The options for e-commerce construction are growing year by year. There are SaaS platforms (software as a service) like Shopify and BigCommerce as well as just as powerful WordPress plug-ins. Both have good advantages, but editing the current WordPress site into a fully functional online store is an attractive idea. One day you have a blog and followers – the next product gallery with ebooks and related products.
Selling your own products is one of the best ways to make money online and can be done with one add-on.
The best thing about WordPress e-commerce add-ons is that they offer the same features in addition, you get customer support, development community, and integration into the easiest content management system in the world. You sold anything – donuts or digital products – to get your business spinning in minutes.
Does WordPress often violate bad add-ons and theme updates?
The add-ons below are the best ones. Some, of course, are better suited for a single user group or for selling certain types of products . For example, you might want to sell only video content, so you have a few good options. Whether you wanted to sell digital products or use your time to sell physical products, we’ll find the right WordPress plugin for you to set up an online store.
List of the best WordPress e-commerce add-ons
I would assume that many companies will test and compare add-ons until they find the right one. We’ve reviewed all the best WordPress plugins in this article, but if you are in a hurry and want to start experimenting right away, here is a quick list of the best options available.
WooCommerce
Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)
Cart66 Cloud
WP ECommerce
Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart
Jigoshop Ecommerce
WP EasyCart Shopping Cart and Ecommerce Store
BigCommerce WordPress Plugin
Best WordPress e-commerce reviews
As mentioned above, I wanted to highlight the key features of WordPress e-commerce add-ons. After that, it was most important to judge what made these better than others in these add-ons. One noteworthy thing is that some add-ons offer a huge amount of different features, while some are better for simple online stores. On the other hand, there are also a lot of niche solutions for certain situations, such as online shops selling digital products.
After each individual analysis of each e-commerce add-on, I will make recommendations on what to use in different situations. So let’s start with a list of the best online add-ons for WordPress.
1. WooCommerce
If you haven’t heard of WooCommerce yet , let me be the one who will introduce you to the king of e-commerce add-ons . For many, WooCommerce means that the WordPress blog can instantly transform into a fully-fledged online store, and is the most popular e-commerce solution. Interestingly enough, WooCommerce was originally part of Jigoshop (which I’ll talk about later in this article) and was developed in 2011.
When Automattic acquired WooThemes (WooCommerce Developers) in 2015, the popularity of WooCommerce has risen dramatically, with 20% of all online stores in the background.
One reason for WooCommerce’s growth is that it was just bought by Automattic, which also runs the entire WordPress.
WooCommerce is often the best solution when it comes to building and expanding e-commerce quickly . You can build a store with five products – or thousands of products – on your blog. The add-on always costs the same: it’s free. It supports unlimited product and user numbers as long as hosting and infrastructure allow.
In addition to hosting, many companies pay for certain elements that can be integrated into WooCommerce. For example, many paid WordPress themes are designed to work perfectly in WooCommerce with their shopping baskets and beautiful product galleries. You may also need a few extensions to have additional features in your store. WooCommercella has its own expansion shop, where you can find a lot of third-party plug-ins.The amount of money you spend depends on what you need. For example, WooCommerce Bookings costs $ 249, but Authorize.net only $79.
Why is WooCommerce one of the best online add-ons for WordPress?
A normal small business doesn’t have to spend money on acquiring WooCommerce.
Themes and accessories are not very expensive, so WooCommerce is an economical way to shop online.
WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress online store. It’s connected to Automattic and has a huge number of developers around it, so it’s not going anywhere, but you can continue to rely on updates.
Extensions are being made to solve problems that retailers may have. Extensions allow you to deploy more complex e-commerce features without separate coding. For example, one extension will help create a trade for members .
With WooCommerce, you can sell almost anything you can. Digital products, orders and appointments.
Payments are made with built-in features for many major payment ports, and compatibility extensions are available for many other payment ports.
WordPress themes for e-commerce are usually made around WooCommerce. Therefore, integration should not be a problem.
Both novice and advanced users can easily manage with WooCommerce. The user interface is simple enough for beginners, while the REST API, documentation, and open development mean that the dedicated users can customize it as they wish.
Read more about our detailed guide to installing and deploying WooCommerce .
2. Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)
Easy Digital Downloads (often EDD) provides an easy, intuitive plug-in for selling and managing digital products through WordPress. WooCommerce is also able to do this, but EDD has more features focusing on digital products. The interface is cooler. So if you sell only products like eBooks, pdf files and audio files (and not physical products), EDD should be the number one in your e-commerce list. One reason for the popularity of EDD is that the core add-on is free. You do not need to install it and you have an instant sales channel for digital products with discount sales opportunities, access to file access, and various tracking options.
Easy Digital Downloads (often EDD) provides an easy, intuitive plug-in for selling and managing digital products through WordPress. WooCommerce is also able to do this, but EDD has more features focusing on digital products. The interface is cooler. So if you sell only products like eBooks, pdf files and audio files (and not physical products), EDD should be the number one in your e-commerce list. One reason for the popularity of EDD is that the core add-on is free. You do not need to install it and you have an instant sales channel for digital products with discount sales opportunities, access to file access, and various tracking options.
You can make galleries and choose your favorite EDD themes. When someone buys a product through your page, he or she will receive a system-generated email with a link to download the file. The EDD also has a full shopping cart, so payments are processed on the page and the amount of clicks required is retained.
As mentioned, the core of EDD is free. However, you can get extra features with an annual fee. Payment packages start at $ 199 per year and are most expensive at $ 899 per year. The most expensive package includes all the features of EDD. All packages come with full customer support, side licenses, and updates. They also include extensions and integrations for e-mail marketing and extra payment ports.
If you need customer support and prefer to buy extensions individually, you will find many options in the Extensions Library . Like WooCommerce, EDD extensions are at different prices. The Recurring Payments add-on costs $ 199 per site. The MailChimp add-on is again $ 49. Extensions Library also has many free add-ons.
Why is Easy Digital Downloads one of the best online add-ons for WordPress?
It works best for the sale of digital products, as it does not have the features required for the sale of physical products at all. Instead, it has more advanced features such as music and e-books.
Extension Library has dozens of extensions. Therefore, I can create a more advanced digital trade with software licenses, for example.
You can also choose your own payment port system.
The core of the plugin is completely free. An ordinary small business or artist does not come across problems when using the sales process.
Many developers also use EDD. The RESTful API gives them the ability to make any changes.
Easy Digital Downloads has a large and active community of bloggers, developers and enthusiasts. Thus many problems have already been solved in blog posts and new great extensions are created for your online store all the time.
Key features include full shopping cart, customer management, discount codes, and data reports. You’ll also get tools for tracking returns, affiliate systems, email lists, and more.
Our detailed tutorial provides instructions for installing and deploying Easy Digital Downloads.
3. Cart66 Cloud
Cart66 Cloud is a smart platform for all kinds of people. The idea is that as little as possible is needed for the add-ons, as managing a collection of add-ons and extensions can sometimes be laborious. Thus, Cart66 Cloud provides WordPress with an e-commerce add-on that most of the features are pre-built. Its introduction is easy and feedback from users is mostly positive. Compete with WooCommerce for e-commerce is a hard spot, but Cart66 Cloud has its own user base. The best thing is to keep the number of add-ons as small as possible. In fact, Cart66 Cloud can be even better for ordinary people who do not consider themselves software developers.
Update: Cart66 currently does not provide accounts for new users.
The Cart66 Cloud also has such an interesting side that it has its own marketplace for sellers . Personally, I do not see this as a big advantage (because a consumer who doesn’t buy online at Cart 66 Market) is another way to make your business visible.
All in all, Cart66 sees itself as an online shop for everybody. Comparing itself to WooCommerce, Cart66 says WooCommerce is software developers who want to build complex e-commerce systems. Although this is not exactly the case, the integration of all major features has been an absolute advantage for Cart66.
As far as pricing is concerned, Cart66 has a free core add-on, but its best features will only become available in the paid version. It costs $ 49 per month (after a 14-day free trial). Cart66 has also received a lot of praise from its customers. So, if you get nervous about introducing a complex system and need support teams, Cart66 might be the perfect solution.
Why is Cart66 Cloud one of the best online add-ons for WordPress?
The customer support team is one of the best in the industry.
You can choose either the free or the paid add-on features.
All features are included in the add-on, so no extensions need to be found or deployed. You also do not need to hire a software developer or learn to encode yourself.
Most of the development work is done by the Cart66 team behind the scenes. As has been said, there is a big reason why a beginner Cart66 may be a better option than WooCommerce.
E-mail marketing goes better with Cart66 than its competitors. For example, you will get the tools to create a list breakdown, drip campaigns, and timed follow-up email messages directly from the WordPress dashboard.
