WooCommerce Review

Let’s look at a few facts about WooCommerce before we provide our complete WooCommerce review of the platform.

WooCommerce is free and open-source software.

It is a plugin for WordPress, which means you need a WordPress site to use the software solution.

WooCommerce is a solid option for small to medium-sized businesses looking for an affordable eCommerce platform.

Price: Free

Discounts Available: WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin, so discounts aren’t required.

Lifetime Plan: No

WooCommerce Pros

• Free and open source
• Excellent flexibility
• Easily customizable

WooCommerce Cons

• The abundance of additional plugins can overwhelm some
• Users must pay for some extensions

Introduction

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use and affordable eCommerce platform, WooCommerce may be the right solution for you.

WooCommerce is a plugin installed on WordPress websites.

It allows business owners to start and run their online stores.

The platform is one of the most popular eCommerce options available.

It offers a large user base and community.

In this WooCommerce review, we will discuss the pros and cons of using WooCommerce, as well as how you can benefit from using it.

Overview of WooCommerce

To give you a complete understanding of our WooCommerce review, let’s explain what WooCommerce is and how it came into existence.

What Is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is an eCommerce platform that enables you to set up an online store and sell products or services.

WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, which is a content management system (CMS).

WooCommerce History

Three founders, Adii Pienaar, Mark Forrester, and Magnus Jepson, started the company in 2008.

The business began as WooThemes.

By 2017, the founders decided to put all their focus on eCommerce.

Today, almost four million websites use the platform.

Pros and Cons of WooCommerce

There are benefits and drawbacks to using WooCommerce as your eCommerce platform.

Let’s have a look at some of them.

Pros of WooCommerce

• A large community of contributors
• Regularly updated for security
• Easy to install and set up

Cons of WooCommerce

• It includes some outdated themes
• Some of its add-ons can slow down sites

How Much Does WooCommerce Cost?

As an open-source WordPress plugin, it doesn’t cost anything to download and use WooCommerce.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can build your eCommerce store for free.

To use WooCommerce, you’ll need to buy website hosting and possibly other paid plugins.

You can pick up hosting for anywhere between $3 and $30 per month.

For example, you might use a Bluehost promotion for hosting.

Or, you might decide to go with a host like SiteGround and pay closer to $30 per month.

With that in mind, let’s review what you can do after downloading the WooCommerce plugin.

• Set up an online store
• Manage online orders
• Offer secure payments
• Add functionality via WooCommerce extensions
• Get help via documentation
• Obtain marketing help via Google Shopping and more
• Use Jetpack to increase speed and more
• Sell in multiple languages

Cost: Free

Is WooCommerce Worth the Cost?

Being a free plugin, yes, it’s worth it to use WooCommerce.

Why WooCommerce Is Worth the Cost

Although other ancillary costs go into building an online store, you’ll never pay to download and use WooCommerce.

Moving beyond WooCommerce, it’s worth investing in website hosting, paid plugins that increase website speed, or customized shopping carts.

Overall, the costs associated with running an online store typically come in far less than the potential for earnings.

The Problem WooCommerce Solves

WooCommerce solves the problem of how to start and run an online store.

The plugin allows you to set up a store quickly and easily and start earning without overspending on unnecessary services.

Why Would Somebody Want To Use WooCommerce?

You’ll want to use WooCommerce if you’re looking for a simple way to start selling online.

WooCommerce offers an eCommerce store with years of history behind it.

It’s a plugin trusted by millions of other website owners around the world.

You’re in good company when using it.

Who Is WooCommerce Best For?

WooCommerce is a solid solution for small businesses, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and anyone else who wants to start an online store.

Why WooCommerce Is Best for Online Store Owners

The WooCommerce plugin is best for online store owners because it’s free, easy to use, and comes with a wide range of features.

WooCommerce is also scalable, which means it can grow with your business.

Who Should NOT Use WooCommerce?

Content marketers shouldn’t use WooCommerce.

