Most of you have heard of WordPress and are already using it for your websites. It is one of the most successful and popular web platforms of all time.

One of the reasons that WordPress is so popular is because it is extremely flexible. This is where WooCommerce comes into play: instead of outsourcing aspects of your business to different software solutions, why not simply build on what you already use?

There are many different shopping carts programs that can be used with WordPress, but WooCommerce is the by far the most popular. It was also built with WordPress in mind.

What You Need to Know about WooCommerce

The first thing that you need to know about using WooCommerce is that it is a WordPress plugin and not an ecommerce platform. This means that you need to have a WordPress website before you start using it. If you already have a WordPress website, WooCommerce is a good choice. If you do not, it may not be worth it to transfer your site to WordPress just to be able to use the WooCommerce plugin.

The second thing that you should know is that WooCommerce is a basic shopping cart. Most of the features that might come standard with other ecommerce solutions are available through the use of extensions. While the WooCommerce plugin is free to download, it is the basic version. There are hundreds of free and paid extensions available.

Positive Features of WooCommerce

It is free to download and offers a large extension store with prices ranging from $29 to $200
No programming knowledge is necessary to begin using
User-friendly
Interface is intuitive and modern
One page check out process is offered
Provides cross selling functionality, up-selling, sales pricing, and built in coupons
Extensive template and theme store: themes are open source and require a bit of basic coding knowledge in order to customize

Negative Features of WooCommerce

Manual product upload: if you have a lot of products you will want to purchase a bulk product load extension which costs around $200
Does not have sophisticated reporting and marketing solutions that are needed for higher traffic stores
Requires that you use WordPress

Overall, if you currently have a WordPress site and are looking for a good shopping cart plugin for ecommerce, WooCommerce is a good choice. It offers an easy-to-integrate solution for most of your online selling needs.

If you have set up a website using WordPress and you are planning on selling something on your page, chances are that you have heard of the plugin WooCommerce. This plugin was designed to be used by online merchants, shops and stores who have a website powered by WordPress.

History of WooCommerce

WooCommerce was launched in September of 2011 and since its launch has quickly become one of the most popular ecommerce plugins available. The main reason that this plugin is so popular is because it is extremely easy to install and begin using. It is probably the easiest shop plugin to get started with on WordPress.

The plugin was developed by Jay Koster and Mike Jolley, who were developers working at Jigowatt who were hired by WordPress to develop a plugin that would make it easier to develop ecommerce sites.

By August of 2014 almost 18% of the ecommerce sites online used WooCommerce. This number grew to over 30% in 2015.

Using WooCommerce

WooCommerce is free to use and allows you to easily sell anything on your website. It integrates easily with WordPress, making it a great choice for your online retail store. WooCommerce provides a solution for both developers and store owners to maintain complete control over their website transactions.

Using the plugin allows you to sell any type of goods both digital and physical. You can easily offer different varieties of your products, create multiple configurations, and provide instant downloads to your consumers. It is even possible to sell affiliate goods from other online marketplaces with WooCommerce.

Premium Extensions

While the basic version of WooCommerce is free to use and offers a lot of flexibility, there are also premium extensions available that will allow you to do even more. Some of the premium extensions will allow you to provide memberships, create recurring subscriptions, and offer bookings. It is also possible to offer member discounts for digital downloads using WooCommerce.

Overall, if you are looking for an all-around solution for your ecommerce store, WooCommerce is a great option. This plugin provides an easy to use solution that will integrate seamlessly with your WordPress account. It will provide you with complete control of your store, including taxes and customer accounts as well as keeping track of your inventory. You can change the design, your extensions, and your settings as needed, making everything completely under your control.