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First, think about what you have. Are you just starting off? Do you use PayPal buttons? Have you tried to implement something but started and never finished? Or maybe you didn’t know what to do or where to start. That is essential information when thinking about moving to the next step.

Next, what kind of products are you going to offer? Are they all digital downloads, physical products, services, subscriptions, or a mixture? At this point, take a moment and note what your products will be. If you don’t know, that’s ok too. What Payment options are you looking to offer? PayPal, Amazon, Credit Cards, or your banking integration?

E-commerce options for your website

 

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a plugin, not a platform. Yes, WooCommerce is free to use. The overwhelming number of plugins and add-ons make it the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress. WooCommerce will support digital and physical products out of the gate; if you want to do subscriptions, that’s an additional fee. The number of times WooCommerce dings you for wanting more for your site is one of the few downsides.

WooCommerce offers inventory management, along with several payment and shipping options. That’s even before you look at any of the add-ons. You can spend time and money browsing through and purchasing to make your store your own.

As for installation, WooCommerce offers documentation online and a help desk. It’s pretty simple to install, but where it gets a little more complex is the number of settings you need to ensure it is just the way you want.

 

Shopify

Shopify is growing fast as an E-commerce platform. Now I know your wondering – a platform. Yes, it is not a plugin for your WordPress site, but it stands independently. It also has a monthly fee depending on your needs. Currently, plans start at $39/month (As of Feb 2023). Now your think WooCommerce is free, and Shopify isn’t – Why are you even putting these in the same article? Simple answer – options.

Shopify supports digital and physical products like WooCommerce and has inventory management along with Payment and Shipping options. One thing it has that WooCommerce currently doesn’t is integrations with Facebook stores, Pinterest Buy Pins, and more. If you are just starting out, that monthly fee may be hard to swallow.

There is a free trial you can try as well.

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Shopp

Shopp isn’t as well known, but it is worth mentioning. Mainly because it offers multiple product types, including subscriptions, without buying an add-on, this is excellent news for those looking for membership products.

Shopp doesn’t have as many wow factors as the others, but there is one significant downside to this free option – support. Shopp doesn’t offer free support. Lack of support is a big concern in my mind; you want to work with an option that will assist you with questions, but yet again, that subscriptions product without paying hmmm…

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is another Ecommerce platform. BigCommerce is up there with Shopify. Pricing is $29.95/month (as of Feb 2023), similar to Shopify’s. The features are comparable; this is a hosted e-commerce platform, abandoned cart saver, searches, and much more.

What is the best e-commerce option for you?

Asked yourself these questions –

  • How many products do you plan to sell?
  • Do you have so many products that you compare yourself to sites like hobbylobby.com or joanns.com?
  • Do you get lost trying to find your products?
  • Do you want to offer more payment methods/options
  • Are you concerned about traffic on your site? Not enough or too much?
  • Can you afford to pay a monthly fee?

These are all questions you should be asking yourself, and if you still don’t know, let me help!

(Updated February 2023)

amy signature

Website Specialist