Why Content Marketers Should Not Use WooCommerce

If you’re a content marketer, you’re typically more interested in using ads, affiliate marketing, courses, or coaching as monetization methods.

There’s no need to use WooCommerce if you aren’t interested in setting up a traditional online store.

What To Think About Before Buying WooCommerce

Here are five major factors to consider before using WooCommerce or any of its paid extensions.

The Cost of Setting up and Running an Online Store

Although you can use WooCommerce for free, there are costs associated with running an online store.

You’ll need to pay for hosting, a domain name, and any paid WooCommerce extensions you might want to use.

Other costs might include hiring someone to help you set up your store.

The Time Commitment Needed To Maintain an Online Store

Running an online store takes time.

You’ll need to invest time creating products, setting up your WooCommerce store, writing descriptions, processing orders, shipping products, and responding to customer inquiries.

WooCommerce can help automate some of these tasks, but you’ll still need to commit time to run your store.

If you don’t have the time to commit, WooCommerce might not be the right platform for you.

WooCommerce’s Scalability – Can It Grow With My Business?

Your online store software must include the ability to scale and can grow with your business.

WooCommerce is a flexible platform that allows you to add more features and functionality as your business grows.

The Amount of Support (and Training) Available for WooCommerce

There’s plenty of WooCommerce documentation and support available.

WooCommerce also has a large community of users willing to help answer questions.

However, if you need more hands-on support and hand-holding, you might want to consider another platform.

Free plugins like WooCommerce can’t provide the same level of support as paid solutions.

If WooCommerce Is the Appropriate Solution for Your Specific Needs

Not all businesses have the same needs.

You’ll need to evaluate your specific needs and decide if WooCommerce is the best solution for you.

Use the information from our complete WooCommerce review to make a solid decision.

Features and Benefits of WooCommerce

Here are the most notable features and benefits of utilizing WooCommerce.

Everything Needed To Set up a Store

The main feature of WooCommerce includes everything you need to set up a store.

You get what you need to turn a WordPress site into an online store.

The plugin guides you through the important first decisions that all new online store owners must make.

• Store look and feel
• Homepage design
• Site structure
• Menus
• Payment options
• Shipping options

Secure and Flexible Payments

WooCommerce offers a variety of secure payment options.

You can use WooCommerce to process credit card payments, PayPal, bank transfers, and more.

The plugin is also flexible enough to allow you to add custom payment methods.

Specific “out of the box” payment options include the following.

• Stripe
• WooCommerce Payments
• Amazon Pay
• Square
• Google Pay

Dashboard to Update and Fulfill Orders

With WooCommerce, you get an easy-to-use dashboard that lets you keep track of all your orders in one place.

You can use the WooCommerce order management system to perform the following actions.

• Update customers on their order status
• Process refunds
• Manage customer queries
• Fulfill orders
• Track shipping information

The WooCommerce dashboard makes it easy to stay on top of everything that’s happening with your online store.

Don’t fear items such as live shipping rates, automated tax calculations, or printing shipping labels.

The dashboard helps you do it all.

Sell Multiple Types of Products

WooCommerce gives you the ability to sell physical, digital, and even subscription-based products.

You can use WooCommerce to sell anything from T-shirts to eBooks.

The plugin makes it easy to add products and manage your inventory.

Documentation and the Support Forum

One of the nice things about WooCommerce is the vast library of documentation provided to its users.

You’ll discover tutorials that cover topics such as settings and options, installation, updating, setting up product pages, shipping options, managing orders, selling products, mobile apps, and APIs.

The WooCommerce support forum is also a place to check out if you have questions about using WooCommerce.

The WooCommerce team and other WooCommerce users are typically quick to answer any questions you may have.

If you need customization built for your store, you can hire a WooCommerce developer to do it for you.

Marketing Help

WooCommerce comes with integrated marketing features that help you drive traffic to your store and convert visitors into customers.

You can use the built-in SEO features to optimize your site for Google.

