With businesses turning to the internet to improve their sales, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become an easy way to make quick sales. However, businesses that are hoping to enjoy consistent growth and sales are turning to e-commerce. This is because e-commerce sites are low cost, and it’s easier to trust a seller with an e-commerce site than another on social media alone.
Anyone trying to build an e-commerce site knows that WordPress is the best platform for a low-cost website. It has tons of free plugins and allows you to combine several plugins, which creates a unique interface. You see, e-commerce is all about the customer experience. This why Amazon is the biggest e-commerce site as it prioritizes PCI compliance as well as user experience through its intriguing and functional theme.
You can improve user experience by choosing any of these WordPress plugins:
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce has over 2 million downloads and powers over 26 percent of all e-commerce sites. It’s free, easy to use, and offers full-service functionality. It also integrates with most payment providers as it has five installed payment gateways. These gateways include; credit card payments, direct bank transfers, check payments, and cash on delivery.
In addition to the five payment gateways, you can also integrate extensions such as Amazon Payments, Apple Pay, Braintree, etc.
For a startup, the idea is to grow as the inventory and customers increase, which WooCommerce caters for with its scalability. You can use the plugin with as low as 10 items to as many as 10,000 items.
Developers always opt to develop extensions and themes for popular plugins over the less known plugins. Since WooCommerce is the most popular, you’ll have an unlimited selection of themes and extensions. It also comes with a shipping and tax calculator built into the plugin.
2. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a hosted e-commerce solution that integrates into a WordPress website through its official WordPress plugin. This platform is best suited for e-commerce stores that are experiencing rapid growth. It offers over 65 payment integrations and lower credit card processing rates at 2.2%. Most of its competitors have higher processing rates ate 2.9%.
Initially, BigCommerce was an e-commerce platform that offered hosting and content management services. However, due to the popularity of WordPress, BigCommerce developed a WordPress plugin to attract users on WordPress. The combination provides users with a seamless experience by speeding up your site.
BigCommerce also offers multichannel integration that allows you to sell on channels such as Amazon, Facebook, Pinterest, eBay, etc.
3. Easy Digital Downloads
Easy Digital Downloads is a specialist plugin that comes in second after WooCommerce in terms of popularity. It was initially designed for selling digital products; thus, it has a clean user interface. The plugin is also lightweight and doesn’t slow your website.
While the core plugin is free, you can always opt for paid subscriptions, which cost $199 – $899 per year. It comes with an add-on library that isn’t free, but the themes are impressive. It also integrates with majority of the payment gateways. You’ll have to pay to get the extra add-ons.
4. Ecwid
Ecwid is similar to BigCommerce in which supports tons of payment gateways and isn’t specific to WordPress. It’s a simple platform that takes about five minutes to set up a platform. The plugin is highly recommended for beginners and small businesses.
Ecwid is often compared to WooCommerce due to its high user ratings and easy setup. The plugin is also free, but eventually, your store will outgrow the free features. You’ll have to part with $15+ per month to gain access to features that make it easy to sell on multiple channels such as Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Additional features include automatic shipping or tax calculations. It also has a basic but powerful dashboard that makes it easy to manage orders, add products, etc. without leaving WordPress. You also don’t need to worry about the security of your online data, since it’s hosted on Ecwid’s servers.
5. WP EasyCart
WP EasyCart is the plugin you choose when you’re either a beginner or have no time for training but want a well-designed e-commerce store. The plugin is simple; lightweight will have you set up in minutes. However, the interface feels outdated, and the free plugin offers limited payment gateways. You need to pay to access over 30 payment gateways.
The more you’re willing to spend, the more features you get. For example, the highest monthly subscription grants you access to mobile and PC apps to help you monitor your store.
Conclusion
While e-commerce is cost-effective, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should choose the plugin with the freest features, to save some bucks. Instead, take your time to browse through the options available for your WordPress site. Understand the perks and quirks of each plugin before choosing. Lastly, consider if the plugin handles some of the tougher responsibilities such as security and maintenance.
