Gone are the days when launching an online store. The advent of WooCommerce – a free WordPress plugin with the functionalities of eCommerce – has simplified the process to a large extent these days. With a few clicks, you can convert your existing WordPress website into an online store for buying and selling items.
This post will cover the history and benefits of WooCommerce.
A brief history of WooCommerce
WooCommerce has gained traction among users in the last few years due to its ability to integrate with other compatible plugins. It works well in tandem with a WordPress website due to this feature. All it takes is only a few clicks to accomplish this task.
Ever since its launch in 2011, it has been among the headlines for its ease of use. However, its popularity reached a new high in 2015 when it was acquired by a parent company. Then on, it has been achieving the historical feat.
According to the data and figures released by WordPress.org, it drives countless websites on the ecommerce space with more than 27,000,000 downloads.
Benefits of WooCommerce
The major benefit of WooCommerce is that it is free. And out of the box, it comes with the requisite functionality. You can either look for the plugins in the free repository or the dashboard of WordPress.
WooCommerce has a large number of extensions, so users get to choose from plenty of options.
Using WooCommerce comes with several undeniable benefits. These are as follows:
1. Easy integration, setup, and installation
One does not need a wide deal of expertise to operate WooCommerce. It is easy to install which means anyone can use it without the worry of knowing the technicalities. You can get it running with a simple WordPress theme. Installing the plugin for WooCommerce is no different from installing any other plugin.
After installation, the easy setup walks users through the rest of the process with ease. It underscores the important steps with which you can complete the setup process in a quick time. Due to the compatibility of WooCommerce with WordPress, all WordPress themes work perfectly with it. You can either choose a free theme or a paid theme, depending on your budget and need.
2. Easy data management
One of the important features of WooCommerce is that it gives you control over how you manage your business data. Unlike platforms from third-parties that come with the risk of taking away your important data after closure, WooCommerce does not have any such issue. Whether it is about the data of the purchases made by customers or other details, you always remain in control of your data with WooCommerce.
3. Better customization options
WooCommerce is an important component when it comes to customizing an online store with a WordPress site. It helps you tailor the whole checkout process in a way that you can easily turn visitors into customers and increase the rate of conversion. The features that help it include a redirect cart, default currency, customizable checkout process, geo-location, and payment gateways.
4. Simplicity in shipping
WooCommerce comes with some exciting shipping options and features such as a shipping calculator. With this calculator, you can keep the shipping rate hidden until the time a customer chooses a location for shipping. Thus, WooCommerce not only promotes the ease of sale but also makes shipping to customers a simple and easy process.
5. Easy tax management
Handling taxes efficiently is an important component of selling products online. WooCommerce comes with easy tax management options along with the plugin. As a simple and easy tool for the management of taxes, it comes with features such as the tax rates based on geo locations and custom tax rates to calculate taxes with ease. With these features, you can manage your taxes with ease.
6. Search engine optimization and marketing
If there’s one thing for which the users of WooCommerce admire it the most, it has to be its options that give an SEO campaign the boost it needs. Its compatibility with WordPress means that you can make the most of its in-built SEO tools. Plus, you could also do a lot more. For instance, you can attract more visitors to your online store built on a WordPress theme by enabling coupons and discounts or by displaying reviews from verified customers.
7. Convenient to keep posted and manage customers
If you wish to set up your goals for the growth of your online store based on its current performance, you can easily do it with WooCommerce reports. You can track the growth trends and plan the growth of your store accordingly. Also, whether it is a visitor or a regular customer, you can manage your customers with ease by using WooCommerce.
Final thoughts
From the above, it stands out that WooCommerce is the clear winner on all fronts when it comes to managing an online store based on a WordPress website. If your online store doesn’t have the power of WooCommerce yet, consider it for the aforementioned benefits.