When it comes to eCommerce platforms, there are many options available. But do you know that WooCommerce holds the highest market share among them all? Yes, WooCommerce secures a whopping 29% market share which tops even eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, OpenCart, etc.
It has been estimated that more than 7% of the websites worldwide use WooCommerce as their eCommerce platform. Aside from WooCommerce market share and popularity, there are also many other reasons why WooCommerce is the best eCommerce platform, but there are two major advantages that stand out. Firstly, it’s free, and secondly, it’s completely customizable.
In this article, we will cover why WooCommerce is considered the best eCommerce platform and what advantages it brings to its customers. Let’s get started!
Evolution of eCommerce Since Years
eCommerce shopping is not a new idea, it’s a tale as old as 40 years. But online shopping became more popular and promising in the mid-90s when developments like the World Wide Web, payment gateways, eCommerce platforms, etc were created. Quickly after the first eCommerce site, Amazon (launched in 1995), a secure payment gateway was needed to protect transactions and customer information, and thus PayPal made its introduction in 1998. Thus, it’s clear that eCommerce has come a long way since then and improved for the better.
Before WooCommerce, multiple payment gateways like Shopify (2004), BigCommerce (2009), etc were launched. Whereas, WooCommerce was launched in 2011 and is a fairly new platform, so how did it quickly make it to the top? Because WooCommerce offered benefits that others were lacking. Which was its simplicity to set up, its freedom of customization, its unlimited options, and all of it for free!
Check out the comparison of WooCommerce with other famous eCommerce platforms:
1. WooCommerce vs Shopify
2. WooCommerce vs Magento
3. WooCommerce vs BigCommerce
5 Major Reasons Behind WooCommerce’s Market Reputation
If the above-mentioned reasons were not enough, we have created a list of the many benefits of WooCommerce which will help you understand why its market share is more than other eCommerce platforms.
1. Cost
WooCommerce is free to install, setup, and run. It is an open-source eCommerce platform that provides you with multiple features out-of-the-box to open a basic and functional online store for free. Therefore, WooCommerce is among the few best eCommerce platforms that are available for free and provide the scalability that it does.
The huge market share of WooCommerce is also dependent on WordPress, as more than one-third of the websites are created on it. WordPress is the most popular and best CMS system available. WooCommerce similarity in functioning to WordPress has led to its success as it is user-friendly, easy to set up, and more importantly open-source, so you can create an online store from scratch.
Moreover, WooCommerce enables you to customize a plan according to your budget by only adding in the plugins and extensions you want to increase functionality.
Check out the detailed article on pricing details of WooCommerce.
2. Ease of Use
As WooCommerce is a self-hosted platform, it has a steep learning curve at the beginning. You have to take care of hosting, SSL certificates, and setting up plugins and extensions all by yourself. But even then, WooCommerce is easy to use and set up.
Once installed, the WooCommerce setup wizard will help you in setting up your store in just a few minutes. The setup wizard asks some questions about your store, its locality, and type, helps you set up shipping and payment charges, tax, theme, and much more.
Listing WooCommerce among the best eCommerce platforms is widely due to its simplicity and ease of use. Initially, it might seem difficult and confusing but after some time, you will be able to create and manage multiple sites easily.
Want the best managed hosting for your WooCommerce store? We got you covered with our article on
Best WooCommerce Hosting For Your Store.
3. Customer Service
Although WooCommerce does not provide live chat and call support, it still has an extensive support forum and multiple communities where experts are available to help you out. WooCommerce also provides detailed documentation on each of its plugins and extensions. Moreover, due to WooCommerce’s popularity and market share, there are many developers available that you can hire for your problems or for running your website.
An eCommerce platform’s customer service is also widely dependent on its hosting provider. For example, BlueHost has 24/7 customer support available through live calls, chats, and forums. Thus, it’s important to choose your hosting wisely when working with WooCommerce.
WooCommerce has a lot of customer service plugins. We have compiled the Best Customer Service Plugins for you.
4. Customizations
When it comes to customizations, WooCommerce is the best eCommerce platform there is. As it is an open-source platform, developers can let their creative side out and make an online store according to their own style. Consequently, WooCommerce provides unlimited options for themes, both free and paid. Its official theme, called Storefront, is available for free and has 14 child themes that focus on different types of products and businesses. Premium themes for WooCommerce range from around $50-$150.
Similarly, WooCommerce provides thousands of options for plugins and extensions which can increase the functionality of your online store. These plugins are available for free and paid. WooCommerce is also compatible with 3rd party plugins and services and thus holds the highest market share.
5. SEO
WooCommerce is an SEO optimized platform because it is built on WordPress and is compatible with many SEO plugins that can help you rank your website higher on search engines. Popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, etc does not only increase your visibility, but also helps improve your content structure, readability, and SEO analysis. You can easily find plugins with multiple advanced features like image optimization, alt image text, meta description and titles, and much more which will help you increase sales and traffic.
What Are The Weaknesses of WooCommerce?
Although WooCommerce market share is higher than other eCommerce platforms and it is one of the best eCommerce platforms available. There are still a few limitations that users might face when working with WooCommerce.
- WooCommerce has a steep learning curve. The user is required to have sufficient knowledge of coding and working with WordPress.
- As it is built upon WordPress, other CMS software cannot take advantage of its features.
- With WooCommerce, features like hosting service, SSL certificates, domain, etc are not available out-of-the-box, thus you would have to look for the perfect solution yourself and even spend some money.
- Additional features require you to install plugins and extensions, and not all of them are available for free, thus costs can keep piling up if you are not careful.
One great tactic to increase sales is introducing Product Addons. Do check them out.
Final Words – Is it Good For You?
WooCommerce advantages far outweigh its weaknesses. WooCommerce is a scalable and flexible platform that provides its users the ability to customize their online store from head to toe. It has multiple features out-of-the-box but you can enable additional functionality by using plugins and extensions. WooCommerce is a cheaper option than other eCommerce platforms as you can customize a plan according to your budget and only use the plugins that you need. Thus, WooCommerce is an efficient option for your online store as it is available for free download, requires minimum maintenance costs, and is suitable for all sizes of businesses.