Cart66 works with both physical and digital products. So if you want to sell both e-books and shoes, that’s right.
Add-on refers to more than 100 built-in payment options – compared to many other e-commerce add-ons that require you to install extensions.
Content restrictions, recurring payments, and orders are packaged directly into Cart66. Once again, these are the features that WooCommerce, for example, require to install extensions.
4. WP ECommerce
WP eCommerce is generally considered a direct alternative to WooCommerce. The main reason for this is that the add-on works well in the same way as WooCommerce, including the dashboard and pricing model. For example, pricing is done so that you can download the plug-in for free and purchase the features you need later in the expansion store. The biggest difference in pricing is that WP cCommerce has a Gold Cart extension, which is like a paid version of the same add-on. God Cart pays $ 99 per site and features features like real-time search, premium portals and grid view of product galleries.
Whether you choose WP eCommerce or WooCommerce depends on what features you need in your online store. For example, WooCommerce Product Reviews are free, but WP ECommerce requires their own extension. On the other hand, WP ECommerce offers a variety of sophisticated mailing options, while WooCommerce customers need to buy an extension.
WP eCommerce customer support has long been better than direct support for WooCommerce. On the other hand, WP eCommerce does not have an equally lively online discussion as WooCommerce. As a resource, WP ECommerce provides a large article bank with information on getting started, introducing a payment port system, and managing a Gold Cart extension.
WP eCommerce had previously had excellent guide videos, but at the time of writing this article, they have been removed for some reason. However, WP eCommerce has such a solid customer support that we recommend it to those who need extra help. 30 day access to paid customer support costs $ 49 and annual access to $ 499. It may sound expensive at first, but I think it’s a good solution for beginners who need help – compared to the amount of study that needs to be done if they want to use WooCommerce.
Why is WP ECommerce one of the best e-commerce add-ons developed for WordPress?
Although you need to pay for real customer support, it is more helpful than what WooCommerce offers. WP ECommerce makes sense for those who need or want professional help setting up their online store.
E-commerce can be expanded significantly with add-ons. As with Cart66, some may see all these add-ons as a downside, but many users appreciate the flexibility they bring. You can choose one or a few extra fees and still keep the management view clean and free of the features you don’t need.
WP eCommece’s deal has long been mainly WooCommerce, but years ago it was not a competitor for code problems, bugs and weak customer support. Recently, however, developers have improved all of them, and now WP ECommerce can often be a working solution. You can try it yourself to see if it suits your needs.
5. Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart
Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping cart is a popular and acclaimed add-on that looks like WooCommerce but is actually quite different. One of the differences is that Ecwid can be used on any site. If you have a Drupal site, you can build an online store with Ecwid. The same goes for Tumbler, Facebook, WordPress and many more. Instead, WooCommerce is the only WordPress plug-in. Good one, but it’s limited to just one content management system. I also think that Ecwid may be WooCommercea and other e-commerce applications more affordable, because it has a simple monthly payment. And besides this, the plugin’s core is free and contains more built-in features than many extensions.
For this reason, we believe that many users looking for built-in tools should be Ecwid. It resembles Cart66, where the features are ready and do not need to be hunted from their own library or from outside developers. A free package works well for basic web shopping. It includes a mobile and responsive shopping cart, up to ten different products and the ability to use many different websites for trading.
It is clear that the limit of ten products makes many users go elsewhere, but the limit applies only to the free package. The 100 product sales are available for $ 15 per month, 2,500 items for $ 35 per month and an unlimited product amount of $ 99 per month. At first glance, you may think Ecwid is more expensive than WooCommerce. But I’ve often seen that it is the other way around, depending on the online store. Using WooCommerce often requires expensive add-ons. Even the use of many regular payment port systems requires payment. In this case, the online store for less than a hundred items costs just $ 15 a month and includes the following:
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Facebook Shop.
Mobile outlet.
Free start site.
Discount coupons.
Rejected Shopping Cart.
Social media tools.
Facebook pixel.
Automatic tax calculations.
Google Shopping Support.
It may even be that the $ 99 Unlimited Plan is less expensive than WooCommerce, depending on how much money you spend on add-ons. All in all, Ecwid has a superb neat interface and a simple deployment process. You can try out the free add-on and then decide if the paid features are needed. Generally speaking, I think that if you come to spend as much money WooCommercen expansions or if you want many distribution channels (such as marketplaces, eBay, Facebook), Ecwid is a high quality supplement.
