WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that enables you to create a website or blog from scratch or to improve an existing website. WordPress is free and open-source software released under the GPL.

WordPress is popular because it’s open source, which means that anyone can contribute to the development of the software. This has resulted in a large and active community of developers who are constantly working to improve WordPress and create additional software that integrates with it.

WordPress is used by millions of people around the world, including many large organizations, such as The Guardian, Forbes, and The New York Times. WordPress powers 28% of the internet, which is a huge number when you consider that there are over 1 billion websites online.

One of the reasons WordPress is so popular is that it’s easy to use. Even if you’ve never created a website before, you can build a WordPress site in a few hours.

WordPress is also flexible and can be used for a wide variety of websites and applications. In addition to traditional websites, WordPress can be used to create e-commerce stores, membership sites, social networks, and much more.

WordPress eCommerce software is becoming increasingly popular as a way to sell online. There are many reasons for this, but the two main ones are that WordPress is very user-friendly and it’s free.

Other eCommerce platforms can be expensive and complex to use, which puts off a lot of potential online sellers. WordPress is much simpler and therefore more appealing to those who want to sell online but don’t have a lot of experience with web design or coding.

Top 3 Best WordPress Ecommerce Software

  1. WooCommerce – Best overall
  2. MemberPress – Best for subscriptions
  3. Easy Digital Downloads – Best for digital downloads

1. WooCommerce – Best overall

Best WordPress Ecommerce Software

PRICING: Free

There are a few different WordPress eCommerce plugins available, but WooCommerce is by far the most popular. WooCommerce is a plugin that turns a WordPress website into an online store. It’s extremely user-friendly and has a lot of features, which is why it’s so popular.

If you’re thinking about starting an online store, then WordPress eCommerce is definitely worth considering. It’s a great way to sell online without having to spend a lot of money on expensive software or hiring a web developer. Plus, it’s relatively easy to use, even if you’ve never built a website before.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Easy WordPress integration
  • Open-source development platform
  • Built-in payment processing
  • Large library of extensions
  • Large number of themes available
  • Easy order managing system
  • Marketing tool integrations
  • Blogging feature
  • Unlimited products and product photos

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Hundreds of extensions and themes, giving you plenty of options to choose from when it comes to designing your website and layout.
  • Built-in support for most payment options, with the ability to add additional payment gateways by using extensions.
  • Easily calculate shipping and tax automatically.
  • You can sell physical and digital downloads with WooCommerce.
  • You can add affiliate and external products to your eCommerce shop easily.
  • Equipped with tons of tools that will help you manage your inventory. You can also assign a store manager for inventory management.
  • Since it’s one of the most popular eCommerce plugins in the world, there are tons of support and information online through forums, help desks, and articles online.
  • Free to use

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Sometimes too many options are not the best things. It can make the platform overwhelming, especially for a new user.
  • Scaling can get a little difficult. You’ll need to move to a dedicated hosting provider if you want to scale your business.
  • Theme support is not the strongest. Sometimes WooCommerce will not work or look good with certain themes, but it’s better than many other plugins out there.

2. MemberPress – Best for subscriptions

Best WordPress Ecommerce Software

PRICING: Starts at $15/month for basic plan.

MemberPress is a popular membership site plugin for WordPress. It allows you to easily create and manage memberships on your WordPress site. With MemberPress, you can create unlimited membership levels, manage access to content, and sell products and subscriptions. MemberPress is a great way to monetize your WordPress site and create a community of paying members.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Members-only dashboard
  • Digital downloads
  • Course creator
  • Corporate memberships
  • Subscription billing
  • Customizable checkout
  • Paywall

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Easily sell subscription-based products including membership plans, pay per view content, and anything else you can think of!
  • Strong control over access rules. Create and define different user access levels and restrictions.
  • Simple content dripping, which allows you to release paid content over a period of time.
  • Powerful extensions that can be integrated to your WooCommerce store or other third-party services.
  • Their built-in course creator allows you to plan, create, and sell your courses.

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Not many payment gateways to choose from. Currently only supports PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net
  • Billed annually with no option for monthly billing.

3. Easy Digital Downloads – Best for digital downloads

Best WordPress Ecommerce Software

PRICING: Starts at $99.50/year for a basic plan

Easy Digital Downloads is a popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress. It allows you to sell digital products from your WordPress site. Easy Digital Downloads is easy to use and has a wide range of features, making it a great choice for selling digital products. With this software, you can easily sell digital products such as eBooks, software, and digital artwork.

Easy Digital Downloads is available as a free plugin, but there is also a premium version available. The premium version includes additional features such as automated tax calculation, automatic customer account creation, and more. Easy Digital Downloads is a great choice for selling digital products on your WordPress site.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Payment flexibility
  • Discount codes
  • Unlimited file downloads
  • Shopping cart that allows for multiple downloads to be purchased at once
  • Customer account page
  • Activity tracking to monitor how product files are being downloaded, from date, time, and even IP addresses
  • Reporting platform built-in including ability to view stats, make custom reports, and more
  • Large number of integrations including MailChimp, Dropbox, Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Slack, and more

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Specially designed to sell digital products.
  • Extremely easy to use, which is perfect for beginners getting started.
  • Hundreds of extensions and addons including payment gateways, marketing tools, and other services.
  • Works with most WordPress themes.
  • Plenty of support including community forums, videos, tutorials, and priority support for premium users.

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Only for digital downloadable products. Can get confusing when mixing physical product software.
  • Difficult to set up affiliate products for beginners as you must download third-party add-ons for it.

References:

  • https://woocommerce.com/
  • https://memberpress.com/
  • https://easydigitaldownloads.com/