absolutely no money. Then, when your site grows, purchase additional extensions to add more features.
- WooCommerce allows you to sell anything — both digital and physical products.
- It has built-in support for popular payments like PayPal and Stripe, along with extensions for other payment gateways.
The Bad
- Tons of customization options available, which might overwhelm new users.
- WooCommerce can eat up a lot of hosting resources.
The Verdict
WooCommerce is your best option for starting an online store with WordPress. It has lots of customization options, integrates well with many WordPress themes, and comes with the necessary features to run an online store.
With WooCommerce, you can customize everything to your liking. And if you’re stuck, simply refer to the documentation and knowledge base, or ask for help from help desk community forums.
The best part of WooCommerce is, of course, that it is free to install. Sure, it can be costly if you need some additional extensions. However, for the most part, you don’t have to spend any money at all when starting out with this WordPress ecommerce plugin.
2. WP Shopify
The Good
- A neat ecommerce plugin used to sync your Shopify store with a WordPress website. This will be beneficial if you want greater customization that comes with using WordPress.
- It comes with customizable templates and 100+ actions and filters, enabling you to tailor this plugin to your needs.
- Compatible with most WordPress plugins and themes, so you don’t have to worry about accidental bugs.
- Built-in Shopify’s Buy Button — which is handled directly by Shopify — so you don’t need to worry about its security.
The Bad
- You need to subscribe to their yearly plan to enjoy the pro version, which means you pay twice — for Shopify itself and the plugin.
- If you are using third-party payments, there might be additional transaction fees.
The Verdict
WP Shopify is the answer you’re looking for if you want to have the best of both worlds: Shopify’s shopping experience and WordPress’ unlimited customization.
This plugin comes with both free and premium versions. The unpaid one already includes all the tools needed to run an ecommerce store, but you can do so much more with the premium version.
Some of the premium features include automatic and selective syncing for both orders and customers’ data, cross-domain tracking through Google Analytics, and dedicated live support.
For $59.99/year, you can use this WordPress ecommerce plugin to sync Shopify with one site. If you need a license for more sites, you can upgrade to the Developer plan (2-5 sites, $149.99/year) or the Agency plan (unlimited sites, $399.99/year).
3. BigCommerce
The Good
- BigCommerce is one of the main players of headless commerce — an ecommerce architecture where the frontend and the backend are handled by two platforms. In this case, WordPress acts as the presentation layer (frontend) while BigCommerce manages the ecommerce functionality (catalogs, shopping carts, payment gateways, etc.)
- It’s easier to update either side – frontend or backend – safely because updating one won’t affect the other. Feel free to make design changes without having to worry about how it’ll affect the functionality of your online store.
- Highly scalable. Connect your BigCommerce to various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.
- BigCommerce partners with PayPal so you can get a special processing fee for credit and debit cards. What is more — no transaction charges.
The Bad
- Some features, like special PayPal fees and phone support, are only available to users in the United States.
- Limited annual sales.
The Verdict
BigCommerce, unsurprisingly, is best suited for big ecommerce stores. It is built with large and complex catalogs, has over 65 payment gateways, and can be integrated with various platforms. These features are perfect for stores with hundreds and thousands of products and are selling to global customers.
Starting from $29.95/month, you’ll get instant access to advanced ecommerce features. As your business grows, upgrade to the Plus ($79.95/month) or Pro plan ($249.95/month) to enjoy abandoned cart servers, store credit cards, and product filtering (Pro plan only).
4. Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)
The Good
- EDD is a WordPress ecommerce plugin that focuses on helping people sell digital products. You can limit how many times a file can be downloaded, set the link expiration dates, and disable redownload.
- Hundreds of additional extensions available, including payment gateways, software licensing, product reviews, and others.
- Want to attract more customers? Generate discount codes with this plugin and adjust the settings like expiration dates and the amount of the discount.
- Easily view your earnings by date range and category. You can also filter reports by specific products, track collected taxes, and export data to CSV files.