You’ll discover WooCommerce integrations with Google Analytics, Facebook, and Twitter.

To communicate with customers, you can integrate with email service providers like Mailchimp.

Sell Internationally

The plugin makes it easy to sell products to customers around the world.

It comes with built-in support for multiple currencies and tax options.

You can use WooCommerce to ship products internationally.

WooCommerce also translates into 24 languages.

Add Jetpack

Jetpack is a plugin that provides WooCommerce users with a vast array of features.

It gives you the ability to do the following.

• Automatically share products on social media.
• Create product pages
• Get backups
• Obtain tax and shipping services
• See downtime alerts

With Jetpack, you can also increase website speed, prevent brute force attacks and spam, and secure your store via authenticated customer logins.

Start Small and Scale

WooCommerce will grow with your business.

Start free with the basic WooCommerce plugin.

Begin making sales.

You won’t see transaction fees except those charged by your chosen payment service provider.

As you realize business growth, you can scale into more significant profits by paying for WooCommerce extensions as needed.

The Open Source Aspect

Open source means you have complete ownership and control of your online store.

WooCommerce doesn’t have any hidden agendas.

You’re free to do whatever you want with your store.

You can use the REST API feature to integrate your store with almost any third-party service.

Use the open source aspect of the plugin to create a completely scalable and flexible online business.

Content Features

Use WooCommerce Blocks to choose and display your products in a modular fashion.

For example, you can add the following to your store.

• Hand-picked products
• On-sale products
• New products
• Top-rated products
• Bestsellers

Beyond content selections for your product sales, you can also take advantage of blogging with WooCommerce.

Many online store owners fail to use blogging to their advantage.

Stand out from the crowd by blogging about tips that relate to what you sell in your store.

For example, blog about tips for living a healthier lifestyle if you sell health supplements.

Your helpful blog posts will start ranking in Google and other search engines.

As you get search engine traffic and attract people interested in your tips, offer a lead magnet to get them on your email subscriber list.

From there, you can market your products to them by providing discounts, coupons, and other special offers.

Enhance via Extensions

When you’re ready, you can enhance your online store within the official WooCommerce marketplace.

You’ll discover hundreds of free and paid WooCommerce extensions.

Use these extensions for additional functionality or to place more features into your store.

For example, you can add the following extensions.

• Yoast
• Google Analytics
• TaxJar
• Mailchimp
• PayPal
• Stripe
• Fulfillment by Amazon
• WooCommerce Payments
• Sell “in person.”
• Subscription recurring payments
• Dropshipping
• USPS shipping
• Shipment tracking
• MailPoet
• Pinterest for WooCommerce

Themes

WooCommerce uses what it calls its Storefront theme as its official theme.

You can use it without any bells and whistles to get started.

Later, Storefront allows you to start customizing it with special features.

Or, you can pick from dozens of other online store templates inside the WooCommerce plugin.

Tags and Categories

Use the WooCommerce tags and categories feature to make it easier for customers to find the products they’re searching for.

Or, you can use attributes.

For instance, you might use the size attribute to help customers discover the best clothing options for their needs.

Product Filtering and Sorting

The product filter and sorting features make online shopping easier for customers.

It allows customers to narrow down the products they see by different criteria.

For example, they might only use it to view women’s clothing in sizes currently on sale.

Product Reviews

Encourage product reviews from your customers.

It’s a type of user-generated content that can help you close more sales and boost your conversion rates.

You can offer a discount for customers that leave a review.

Or, you can use a WooCommerce extension to automate the process and send out emails to customers after they make a purchase.

Images and Galleries

Use WooCommerce to upload high-quality product images.

WooCommerce makes it easy to display multiple images for each product.

You can also try the WooCommerce gallery feature to create image galleries for products and blog posts.

Variations

If you sell physical goods, WooCommerce allows you to offer variations of those products.

For example, if you sell t-shirts, you can offer different colors and sizes.

WooCommerce makes it easy for customers to find the right product variation for their needs.

