You’ll need to consider the best e-commerce WordPress plugins if you’re serious about starting that online business you’ve always dreamed of. There are many competitors, but the truth is WordPress remains one of the most popular and intuitive website creation platforms around.
Much of its popularity can be attributed to the ease with which users can install a host of compatible plugins that allow you to personalise many of the out-of-the-box themes available. This guide will outline some of the best e-commerce WordPress plugins to get your site up and running in no time.
If you’re not set on WordPress, you might want to read our article on the best website builders out there before making your choice.
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The best e-commerce WordPress plugins
01. WooCommerce
Released in 2011 and bought by WordPress owners Automattic in 2015, WooCommerce has gone on to become one of the most reliable and widely-used e-commerce WordPress plugins. Its free out-of-the-box solution includes flexible and secure payment options, inventory management, and automatic shipping and tax calculations.
It is therefore ideal for start-ups and independent businesses, especially as the hundreds of compatible extensions make it perfectly suited to scaling up along with your business. What’s more, there’s an associated app to help you run your store while you’re on the move.
02. Yoast SEO
There’s little point in having the world’s greatest product if nobody knows about it. And with marketing and visibility as important as ever in a saturated online marketplace, business owners simply cannot ignore the wonders of search engine optimization (SEO).
Yoast SEO is the most popular SEO plugin on WordPress, helping users optimize their website so that it ranks highly within search engines. After installation, Yoast will prompt you to enter suitable keywords and metadata on everything from product pages to landing pages and even blogs, helpfully ranking the effectiveness via a handy traffic light scoring system.
03. Cart Recovery
Customer retention is a key factor in any business but particularly online, when high bounce rates from successful SEO landing pages can sometimes give a skewed impression about levels of interest in your products. Much more can be interpreted from a customer placing a product into your shopping part, which demonstrates an active show of interest. It’s therefore vital to convert these into sales.
The Cart Recovery plugin provides a big help in this department, tracking abandoned carts to help improve your business conversion rates in a number of sophisticated ways. The plugin not only allows users to implement one-click functionality for customers to return to their cart in a single click, but it initiates automated customer tracking and cart recovery emails in a further bid to seal the deal. A solid entry into this list of the best e-commerce WordPress plugins.
04. WP Product Review
Even the best copywriting in the world can’t usurp the marketing impact of a genuine customer testimonial (assuming it’s a positive one!). It’s for this reason that any good reviews for your product should be given a prominent role on your ecommerce site, and this WordPress plugin does exactly that.
WP Product Review allows you to implement review and comment sections on your website. It also has functionality for interacting directly with customers and responding to their comments. You can choose from a range of review layouts (including star ratings and comparison tables) that can be showcased in sidebar widgets.
05. Backup Buddy
No business owner wants to spend too much time thinking about the horrors of a website crash or data loss. Nevertheless, being brave enough to consider the worst-case scenario is the best way to mitigate the risk and ensure your business can recover should that dreaded day arrive.
Thankfully, the Backup Buddy plugin has been protecting millions of WordPress sites since 2010, and remains a dependable resource in the event of a server crash, malware issue, or user error (come on, we’ve all done it).
The annual $80 blogger package permits one site backup and includes all updates, ticketed support, and 1GB of storage space.
06. Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)
If your business entails selling downloadable products, then Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is tailored specifically to digital sales. Whether it’s PDF files, imagery, software, or eBooks, EDD provides a slick and simple WordPress solution with personal passes beginning from $99 per year.
Along with discount codes, customer account pages, and file access control, users can also see download activity tracking and customer reporting. What’s more, the EDD plugin can be integrated with the likes of Dropbox, PayPal, and Amazon Web Services. And with over two million downloads and counting, the plugin boasts a thriving community that can be tapped for advice and support.
07. MemberPress
If your business revolves around content rather than a physical product, MemberPress is designed to help publishers sell subscriptions to their work. Whether it’s a blog, magazine, or course that you’re looking to monetize, MemberPress works with any existing WordPress theme.
Key features include the ability to paywall a variety of content—including posts, pages, and categories—content dripping and expiration options, and also inbuilt coupons to provide your members with discounts and giveaways. The basic package comes in at $149 per year and includes all support and updates.
08. SendInBlue
Stay in touch with your customer base with the SendInBlue plugin, an email marketing tool that is geared to also help you grow your audience. Not only can users design email campaigns but it also incorporates SMS marketing so you can reach your customers by text message.
Neat tools include a shared email inbox for wider internal access and a chat function that can be incorporated into your WordPress site to allow customers to ask questions directly. There is also a Facebook ads launcher to help you find new customers.
09. BigCommerce
The dozens of success stories on BigCommerce’s case studies page demonstrates just how vast and varied the businesses using this versatile platform are. BigCommerce integrates seamlessly with any existing WordPress site, but it also comes with the option of feeding into other channels, including Amazon, Instagram, and Facebook.
Its drag-and-drop page builder ensures that no coding is required to design even the slickest of storefronts, and its mobile optimization means your site will be responsive and compatible with most devices. What’s more, if your online business is complemented with a bricks and mortar offering, in-store sales can be incorporated into BigCommerce’s cross-channel commerce functions.
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