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Setting up your eCommerce site involves several steps. First, it must look appealing and be functional enough to handle customer orders. Then, it would be best if you implemented themes and other useful add-ons. But how do you control these parameters most effectively? The entire setup and management are straightforward, and eCommerce plugins help.
How do you pick the right plugin for your eCommerce website? Of course, the purpose of an online store differs among owners, and you must know what you want from yours. However, several factors contribute to the right eCommerce plugin for you. For instance, Shopify development and static WP webpage generators have different plugin requirements. If you have stores worldwide, you also need a multilingual website.
This article highlights key points and steps to pick the most effective plugin for your eCommerce store.
Have a Good Hosting Service
Hosting is one of the essential prerequisites for your eCommerce store. Moreover, it’s the foundation on which your store would reside subsequently. However, getting a good hosting service isn’t much about what you should do. Instead, it’s about what you shouldn’t.
Free hosting solutions may seem cost-effective at first but present a myriad of problems in the future. Therefore, you shouldn’t get a free hosting service.
However, the WordPress Engine is suitable if your eCommerce store is already in the WP ecosystem. It provides a bundled hosting service consistent with any other WP applications you might have.
On the other hand, you can go for hosting service options like BlueHost if you’re starting on a lower budget.
Decide on What Forms of Product you want to Sell
There are various ways you can sell your products in an eCommerce store. For example, you have an online bookstore. Would you want customers to download them as eBooks, get them in hardcover, or both? You can have them sold directly on the site in downloadable formats or have a link to physical goods instead.
You must make the decision, as it would determine what kind of plugins you can use. For example, some plugin options only support digital downloads, while others handle physical goods. Furthermore, if you plan to implement both product types, you can choose a plugin to manage them.
Choose a Payment Platform
It might interest you to know that most eCommerce store plugins come with their prebuilt payment platforms. Some of the more popular ones you can expect are PayPal, Authorize and Stripe. This is because they are often more widely used, and you need one for your eCommerce store.
However, it’s essential to do the necessary research on your customer demographic as well. From what country and city are they shopping? Does the payment platform support the country from which they shop? These factors should influence your choice of a payment plugin.
Draw up the Add-Ons you Need
Add-on applications are handy for your online store, especially when you’re in the WordPress ecosystem. You can choose numerous options. But how many would you need for your store? It’s best to list add-ons you’d need for your eCommerce store.
Your list should have four main categories:
- Add-ons that are must-haves
- Add-ons that are important for your store
- Helpful add-ons that you might not need
- Add-ons that are not relevant to your stores
These categories can help you pick add-on applications for your eCommerce business. For example, do you want a wishlist add-on for your store? A “save-for-later” plugin can be a cheaper alternative. Also, it’s best to consider whether a slideshow-style or carousel-style display is best for your product image.
Pick the Right Theme
Whatever plugin you choose for your store must use themes that support them. Thankfully, you have a broad theme selection that can cater to your store’s niche and plugins. For instance, you can choose business, fashion, or multipurpose themes that suit any eCommerce site you must have set up.
Don’t Forget Aftersales Support
So you’ve got the necessary plugins for your eCommerce website, but what’s next? You don’t want a vendor to leave you immediately after purchase, especially when you have a very low to average technical WP know-how.
Besides the features you usually get, an eCommerce plugin should provide after-sales support, such as configuration, setup, and troubleshooting. You must consider your options, such as the WordPress Helpdesk Plugin, and see which gives you the most support after purchase.
Pricing and More
Pricing rounds up the eCommerce plugin considerations you might have. It can come down to how much you’re willing to pay for any plugin. Thankfully, most options have a tiered pricing plan to fit any budget. Typically, you can get a “basic” subscription plan, which is often the cheapest, up to the “premium”, most expensive plan.
There are other details to note as well. For example, some plugins might require manual installations through FTP access. Also, you may need to carry out terminal commands and programming if you have ancillary services like Static Site Generators on your eCommerce site. Therefore, ensure you have the proper technical knowledge to install and configure your plugins.
Wrapping Up
Picking a plugin for your store seems straightforward, but choosing the right one is difficult. Suppose you’re starting an eCommerce for the first time. So many options are available, especially if you have an SEO-friendly WordPress site. Some of them exist as bundles with various necessary extensions.
You have excellent examples, like the WooCommerce plugin, which offers accounting, marketing, reporting, and payment processing extensions. You can also try Shopp, which has theme widgets, product searches, and multiple product image extensions.
However, it bears mentioning that you should consider certain factors before purchasing a plugin. You’ll need to ensure that it’s compatible with your hosting service and that you have suitable themes for it. The points mentioned above can help you pick the right plugin solutions.
Author’s Bio: Lori Wade is a writer interested in various spheres, from eCommerce to web development and new technologies. You can find her on LinkedIn if you are interested in the above topics. Read and take over Lori’s useful insights!
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