7 Must-Have Plugins for WordPress ECommerce

WordPress and e-commerce go together like peanut butter and jelly. So whether you’re using one of the many e-commerce “bolt-on” platforms for WordPress, like Woocommerce or Shopify, or you’re interested in starting an online store with WordPress as your content management system of choice, it’s a good idea to consider what other plugins you might want to use on your e-commerce website.

We asked WordPress e-commerce store owners what must-have plugins they have installed, and here’s what they told us:

WooCommerce

WooCommerce – Not just your average WordPress ecommerce plugin, but THE WordPress ecommerce plugin. Woocommerce was actually purchased by Automattic, the company behind WordPress itself, so it works together with WordPress seamlessly, making it easy for you to sell anything, anywhere, to anyone. WooCommerce comes with a variety of shipping options and you can integrate both content and commerce seamlessly, so that WooCommerce seems less like a “blog with a shopping cart”.  There are also tons of plugins specifically for WooCommerce to help extend its basic capabilities. And did we mention that WooCommerce is free?

Paid Memberships Pro

Paid Memberships Pro – A great WordPress ecommerce plugin if you want to sell paid memberships or subscriptions on your website. Great for sites sharing premium content, online courses, clubs, associations and more. This plugin integrates with six different payment processors and comes with dozens of premium plugins that allow you to customize it further. And the content doesn’t just have to be text and images. You can add videos, podcasts and much more, all into a seamless, easy-to-use system.

Easy Digital Downloads

Easy Digital Downloads – Another excellent plugin to sell digital products online, Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) lets you sell software, documents, e-books, songs, graphics or any type of media file. A variety of extensions lets you manage things like software licensing, content restriction, free downloads, customer reviews, recommended products and more. It also integrates with popular email marketing services like Mailchimp and Aweber.

E-Commerce Product Catalog

E-Commerce Product Catalog – Want to create a beautiful product catalog that looks great on any device? This plugin is your answer. Display and customize products, organize them into multiple categories, add product search and much more. This plugin includes a robust import and export feature so you don’t have to enter in tedious details  by hand from a spreadsheet. You can also take payments through the Pro  version of the plugin, and let your visitors request a quote for all or certain products directly from your catalog.

Broken Link Checker

Broken Link Checker – Not just for e-commerce websites, this plugin is a must-have for all WordPress blogs. Simply put, it scans your site for broken links and generates a report of them, so you can easily go in and fix the problem (or hire the fine folks at WPDandy to do it for you!) This is a must-have for e-commerce sites, because whether you have dozens of products or hundreds, there’s going to come a time when you decide to restructure your site or otherwise move things around, and the last thing you want is to lose hundreds, or even thousands of dollars because of broken links!  Don’t let that happen — get this free plugin and make sure your links are all working flawlessly.

Sumo Me

Sumo Me – Sumo Me is an all-in-one suite of services that help you to grow your customer base while generating more sales. With over 37,000 happy customers, Sumo is, as its name might imply, a force to be reckoned with! It integrates with popular e-commerce plugins as well as email marketing lists to deliver timed popups across your site. You can also use it to schedule marketing emails and email drip content to your subscribers. Sumo Me can also be used to retarget customers who may have added something to their shopping cart and then abandoned it. Don’t leave money on the table when it comes to e-commerce plugins. Get this plugin. You can use it for free and pay as you start getting customers.

Live Sales Notification

Live Sales Notification – Also known as a recent sales popup, this WordPress plugin has been making waves in the e-commerce world because it shows sales in real-time on your website. If you’ve ever  been shopping for an item and have seen a notification in the corner that reads something like “A user from Somewhereville, USA just bought ACME Rocket Boots”, you’ll know exactly how this plugin works. Simply put, it’s this kind of magnetic social proof that shows prospective customers that people are indeed buying your product and helps create a sense of trust and popularity. You can choose the product(s) you want to promote as well as customize the look and feel of the notification so that it blends in perfectly with your site.

Do I Really Need to Install All These Plugins on My WordPress Ecommerce Site?

Not at all! In fact, WooCommerce will handle much of the e-commerce heavy lifting on your site. If you decide not to sell actual products and want to concentrate more on things like subscriptions, digital products or memberships, the other plugins may be a better choice if you don’t need something as expansive as WooCommerce. Other plugins, like Sumo Me and the Live Sales Notification are designed to help boost your sales through remarketing, social proof and other proven methods that increase revenues.

The most important thing is to decide what you’re going to be selling on your WordPress site, and then choose the plugins that will best help you achieve that goal. We’ve profiled many of the best ones here on our site for everything from e-commerce to search engine optimization to even WordPress hosting and tutorials that go beyond the basics.

And if you need a bit more help getting your WordPress eCommerce site up and running, why not reach out to us at WPDandy? We specialize in WordPress maintenance and management, including for e-commerce WordPress sites, and we’d love to help your online store thrive! Contact us today and let us know what you need and then let our proficient, experienced development team take care of your needs quickly and efficiently.