Are you looking for an eCommerce plugin that will take your online shop to the next level? Look no further! Here are 12 of the best eCommerce plugins for you to try in 2017.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is one of the most popular shopping cart plugins for WordPress. It features a beautiful user-centered design and the ability to customize every aspect of the product. Payment options include seamless integration with all of the most credible payment gateways such as PayPal, Authorize.Net, Amazon Payments, and many more.
Although there is an option to do almost anything via a staggering array of extensions, some may argue that in the process it has turned into an ugly monster. You will need to spend a lot of time and careful research to find and install the add-ons you need, before you can start selling. With so many options available, it has become a little confusing to find the right add-ons for your needs. Despite this small downside, it still remains the de-facto choice for most online businesses.
Ecommerce WD
ECommerce WD is rising swiftly through the ranks to become the most promising WordPress eCommerce plugin of 2017. All of the most useful features come as standard, and there is enough functionality here to keep even the most discerning shop owner happy. There is no need to install hundreds of add-ons, which means you can start selling right away!
The first thing I noticed about this plugin was how simple the back end is. All of the most common options are at my fingertips with no ‘digging’ required. Product color and size variations (aka. ‘parameters’) are easily added to your products. The latest version is packed with handy new features that shop owners will enjoy, including some useful tax calculation and shipping options which are normally overlooked by the other vendors.
On the front end, you will be pleasantly surprised at how lightweight and fast-loading the pages are. There are 5 beautiful product layout options (aka. views) which can be added to your posts/pages via shortcodes. Payments are handled through PayPal or PayPal Express.
ECommerce WD is easy to install, and there is a very clear step-by-step installation guide and demo shop.
Shopify
Shopify is a flexible shopping cart system, and supports both digital and physical goods. It has an impressive inventory management system including a bulk importer, and order tracking system. Shopify integrates nicely with social media platforms. Be warned however, they will encourage you to use their payment system for payments (which is powered by Stripe).
To use this plugin, you will need to purchase a monthly subscription to use the Shopify system. Overall, Shopify is a good option for beginners if you have the budget for the monthly platform fee. The system is very reliable and hassle-free. You are unlikely to have any technical issues, which means you can focus on what you do best – selling!
Shopp
Shopp is a high performance shopping cart with a finely tuned back-end database which delivers fast page load times. It’s a good option if you are selling subscription-based services which can be sold on Shopp without the need to purchase and install any additional plugins.
This plugin has many security features, and you will be actively assisted to create a PCI-DSS compliant store. Unfortunately, if you run into trouble you will have to pay to receive any kind of support (even basic access to community forums is paid).
If you are looking for a custom theme, there are only a few choices available that are specifically designed for the Shopp plugin. Thankfully, the plugin works well with most themes out of the box, so you may be able to use the theme of your choice.
WP E-Commerce
Probably the oldest and most loved WordPress shopping cart of all time, WP E-Commerce has stood the test of time. Although it is entering into the twilight phase of it’s lifespan, it still has a dedicated cult following with thousands of active users worldwide. It integrates well with many popular WordPress plugins and WordPress multisite.
One of it’s unique features is that it has a manual cheque payment option, and a very basic UI which is very simple to customize. The product layouts are suitable for selling digital downloads, physical goods, or subscriptions and memberships.
A major drawback of this plugin is having to install a truck full of add-ons to achieve basic functionality which should have been included in the main release.
JogoShop
A feature-packed eCommerce solution, JogoShop has improved a lot recently. The front-end is snappy and fresh, allowing users to sort and filter products easily, and there are a large number of extensions to help enhance your store.
Like WooCommerce and WD Ecommerce, they have a helpful development team who are constantly working to release new updates, useful enhancements, and bug fixes.
eCommerce Shopping Cart by WP EasyCart
eCommerce Shopping Cart is a feature-rich shopping cart that can sell anything online. The WP EasyCart developers report that it works in nearly every theme. The team at WP EasyCart are a full service team who are available to complete custom web projects, which is nice if you need some custom web development work to be done.
People who prefer the option to work offline will appreciate the desktop version of the administration software (available for PC, Mac, iPad, Android), which you can use to manage your shop without the need to login to WordPress.
Cart66
Cart66 is one of the safest and most secure shopping carts out there. As with the other plugins, you can sell digital and real products. Customers create their own accounts as part of the checkout process.
This plugin supports over 100 different payment gateways, and you can opt for taxes and discounts to be applied at the checkout.
Easy Digital Downloads
If you are looking for a free ecommerce solution that is tailored towards digital product downloads, then you just got lucky. Easy Digital Downloads comes with a test payment feature, and allows data to be exported to PDF or CSV.
Selz eCommerce Shopping Cart
Selz is a robust and complete eCommerce solution, offering support for physical products, services, and digital downloads. The plugin utilizes SSL to keep your customers safe, and there are plenty of extensions including PayPal and MailChimp integration. The shopping cart is free, but transaction fees will apply.
Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart
Ecwid is a powerful shopping cart that gives you the opportunity to transform your online shop into something amazing. It is both powerful and easy to use. Featuring bank level PCI-DSS compliance, automatic shipping and taxes, free iPhone and Android apps, facebook support, and a reliable support service, Ecwid is definitely worth a try.
PayPal Shopping Cart
PayPal allows you to sell products or services on your website through the award-winning PayPal payments system. You can use pre-defined button templates such as ‘Add to Cart’ Button and ‘View Cart’ Button. The shopping cart itself is hosted on PayPal. Your customers can use their PayPal account to pay, or they can pay by debit or credit card.
PayPal is so quick to setup, you can start selling in minutes. However, this type of shopping cart can look tacky and unprofessional. In fact, some people are afraid to use it, saying that it could drag down their company’s image. It’s one of the most basic options, but people will continue using it well beyond 2017 for one simple reason – it gets the job done!