WordPress is one of the most popular website platforms in the world, including Canada. A report from CIRA found more than half of Canadian businesses with .ca domains use WordPress.
While it started as a blogging platform, it has grown into one of the most diverse content management systems in the industry. The versatility and vast number of options & integrations allows it to be used for all types of online businesses, from product sales to services to affiliate marketing. The user-friendly design makes it easy (and free) for anyone to use.
Top 5 WordPress Shopping Cart Plugins
WordPress shopping cart plugins can be used to customize WordPress for your particular business. Some offer a general ecommerce cart that can be used for various sales purposes, while others are designed for more specific types of sales, such as product downloads or affiliate sites. Each plugin can be customized to work with all WordPress themes.
I’ve used all of the following WordPress shopping cart plugins at one time or another. These are the top five for functionality, ease of use, and rated customer satisfaction.
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1. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is often the first ecommerce platform used by WordPress enthusiasts. It can facilitate the sale of physical products, digital downloads, subscriptions, content and so on. It offers Canadian-friendly options, such as payments through PayPal and Stripe and shipping via Canada Post, ShipStation, Trade Gecko, and more.
WooCommerce is a plugin that can be expanded and customized to suit any kind of online and omni-channel sales. It was created by WordPress to bring cart functionality to their platform.
The basic WooCommerce plugin is free, but you’ll have to add extensions from their marketplace for additional functionality and only some of them are free. There are over 400 official extensions and it’s open-source, so it can be further customized by your developer. If you don’t need something as robust as a fully-featured platform like Shopify and/or you have to keep the cost down, WooCommerce will probably work for you.
2. Tribulant Shopping Cart WordPress Plugin
Easily sell virtually any kind of product or service with the Tribulant Shopping Cart plugin. Add multilingual functionality (including French) with a sister plugin designed to work with q-Translate-X.
“With suppliers, shipping methods, payment gateways, product variations/custom fields, product inventory, affiliate products, discount coupons, and many other amazing features, you can run a full-featured online WordPress shop that suits your needs,” promises Tribulant.
3. WP EasyCart
Use WP EasyCart to sell retail products, subscriptions, digital downloads, gift cards, services and more. Their free Ecommerce Edition includes unlimited products, unlimited orders, and processing with PayPal Express, Square, and Stripe. Upgrade for more features and options.
4. Easy Digital Downloads
Easy Digital Downloads is a popular free option for entrepreneurs who sell digital products, including software, courses, photos & graphics, ebooks, printables and music. It comes with a complete shopping cart, customizable checkout & payments, customer management, discount codes, reports, and file protection.
5. WordPress Simple PayPal Shopping Cart
The Simple PayPal Shopping Cart was created because sometimes you don’t need a big, elaborate ecommerce platform. There is no advantage to buying expensive solutions when it isn’t required.
This lightweight PayPal shopping cart is perfect for anyone who sells services or just a few products and only needs basic functionality. Just create ‘shortcodes’ for each product or service, then use the ‘add to cart’ button in any sidebar, page or post on your website. Shoppers can easily view and edit their cart.
If you’re just getting started check out our post, How to Start Any Online Business With WordPress for further guidance.
Do you have any questions or a favourite shopping cart WordPress plugin to share? Please comment below or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
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Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business/marketing education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.
Melody has worked with many businesses in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.
Brilliant! Now how do I choose between these shopping cart plugins? It’s going to take time to check them thoroughly but it must be done before I dive in. It took me forever to learn WordPress!