Yes. WordPress is great for eCommerce. The world’s most popular website platform has come along way since it was first introduced to the public back in May of 2003. Back then it was a very simple “tool” for publishing webpages. It grew into a great blogging platform, then morphed into a super content management system (CMS) and now it has become the “what ever you want me to be” solution for anyone looking to create a website.
One of the main reasons why WordPress has become so versatile is its plugin architecture. There are literally tens of thousand of WordPress plugins you can choose from. These plugins can expand the functionality and features of your site. In fact, there are specific WordPress plugins built with eCommerce in mind, which will allow you to turn your site into an actual online store. At the end of this post I’ll list some of them. Until then, I’ll cover perhaps the best WordPress eCommerce solution available to date. It’s Woocommerce.
Now, I have no affiliation with Woocommerce (Nope, no affiliate links in this post). I am simply highlighting this solution as I have worked with it and it is a good representation of just how you can build an online store using WordPress. We have several small business PPC clients who use Woocommerce and they are more than delighted with the platform. It also plays well with various online marketing services like Adwords, Facebook, various shopping feeds, inventory management solutions, etc.
Woocommerce is a great WordPress eCommerce Solution
Woocommerce has become the go-to solution for WordPress eCommerce. The features and functionality have far surpassed those of other reputable eCommerce solutions for WordPress. In fact, they tout on their site that they power over 30% of all online stores. Not just WordPress, but all online stores. Here’s the stat they reference. I could list the features and benefits here but I think the video and this link to actual stores using WordPress for their online store will give you better insight (Perhaps I’m just feeling lazy).
This is the promo video that highlights the features of their eCommerce plugin.
Now, back to the original question; Is WordPress a good platform for eCommerce?
My guess is that there are two groups of people who are asking. Those who are still under the false assumption that WordPress is just for blogging and those who simply are not sure. When you look at the eCommerce usage statistics provided by BuiltWith (link above the video), you can see where Woocommerce ranks among other popular platforms. It outranks the very popular Shopify, Volusion and Yahoo Stores. Keep in mind that Woocommerce is just one of many eCommerce solutions you can use with your WordPress website. If you were to combine the usage stats for all of the WordPress eCommerce plugins currently powering online stores, then my guess is that it would be in the top 3.
When you have this many online stores running on WordPress, you have to pay attention. People who run these online businesses are trying to make a living with their stores. They are not going to be wasting their hard earned time and money on an eCommerce platform that is poorly built and detrimental to their bottom lines.
Below are a few other WordPress eCommerce solutions that are quite popular and worth a look. Check out several of them, hit the forums, read some answers in Quora and do your research. I think you will come to the same conclusion.