Why Ecwid is one of the best online add-ons for WordPress?
Ecwid has a free pack that can hold 10 products. In addition, there is a beautiful deployment process, a user interface and a feature pack for a reasonable monthly price.
Although this article is especially for WordPress, you can say that Ecwid can also be used on other sites and other content management systems. This includes WordPress, Squarespace , Adobe Muse and Wix .
Many packages include both telephone and chat support and / or free customization and first-class customer support.
Through Ecwid, all updates are enabled automatically, while many other WordPress plug-ins require manual updates.
Ecwid keeps its stores on its own servers, so it is PCI-DCC certified and the cash flow between your payment port and the bank is fully protected. For many other add-ons on this list, you must ensure that your server is compatible with PCI.
Ecwid has focused on helping you quickly sell your products through many different channels. Some bad guys include a Facebook Shop. Mobile outlets, internet marketplaces, regular outlets, eBay and Google Shopping are also possible.
When you install Ecwid on one site, all data can be transferred to another site for synchronization. In this way, sales can be made in many stores at the same time.
6. Jigoshop Ecommerce
The Jigoshop ECommerce add-on is the first and oldest of the WordPress e-commerce add-ons. It was created in 2011 by a British company called Jigowatt. The aim was to develop an open source digital solution that would allow WordPress users to change their website to online shopping. Thus, it can be said that all current e-commerce additions have been inspired by Jigoshop. Much has happened since it was born, but in recent years it has undergone a remake and has received a lot of great updates. Today, the Jigoshop eCommerce brand promises to be one of the fastest and most modern online store additions on the market.
Jigoshop ECommerce is still based on open source and is free. This is a good thing for many reasons. First, it really gets free. Secondly, its development never ends. There is a significant number of application developers around Jigoshop who publish new updates and fix problems continuously. Jigoshop eCommerce and third-party developers come with modern and beautiful themes at a price between $ 0 and $ 50. Also, the expansion library is great – reminiscent of WooCommerce – and some of its extensions are free and some are paid. There are add-ons for marketing, networking, payment ports, delivery and many more. Most of them cost up to $ 50, although there are a few exceptions.
As for the features of Jigoshop eCommerce, its online store supports many different product groups such as digital products, physical products, varied products, and simple products. The platform has detailed reports, great styling tools and a place to manage your inventory. Its use is reasonably intuitive and simple compared to WooCommerce and many of its descendants. Using Jigshop may become cheaper than using WooCommerce because its add-ons are a bit cheaper. All in all, online shops serving niche target groups usually have to turn to additional merchants.
All in all, we would say that developers and novice learners might like Jigoshop eCommerce. It is a completely redesigned product, so it has some great features, but on the other hand, it’s still underway. User reviews vary, but some love themes and user interface – and it should be fast.
Why is Jigoshop ECommerce one of the best e-commerce add-ons developed for WordPress?
Jigoshop Ecommerce has been around for a long time. It started the wave of WordPress e-commerce add-ons, so it can’t be said to be empty. The older plug-in has been virtually built into a completely new, cleaner, faster version, which is worth trying out.
Jigoshop ECommerce is an open source free project, making it ideal for businesses of all sizes. Beginners and small businesses save money, and more advanced application developers can do any kind of customization.
Themed trade offers affordable but beautiful alternatives for different types of businesses and businesses.
Most of the Jigoshop eCommerce extensions seem more affordable than the WooCommerce store.
Jigoshop has a large community of users and developers, so documentation, blog posts, videos and other articles are available.
Although direct customer support is not available for free, there is an active forum through which Moderators and users can chat with each other. Customer support can also be paid – start with $ 40 email support. The price increases up to $ 800 +, but at that price, you can manage the entire webpage.
7. WP EasyCart Shopping Cart and Ecommerce Store
WP EasyCart Shopping Cart and Ecommerce Store is one of the add-ons developed for WordPress online stores, many of which are not mentioned in this type of blog post. However, it is gaining more attention – and for good reason. Sometimes it feels like basic add-ons like WooCommerce, Cart66 and Easy Digital Downloads are still not suitable for small business owners who would certainly have the ability to learn how to use them – but maybe not the time to do it. WP EasyCart is specifically designed for small businesses looking to create a beautiful online store without studying. The store is spinning with WordPress, but its deployment is incredibly fast and has easy-to-use tools for non-application developers.
