WooCommerce is a great choice for an online store. On this page I write about why you should choose WooCommerce for your online store.
Features
WooCommerce has long been the most popular WordPress e-commerce platform, whose features are not limited to WooCommerce’s own capabilities – you can extend the store’s functionality with other plugins created by the WordPress community. If you use a ready-made e-commerce platform from another provider, it must operate within the limits set by that software, whereas with a WooCommerce store you can change almost any part of the functionality.
Of course, e-commerce platforms are constantly evolving, but a common issue is wanting to add all brand logos to your online store, create dedicated presentation pages for brands, or perhaps add a video to the store’s front page or some other feature. Especially in the past, e-commerce platforms were very difficult to customize, and barely any details could be changed. The great thing about a WordPress + WooCommerce store is that your online store can look exactly the way you want it to, and almost everything can be customized.
As mentioned above, it is common with online stores to reach a point where a certain type of functionality is desired, and since we have full control over the website and the store, these can be implemented.
Online Store Data
Other advantages could include the fact that you can manage your online store’s data in the way you choose, and you can if needed select partners for delivering various business logic functions. This means that, at least in theory, your online store may have a better starting point from a customer privacy perspective – data is not shared with a hundred different analytics providers, but instead stays within your WordPress installation.
Online Store Security
This section is probably the most contentious area in the online store space when comparing ready-made e-commerce platforms and private WooCommerce stores, because with your own store, security is largely decided by the site administrator and security service providers. That said, massive e-commerce platforms should, at least in theory, have their security in order, whereas with private online stores – just like with private websites – it is largely up to the site administrator and hosting service. They are not directly comparable, but it can also be the case that if the security of a WooCommerce store is properly hardened, you can achieve an even more secure solution than what ready-made e-commerce platforms offer.
Online Store Pricing
When you build a WooCommerce store on your own terms, you can also have greater influence over your monthly costs. Advanced e-commerce features achievable with WooCommerce – for example, around €500 in plugin purchases per year and a few hundred euros in hosting fees – could cost thousands of euros per month for an equivalent service on a ready-made platform. In such a situation, the price difference can be significant: an advanced store on a platform might cost €10,000–€30,000 per year, whereas it could cost only a few hundred euros with WooCommerce. However, it is worth bearing in mind that because a WooCommerce store can be customized so extensively, it will generally require some customization work. Customizations are typically included directly in the project or billed as separate hourly work.