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If you’re a business owner in today’s world, you need an eCommerce presence if you want to survive in today’s business climate.
As online sales have grown yearly, various eCommerce platforms have emerged. Researching the largest and most widely used eCommerce platforms can take time and effort.
Understanding each platform can help business owners find the best solution. The summaries below touch upon the pros and cons of many of these popular platforms. Knowledge is power, so educating yourself before deciding is an excellent strategy.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is by far the most popular eCommerce platform. It accounts for nearly 30% of all online stores and good reason. There are a variety of features and benefits that every business owner should consider when launching their online store.
It has a setup wizard that walks you through the process step-by-step. It can manage the sales of digital products, physical products, subscription services, and more. Woocommerce also comes with a complete payment software bundle that allows various payment options for the consumer. If those options aren’t enough, you can add a few more.
COST:
- Free
PROS:
- You can list an unlimited number of products
- It has a mobile app to manage your store on the go
- Most eCommerce theses are built around WooCommerce
- Integrates easily with the most common Payment Gateways
- Many extensions have been created to solve problems by developers
CONS:
- Using too many additional plugins can slow it down
- It can take some time to learn
Ecwid
Another excellent choice for your eCommerce store is Ecwid. It’s less well-known than WooCommerce but has many features that make it a great online store. Though similar in design to WooCommerce, it can be used on other platforms besides WordPress. Four plans are available, each with more features than the previous one.
It seamlessly integrates into WordPress sites and many other sites. It’s also mobile-responsive and looks great on any device. It can connect your store to your social media to allow customers to shop wherever they browse.
COST:
- Free, with paid tier upgrades
PROS:
- Social media integration
- Mobile-friendly, including mobile payment options
- Language detection in 45 different languages
- It is packed with features, including coupon creation and abandoned cart recovery emails
CONS:
- The free plan only allows ten products
WP Easy Pay
WordPress Easy Pay is a simple way to integrate payments into your website from any page. Its customizable form allows you to make the payment screen look and feel like the rest of your site. You can also choose which information you want to collect from your customers and which ones you want to exclude.
It has a feature called the Tabular Products Feature that allows you to include thumbnails, descriptions, and prices of various products. Your customers can check the box next to each product they want to purchase and then make their payment. It’s integrated with the Square sandbox to seamlessly link to your Square account.
COST:
- Free, with paid tiers available
PROS:
- It’s easy to use with most WordPress eCommerce themes
- It can be added to any page or post to make it easy for readers to buy
- “Transaction ID” confirmation emails to both the user and the admin
- Offers easy integration to QuickBooks and other marketing software
CONS:
- It lacks design since it’s more of a payment service than an online storefront.
WP EasyCart
One of the best features of the WP EasyCart system is the ability to sell anything. It offers the ability to sell physical goods, digital products, memberships or subscriptions, gift cards, ebooks, video content, and more. It even allows you to accept donations, which makes it great for non-profit organizations.
This is an all-in-one WordPress platform that can integrate with your WordPress site and is super easy to set up. Unlike WooCommerce, which requires add-on plugins, WP Easy is fully mobile-responsive and has an excellent suite of admin tools. It is also 100% customizable, covering you regardless of your payment gateway, store layout, or other needs.
COST:
- Free, with paid tiers available
PROS:
- It has tons of storefront options to choose from
- 100% customizable with many built-in features
- The product page allows for many options for loading items
- Order Management enables bulk or single-order options
CONS:
- Transaction fee for free plan
WP eCommerce
This platform is more robust than WP Easy Pay and has some great features. With no operational fees, it’s significantly cheaper than WooCommerce, making it an excellent choice for new websites. Used by over 30,000 eCommerce stores, it’s one of the most versatile open-source eCommerce platforms.
WP eCommerce offers easy product management and sales reporting. Integration is easy into most major payment gateways, including PayPal and Stripe. WP eCommerce also offers plugin expert techs for hire to help with any part of the integration or website operation.
