Heading deeper into 2021, WordPress remains a major player in eCommerce. In fact, over 28% of all online stores are powered by WooCommerce, the WordPress eCommerce solution, followed by Squarespace and Shopify respectively.
This comes as no surprise! As a versatile, simple to use, fully customisable and open-source solution, many continue to turn to WooCommerce for their eCommerce needs.
Following Automattic’s acquisition of WooCommerce in 2015, the platform’s impressive suite of features and customisation options continue to grow. At the same time, WordPress as a CMS continues to benefit from new features and regular updates in line with industry standards.
With these factors in mind, let’s take a look at some things that many don’t yet know about WooCommerce as an eCommerce offering.
Like WordPress, WooCommerce is Open-Source
As an open-source software, the WordPress source code is open for anyone to use, study, change and redistribute it. This development model allows others to study the code, in addition to testing, bug reporting, and submitting patches. By giving software developers this access, they can more quickly find and fix security loopholes and bugs in the software.
Open-source software provides its users with full ownership of their content and data forever, while remaining free.
Not only does WordPress provide the above-mentioned benefits as an open-software, so does WooCommerce, being under the WordPress umbrella.
Getting Started with WooCommerce is Free
Unlike other eCommerce solutions like Shopify and Squarespace, WooCommerce itself is free, which allows any business or entrepreneur to take advantage of its features without having to sign on to expensive support contracts or proprietary software licenses right off the bat.
As a result, users are able to build their online eCommerce presence without having to foot the exorbitant start-up and maintenance costs that come with many of the other e-commerce solutions out there.
At Make Do we build beautiful and powerful custom WordPress websites, allowing users to put their vision to life, while opening the door to a plethora of customisation and feature options. Drop us a line or check out our specialised WooCommerce service offerings for more information on how to get started with your eCommerce store!
There Are Various App Integrations Available
For users who might already have existing eCommerce stores on other platforms or for those who are looking to expand their reach by tapping into multiple eCommerce marketplaces, WordPress has the flexibility to integrate with other apps/offerings. The integrations work both ways; users can integrate their product posts and other information from other eCommerce stores to WooCommerce or WooCommerce product posts, and related information can be exported to these other eCommerce offerings.
Two popular eCommerce platforms that can integrate effortlessly with WooCommerce include Etsy and Magento.
Lastly, for those who favour the Shopify shopping cart experience and usability but prefer to work within the WordPress ecosystem (given its advantages over that of Shopify), the Shopify Lite plan provides smooth integration of a smaller range of their core offerings.
WooCommerce Has More Than 100 Payment Options
From Square to PayPal to Stripe, WooCommerce works with over 100 payment gateways, including 30 for automatic recurring payments, making selling both products and services effortless.
Depending on the preferred user experience, some of these gateways come bundled with WooCommerce and are thus integrated into the store, appearing embedded into the store’s checkout page as opposed to redirecting customers off-site to complete their purchase.
Customisation Options Are Endless
Thanks to the over 6,000 plugins and countless extensions available for WooCommerce, coupled with regular updates to the WordPress core, customisation options for WooCommerce stores truly are just about endless.
The WordPress 5.0 update included the launch of Gutenberg, a powerful new editor that has transformed the way that users interact and work with WordPress. We’ve raved about Gutenberg in the past, and continue to incorporate it into our client projects here at Make Do. The new editor works seamlessly with each theme, streamlines our workflow and the overall user experience, while allowing us to take advantage of modern technologies in the process.
The sheer volume and quality of WooCommerce plugins and extensions, met with regular updates to the WordPress core are just a few reasons why Make Do will continue to build eCommerce solutions on the WordPress platform.
Many WordPress Plugins Are Also WooCommerce Compatible
WooCommerce itself is compatible with many WordPress plugins. Take for example Yoast SEO, the market leader in boosting SEO and overall site performance on Google and other search engines. These same powerful SEO features are available to eCommerce stores built in WooCommerce. eCommerce users can bolster their SEO efforts with Yoast and ultimately, attract more customers to the storefront via an extensive feature suite and social media tool integration.
A content management system (CMS) like WordPress and its eCommerce solution, WooCommerce, is a winning combination for eCommerce users. Unlike other eCommerce offerings such as Shopify, the WordPress platform combines what it does very well in the realm of CMS, offering its users an enjoyable and enhanced blogging experience, with that of a very robust eCommerce solution.
Security is Always at the Forefront
WordPress takes security very seriously. 50 experienced developers and researchers make up the WordPress Security Team. They are responsible for keeping WordPress safe, developing and implementing the best security measures and new technologies to minimize potential security threats, as well as identifying and squashing bugs.
This team also releases regular updates and security patches to the WordPress core. The documentation and community forum, serves to guide developers in the right direction when working with the source code.
Finally, while May 2019’s release of WordPress 5.2 included the launch of a feature known as Site Health Check, which acts like the ‘warning light’ on your car dashboard to highlight potential configuration and security issues, we have previously emphasised that while it is a welcome feature for less seasoned WordPress users, we here at Make Do already have measures and tests to ensure that all of the WordPress installs that we manage are configured to a high standard, because we value quality and security just as much as you do!
As you can see, WordPress remains a strong player in the realm of eCommerce and along with its eCommerce solution WooCommerce, it packs a punch thanks to its impressive list of features and offerings.
Still curious about using WordPress for eCommerce?
