If you’re looking to expand your sales channels online, there are plenty of ways to go about it. You have dozens of powerful e-commerce platforms to choose from, and picking the right one can be daunting. One option you might not have considered is a dedicated WordPress e-commerce solution.
WordPress is much more than just a Content Management System (CMS). With the right plugin, you can transform your WordPress website into a booming e-commerce business. This means you can break into online sales using a highly-intuitive platform.
In this article, we’ll go over three key reasons why your business should expand into WordPress e-commerce. Let’s get started!
WordPress is Highly Scalable (And Customizable)
A lot of online stores start off by offering only a handful of products. However, as your customer base grows, you’ll want the option to expand your catalog into the hundreds.
If you already have existing offline sales channels, you’ll need an e-commerce platform that’s highly scalable out of the box. WordPress powers all manner of sites, from small blogs to massive online stores, which makes it a potential option for you.
WordPress is an open-source platform, so its scalability largely depends on your choice of web host. Using a robust hosting provider means your store should be able to process hundreds of sales per day without breaking a sweat.
Beyond, the platform is highly customizable. You can use themes to implement practically any design you’d like want for your store, and modify it as you see fit:
Likewise, WordPress’ massive collection of plugins (ranging in the dozens of thousands) means you can augment your store with almost any functionality you can imagine.
There Are Plenty of Powerful E-Commerce Plugin Options
As you may know, WordPress doesn’t offer e-commerce functionality out of the box. Plugins are the answer, and with the right solution, you can transform the CMS into a full-featured e-commerce platform complete with the functionality you’ll need to set up shop.
Fortunately, you have plenty of WordPress e-commerce plugins to choose from. Some are geared towards digital sales only, others enable you to integrate WordPress with external e-commerce platforms, and much more.
Your choice of e-commerce plugin will come down to the types of features you want. Our recommendation is to spend some time looking at the different options, try demos where possible, and don’t open your wallet until you’ve found a plugin that offers everything you want.
All in all, when you consider the broad range of e-commerce options you have access to, WordPress becomes one of the most flexible online store platforms you can use.
Setting Up a WordPress E-Commerce Store Can Be Fast and Inexpensive
In short, the more complex your site’s design, the greater the cost to build it. Many open-source e-commerce platforms require you to have a background in web development to get the most out of them. Others simplify the entire process, but charge you hefty subscriptions:
WordPress is inexpensive by comparison. All you need to set up an online store using WordPress is:
- A domain name and web hosting
- The open-source WordPress software
- An e-commerce plugin that includes the features you need.
- An e-commerce theme that impresses customers and shows off your products
Domain names are, in most cases, cheap. Web hosting varies in cost depending on what you need, but for a small online store, shared hosting or a Virtual Private Server (VPS) will often do the trick.
When it comes to WordPress e-commerce plugins, there are a lot of powerful free options at your disposal. Some plugins do offer advanced premium add-ons, but mostly for very specific functionality that you may not need (at least at first.)
As for themes, you’ll want a stylish option that enables you to show off your catalog. Licenses tend to be moderately priced, and there are a lot of great WordPress e-commerce options if you look around:
Overall, it’s entirely possible to set up a professional-looking WordPress online store on even a tight budget. That’s something you can’t say for most other e-commerce platforms.
Conclusion
Breaking into online sales is always a complex affair. Perhaps the most important decision you need to make is which platform you’ll use to power your online store. When it comes to ease of use, it’s hard to match WordPress. With the right plugin, setting up a WordPress e-commerce solution becomes simpler than you might imagine.
As for why you’d choose WordPress over other e-commerce solutions, here are three compelling reasons:
- WordPress is highly scalable (and customizable).
- There are plenty of powerful e-commerce plugin options.
- Setting up a WordPress e-commerce store can be fast and inexpensive.
Do you have any questions about how to expand your business into WordPress e-commerce? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
Will Morris is a staff writer at WordCandy. When he’s not writing about WordPress, he likes to gig his stand-up comedy routine on the local circuit.
