Mastering WordPress Plugins: 5 Essential Ecommerce Tools for 2024
WordPress continues to appear in the lists of world’s most popular content management systems (CMS). Its ease of use, flexibility, and endless plugin library empowers anyone to create stunning websites.
Those taking the leap into ecommerce are not an exception. WordPress offers a variety of tools to turn any website into an online store that keeps those customers coming back. And owners should want them coming back, as U.S. ecommerce sales grew about 7.6% in 2023 alone, reaching $1.119 trillion.
In this article, we’ll dive into the best WordPress plugins for ecommerce in 2024, exploring their features and pricing to help you find the perfect fit and scale your business.
Why do you need ecommerce plugins?
Imagine setting up a physical store without a cash register, inventory management system, or product display shelves. That’s essentially what running an online store without ecommerce plugins would be like.
WordPress plugins easily integrate with your website and turn it into a fully functional online shop without you skipping a beat. Product management, secure payments, marketing automation, customer management… these are just a few of the areas where WordPress plugins come in handy.
So, in a way, you start with a blank canvas and get to turn it into whatever you wish.
Top ecommerce plugins for WordPress
WordPress plugins – you want them, you need them. We can agree on that. Now, let’s dive into the heart of the matter: what are some of the ecommerce plugins you can benefit from the most.
1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the undisputed king of ecommerce plugins for WordPress. It allows you to easily create an online store and offers a ton of features, including support for physical and digital products, built-in analytics, and a wide range of extensions.
With WooCommerce, you can add product listings, manage inventory, configure shipping options, and accept payments through various gateways. You can also integrate it with other services like Google Analytics, to make data-driven decisions.
This plugin is a great option for businesses of all sizes, as it is easy to set up and use.
Pricing:
WooCommerce itself is free. However, additional features and functionalities often come through paid extensions, ranging from a few dollars to hundreds.
2. Omnisend for WooCommerce
Omnisend is the ultimate email & SMS marketing plugin and CRM solution for WooCommerce, trusted by over 100,000 ecommerce stores around the world. Built specifically for ecommerce, it’s an ideal platform for selling more stuff to more people.
Send emails, SMS, push notifications, automate your marketing and grow contact lists — all in one place. It integrates seamlessly with your WooCommerce store, allowing you to create targeted campaigns, personalized product recommendations, and automated workflows based on customer behavior.
Pricing:
Omnisend offers a generous free-forever plan with access to all features. Paid plans start at $16 per month.
3. Ecwid
Another user-friendly WordPress plugin for online store management is Ecwid. It’s praised by beginners for its simplicity and ease of use.
This platform allows you to add a fully functional shopping cart to your existing website, business profile on social media, blog, marketplaces, or mobile app.
Considering that 91% of consumers now make online purchases using their smartphones, it’s pretty obvious why you’d want multiplatform checkout functionality. Ecwid provides just that.
Pricing:
Ecwid offers a free-forever plan with limited features. Paid plans start at $21 per month.
4. Easy Digital Downloads
Not everything you sell online needs to be a physical product. Easy Digital Downloads caters specifically to businesses selling downloadable products like ebooks, software, or digital courses. This plugin allows you to manage downloads, restrict access, and track sales.
This WordPress plugin has built-in support for Stripe, PayPal, and Amazon payments. And while a free version exists, premium plans unlock a lot of powerful features like email marketing tools, marketplace functionality, and advanced checkout management.
Pricing:
Easy Digital Downloads offers a free core plugin with basic features. Paid plans start at around $92.76 per year.
5. MemberPress
MemberPress transforms your website into a lively membership hub. This plugin goes beyond simple ecommerce and lets you create exclusive paywalled content like courses, downloads, and even entire sections of your site.
It’s perfect for businesses offering subscription-based models or exclusive content. You can create membership tiers, restrict access to content based on membership level, and drip-feed content to build anticipation.
MemberPress also provides pre-designed pricing pages that you can easily customize further.
Pricing:
Paid plans start at $179.50 per year.
Wrap up
WordPress plugins can be a powerful tool to transform your website into a fully functional ecommerce store. They offer a wide range of features, all within the familiar WordPress interface. By choosing the right plugins for your specific needs, you can create a thriving and scalable ecommerce store on WordPress.
And remember — many plugins offer free versions with basic features, so you can experiment and find the perfect fit for your business before committing to a paid plan. This flexibility makes WordPress an attractive and effective platform for businesses of all sizes, from startups to established brands.
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Author: Blog Management