COST:
- Free
PROS:
- Integrates seamlessly with many WordPress themes
- Integration into multiple payment options available
- It has a variety of shipping options, including rates for many shipping services
CONS:
- Not for Developers due to limited ability to edit code
Stripe
Stripe is a payment gateway and not an eCommerce platform, meaning you can use it to accept payments from your customers but can’t build your storefront with it. You can integrate Stripe with many eCommerce platforms, and it has a variety of add-ons to fit your needs. It can handle both brick-and-mortar and online stores.
Stripe operates on per-transaction pricing, meaning you will know precisely what you’ll pay for each transaction. It can accept global payments and has a full security system to protect your customers and your business. It also offers excellent financial reporting and 24/7 tech support.
COST:
- Free
PROS:
- Comprehensive security strategy
- 24/7 tech support
- Customizable with simple integrations
- Can accept cards, digital wallets, ACH payments, Apple Pay, and more
CONS:
- It’s only a payment gateway, so you’ll still need an online storefront
PayPal
Unknown to most users, PayPal has three different types of accounts: personal, business, and enterprise. You will want to check into the business and enterprise accounts for your business. It’s a well-known brand that lets customers know they can pay from any account or card they want because it’s connected to their PayPal account.
PayPal allows you to accept payments from your website, phone, email invoice, and various other ways. It accepts 100 different currencies and is available worldwide. This allows you to take global payments easily, which can help your business grow faster.
COST:
- Free
PROS:
- It’s a well-known brand with many customers already having accounts
- Customizable fraud-protection and security tools
- Make and accept payments with the same platform
CONS:
- It does not offer an online storefront.
PrestaShop
PrestaShop began as a school project by a student in Paris and soon became a full-fledged business. Designed as an eCommerce platform, users can set up and scale the solution. It can handle customization if you prefer to stand out or do something different.
This platform has many themes that are available and organized by industry. The different payment modules allow you to choose which features you need for your business, what types of payments to accept, and how you want to secure your store.
COST:
- Free
PROS:
- Most plugins are preloaded
- It has more than 10,000 combinations of themes, styles, and add-ons
- It can integrate with some of the most popular payment gateways
CONS:
- Many of the most popular features are fee-based add-ons rather than part of the free platform
Shift4Shop
This is one of the original eCommerce platforms on the internet, formerly known as 3dcart. With over 20 years of experience in the business, Shift4Shop has a significant advantage over some of the more considerable eCommerce services. This has made them a mighty name in the eCommerce platform and website builder category.
Shift4Shop is easy to use and offers simple themes to customize your business. With easy SEO and email marketing integrations, marketing is made more accessible by building newsletters and other outreach programs. eCommerce is made easy with the integrated payment gateway and payment processing provided by Shift4.
COST:
- Free
PROS:
- Unlimited Products with simple inventory management
- Many Freemium Themes
- 24/7 Customer Support
CONS:
- The free tier has additional fees for payment processing
Easy Digital Downloads
As the name suggests, this platform was designed to sell digital products online. You can sell physical products by purchasing some of the extensions, but that’s not the platform’s focus. It has four different account levels, and pricing is based on your business needs.
Easy Digital Downloads offers free support to all its merchants and plenty of information online for troubleshooting. It can integrate with several payment platforms and has an extension for affiliate programs. It also offers simple reporting functions to help you monitor your customers and products.
COST:
- Free for base plugin
PROS:
- Specializes in digital products
- Offers numerous extensions to increase functionality
- Tech support is available for paid accounts
CONS:
- Most extensions and add-ons have a cost to use
Conclusion
Many options are available today if you’re looking for an eCommerce platform for your WordPress store. Researching each available solution will help business owners determine the best platform to build their online business. While some offer more robust features or are even more well-known than others, that doesn’t mean they’re the best solution for each company. Understanding what is available for WordPress eCommerce stores and weighing that against your store’s needs will help you make the best choice when developing your website.