- It is well documented and has excellent customer support. Refer to tutorials and forums to get started, or ask for help from the priority support if you’re a premium user.
The Bad
- It can get a bit pricey if you want to install add-ons.
- As stated before, this plugin focuses on selling digital goods. Hence, you need to install an extension if you also want to sell physical products along the way.
The Verdict
Just what the name suggests, Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is the ultimate ecommerce solution for selling digital products via a WordPress site.
While this plugin is free, you will probably want to extend it with several premium add-ons — which can be purchased individually or as a set.
The price of each add-on ranges from $19 to hundreds of dollars for a single site license.
Meanwhile, to purchase add-ons as a set, you need to buy one of the four types of pass. One of them is an all-access pass ($499/year), while the remaining three have different collections of add-ons (from $99 to $299/year)
5. Jigoshop eCommerce
The Good
- Manage your inventory in a breeze by entering your stock amount and the minimum quantity threshold. After that, Jigoshop will automatically track the number of products available for sale and notify you when the quantity hits the threshold level.
- Clean and stylish admin dashboard. The options are clearly laid out, too, so you won’t have to struggle with the setup and maintenance of your store.
- Various built-in payment methods: bank transfer, cash on delivery, PayPal Standard, Future Pay, and checks.
- See how your store is performing through the reporting system. It will show you the sales graphs, recent product orders and reviews, and stock reports.
- No need to worry if your current theme doesn’t support this WordPress ecommerce plugin. Jigoshop has more than 30 themes, which you can get for free or for as low as $35.
- Free support through WordPress forums and premium support via email.
The Bad
- Paid extension for common features like multiple currencies, table rate shipping, UPS shipping, and delivery times.
- Limited shipping options.
The Verdict
Jigoshop may not offer many features out of the box, but what’s available is enough to run an ecommerce site. Besides, the easy-to-understand interface definitely helps to ease the load of managing an online store.
I’d say this WordPress ecommerce plugin is geared towards small to medium businesses due to the number of features available. Small businesses can start with basic features and then extend their functionality later on.
6. Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart
The Good
- Your online store data is hosted on Ecwid’s server, so you can be sure it won’t eat up your hosting resources.
- Ecwid will automatically update its features and security patches, so you won’t have to worry about maintenance. Focus on growing your business.
- The shopping cart is in compliance with PCI DSS level 1, ensuring that all transactions using debit and credit cards will be safe from data theft and fraud.
- Since your store data is hosted on their cloud server, you can connect your store to various platforms. Sell your products on multiple blogs, websites, or on Amazon and eBay.
- Ecwid is integrated with major carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, and Australia post to provide automatic shipping fee calculation.
- Store management app on Android and iOS.
The Bad
- The free plan has very limited features. For instance, you’re only allowed to sell up to 10 products, and you can’t sell digital goods.
- Chat and phone support are only available on top-tier plans.
The Verdict
Right out of the box, Ecwid is already packed with features that otherwise require add-ons on other plugins. Some examples are automated tax, integration with shipping carriers, advanced SEO tools, and abandoned cart server.
So if you think you’ll end up purchasing many extensions with other plugins, Ecwid is definitely a better alternative.
With $99/month, you’ll have all the premium features along with premium support. What’s more, you’re not restricted to WordPress so you can open your store wherever your customers are.
If you’re not ready to pay that much or if you think that your store doesn’t need advanced features just yet, feel free to try other plans. The Venture plan costs $15/month while the Business plan is priced at $35/month.
7. WP Easycart
The Good
- WP Easycart can be used to sell various product types. Other than physical and digital goods, you can offer subscriptions and memberships, gift cards, donation products, and videos.
- A complete order management system. Manage orders, shipping, billing, and even send shipping notifications from one place.
- Unlimited products even on the free plan.
- Global tax management, whereas some plugins only have it for several countries.
- Administrative console for marketing where you can access gift cards, coupons, promotions, and abandoned cart details.
