Last updated on Apr, 25 2023
WordPress is the most popular CMS (Content Management System) well-known for building eCommerce and non-eCommerce websites. Today, WordPress empowers more than 40% of the websites available on the internet, which means 64% of the CMS market share.
However, before choosing this CMS platform for WordPress eCommerce development , it is advisable to outweigh its pros and cons of
We will explore these aspects in the following content to narrow down the best eCommerce platform for your business excellence. Without further ado, let’s get started!
WooCommerce is free to download, but the WordPress website needs to get hosted. The hosting cost varies, depending on the web hosting provider you choose.
WordPress for eCommerce
As a CMS platform, WordPress was originally not designed for eCommerce websites. To build an eCommerce store with WordPress, developers are required to download WooCommerce – a free, open-source, customizable WP plugin, used by more than 5 million live websites.
Despite its popularity, it is not necessarily mean that WooCommerce can suit all eCommerce requirements and business preferences. To understand it, we have curated a list of top pros and cons to determine whether a WP plugin is an ideal choice for your business.
The pros of WordPress for eCommerce
It's free and simple to use
As mentioned earlier, WooCommerce is a free-to-download and easy-to-install plugin. Users can download the plugin and create their digital storefront without any development expertise too. Some of the eye-catching WooCommerce features include:
- Visually appealing storefronts
- Optimize the website’s pages for search engines
- Customize product pages
- Choose from multiple payment gateways
- Set shipping options
- Determine the sales tax with ease
- Highly customizable
Customization is one of the most significant features of WooCommerce. An eCommerce platform can choose from 1,200 eCommerce-focused WordPress themes to further customize it according to the business’s needs and preferences. Complex theme changes require development expertise with professional assistance. Additionally, WordPress eCommerce development offers other plugins with varied functionalities like virtual product booking, upselling, and pre-ordering. WooCommerce Google Analytics provides businesses with an extensive range of data insights including customer behavior, product reviews, and sales growth.
Supports multiple payment gateways
With multiple payment and shipment options, eCommerce businesses can exponentially grow their prospective customer base. WooCommerce payment extensions include WooCommerce Payments, Stripe, PayPal, PayPal Pro, After Pay, Square, Amazon Pay, and more. There are also various other extensions that users can download according to their needs. Above all, WooCommerce can detect a customer’s location and display the right currency, payment mode, and tax rates for their ease.
SEO-management tools
Yoast SEO is a popular WordPress plugin for search engine optimization. It allows web managers to seamlessly optimize their metadata, analyze the overall SEO “score” of web pages, and deploy quick changes.
The cons of WordPress for Ecommerce
It charges fees
Although WordPress is an open-source platform, no eCommerce platform is entirely free. WooCommerce is free to download, but the WordPress website needs to get hosted. The hosting cost varies, depending on the web hosting provider you choose. For instance, Bluehost offers a range of options from $9/month to $119/month. This pricing is a standard value for WordPress hosting. Apart from the hosting charges, an eCommerce platform also has credit card processing charges.
- WooCommerce payments charge 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction made via the U.S credit or debit card. Cards not issued in the U.S requires an additional 1% fee on the total amount.
- PayPal offers the first $50,000 transactions for free. Exceeding this amount may cost similar to WooCommerce
- Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction too if the user’s yearly charges are below $1 million.
WordPress isn’t primarily eCommerce-focused CMS
Although WordPress can serve as the best eCommerce platform, it was not primarily designed for eCommerce websites. Therefore, you may miss certain eCommerce functionalities, despite the numerous plugin options available in it. WooCommerce is not as robust as the CMS built for eCommerce websites like Shopify and Magento.
Not all WooCommerce themes are reliable
WooCommerce features more than 1,200 themes, both paid and free. However, all the themes aren’t trustworthy, and your developer must have a sound understanding of all the themes and plugins to ensure seamless integration with safety measures. Hire a WordPress expert that will choose an eCommerce theme that is time-tested and has great reviews and feedback.
WordPress has plugin issues
One of the most significant problems WordPress developers encounter is plugin problems. For instance, plugins are partially compatible with each other. A few plugins may turn out to be unreliable and sketchy, so choose your downloads mindfully.
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