In 2025, the size of the retail e-commerce industry is projected to exceed $ 4.3 trillion worldwide. Given the growing size of the e-commerce industry, it’s only natural for the e-commerce landscape to become increasingly competitive.
An eCommerce content management system (CMS) is at the heart of eCommerce success. Aspiring e-commerce startup owners often wonder whether they should build their e-commerce site on WordPress CMS or opt for other CMS platforms.
Undoubtedly, WordPress is among the most used CMS platforms for creating eCommerce websites. WordPress has 43% of all websites and holds a significant portion of the eCommerce landscape as a CMS.
But with the age of advanced techs like AI and ML, is WordPress still good for eCommerce? Or should eCommerce owners choose another CMS like Shopify? Go through this comprehensive blog post to decide what’s best for your eCommerce business.
Why Should You Build Your eCommerce On WordPress?
Here’s a myth that needs a reality check: WordPress is a blogging platform.
WordPress powers a significant number of blogging websites. But it’s a highly customizable content management system that also provides eCommerce facilities. In fact, it’s a CMS that can tailor any type of website, including a full-fledged online store.
It’s one of the significant reasons why many entrepreneurs build eCommerce on WordPress.
If you’re wondering why, you should choose WordPress for eCommerce website development. Here are some compelling reasons to consider:
(i) Massive Market Share And Community Support
WordPress is the building block behind almost 43% of all websites that live around the world. A significant portion of eCommerce platforms also use WordPress as their CMS.
(ii) Flexibility And Customization
WordPress has a strong community and robust customization options with countless tutorials and plugin themes to choose from. In short, it’s a resourceful CMS for eCommerce brands that want to run a smooth eCommerce platform.
(iii) Cost-Effective
Additionally, WordPress is cost-effective for businesses of all sizes. WordPress is free. Users only have to pay for the hosting and the domain they need for running their e-commerce business.
(iv) Scalability
WordPress is easy to scale, unlike many of its competitors (according to most users). WordPress eCommerce platforms can scale simultaneously with the rapid change in sales volume and market demand.
(v) SEO-Friendly
The SEO-friendliness of WordPress websites is another advantage for eCommerce business owners. eCommerce businesses depend on organic traffic, and WordPress websites come with the right SEO functionalities to help stay on top of users’ search results.
The user-friendliness of WordPress websites makes it a reliable option for a large number of global eCommerce brands. Renowned foot care brand Dr. Scholl’s uses WordPress as their eCommerce CMS.
Nalgene, another well-known brand that provides outdoor gear, is also using WordPress as its eCommerce CMS. WordPress CMS has its own eCommerce plugin, which is known as WooCommerce. WordPress CMS users can use this plugin to build an eCommerce website.
As a beginner eCommerce brand, you can also start your eCommerce on WordPress by using the WooCommerce plugin.
WordPress WooCommerce Setup: Step-by-Step Guide
WordPress provides a straightforward process to start an eCommerce platform. The WooCommerce plugin is very easy to use, and here’s how to get started with this CMS.
When you want to set up eCommerce on WordPress, you’ll see the following WooCommerce setup roadmap on your screen:
Source
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the process to install WooCommerce:
Step 1: Choose A Domain And Hosting
The first step for setting up any website, eCommerce, or blog starts with choosing the domain name and selecting a hosting provider. Get a domain name for your eCommerce website from a platform like GoDaddy.
Next, go ahead and purchase a hosting platform to host your website. It helps to go for hosting providers that are optimized for WordPress websites.
Step 2: Install WordPress
Most of the hosts offer a one-click WordPress installation process.
Step 3: Install WooCommerce
Visit the WordPress CMS dashboard and go to the Plugins option> Add New> Search bar.
Search for “WooCommerce” in the search bar and install it to activate it.
Step 4: Configure Your Store
Follow the setup wizard to add your store’s basic information, payment gateways, shipping options, and tax settings.
Step 5: Add Products
In the next step, upload product photos, set prices for the products, manage inventory, and set product prices.
Step 6: Customize Your Store
The next step is where you personalize your WordPress eCommerce store using themes of your choice. Choose a customizable WordPress theme that easily conveys the look and feel of your overall eCommerce platform.
Step 7: Launch And Market
Now that you’re ready, launch and market your WordPress eCommerce platform. This is the phase where you get down to the business aspect of running your eCommerce platform. Ensure to include social media, email, and SEO campaigns to improve your eCommerce platform’s search visibility.
WooCommerce is the most popular plugin for developing eCommerce websites. More than 33% of all e-commerce platforms and over six million online stores worldwide use WooCommerce to run their e-commerce businesses.
It’s flexible, easy to use, and, most importantly, cost-effective for eCommerce businesses of all sizes. It’s a popular and go-to choice for many eCommerce platforms.
