15 Jan A Review Of Some Of The Best WordPress Plugins

There are many different plugins available in the market for various uses. However, not all of them are not created equal.

When taking a look at WordPress plugins you want to consider how you want to use them. It is also essential that you understand why a certain plugin stands out from their competition. In most cases, you will find that some plugins have more features than others while there are those that create simple clean stores. On the other hand, there are specific plugins that help to make the completion of tasks easier.

In this blog we will take a look at some of the best WordPress plugins available.

WooCommerce

For those who don’t know WooCommerce, it is the king of WordPress plugins. WooCommerce can turn a simple WordPress blog into a fully functioning e-commerce store and is probably the most popular plugin to do so.

Since WooThemes, the creator of WooCommerce was acquired by Automattic in 2015, WooCommerce’s popularity has soared and is said to power 8% of all e-commerce websites online and 21% of the top 1 million sites.

WooCommerce is known to be the best solution if you want to build and rapidly expand an online store. You can create a blog for your store with 5 products or include a large collection with thousands of products. Best of all, this plugin is free. They also provide unlimited support for products and visitors so long as your hosting can handle it.

WooCommerce is one of the best because:

• It’s free. A small store does not have to spend money to get WooCommerce. Themes and plugins are affordable so this is an economical way to start a website.
• It’s a very popular plugin especially after being acquired by Automattic. It has a huge community of developers so it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
• Many developers create extensions that can allow you to add more e-commerce features without any custom coding.
• It allows you to sell just about anything.
• Receive built-in payments for some of the top gateways, along with extensions for most major payment gateways.
• Many WordPress themes are built around WooCommerce which means minimal problems in terms of integration.
• Beginners and the pros can use it with ease.

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is an intuitive plugin to manage and sell digital products on WordPress. WooCommerce features this support but EDD is focused on digital scales. If you sell eBooks, PDF files, or audio clips (and nothing physical,) you should seriously consider EDD.

EDD is free. Just install in your website and you will instantly have a digital sales platform, with features for discount codes, file access control, and activity tracking.

The core plugin for EDD is free but you have the option to upgrade to a yearly subscription. Plans start at $199 per year and go all the way up to $899 per year for the all-access pass.

EDD is the best because:

• It is the best for selling digital downloads.
• The extension library is full of add-ons. You can create a simple store to an advanced one by allowing frontend submissions or including software licensing for instance.
• Many options for payment gateway.
• EDD has a large active community of bloggers, developers, and enthusiasts. So you will always have solutions to your problems or access cool extensions.
• Main features include a full shopping cart, customer management, discount codes, and data reporting.

Cart66 Cloud

Cart66 Cloud is best for people who don’t want to mess with add-ons. It has taken an approach to minimize the number of add-ons needed to make the plugin work smoothly. Therefore, Cart66 Cloud provides a WordPress ecommerce plugin with most of its features built in. It is easy to configure with reviews usually on the positive side.

It’s hard to go up against WooCommerce but Cart66 has a solid niche. Overall, Cart66 sees itself as the everyman’s ecommerce platform.

Cart66 Cloud is the best because:

• It has one of the best customer support team in the market.
• You have the choice between free and premium options.
• All features are built-into the plugin so there’s no need to search for add-ons.
• You don’t have to hire a developer or learn how to code.
• Development is made by the Cloud66 team behind the scenes.
• The email marketing from Cart66 is stronger than some competitors. For example, you have access to list segmentation, drip campaigns, and timed follow-up emails–all from the convenience of your WordPress dashboard.
• Support for physical and digital products.
• Provides over 100 built-in payment gateways
• Content restriction, recurring payments, and subscriptions are packaged in with the Cart66 plugin for free.

WP eCommerce

This plugin is usually considered as a direct alternative to WooCommerce. It is also similar to WooCommerce including the dashboard interface and the pricing model. The main difference is that WP eCommerce sells Gold Cart extension, which is kind of like a premium version of the plugin. Pricing is $99 for a single site and has features like live search, premium payment gateways, and a grid view for your product galleries.

WP eCommerce is the best because:

•  Customer service support requires payment but it is more than what you would get from WooCommerce. WP eCommerce is a good choice for those who can’t imagine setting up an e-commerce website without speaking with a professional.
• You can expand your store quite a bit with the add-ons by using the flexibility these extensions give you.
• Very comparable with WooCommerce with developers constantly improving support and coding.

Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart

It sets up and looks like WooCommerce but is actually quite different. One of the main differences is that Ecwid can be used on any website you’d like. You can use it to launch an online store when you’re using Drupal Tumblr, Facebook, WordPress, and many more. Ecwid might end up being less expensive than WooCommerce, and other WordPress eCommerce plugins thanks to a reasonable monthly payment plan.

It’s similar to Cart66 with already built-in. The free plan is also very powerful in terms of a general online store. It features a mobile responsive shopping cart, support for up to 10 products, and the ability to sell on multiple sites.

10 products will discourage many users but that’s for the free plan. Pricing is 100 products for $15 per month, 2,500 products for $35 per month, or unlimited products for $99 per month. It can look more expensive compared to WooCommerce when you see this pricing but WooCommerce requires some expensive add-ons for many online stores.

If you are an online store selling less than 100 products you get the following for only $15 per month:

• A Facebook shop.
• A Mobile point of sale.
• A free starter site.
• Discount coupons.
• Abandoned cart saver.
• Social media tools.
• Facebook pixel.
• Automated tax calculations.
• Google Shopping support.

Ecwid is the best because:

• Free plan for up to 10 products. After that you pay reasonable monthly fees.
• Able to integrate with most website builders and content management systems.
• Phone and chat support are provided for some plans, along with free customizations and priority support in some plans.
• All plugin upgrades happen automatically with Ecwid.
• Ecwid hosts the stores, so it’s PCI-DCC Certified and completely secure for making transactions between your gateway and bank.
• It has a strong focus on helping you instantly sell from multiple sales channels.
• Install Ecwid on one site and all of the stored data can be transferred to a different website and synced so that the selling happens on multiple fronts.

These are just some of the top WordPress ecommerce plugins for launching, managing, and developing your online store. Hopefully it will help you narrow down choices as to which plugin is best for your website.

What do you think of our choices? Do you use any of the plugins mentioned above? Tell us by leaving your comments below.