Launching an eCommerce storefront has become wildly popular with the advent of social media and social sharing. Long gone are the days where owning a brick and mortar shop is the only way to generate a passive or full-time income in the world of retail.
With an eCommerce store and a solution such as WooCommerce, get your online presence and products up in less time, even if you are not a professional programmer, designer, or marketer.
What Is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a plugin designed for WordPress, one of the world’s leading free CMS (Content Management Systems) solutions. With the plugin, anyone has the ability to create and launch their very own eCommerce storefront, even if they are unfamiliar with building websites or managing inventory manually.
With WooCommerce, you can take advantage of features and functions that are simply unavailable anywhere else, or only available at a premium price. Managing an eCommerce store is tough enough, which is why choosing the right eCommerce solution is imperative to maximize your online reach and your potential to generate sales and revenue.
Who Uses WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is used not only by individuals looking to sell handmade one-of-a-kind items but also by large corporations who want to modernize their online presence.
The plugin itself is straightforward and intuitive, making it an optimal choice for any entrepreneur or shop owner to get involved without feeling overwhelmed or confused.
Using the plugin is simple and only requires a few minutes to install and active it once you have a working and updated version of WordPress on your website. The plugin is not just for solo entrepreneurs but extends to both small and large businesses that are interested in driving traffic and sales to their online mediums.
Whenever you are planning to launch your own eCommerce solution, it is important to weigh your hosting options. With many hosted eCommerce services available on the market, implementing a self-hosted solution such as WooCommerce may feel tedious and as if it is too much work.
However, hosting your very own eCommerce shop is one way to maintain complete and total control over your website’s design, layout, and even the way you generate sales through the use of your storefront itself or through the digital marketing strategy you plan to implement for your business.
Advantages of Using WooCommerce
Cost Considerations: One of the biggest advantages of using the plugin for WordPress to launch your eCommerce store is the ability to do so without cost. The plugin itself is free of charge and only requires a fee for additional premium plugins or themes (which are not required).
Themes and Design: Use hundreds of free themes available once you install the plugin with your current WordPress installation. WooCommerce is modular, providing flexible layout customization options which are perfect for those who are looking to build a branded design for their website from scratch.
Plugins and Customization: In addition to themes and layouts, plugins are also available to make the browsing experience for visitors and prospective shoppers easier than ever. Use plugins to expedite the checkout process or to help visitors share products and blog content on social media with just a click of the mouse. While thousands of plugins are available for the eCommerce solution free of charge, there are also premium plugins to choose from for even more features and functionality.
Product Attributes and Tags: Implement product attributes and tags without doing so manually on each product page you create for your eCommerce store. Track keywords and tags that are mostly used for quick implementation and monitor which products are most popular or most searched for using the intuitive administrative panel of WordPress once you are logged in.
Ratings and Reviews: Allow verified shoppers and registered customers the ability to leave ratings and reviews on each of the products you are currently selling. Implement a star or point rating system while also allowing written reviews to build a sense of community among your loyal followers and fans.
Built-In Inventory Tracking: Keeping track of the inventory you are hosting in your eCommerce store has never been easier with the plugin. Automatically keep track of your sales, current stock, and projected sales (with additional plugins) to remain informed of the current success or shortcomings of your business.
Location Personalization: Choose your eCommerce store’s currency, default language, and location based on the type of users you want to reach and the demographics you are targeting with your products and brand.
Own Your Brand Outright: Having your own eCommerce storefront setup is ideal if you want to retain full rights to your shop without splitting profits. In many cases, hosted eCommerce solutions can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars each month in addition to service fees on each sale you generate. Hosting your own eCommerce store is a way to retain 100% ownership of your business and its profits.
SEO Benefits of WooCommerce
Any plugin designed for WordPress helps with boosting a website’s SEO, or search engine optimization. Using an eCommerce plugin designed specifically with WordPress in mind is a great way to boost your website’s SEO within top search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, and Bing.
If you are interested in honing in on a specific audience or you want to reach demographics that have a genuine interest in the products and services you provide, consider using a plugin for WordPress when launching your eCommerce store to outperform and outshine your competition once your website is live.
When a website is optimized for search engines, it is much more likely to appear within the first page of top search engine results, directly leading to increased traffic and potential sales.
Whenever you are considering an eCommerce store of your own, researching various tools and solutions is essential to maximize your efforts without wasting time.
With a solution such as WooCommerce, get your eCommerce launched and running with little to no investment, less hassle, and all of the customization options necessary to truly stand out amongst your potential competition.