Launching your eCommerce site is stressful, to say the least. From securing your domain name to conducting your first sale, the process can leave you exhausted not to forget, the pressure of ensuring the safety of your clients’ data takes a toll on the best of us. In case of many startups, attention to technical details has left them stranded in purgatory with their plans of takeoff indefinitely delayed. As they focus on perfecting the tools for the shop, they end up ignoring the actual business, defeating the purpose of the exercise.
It goes without saying that launching the eCommerce component of a business is no easy task and any help, in any way, would make a difference. As you begin to set up your store you should be careful about which platform you use in its making. There are quite a few platforms you can choose from. One of the most popular among these is WooCommerce.
According to BuiltWith, the WooCommerce platform is used by 27% of the Top 1 million sites and powers 30% of all eCommerce websites, giving it the highest market share. It is used by several high-traffic sites like Small Press Expo and has a large community of users which ensures you have steady support and help in making your store an online success. There are many reasons it remains a popular choice among many, including me, and in this article, I will highlight 10 reasons why you should use WooCommerce to build your online business.
It Сosts Тothing!
Most eCommerce platforms will cost you money, but not WooCommerce. And, just because it’s free doesn’t mean all it offers is basic options insufficient to run a professional eCommerce store.
To the contrary, WooCommerce offers customer engagement tools, facilitates detailed order tracking, application of discounts, updating of delivery statuses, adjustments in tax settings and shipping options, management of inventory as well as setting up coupon codes – all the makings of a professional online store.
For some businesses, however, the free version of the WooCommerce plugin alone may still not be enough. Depending on your business model, you might want to consider purchasing an additional extension or advanced version of the free plugin. In such a case you might want to analyze what you’ll need and create a budget. If you need help, WP Apprentice offers a breakup of expenses.
It’s important to note that even while using the free plugin, there are still costs associated with running your store which include those incurred for web hosting, payment processing, and SSL certificate.
It’s Easy to Set Up
If you’re reading this article, chances are that you are a businessman or entrepreneur who has limited understanding of coding, programming and designing, which is why loading off on an expert developer would be tempting to you. But, experts don’t come cheap and if you’re a small-time startup just spreading its wings, you don’t have the funds for it.
In such cases, WooCommerce is a godsend. It is extremely user-friendly and for people who are already familiar with WordPress, the transition will seem like a breeze.
Setting it up is easy. Once you’ve bought your domain and hosting, you’ll need to install the basic WordPress software. This will give you a basic but working website. To give your site features of a store, you must next install the WooCommerce plugin and follow the steps laid out by its setup wizard. There, that’s it!
Customizable Options Are Endless
WooCommerce is an open-source. This means that anyone can audit, modify, and/or extend the code. There are hundreds of free as well as paid extensions that add functionality to your WooCommerce store. With services facilitating your marketing, accounting and payment gateways, the plugins ensure all your store’s unique needs are met. All this, without the need for technical knowledge!
By 2018, WooCommerce was offering around 330 extensions and more than 1000 plugins. In addition to this, thousands of paid add-ons, for fixed prices, were up for grabs. A few of the notable extensions include WooCommerce Bookings, which allows users to sell periods as appointments, and WooCommerce Memberships, which allows users to restrict parts of the website and sell these at a price.
Access Free Themes to Spice Up Your Page
It’s not just the store functionality that can be customized. You have the option to style your website and give it flair by employing any of the tons of available themes. Think of this as changing the clothing of your store – you can easily switch outfits and experiment till you find your style and decide what your brand should look like. When you’re working on the mockup for your store, you might want to try a few themes before deciding on one.
Some good places to look for themes are ThemeForest, which according to Barn2Plugins offered 1217 themes as of January 2019, WordPress.org theme directory, which offers 902 themes, and Mojo Themes which has a collection of 238 themes for WooCommerce.
Sell Everything!
Using WooCommerce you can sell physical as well as digital goods. Selling luxury cars? No problem. Need to sell cloud space? Go ahead. Everything and anything is possible, including selling services like high-speed internet. With the right extension, you can have it all.
It’s Secure!
Ship Locally and Globally with Ease
The most important part of any store is making transactions – that is what makes it a business. For a sale to occur you need trustworthy payment gateways that your clients are comfortable with. If you’re using WooCommerce, it won’t pose any problem.
WooCommerce can accept all major credit cards as well as alternative payment methods like bank transfers and cash on delivery.
If you need additional options, you can always access endless extensions to choose from that will enable your store to accept other forms of payments too. WooCommerce integrates with more than 140 payment gateways across multiple regions including popular options like PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, Square, Google Pay and Apple Pay which it can support effortlessly. Given the payment options use a plugin to facilitate the process, your store does not have to use a third-party plugin, thus making it secure.
Powerful Analytics
The growth of any business is dependent on how you address feedback and criticism coming in from customers and making their experience better and more fulfilling. The better you understand your clientele, their needs, and how they interact with your store, the better. WooCommerce provides an extensive list of analytics presented in a user-friendly way. You can also integrate the platform with external analytics services such as Google Analytics using extensions.
It’s Fast!
If you are an eCommerce store, you are looking for conversions. For that to happen, you need to provide a fast and responsive experience to shoppers. This platform can be combined with performance optimizing WooCommerce hosting that aims to maximize your store’s performance. If you want the highly optimized MySQL server, PHP, and network environments that are necessary for a responsive and low-latency eCommerce experience, WooCommerce is the way forward. While standard web hosting can support WooCommerce, it cannot provide these features.
WooCommerce offers a comprehensive well-rounded selling experience. It is easy to use allowing you to start selling without technical expertise, and it is secure too, making sure your clients’ data is not compromised. It allows you to explore and find what your brand-style is and who your clients are, facilitating growth and helping you adapt to future challenges. It is your one-stop solution to all your eCommerce store needs. The setup is easy, go ahead and release the entrepreneur in you!
