Every year, choosing the right way to do e-commerce is becoming an issue for store managers who would like to build a website and start selling online. Salespeople and suppliers should realize that shopping behaviors are changing continuously. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, both sellers and customers have started to prefer online platforms. Different types of content management systems are developed and experienced by customers.
WooCommerce from WordPress is one of the options as online store builder. WooCommerce is very user-friendly, especially for those who are new to e-commerce, as it provides ease of use. What is WooCommerce? Is WooCommerce free? How secure is WooCommerce? We will explain step-by-step the advantages of using WooCommerce in e-commerce.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a free and open-source WordPress plugin. It is specially designed for small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses. It enables you to convert your WordPress website into an online store. It was introduced in September, 2011. Users who are already using WordPress can integrate directly for free. The reason why it has quickly become popular in a short time is the simplicity of use and customization, although optional extensions are paid.
(Data from Built With, Last updated on August,02 2022.)
The most popular and leading e-Commerce plugin for WordPress is WooCommerce. We can see that market share for WooCommerce is 25% of the top 1 million e-Commerce sites in 2022. The other sites are Shopify, Magento, OpenCart etc.
WordPress has earned a reputation as a CMS (Content Management System) that offers a strong SEO base. It is no surprise that WordPress websites frequently achieve high rankings on Google.
Being at the top of the ranking results is very important in terms of marketing and brand recognition. It has many benefits for business. For this reason, optimizing your website is very critical. The SEO compatibility of WordPress has attracted attention in the last few years. WordPress optimizes your website for search engines and works with your target audience.
Besides, WordPress plug-ins enhance your website’s functionality. By selecting plug-ins that improve your site’s general operation, you can further customize your WordPress site. The WordPress Plugin Directory has approximately 6,000 WooCommerce plugins, and CodeCanyon has an additional 1,800+ WooCommerce plugins.
It should also be noted that SEO Plugins for WooCommerce should be added to the websites. SEO compatible plugins create very valuable data for the people who enter your traffic. Sales strategies can be created based on this data. It can guide shop managers to the measurability of performance. An SEO plugin is a must if you want high rankings on Google.
Is WooCommerce free?
Both WordPress and WooCommerce are totally free. When setting up a website for e-commerce, it is necessary to outsource benefits and services from more than one place. For instance, making a payment for hosting and a domain. These are inevitable expenses by necessity.
Even though the WooCommerce plugin is free, it usually requires extra expenses to open a WooCommerce store. Theme, hosting, domain registration, security certificates and extensions are some of these extra expenses. Prices will vary depending on what you want.
It is usually sufficient to pay once for such expenses. It is necessary to make such payments as an investment at the very beginning of the process when establishing your business. In the future, you can make changes according to your sales and strategies. For example, WooCommerce themes are quite diverse and you can change them later if you wish. Theme selection is important for your sales and can directly affect them. Before opening your online shop to customers, you can examine how it looks by using a demo, if possible. Also, having a responsive theme is important because it automatically adapts to different screen sizes.
How Secure Is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is as secure as WordPress because it is built on WordPress. Therefore, it is secure on its own. However, it does not defend you from external security risks (hacking or brute-force attacks, etc.). Since there are millions of WordPress users, many methods have been developed for security.
Even more, users have to ensure their own security. Care should be taken in matters such as purchasing a secure hosting provider or domain name, secured payment methods and obtaining an SSL certificate. The security plugins also need to be added to the website.
WooCommerce offers to store owners a complete and efficient management process. What is WooCommerce? Let’s review all the advantages of using WooCommerce;
- WooCommerce Mobile Application
Getting things done from anywhere is an essential feature of WooCommerce. The mobile application provides a huge convenience for shop owners. You can track all processes, add new products, print labels and be informed about everything with notifications.
- Sell Anything
Store owners can use WooCommerce to sell all kinds of products.
- Physical items like shoes, pet products , car care products, etc.
- Digital goods, for instance, e-books or courses, training sessions, music or even data.
- Subscriptions and memberships
- Appointments (sell your time)
- Online auctions
- Unlimited Customization Options
WooCommerce enables you to create your own custom site. Countless plugins are available for free or paid in the WordPress Plugin Directory or the WooCommerce Extensions Store. Any kind of tool is available. Even the smallest details can be changed and customized by store owners. With no knowledge in web design or coding, you can manage every detail of your website.
- The Supportive WooCommerce Community
WooCommerce leads as the most popular choice among the top million e-commerce sites ahead of both Magento and Shopify. It means that there are numerous store owners with whom you can communicate, solve problems, or be inspired. You can get involved with the WooCommerce Community through local meetups, Facebook groups or by watching WooCommerce Live. Being in touch with fellow store owners, developers or WordPress enthusiasts might be encouraging for your business. If you are having trouble with your website, look up WooCommerce Documentation or Support.
- Contains all the features that WordPress provides
It has all the power, solid background and reliability that WordPress offers. These types of features are what customers can look for. For example, having WordPress behind it is quite safe when it comes to security.
- WooCommerce Analytics
The more you know about your customers and their behaviors, the more you can increase your sales. Companies can learn a lot from the behavior of their customers. A strategy created by understanding the customer will be the key to success.
To better understand your customers, you can track their behavior by adding an extension to your website. Useful reports can be created by identifying which product attracts more attention, market trends and actions to be taken. You can install WooCommerce Analytics or other analytics plugins for this. For example, world’s leading analytics platform Google Analytics integrated with WooCommerce for free.
As you can see, WooCommerce is very versatile. Consider how its qualities will benefit your company rather than simply relying on its popularity. We consider that because of its flexibility, it leads all other eCommerce platforms. We have searched for an answer to the question of simply “What is WooCommerce?”. If you are impressed by WooCommerce like us did, do not forget to check New WooCommerce Store Owner Guide
Do you want to learn more about trends in e-commerce? Click here to learn about e-commerce trends in 2023 and more!