WP EasyCart authors know that small businesses work with other software so that Quickbooks, MailChimp, TaxCloud and ShipStation can integrate into their product. This is the dream of a small business owner. In addition, WP EasyCart allows you to sell any type of product – regular consumer products, downloads, orders and gift cards. It is also capable of sending invoices, selling video content, selling e-books and asking for donations .
WP EasyCart works just like the SaaS online store like Squarespace or Wix . All the simple tools are ready for you. The only difference is that you can completely control your site with WordPress or your own server. The features are surprisingly advanced in the free version – an unlimited number of products, real-time mailing and advanced product options. The $ 69 a year thick package will remove all the sales costs that are included in the free package. The most expensive package costs $ 99 per year and allows you to sell ongoing orders and integrate.
Basic features such as coupons, promotions, B2B and orders are sufficient for WP EasyCart to compete with WooCommerce. Additionally, with the opportunity to integrate many small business software, it looks like WP EasyCart is a true powerhouse for business name and small business. The packages include a 14-day free trial so you can try the add-on for free. In addition, free customer service is provided in the form of a support center, online documentation, video tutorials, forums and other services. Customer support is also available.
Why Is This One Of The Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins?
There is a free package that can accommodate an unlimited amount of products and a lot of tools for selling taxes, products and videos.
Paid packages have a lot to offer to small businesses, and they are not absurdly priced. The $ 99 per year pay-per-pack includes lots of plug-ins for small businesses.
Each extension is clearly made for small businesses. Examples include AffiliateWP, MailChimp.One of the best customer support systems on this list is available. You may not be able to get support for free by phone or e-mail, but the forums are active and helpful in video tutorials.
WP EasyCart also supports less common product types such as donations, invoices, e-books, and video content.
Many of the WooCommerce add-ons seem very expensive compared to the WP EasyCart’s $ 69 and $ 99 packages a year.
WP EasyCart has a simple interface for small businesses to publish their site and spend their time and energy on the rest.
8. BigCommerce WordPress Plugin
BigCommerce has been running its own e-commerce platform for some time, so it has its own content management system and server space . Now BigCommerce is trying to get the WordPress market with a new version of its product. Right now the product is in Beta and you need to apply for a license, but in the near future the situation may be different. The goal of BigCommerce is to attract companies with websites based on WordPress. It is quite possible that a popular blogger will want to start selling products. The problem is that the BigCommerce system might be more practical for some WordPress plug-ins. Before this release, it was not possible to combine WordPress and BigCommerce – one had to choose one.
Now, BigCommerce is working to bring together WordPress content and BigCommerce sales capabilities. It is actually the same as Ecwid, which allows a sales module to be placed on many different pages and still sell products in sync. All inventory and sales are managed from the same user interface. BigCommerce also has a so-called “headless Commerce”, where WordPress resources are handled from the user view to save space and speed up the payment process, and the catalog is handled at the backend level. Right now you have to make an application to get involved, but it’s worth it if you always liked BigCommerce’s features but also want a WordPress site.
Why is WP EasyCart one of the best online add-ons for WordPress?
You can combine the world’s best content management system with a top-notch e-commerce platform.
BigCommerce cooperates with many money brokerage companies and is often able to offer its competitors better prices for processing credit card payments.
The webshop of your site is running from the backend side, while the content is managed from the frontend side. This makes the sideline work faster and you can save money on hosting costs.
PCC compatibility is handled by BigCommerce. For add-ons like WooCommerce, you need to take care of your safety.
The BigCommerce system can be run on different sites.
Summary
WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads are the most typical online store add-ons you see. But always they can’t provide the best solution. This is the strength of WordPress: you have what to choose. So what is the best for your business?
If you are a software developer and you need tools for customizing – WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads or Jigoshop may be a good solution. Bigcommercek is not a bad option if you are ready to dive into new depths.
If you’re an e-commerce week – try Cart66 or WP EasyCart. Many also work with WooCommerce.
If you want a lot of features for small businesses – try WP EasyCart.
If you are looking for a free add-on – try WooCommercea or WP eCommerce.
If you want to keep the gaps under control and limit the number of extensions and add-ons – try Cart66 Cloud or WP EasyCart.
If you like add-ons – try WooCommercea, Jigoshop or WP eCommerce.
If you sell only digital products – try Easy Digital Downloads.
If you want to sell through different channels – try Ecwid.
If you want to combine great BigCommerce and WordPress – try BigCommerce Beta.