- The interface is easy to understand. Everything is out in the open, and there’s a setup guide to help us get started.
The Bad
- 2% fee per transaction on the free plan.
- Even with unlimited products, the free plan is quite restrictive. For instance, you can only sell four types of products, and only three payment gateways are available. Extensions are also for premium users only and cannot be bought separately.
The Verdict
WP Easycart may not be as popular as other plugins in this list, but I really applaud this ecommerce plugin due to its features and simplicity.
The administrative area does not look like it’s a part of the WordPress setting. Instead, it looks and feels like a different ecommerce platform altogether. What’s more, you can even access online documentation, video tutorials, and support forums all in one place.
If you’re still not sure whether this plugin is the one for you, hop on to their website and try the 14 days trial. After that, you can opt for the Pro plan ($69/year) or the Premium plan ($99/year).
8. MemberPress
The Good
- MemberPress is a unique ecommerce plugin that focuses on helping you to build membership-based websites. Charge your visitors in order to see your content.
- Control what kind of content your members can see based on the membership they purchase.
- Schedule content updates so you don’t have to be online all the time.
- You can have unlimited membership levels and unlimited members. What’s more, members can pause subscriptions, so they don’t have to cancel their membership when they’re too busy to make use of your content.
- Integrates well with many third-party services such as MailChimp, Affiliate WP, Amazon Web Services, Constant Contact, and many more.
The Bad
- The design of the checkout and payment form is quite plain.
- It only has four payment gateways — PayPal Standard, PayPal Express checkout, Stripe, and Authorize.net.
The Verdict
Creating membership sites has never been easier. Thanks to MemberPress, all you need to do is install and activate the plugins, set up payment details, and enter your membership plans.
The low-tier plan ($149/year) will give you a license for one site, more than ten add-ons and integrations, and all premium features. If you need a license for several sites and access to more add-ons, you can opt for the Plus plan ($249/year, five sites) or the Pro plan ($349/year, ten sites).
Things to Look Out for from a WordPress Ecommerce Plugin
Even with the help of this list, choosing the perfect plugin for your online store is still quite confusing, isn’t it?
Well, perhaps these factors below might help to narrow down your choice:
- Ease of use. A good WordPress ecommerce plugin would be easy to set up, has complete documentation and tutorials, and has an eye-pleasing interface.
- Features. Choose a plugin that caters to your products as there are some that focus on specific products. Look out also for other features: Does it have a payment gateway that is widely used by your customers? Does it support your country’s currency? Do you need to purchase many extensions or are they already built-in?
- Customizability. Check whether the plugin is compatible with many WordPress themes or not. Otherwise, you can only use the plugin’s own theme. To support your site’s growth, also check whether you can add more features through add-ons.
- Pricing. High price doesn’t always go hand in hand with quality and features. So don’t go for the most expensive one assuming that it’s the best. Make your choice based on features and reviews.
- Support. Ecommerce store needs ongoing maintenance, so great customer service is a must. In addition, see whether you’ll get premium support or not after purchasing their plan.
Which WordPress Ecommerce Plugin is the Best for You?
The thought that only developers can create an ecommerce site is a thing of the past. Thanks to WordPress ecommerce plugins, everyone can start an online store of their own.
Hopefully, this overview will give a little insight into some of the best WordPress ecommerce plugins available on the market. Now let’s take a look once again and see the highlight of each plugin:
- WooCommerce — the most popular one, and hence, there are many add-ons and themes that fully support this plugin.
- Shopify — recommended for those who already have a Shopify store and want to connect it to WordPress.
- BigCommerce — the headless structure fits perfectly for large ecommerce businesses.
- Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) — a one-stop solution for selling digital goods.
- Jigoshop eCommerce — simple plugin yet enough to power small to medium businesses.
- Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart — your store is hosted on their servers, and it will automatically update itself.
- MemberPress — the ultimate plugin to create membership sites.
So which one do you prefer? Or do you have other favorite plugins that are not included in this list? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
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