What is WooCommerce? An introduction to the best ecommerce platform for WordPress

When it comes to eCommerce website design, there are many different options. From the features that each eCommerce software platform offers, to what kind of content will be featured on your store.

If you want to create an online store that sells products or services, you’ll need an eCommerce solution.

In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the leading eCommerce platform for WordPress called WooCommerce. Let’s get started…

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What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce platform (WordPress Plugin) that allows people to sell products or services.

It comes with a lot of features, and it’s really simple to use too. It’s been around since 2014, and it just received another big update.

The software is easy to install, and it lets anyone create an online store without any web technical experience.

You can create categories and subcategories, add product images, and create your own shipping and payment options.

It’s also fully responsive, and it works on all devices.

WooCommerce is designed with eCommerce in mind, and it offers many features to make running an online store easy.

The software is free to use, and it’s compatible with most hosting providers.

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Why use WooCommerce?

First of all, WooCommerce is Free! Yes, 100% Free. The WooCommerce platform has been in development for many years and new features are added often.

WooCommerce is a plugin that is installed on a WordPress website and provides all the common features you expect from an online shop like product management, order management, creating categories, managing customers, adding discount codes, shipping costs, setting up payment gateways and much more.

Other plugins can be installed on your WordPress website that enhances WooCommerce like muti-currency, complex discount rules, shipping calculators, custom fields for products and much more. 

There are hundreds of free and paid themes for WooCommerce to choose from. Themes can be modified to suit the types of products or services you offer.

WooCommerce is one of the most flexible eCommerce platforms and at DCP we have built many successful online stores using WordPress and WooCommerce.

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What can WooCommerce do?

• Add new products with the product add-to-cart buttons
• Create customisable product templates
• Create your own payment options
• Create a Shopify-like storefront that shows your products
• Manage your product inventory
• Collect payments via PayPal, Stripe, and many other payment gateways
• Create automatic shipping estimates
• Search for products
• Find out when your customers bought last
• Manage customer orders
• Create a host of reports to get a competitive edge
• Finalise the checkout process
• Collect reviews
• Create a newsletter subscription
• Export order details
• Integrate a discount code generators
• Keep track of your sales using order tracking systems
• Create custom marketing materials
• Automate marketing tasks
• Create eCommerce with a new mouse clicks
• Create products and add images
• Add tags for easier search
• Create variations of your products
• Create custom checkout pages
• Add product categories
• Add sub-categories
• Create custom headers and footers
• Add a product description
• Create custom checkout pages
• Create shipping options
• Create custom Thank You pages

The above are just a few examples of what you can do with a WooCommerce website solution.

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What do I need to set up WooCommerce?

• A domain name (website address) - I often use Namecheap to register my domains.
• Website hosting - Siteground is definitely worth considering for stable and fast hosting for WooCommerce websites. Here are some examples of WooCommerce websites I have created for my clients and hosted on Siteground.
  • Pure Sanity London - Luxury Candle Shop
  • Unik Pik - Clothing Shop
  • Ger Group - Sealent Products
  • Bubsy Bu - Baby Products
  • Alva PC - Computer Components
• WordPress - Most hosting companies will have an option to automatically install WordPress on your hosting account.
• WooCommerce - A good hosting provider will also automatically install the WooCommerce plugin on your website as an optional install.
• Payment Gateway - I would suggest installing the PayPal and Stripe Plugin for credit card processing. Both plugins can be downloaded from the WooCommece website and are free!
• Shipping costs - You need to work out what you will charge for shipping or you can offer free shipping if a customer spends a specified amount. shipping can be fully configured directly in WooCommerce without additional plugins.

The above are the core basics you need to set up a WooCommerce shop.

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Other eCommerce platforms

Shopify is another leading eCommerce platform used by millions of customers. It’s another popular platform for online stores.

It offers great tools, however, there are monthly fees, unlike WooComemrce.

It’s also great for creating a brand identity and using your own domain name.

Shopify is really easy to use and has a lot of great features.

It’s great for businesses that have a small customer base and don’t need a lot of features.

BigCommerce is another leading eCommerce platform. It’s perfect for businesses who want a lot of features, but who don’t need a lot of customisation.

It’s also great for selling physical products.

BigCommerce is easy to use and has a lot of great features.

It’s perfect for businesses who need more features than Shopify, but who don’t need a lot of customisation.

Volusion - This is an affordable eCommerce platform that’s perfect for individuals and small businesses.

It also has a lot of great features at an affordable cost.

It’s not as good as Shopify or BigCommerce though and has a lot of limitations.

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Final words

The decision to use WooCommerce or another eCommerce platform is a big one. There are many to choose from, and they all have different pros and cons.

It’s up to you to determine what works best for your product line and your business model.

If you’re looking for a great eCommerce solution for WordPress, WooCommerce is the best option. It offers a lot of great features, is easy to use, and is affordable.

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Article by Pankaj Shah: DCP Ecommece Web Designers