9 Most Important WordPress Plugins for eCommerce Sites

If you are starting an ecommerce site, there are some must have wordpress plugins that will help you launch and maintain a site successfully. Running an ecommerce store can be very lucrative and having the best tools available in order to run it is key.

When you are building any website and especially an online store, you need to know your vision for the project. Before you get started with your ecommerce site, figure out exactly what you want to sell, how much you will be selling it for and who you will be selling it to. When you determine this, you will be able to get your plan into action and use the right tools for your site.

The following WordPress plugins are part of the tools you will need.

1. WooCommerce

The beauty of WooCommerce is that it is totally free. There are no subscriptions, top outs, caps or surprises to look around the corner for because like WordPress, WooCommerce is available to the public to use at will.

Aside from being free, WooCommerce is also very easy to set up. You can go through the setup wizard in an afternoon if you stay focused. Even the most annoying things (like taxes) are taken care of through the setup wizard though you should talk to your local authorities to confirm that the settings are on point.

You can add as many different products to your WooCommerce store as you would like. You can sell digital or physical products, courses and subscriptions. Whatever you can put a price tag on, you can use WooCommerce to create a product page for it.
WooCommerce is a favorite for all WordPress users since the price is right and the features are that of a high priced plugin.

2. Easy Digital Downloads

If you don’t plan on selling physical products, there is no reason to have the capabilities of a plugin like WooCommerce. Instead, you can use Easy Digital Downloads to sell and deliver your digital products.
Using this plugin is simple but just because it is simple, that does not mean it isn’t powerful. With a full shopping cart, ability to create discounts, unlimited file downloads, file access control, download activity tracking and more, you can run a fully digital store with ease through this plugin.
Digital download stores can be highly profitable since there are no shipping fees, stock to keep on hand or manufacturing delays.

3. WPdeposit

If you are selling something small or have a low monthly subscription, you may want to allow users to buy currency on your site through WPdeposit. You will have your own monetary system. Your users buy a batch of credits and then are able to buy items in your store. This can be helpful when dealing with micropayments since fees would often make up the majority of the payment if you didn’t do the on site currency.

4. Table Rate Shipping

If you are confused by how much you should charge for shipping here or there, use Table Rate Shipping. It will help you figure out how much you need to charge for each of your transactions.

5. SocialCoupon

With SocialCoupon, you can turn your customers into your own marketing team. Offer coupons for sharing your content on social media. If you offer the right discount, you could get a lot of shares and interest coming back to your store.

6. Product Countdown

Procrastination is one of the things human suffer from. If we think that we have all of the time in the world to do something, we won’t get it done. Even when we are shopping for something that we really want, it isn’t unlikely that we wait around to see if we can get a better deal.

When you use Product Countdown on your product page, you give viewers a sense of urgency and push them to make that purchase. When they see the clock counting down or the number of available products going lower, it gives them a reason to act now instead of waiting until later and seeing if they still want to buy it. The changes that someone is going to come back and visit your site for that product after they leave are low.

7. Social Login

The easier to make it for someone to use your store, the better. You can install Social Login from WooCommerce to allow users to login with their existing social media accounts. This means less for them to do and less for them to think about. All they have to do is a click a button and they are ready to buy from your site. This also allows them to have more trust in your site as well since they know who the major social networks are.

8. EngageBay

EngageBay’s Free Live Chat plugin is a live chat service which allows your on-site visitors and customers to communicate with you easily straight from your website. Boost customer service and grow sales instantly. All of this right from within your website.

9. WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels

WooCommerce Print Invoice, Packing Slip, Delivery Note & Label plugin helps you generate WooCommerce PDF Invoices, WooCommerce Packing Lists / WooCommerce Packing Slips, WooCommerce Delivery Notes and WooCommerce Shipping Labels from the WooCommerce orders page. WooCommerce, by default, doesn’t allow to print any of these documents from your orders page. Using this extension, you can very well streamline your online business.

Conclusion

Building an ecommerce site online doesn’t have to be overwhelming. When you have the proper tools, you can get your site set up within an afternoon if you stay focused. Starting with WooCommerce and building upon it with the other plugins or using Easy Digital Downloads if you are a primarily digital downloads business can be a step in the right direction.
There are many things that you can do to improve your site’s function and ability to attract and retain customers. The above plugs are a great step on your journey to ecommerce super stardom.