So Why Do I Use WooCommerce?
I was a longtime user of the open-source shopping cart program Oscommerce. But, as times changed and other options cropped up, I decided to make a switch given the intense coding needed in Oscommerce. Plus, Oscommerce out of the block was not responsive or mobile-ready, and it demanded a great deal of coding, which was very time consuming and costly for the client. So, I needed to make a change, and I chose WooCommerce.
WooCommerce is a Free Open Source WordPress plugin that provides a designer/programmer with a robust shopping cart system. The WooCommerce Shopping Cart System provides me with almost all the tools necessary to build a full-fledged online shopping cart for my clients. I can implement secure payments, configure shipping options, and more, out of the box–for free.
THOUGH FREE, TO GET THE VERY BEST FEATURES FOR WOOCOMMERCE YOU MIGHT NEED A NUMBER OF OTHER PAID PLUGINS THAT WILL ADD TO YOUR YEARLY COSTS
Also, I usually need to buy other “plugins” that will enhance my client’s WooCommerce site with the features they require. Those plugins will sell at a yearly fee, and my client must purchase them from companies like Flycart. Please note, you can’t expect a quality shopping cart system cost you zero dollars when you want something exceptional.
Can one go wrong with the WooCommerce Shopping Cart System, which costs zero dollars? Well, you can’t go wrong if you have all the necessary prerequisite skills that enable you to navigate the Woocommerce system. But, if you are inexperienced and you choose to implement WOO on your own, you will run into complications demanding time which you may not freely have.
IMPLEMENTING WOOCOMMERCE DOES TAKE A KNOWLEDGEABLE DESIGNER AND PROGRAMMER
If you attempt to build a WooCommerce site on your own, there is a learning curve. To construct a well-oiled Woocommerce system takes knowledge of WordPress, also free, and a quality theme that you use to build your website with WordPress. Oh dear, did a mention a theme? Yes, I did. And the proper theme is the secret sauce for making a WordPress WooCommerce Shopping Cart System look good. And guess what? The best themes are not free. Fortunately for my clients, I use one of the best themes on the market, Divi, and I own a lifetime license, so my clients pay nothing for the theme.
So What Plugins Might You Need For WooCommerce?
Extra Product Options Plugin
PRICE RANGE: $39+ A YEAR
Generally, stores need to add extra options other than the number of items one wants to buy, or colors, or sizes. You might want to allow people to make comments when they choose a product to buy.
A Shipping Plugin
PRICE RANGE: $60+ A YEAR
Generally, stores need to ship out their products. If you are shipping out your products, you want a shipping plugin that ships with Fed Ex, UPS, or USPS. These plugins give your buyer real-time shipping prices based on his or her location from your home base.
Numerous companies provide shipping plugins such as Pluginhive. Prices generally range from $60.00 and more a year and must be updated each year if you want to make sure it stays up to date.
A Credit Card Plugin
PRICE RANGE: FREE TO $60+ A YEAR
You want to accept credit cards at your WooCommerce store. You will need a credit card plugin for WooCommerce. Some of these plugins allow you to use Stripe, PayPal or another system like Authorize.net. Of course, if I’m hired, I’ll help you through this process and make starting a store relatively stress-free. Running an online store can be easy to setup or complicated depending on how you decide to process credit cards.
Prices generally range from $60.00 and more a year and must be updated yearly if you want to make sure it stays up to date.
A Database Plugin
PRICE RANGE: $49+ A YEAR
At times you may have products that have a huge number of variations. For example, you may sell shirts that come in 5 different sizes, 6 different colors, and 4 different company logos. In this case, you would have 5 x 6 x 4 potential variations or 120 potential variations. There are special database plugins that enable you to speed-up the setting up of all these variations. I love this plugin, Bulk Variation Manager, and it saves me time therefore it saves my clients money.
Prices generally range from $49.00 and more a year and must be updated yearly if you want to make sure it stays up to date.
A Subscription Plugin
PRICE RANGE: $89+ A YEAR
With a subscription plugin, you can create and manage products with recurring payments — payments that will give you residual revenue you can track and count on.
You can create a diversity of subscriptions for physical or virtual products and services. Create product-of-the-month clubs, weekly service subscriptions, add sign-up fees, offer free trials, and set expiration periods.
Prices generally range from $89.00 and more a year and must be updated yearly if you want to make sure it stays up to date.
A Dynamic Pricing and Discount Plugin
PRICE RANGE: $49+ A YEAR
This plugin allows you to increase conversions through dynamic discounts and price rules and builds powerful and targeted offers.
I personally like Discount Rules for WooCommerce – PRO by Flycart. It’s reasonable priced compared to other plugins and gets the job done. And consider the following features:
- Create targeted offers based on the quantity purchased or on products added to cart, etc.
- Increase the average of order value through discounts and offers on the quantity.
- Enable offers only for certain users or on specific conditions (for a given number of products in the cart, after a specific number of orders placed by the user, etc.)
Prices generally range from $49.00 and more a year and must be updated yearly if you want to make sure it stays up to date..
Now It’s Time To See What I’ve Built
Here are a few WooCommerce Online stores that I’ve built for clients. Keep in mind my clients ultimately decide how they want their sites to look. And I have to make my clients happy.