Three Plugins for Your E-Commerce Store

WordPress.org, which is an open-source content management software (CMS) is one of the most popular website CMS’ in the world. What it doesn’t have natively you can improve by installing plugins of your choice. Knowing which plugin is right for you is a key part to transforming your website into a successful e-commerce store. You wouldn’t want to use the same plugin for products as you would for digital downloads, for example. To help you choose which plugin is ideal for your online store, here are the top three plugins to consider:

1. Shopify

Shopify is a fast growing platform that has a variety of benefits to new stores. It is very easy to use, it allows you to include SSL certificates, and handles many different payment gateways including things like shipping and taxes, as it handles it all for you. You can sell both digital products and physical ones, as well as keep a comprehensive inventory. Best of all is that you can actually integrate Shopify with a variety of different platforms like Facebook store or Pinterest so that users can easily buy your products right from the social medium they see it on. The only downside is that this is a subscription-based service, so you will want to implement it once you have an interested market. As it has a lot of different options and customizations, it is wise to hire a web developer to set it up for you successfully.

2. Memberpress

Not all e-commerce platforms are meant for product selling. Some, like Memberpress, exists solely to help you sell subscriptions to your users. Whether this is a subscription service that allows them access to your website or downloads, it doesn’t matter. You can offer subscription-based products, membership plans, and even pay-per-view content. It allows you to customize the rules to ensure different membership plans offer different levels of access, and can even be added on with many third-party extensions. The only drawback is that it only authorizes three methods of payment, though one method is PayPal, which is widely accepted.

3. EasyDigitalDownloads

Another specific e-commerce plugin to choose is EasyDigitalDownloads, which allows you to sell digital downloads through your website. It can be used to sell a variety of products, and can be added on with third-party extensions and updated through a variety of themes. It can’t however, offer anything else or allow you to sell external products.

E-commerce plugins are not one-click solutions. Think of them more as platforms that you will then need to customize and incorporate into your website. That is why it is not wise to try to start your own e-commerce store by yourself. You are, after all, hoping for this to become a successful business. Invest in your business and hire web developers that specialize in your e-commerce platform. Blackbelt Commerce, for example, excels at Shopify and BigCommerce website development projects. Choose developers who are experts at your e-commerce platform, and you will get the best results possible.

Choosing the right e-commerce plugin for you will mean knowing your store, what it needs, and what your budget is. Ideally, you should always have it professionally set up so that it looks great and functions perfectly.