Welcome back! In this post, we’ll dive into the exciting realm of ecommerce options available for your WordPress website. As an entrepreneur or business owner, understanding the various ecommerce solutions is crucial for streamlining your sales and revenue collection processes.
The Nine Pillars of a Successful WordPress Website
Before we delve into the ecommerce aspect, let’s quickly revisit the nine pillars we’ve covered in this series so far. We’ve explored backups, security, integrations, search functionality, and marketing tools to help you organize your company’s presence and social media content. Now, it’s time to tackle the heart of any business venture: bringing in sales and collecting payments.
Understanding Ecommerce: A Multifaceted Concept
Ecommerce is a broad term that encompasses various aspects, depending on the nature of your business. If you’re selling physical products, you’ll need to handle inventory management, shipping, and logistics. On the other hand, if you’re offering services like website design, you might require a one-time or installment-based payment system. For recurring revenue models like website hosting and maintenance, you’ll need a solution that supports regular billing.
WooCommerce: The Powerhouse of Ecommerce for WordPress
When it comes to WordPress ecommerce solutions, WooCommerce stands out as a robust and comprehensive option. Developed by Automatic, the company behind WordPress itself, WooCommerce is an ideal choice for selling physical products. It offers a vast ecosystem with a wide range of features and extensions to cater to your unique business requirements.
SureCart: The New Kid on the Block
While WooCommerce is a well-established player, there’s a new contender making waves in the ecommerce arena: SureCart by WP Crafter. Although a relatively recent addition, SureCart boasts impressive capabilities, especially for subscription-based memberships and one-off payments. However, if you require calendar booking functionalities, SureCart might not be the best fit.
Fluid Forms and Gravity Forms: Simplicity for Basic Payment Needs
If your ecommerce needs are more basic, such as capturing contact information and processing one-time payments, solutions like Fluid Forms and Gravity Forms can be excellent alternatives. These form builders offer payment gateway integrations with popular services like PayPal and Stripe, allowing you to collect payments seamlessly when a form is submitted.
Exploring Other Options
Beyond the WordPress ecosystem, there are numerous SaaS (Software as a Service) products available that can be embedded into your website to facilitate ecommerce functionalities. Solutions like PayPal Forms and TypeForm offer additional options, although their suitability will depend on your specific business requirements and the level of integration needed with your existing systems.
Remember, the choice of ecommerce solution is highly dependent on the nature of your business and the specific features you require. While WooCommerce is a comprehensive option, especially for physical product sales, newcomers like SureCart are worth considering for their unique strengths.
The world of ecommerce is vast and ever-evolving, but with the right solution tailored to your needs, you can unlock the full potential of your WordPress website and streamline your sales and revenue collection processes.
Founder, Managing Partner of Jazzy Marketing.
My first foray into the web was back in 2001 when we needed to get a website build for a telecom venture I was working for. I was given the project of getting our website built with e-commerce integration for calling cards – a huge market at the time. Well, that was the spark that got me interested in website development and I have not looked back since.
Skip to content