But it’s not the only eCommerce solution. Aside from considering building e-commerce on WordPress, you should also consider the pros and cons of other CMS platforms. Shopify CMS, as an example, positions itself as a leading eCommerce CMS for eCommerce platforms of all sizes. So, should you consider Shopify instead? Go through the comparison below to make a more informed decision.
WordPress vs Shopify: Which Is Right For You?
Both Shopify and WordPress offer comprehensive benefits, making it challenging to choose between the two. However, here’s a clear comparison to help make a more informed decision.
Both e-commerce CMS platforms offer advantages for business owners. Choose the one that aligns with your business needs and priorities.
When to Choose WordPress (WooCommerce)
You must choose to build eCommerce on WordPress if the following are your priorities:
- You want complete control over your online eCommerce store and its functionality.
- Advanced customization features and integrations with other systems are within your business needs.
- You have no problem managing, hosting, updating, and maintaining the security of your eCommerce business.
- You don’t want to deal with the recurring costs of managing the eCommerce platforms and want to pay for the limited resources and plugins you occasionally need.
When To Choose Shopify
Build your eCommerce business on Shopify if you prioritize the following:
- You want to launch the eCommerce platform quickly, and a quick and hassle-free setup is your first priority.
- You don’t want the hassle of managing security, hosting, and updates on your own or through a team employed by you.
- Reliable, round-the-clock support is your priority so that you can focus on the business development part of the eCommerce platform.
- Both CMS platforms are ideal for eCommerce businesses. However, WordPress is the best choice for business owners who want more flexibility with how they handle the store.
It comes with challenges like managing hosting and a domain, and it requires little tech savviness. But WordPress is ideal for those who prioritize some level of freedom.
On the contrary, Shopify is great for solopreneurs who don’t want to struggle with the technical aspects of setting up and managing the eCommerce platform. While WordPress focuses on flexibility and an abundance of opportunities, Shopify simplifies eCommerce.
Both CMS solutions for eCommerce have their specific audience.
What Works: Best Practices For WordPress eCommerce Development
If you are choosing WordPress CMS, follow these practices to stay on top of your eCommerce goals:
- Choose the right eCommerce plugin for WordPress CMS. WooCommerce has a clear win in the industry, with more than six million stores using it for their e-commerce needs.
- Optimise your WordPress CMS with eCommerce SEO best practices. Ensure that the website has a loading speed below 2.5 seconds on the desktop. It shouldn’t take more than 13.25 seconds to load on a mobile phone.
- Choose a high-speed hosting provider. Caching plugins are a must for your WordPress CMS. It’s best to minify the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
- Your WordPress database requires regular cleaning and optimization.
- 50% of all WordPress website traffic comes from mobile searches. Ensure to optimize your WordPress eCommerce platform for mobile searches.
- eCommerce sites are a prime target for hackers. Choose security plugins and enable SSL encryption to protect customer data if you’re building an eCommerce site on WordPress.
- Streamline the checkout and payment process for the eCommerce platform to ensure client retention.
- Constantly test the platform for potential bugs and user experience issues you can fix. Check customer feedback for insights to improve.
eCommerce Development On WordPress: Common Pitfalls To Avoid
WordPress is undoubtedly a powerful eCommerce CMS. However, several common pitfalls can prevent businesses from achieving their sales and business goals. Stay ahead of the following challenges by recognizing them as soon as possible.
- Don’t ignore performance optimization. If your eCommerce website is slowing down, it’s time to get it back on track with performance optimization. Don’t hurt the eCommerce SEO by avoiding the technical optimization of your WordPress eCommerce.
- Unnecessary plugins can slow down your website’s performance. Don’t rely on too many unnecessary plugins.
- The mobile experience is of top priority for any eCommerce platform, irrespective of the eCommerce CMS you choose.
- Take strong control over your security practices. Always keep the software password updated.
- Don’t overcomplicate the checkout process. It’s a huge demotivator to customers, leads to abandoned carts, and affects your repeat client numbers.
- Use a mix of marketing strategies and make content marketing and branding your long-term effort. Don’t only rely on paid marketing to boost short-term sales.
eCommerce Is A Journey, & You Decide The Roadmap!
Whether you choose Shopify or build your e-commerce site on WordPress, your decision sets the stage for how your business will look soon. While some entrepreneurs would enjoy the simplicity of Shopify to automate hosting, domain, and security, some would love to use WordPress for the flexibility.
WooCommerce, powered by WordPress, provides the freedom of fully customizing your eCommerce, and you’re open to an infinite level of experiments. So, which platform would you choose to help you in your eCommerce journey? Let us know in the comments.
