Have you ever thought about turning your WordPress site into an ecommerce shop? Did you even know that you could? With ecommerce plugins like WooCommerce and JigoShop, you can add a back-end shopping cart feature to nearly any WordPress site.
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Ecommerce Plugins
Both JigoShop and the basic WooCommerce plugins are open source add-ons, and available free of charge from WordPress.org. You can extend the functionality of the plugin software with additional free and purchased add-ons, should you so choose. You can also purchase themes that support your chosen shop plugin. However, both plugins are well documented, and you can easily find a free theme that supports the selected add-on. Additionally, instructions are provided to hook the plugin into custom themes and themes that have not been created for or evaluated for compatibility. For example, WooCommerce offers a plugin for performing rudimentary customizations on the Product and Catalog pages.
Most ecommerce plugins provide an inventory back-end, a shipping platform, an administrator dashboard and payment gateway integration. You can select your market regions, then configure variable tax rates for each region.
Products
When you create a shopping feature for your WordPress site with an ecommerce plugin, you basically have all of the components you need to get your ecommerce shop up and running. The software will automatically manage your inventory. Entering products, however, can be a bit labor intensive, but the payoff lies in the features provided by the Products feature.
Both JigoShop and WooCommerce support product variations. This means that you can list a product, for example a shirt, then offer variations of the product. If you sell shirts, you probably carry several variations of a certain design. For example, you may carry more than one size or color for a particular product. If you offer three sizes and three colors for the product, your product will have nine variations. WooCommerce deals very effectively with product variations, enabling you to have up to 50 variations for each product. The back-end automates matching attributes to create a complete list of all of your variants for the product with just one click – a handy time-saving feature when entering your inventory.
Performance
Ecommerce plugins include some type of reporting tool. However, you can extend the software to include extensive business reporting, in-depth analytics and invoicing systems. Regardless of the type of product you sell, you can sell it on a versatile WordPress ecommerce platform.
Additional Plugins
You can also extend the functionality of your WordPress ecommerce site with plugins from other vendors. For example, the Regenerate Thumbnails tool enable you to strip all fixed width and height code from all site images with a single click. The Fluid Image plugin ensures that your site images automatically resize to mobile devices and tabs.
Install open source contact form plugins, Google Map plugins and plugins for other features commonly found on store sites. Install an analytic tool to assess your site metrics in real time. Several free plugins extend the functionality of Google Analytics tools.
Conclusion
Regardless of the type of product or service you sell, you can sell it on a versatile WordPress ecommerce platform. Ecommerce plugins support downloadable and virtual merchandise, as well as physical inventory. If you own a small business, you do not need to invest a large sum of capital into your ecommerce venture. Explore the possibilities of WordPress as an ecommerce platform.