eCommerce and WordPress: There’s a plugin for that!

Actually, there are a lot of plugins for creating WordPress e-Commerce sites. There are also many WordPress themes that turn your WordPress site into a complete e-commerce solution. However, in this post I wont discuss any of the available themes.

I want to share with you 3 of the plugins I have used and why I like them. There are many free e-Commerce plugins available that may work, but after trying many of them, and running into problems with processing, I determined I rather spend a few dollars on a plugin that I know works and avoid the risk of not getting paid because a free plugin didn’t work. Another concern I had is, frustrated customers. I wanted to be sure that my shopping cart and checkout process worked smoothly. I am also very conscious about securing my customers privet information, I was not willing to risk it!

The 3 plugins I want to introduce you to have different advantages depending on your needs and given situation. I’ll provide a little insight why and what situations would help me decide which plugin to use.

1. WP eStore (by Tips & Tricks HQ)
2. WordPress Shopping Cart Plugin (by tribulant)
3. WP e-Commerce (by Instinct Entertainment)

1. WP eStore

Plugin Summary

In a Nutshell, this sleek WordPress shopping cart plugin allows you to sell any form of digital products and services from your own WordPress blog securely with complete automation. What I mean by complete automation is that once you set it up the whole process (The buying and the delivering of the product without revealing the real URL of the product) works on its own.

What would dictate me using this plugin?

First, the customers budget! This plugin is very affordable at only $49.95. I would use this plugin, for a site that was going to sell a lot of digital products; audio, video, eBooks, etc. Selling music or audio is great with this plugin, because you can set it up to play an audio preview. You can also sell physical products with this plugin. Because this plugin is developed so well and so advanced, we have been able to provide custom development for clients so they can use this plugin to sell their physical goods that are distributed through a fulfillment company. The plugin does all the work!

This plugin has a huge list of features and integrates with a few of the most frequently used payment gateways.

As a side note, Tips & Tricks HQ also has other plugins that integrate seamlessly with this one like the, PDF Stamper, that is great if you are selling eBooks of any sort. The PDF Stamper places the purchasers personal information in the footer of the PDF so they are less likely to pass it out to the world.

3. WP E-Commerce

This plugin is quite possibly the most advanced and complex WordPress e-Commerce plugins available. This plugin is free, but for many of the amazing features you have to purchase “Premium Upgrades”. Which are priced anywhere from $10 to $195. When all is said and done, this could be the most expensive option on this list. One additional benefit to this plugin is the community involved in making this plugin as awesome as it is. Many WordPress developers, develop plugins to “Extend” for this plugin.

Plugin Summary

An industrial strength WordPress Plugin for selling digital and tangible goods online, it is a shop owners dream, and has been worked on by some of the best WordPress developers in the world. The WP e-Commerce Plugin has been proven over and over to be the most powerful, matured, and industry relevant WordPress e-Commerce Plugin in the world.

What would dictate me using this plugin?

If I needed an even more heavy-duty plugin then what the WordPress Shopping Cart Plugin could provide I would use this plugin. However, if I was going to use this plugin, I would use my developers and the community to build an awesome WordPress e-Commerce site.

Need help building an e-Commerce WordPress site? Contact me for a quote and we’ll develop it for you! Or tell you which plugin you should use for your specific project!