Shipping Methods

WooCommerce offers a variety of shipping options.

Use flat rate shipping, free shipping, or real-time shipping rates from UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL.

WooCommerce Customer Service

As with all online marketing options, you may sometimes get stuck as you build your online store with WooCommerce.

Does WooCommerce Offer Customer Service?

WooCommerce only offers customer support for its extensions that you add to the main plugin.

It also provides help for Jetpack customers.

What Types of Customer Service Does WooCommerce Offer?

The primary customer support offered by WooCommerce is the “self-help” documentation and WooCommerce Support Forum.

If you’re an extension or Jetpack customer, you can get in touch via the WooCommerce help desk.

Why Should You Trust Us?

We’re receptive to your worries regarding our WooCommerce guidance.

However, we’ve done a substantial amount of research on the plugin.

For example, we delved into what users have to say following their experience with the service.

What WooCommerce Users Are Saying

• “I like what WooCommerce has to offer because it is simple to set up and use, and in a few clicks, you can use it as an online sales platform without third parties. With WooCommerce, everything is possible. Reach out to more people, make money the way you choose with a variety of currencies and payment options, and choose the shipping method.” – Enrique S.
  
• “This eCommerce plugin provides you with everything you need to build an online store, and it has never been easier to use. Even the free version offers more than enough features for most users.” – Sudhakar R.
  
• “With WooCommerce, you can create and design your eCommerce website to sell any products or services with ease. You don’t have to pay extra money for a middleman since the plugin cuts out that unnecessary step. After installation and setting up some basic information, connect your Payment Gateway and you’re set!” – Ajay R.

WooCommerce Alternatives

Consider the following three rivals while thinking about utilizing WooCommerce for your online store.

Shopify

Shopify is a hosted platform WooCommerce alternative, and you can use Shopify to create an online store.

It offers many features, such as product variations, inventory management, and abandoned cart recovery.

There’s no need to worry about hosting or security, it’s simple to use, and you’ll experience excellent customer support.

How Does Shopify Differ From WooCommerce?

Shopify is a turnkey eCommerce platform that isn’t exclusive to WordPress.

WooCommerce, on the other hand, is a WordPress plugin that can turn only WordPress websites into eCommerce stores.

Who Is Shopify Best For?

Shopify is best for entrepreneurs and businesses who want to set up their eCommerce store quickly and efficiently without necessarily using WordPress.

BigCommerce

With BigCommerce, you get all Shopify’s features and functionality, plus a few more.

BigCommerce caters more to larger businesses with bigger budgets.

Its main features include the following.

• No transaction fees
• Abandoned cart saver
• Advanced product filtering
• Product reviews and ratings
• 24/7 support

How Does BigCommerce Differ From WooCommerce?

The main difference between BigCommerce and WooCommerce is that WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin.

BigCommerce is its proprietary platform.

Who Is BigCommerce Best For?

BigCommerce is best for B2B businesses that want features and functionality to grow into larger enterprises.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a website builder that will help you build a website from scratch.

It doesn’t market only to people who want to build online stores.

It also helps bloggers, affiliate marketers, and other online marketers build content websites.

Its main benefits include the following.

• User-friendly interface
• No need to install anything
• Free SSL certificate and hosting included

How Does Squarespace Differ From WooCommerce?

The main difference between Squarespace and WooCommerce is that WooCommerce is an eCommerce platform.

Squarespace is a website builder.

However, Squarespace does include the ability to build an online store.

Who Is Squarespace Best For?

Squarespace is best for any entrepreneur interested in building an online store, content-based blog, or website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have more questions about WooCommerce?

Here are the answers to two of the most frequently asked questions about the eCommerce platform.

Wrapping Up

It can feel intimidating when starting to build an online store.

Many moving parts exist during the process, such as creating the storefront, listing products, making sales, and making deliveries to customers.

WooCommerce makes everything involved easy to accomplish.

Use the plugin to get everything set up and begin earning money online.

Are you ready to try WooCommerce?

Install it for free.