8 Major Benefits of WooCommerce for WordPress
Brick and mortar stores are great. To an extent. They’re great for browsing, the shopping experience, and getting up close and personal with a product. Even so, they’re slowly becoming a novelty. Why?
We all shop online.
Every major high street retailer has an online store – and so do small businesses everywhere. The reasoning is simple; selling online puts your storefront in view of millions.
The reach is enormous.
But getting established isn’t always a gravy train. It’s not easy to know what service provider to go with. Hence, we’ve broken down the benefits of WooCommerce.
It’s better than you think.
What is WooCommerce?
There’s no sense beating about the bush. WooCommerce is built as an eCommerce plugin that makes a molehill out of a mountain. It’s designed for online sellers who want a simple solution to a complex problem.
Like many of the tech giants, WooCommerce grew from a small endeavour with a dedicated team. They designed premium themes for WordPress and made a pretty penny selling them.
By 2011, after listening to the wants and needs of their customers, they realised there was a niche to fill. And they had the know-how to fill it.
What is WooCommerce in a nutshell?
It’s a bundle of convenience. It’s one of the best insider WordPress woocommerce tips on the market.
Sure, the platform boasts a lot of features and makes a lot of claims – but it has the social proof to back them up.
The Benefits of WooCommerce Explained
Regardless of whether you’re setting up an online store or migrating an existing one, WooCommerce has your back.
Your business is your baby and it demands attention.
You’ve already got your hands full without the added headache of online retail. Let’s break down why WooCommerce is such a great platform, and how it enriches your business.
1: It’s Free
You’re always competing on price when selling online.
Shoppers and clients have a medley of available outlets to buy from, and you need to cut as many costs as possible to squash those prices.
It’s a good thing, then, that WooCommerce won’t eat into your profit margins. In a word, it’s a free plugin. There are no setup costs involved and no monthly subscription fee.
There are costs involved, though.
However, the cost of going through WooCommerce is far lower than you might expect. It works out at a meagre 2.9% + $0.30 take out of every sale. Ultimately, this is a token amount to cover overheads.
To be frank, it’s about on par with the fees involved in accepting credit card payments. Given the other benefits we’ve outlined below, it’s more than worth it.
2: It’s Customisable
WordPress is home to a huge array of plugins, and WooCommerce is no different. There are as many extensions as your arm is long. What’s more, many of them are free, with optional paid improvements.
Flexibility and adaptability are where it’s at.
Whether you’re looking to add SEO optimisation to your store, extra security, an SSL certificate, or email marketing, WooCommerce accommodates everything.
And no store is complete without branding.
Boasting a dizzying array of themes and styles, your online shop can look however you want it to at the click of a button. It’s not just a colour change or two, either – every theme is totally different.
The layouts and looks accommodate any genre and any feel. Professional, upmarket design; down-to-earth street brand; and high-tech niche digital products or physical products: WooCommerce does it all.
3: Flexible Payments
Ever find a brilliant service, only to find they only accept limited payment methods? It’s bizarre to the point of lunacy.
Just let me give you my money, you think – before bouncing and heading straight for a competitor.
Sure, you might prefer one payment model over another, but every customer is different. You don’t want to lose revenue simply because a warm lead can’t find a way to give you their hard-earned cash.
WooCommerce accepts payments from every major outlet. Apple Pay, PayPal, Amazon Payments, Stripe, Giropay, and more.
With the right extension, you can even accept popular cryptocurrencies.
The cherry on top?
All payments are handled on-site. Nobody is redirected to a third party. That means lower bounce rates at checkout – and more closed sales.
4: It’s Secure
You want to sleep easy. So do your customers. When it comes to financial transactions, you can’t afford to settle for second rate.
Data security is spelt with a capital in the digital world – and WooCommerce knows the game. They’ve been a part of it for more than a decade.
To combat cyber threats, the development team works with data security professionals to stay ahead of ill doers, pushing updates the second a vulnerability is exposed.
5: It Offers Analytics
Analytics are crucial to success in online business. You need to identify where the snags in your sales pipeline are to maximize your revenue. The eCommerce platform does this and then some.
With it, you can track orders, peak activity times, and customer activity. Conversion rates and campaign outcomes are displayed at the drop of a hat – and it’s all neatly organised and displayed visually in readily accessible charts and tables.
There’s simply no need to source expensive plugins or extra staff when the data is on-hand already.
6: It’s Easy To Use
One of the greatest benefits is in usability. Nobody wants to be stuck for hour after hair-pulling hour setting up. That’s time better spent on your business.
WooCommerce takes the hassle out of launching an online shop. It’s designed that way. Your online store can be up, running, and optimised in a matter of days.
Unsure about themes, colours, and general appearance?
You can change your mind on the fly. Contrasted with traditional web development services, there are little to no cost for tweaks and improvements.
On top of that, it boasts a broad and active community. With millions of active users, answers to questions are only a forum away.
7: It’s Scalable
Scaling a business is never easy. Even if you’re a small fish in a big pond, you need to plan for the future.
The WooCommerce platform turns the scaling problem into a non-issue thanks to its flexibility.
Changes are easy. Adaptations and expansions are a no-frills affair. If you have a dozen new products to launch, WooCommerce can handle it.
And if you decide to upend your entire process on a whim and remodel everything from scratch, there’s nothing to worry about.
8: It Was Designed for WordPress
WooCommerce was designed – specifically – for WordPress. That means it’s no poorly integrated, third party add-on. Instead, it’s integrated perfectly.
Being open-source, the platform isn’t closed off to outside assistance, either.
Updates and overhauls to the WordPress pipeline won’t put anything out of place. The WooCommerce developers work in proximity with WordPress to ensure its service remains the best in town.
Setting Up Your WooCommerce Store
Now that we’ve highlighted why WooCommerce is great (seriously, it is), let’s run down how to set it up. First off, you’ll need a WordPress business plan.
Without one, you can’t add plugins (and, remember, WooCommerce is a plugin).
With that out of the way, you’ll need to start a new store and customise your theme. Pick a homepage, a menu, and a site structure. Then it’s on to setting up your product pages.
Add as many pages and product variations as you need – but remember to keep it streamlined and accessible. Your customers don’t know your brand as you do. You don’t want to overwhelm them.
Next up, you’ll want to pick and choose from the extension library. Want live chat support, email marketing, or social media integration? This is where you add it.
Above all, ensure your navigation is a breeze and your site is compatible with mobiles and tablets. Give it to somebody in your social circle for feedback and watch over their shoulder as they interact with it.
That’ll tell you if it’s working.
The last step before you go live is to review security, and consider paid add-ons. Sure, they’re pricey, but this is one place you don’t want to scrimp and scrounge. Peace of mind and reputation are at stake.
Want more detail? Some of the best eCommerce business tips can be found on the WooCommerce website itself.
Grow Your Business With WooCommerce
WooCommerce suits the needs of any online retailer. It’s as simple as that. And there are other benefits to the platform that we haven’t even covered here.
At the end of the day, the benefits of WooCommerce boil down to simplifying the entire process of building an online business. With a multitude of plugins, a responsive development team and a lively community, it breaks out the big guns and isn’t afraid to innovate.
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