WooCommerce is an e-commerce plugin for WordPress websites that allows you to maintain an e-commerce store on your website.
WooCommerce is a free plugin, so you can install it and use it without any fees whatsoever. Granted, when you have an e-commerce store, there are fees for credit card processing, hosting, and various other necessities. There are also literally hundreds of extensions for WooCommerce that allow you to customize it.
WooCommerce Extensions
Some of these extensions will handle things like payment gateways and shipping rates so that you never have to worry about how you’ll collect payments or charge for shipping. There are even extensions that can help you with tracking, and they can even provide your customer with tracking and status updates, too. This not only saves you time but gives the impression to your customer that your site does it all. And as we all know, word of mouth goes a long way.
Capabilities with WooCommerce
WooCommerce allows you to sell simple products or variable products that would allow you to choose options like sizes, colors, and other as well as group products. You can also sell digital products that are only available for download.
WooCommerce incorporates a standard e-commerce cart with a checkout page.
The set-up process on WooCommerce is very intuitive, and the plugin walks you through the entire process. Creating products is as simple as creating a blog post.
The one caveat you should know ahead of time is that the WordPress theme you use has to be compatible with WooCommerce. While it sounds restricting, you’ll still be able to paint with a broad brush. The fact that WooCommerce is very popular, there are more and more themes created all the time that are compatible with it.
Whether you’re selling T-shirts or coffee mugs, e-books or art, or if you’re putting together a drop-shipment for an affiliate business, you’ll find that WooCommerce and the many extensions available for WooCommerce can remove all of the stress of trying to create an online store.
If you are an e-shop owner or are thinking about starting an e-shop, WooCommerce can be the best tool you have in your arsenal for creating a store that will be easy for your customers and easy for you. Other online shopping carts can be usesful but are hardly as user-friendly.
From your dashboard, you can control your inventory, view recent orders, and even order supplies. There is really no limit to the number of plug-ins available for WooCommerce to help your business boom. With these plug-ins, you can run your business and not only survive, but make it thrive.
Installing WooCommerce
So if you’re ready to start setting up your e-commerce website, just simply go to your WordPress dashboard, click on plugins, and search for WooCommerce. Install your theme, customize it, and you’re ready to start selling.