Opening an online store has its own set of problems, considering the extensive variety of tools and options at hand. Nevertheless, WordPress offers a good foundation for developing and growing your eCommerce business. Although WordPress lacks inherent eCommerce features, plugins bridge this gap, turning your website into an online store.

This article delves into the best 10 WordPress eCommerce plugins and important add-ons that can aid in maximizing your WordPress store’s potential.

Best WordPress eCommerce Plugins 2024

#1 WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the best-selling WordPress eCommerce plugins, and it’s no wonder why. This open-source software is renowned for its ease of use and level of customization.

With more than eight million active installations, WooCommerce provides a good starting point for both developers and merchants, with key tools such as product pages, checkout procedures, and multiple payment gateways such as bank transfer, cash on delivery, Stripe, and PayPal. The intuitive configuration wizard allows just about anyone to get started quickly.

One of the largest advantages of WooCommerce is how flexible it is. Business owners can purchase additional plugins that enhance their store’s functionality from shipping integrations to advanced marketing tools. Not all WooCommerce add-ons are expensive, as several are free and open-source; however, a premium version does exist for others who want special features and good support.

Pricing

WooCommerce itself is totally free, but remember that there can be extra charges for premium plugins that add functionality. The total expense will be based on how many extensions you require for your store configuration.

To further extend WooCommerce’s functionality, here are some essentials add-ons:

1.    GDPR Cookie Consent

With growing data privacy regulations, ensuring compliance is necessary for WooCommerce store owners. The GDPR Cookie Consent plugin provides a complete solution for managing cookie consent in line with GDPR and other privacy laws.

It enables businesses to display customizable cookie banners, giving visitors control over which tracking cookies they accept or decline. Plus, it also comes with automatic script blocking, ensuring that third-party cookies are not activated without user consent.

2.    Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce

Enhancing the post-purchase experience with real-time order tracking boosts customer confidence and reduces inquiries.

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce helps streamline order fulfillment by generating tracking numbers for each order and providing tracking widgets for customer notifications. Store owners can customize order statuses, updating them as ‘Completed,’ ‘Shipped,’ or ‘Partially Shipped.’ The free version is available for download from the WordPress repository.

3.    WooCommerce PDF Invoices

Maintaining proper invoicing and order documentation ensures legal and tax compliance while providing customers with a record of their purchases.

WooCommerce PDF Invoices and Packing Slips allow users to generate PDF invoices, packing slips, delivery notes, and shipping labels for all WooCommerce orders. It also offers customization options and supports QR codes.

The free version of the PDF invoices plugin for WooCommerce can be found in the WordPress repository.

4.    Yoast SEO

Optimizing a WooCommerce store for search engines is key to driving organic traffic. The Yoast SEO plugin provides comprehensive on-page SEO tools, including keyword analysis, readability evaluation, and structured data integration.

What differentiates Yoast SEO is its real-time content assessment, which enables store owners to enhance product pages, meta descriptions, and URLs for search engines. It also generates XML sitemaps and incorporates schema markup, improving search engine visibility.

5.    Product Import Export for WooCommerce

Handling bulk product updates can be monotonous for any WooCommerce store. The Export Import WooCommerce Products plugin simplifies this task by enabling easy import and export of products, categories, and attributes. This tool ensures speed and accuracy when migrating to a different store, modifying product information, or adding new inventory in bulk.

Supporting multiple file formats like CSV, Excel, TSV, and XML, it allows store owners to filter and manage imports and exports based on custom criteria, making this product import-export plugin indispensable for WooCommerce store management.

6.    eCommerce Marketing Automation

Automating email and popup marketing campaigns is a powerful way to boost customer engagement and sales. With the eCommerce Marketing Automation app, you can easily integrate this functionality into your WooCommerce store.

The app streamlines key marketing tasks like email campaigns, abandoned cart recovery, and dynamic popups, ensuring personalized interactions at every stage—leading to higher engagement and conversions.

This WooCommerce email customizer plugin helps design automated email sequences for abandoned cart notifications, lead generation, and post-purchase follow-ups, making marketing more efficient.

#2 Ecwid E-commerce Shopping Cart

For those looking for a cost-effective eCommerce solution, Ecwid provides an eCommerce setup alternative. It integrates with major shipping carriers, including UPS, USPS, and FedEx, for automated shipping rate calculations.

Ecwid also synchronizes products, customers, and orders between WordPress and Facebook, allowing multi-channel selling. Since all store data is hosted on secure servers, this reduces downtime and lowers the strain on the main website’s server.

#3 BigCommerce for WordPress

BigCommerce, a subscription-based eCommerce platform, integrates with WordPress via its dedicated plugin. It includes unlimited product listings and file storage alongside essential eCommerce tools like SEO optimization, customer support, and secure payment gateways.

A key benefit of BigCommerce is its pre-configured eCommerce pages, including sign-in, cart, and account sections, eliminating manual setup time. It also features PCI-compliant checkout security for safe transactions.

One downside is the limited selection of themes and extensions compared to other platforms. Additionally, each pricing plan comes with an annual sales threshold; exceeding this limit requires upgrading.

Pricing starts at $29 per month, with a 15-day free trial available.

#4 WordPress Simple Shopping Cart

For those looking for a simple eCommerce solution, WordPress Simple Shopping Cart makes it easy to add a shopping cart to product pages using shortcodes.

While this approach provides flexibility, managing a large inventory via shortcodes may be impractical for stores with extensive product catalogs. Businesses requiring more advanced eCommerce functionalities might look for other eCommerce plugin alternatives.

#5 Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

For businesses focusing exclusively on digital products, Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is the best solution. While it has a smaller extension library than WooCommerce, its premium add-ons provide essential features tailored for digital sales.

Though fewer extensions are available, EDD delivers an efficient, streamlined experience for selling digital products.

To expand its functionality, consider these add-ons:

1.    Multi-Currency Support

Supporting multiple currencies enhances the shopping experience for international customers. Easy Digital Downloads enables currency selection through widgets, reducing conversion fees and improving user convenience.

This eCommerce plugin supports over 200 currencies, and users can either manually adjust exchange rates or enable automatic updates through the Open Exchange Rates API.

2.    Stripe Payment Gateway

The Stripe Payment Gateway enables secure credit card transactions on your digital store. It supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, CashApp, and more, ensuring a fast and reliable checkout experience for customers.

3.    Software Licensing

For software vendors, managing license keys is crucial. The Software Licensing add-on provides tools for key generation, activation, and validation, streamlining the software licensing process.

It includes a JSON API for remote activation and automatic renewal reminders, ensuring customers can renew licenses directly from email notifications. Detailed reporting tools offer insights into license renewals and revenue.

Conclusion

Selecting the right eCommerce plugin plays a pivotal role in your online store’s success. WooCommerce stands out due to its expandability and wide range of extensions. While Easy Digital Downloads and BigCommerce cater to specific needs, solutions like Ecwid and Simple Shopping Cart offer lightweight WordPress eCommerce alternatives.

That’s a wrap, guys! If this guide was helpful, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!