If this is the first time you have heard about WooCommerce, then you probably have many questions you want to ask. It’s normal, and we want to guide you towards understanding how the e-Commerce environment works and how to use WooCommerce for your online store.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a free, Open-Source GPL complete e-Commerce solution designed and integrated as a WordPress plugin. Mike Jolley and Jay Koster first developed WooCommerce.
The platform started as an improvement of JigoShop‘s fork on GitHub. WooCommerce is a part of the Automattic company and is used by millions of people worldwide, being recognized as the most popular WordPress plugin ever designed and one of the most stable and robust e-Commerce solutions out there.
What is WordPress CMS?
WordPress CMS is the most popular content management system available on today’s web. WordPress is a simple, clean, and compelling platform that allows its users to build and maintain unique websites communities and, among many other purposes, to create online stores.
WooCommerce is one of the thousands of plugins designed for WordPress, a plugin that handles the creation online shops for small to large-sized organizations.
How Much Does WooCommerce Cost?
The beauty about WooCommerce, just like with WordPress, is that it comes free of charge. You don’t have to pay anything to install this plugin on your WordPress website, and it takes only 2 minutes to do it.
Just like WordPress, WooCommerce comes clean of plugins and extensions. The platform is relatively easy to handle and feature-rich, but if you want to improve the interface and bring some new functionality to your store, you will need to buy extensions and themes.
Themes usually go from about $20 to $80, and extensions vary in price. Keep in mind that WooCommerce is Open-Source, and that means you can easily contribute to its code and include all the modifications you want.
How Many Products Can I Add to My WooCommerce Website?
Assuming you are starting a new WooCommerce website from scratch, you can add as many products as you want! There is no limit.
Of course, as your website grows, you will need to invest in additional hosting resources to ensure your website can handle the traffic and continued growth. But as far as WooCommerce is concerned, there is no limit to the number of products you can add.
There are a few factors to keep in mind when adding products to your WooCommerce website, such as:
- Each product will need its own unique SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
- Images for each product must be optimized for website performance
- Be sure to categorize and tag products appropriately to help customers find what they are looking for
Other than that, there are no real restrictions on how many products you can add to your WooCommerce website. So get started adding all those products you’ve been dreaming of selling!
What Kind of Products Can I Sell Using WooCommerce?
There are several different types of products that can be sold using WooCommerce. Here are some of the most popular:
1. Physical Products
Physical goods are among the most popular types of products to sell with WooCommerce. This could include items such as clothes, toys, books, or any other item that must be shipped to the customer.
2. Digital Products
Another popular type of product to sell using WooCommerce is digital goods. These are items such as eBooks, music files, software, or any other type of file that can be downloaded.
3. Membership Products
If you have a membership website, then you can use WooCommerce to sell access to your content. This could include things such as video courses, software, or any other type of content that is restricted to members only.
4. Recurring Products
If you have a product that needs to be billed regularly, then WooCommerce can handle this. This could be something like a subscription to a magazine or a service that is billed monthly.
5. Affiliate Products
If you are an affiliate for another company, you can use WooCommerce to sell their products on your site. This could include products from Amazon, eBay, or any other type of affiliate program.
6. Variable Products
If you have a product that comes in different variations, such as size, color, or style, then WooCommerce can help you sell these products. This is a great way to offer your customers a large selection of products.
7. Bundle Products
If you have several different products that you want to sell together, then you can create a bundle and sell it using WooCommerce. This is a great way to offer a discount on a group of products or make it easier for customers to buy many items at once.
8. Custom Products
If you have a product unavailable for purchase anywhere else, you can create a custom product and sell it using WooCommerce. This could be a one-of-a-kind piece of art or a portion of custom-made jewelry.
9. Out-of-Stock Products
If you have a product that is currently out of stock but you plan on restocking it soon, then you can create an out-of-stock product and sell it using WooCommerce. This is a great way to let customers know that you will have the product back in stock soon, and it can also help to generate interest in the meantime.
10. Pre-Orders
If you have a product that is not yet available but wants to take pre-orders for it, then you can do this using WooCommerce. This is a great way to generate interest in a new product and can also help you gauge how much demand there will be for the product.
As you can see, many different types of products can be sold using WooCommerce. This is just a tiny sampling of the different kinds of products that can be sold. If you can dream it up, then chances are you can sell it using WooCommerce.
WooCommerce offers a comprehensive user interface that enables you to sell physical and digital goods and brings options for promoting affiliate programs from various marketplaces allowing you to build an affiliate marketing business. You can also sell subscriptions and build membership websites using WooCommerce.
In short, WooCommerce makes a good partner for a successful retail operation, whether digital or physical.
What Payment Gateways Does WooCommerce Offer?
By default, WooCommerce offers options for customers to pay with PayPal using an account or using a credit card or cash on delivery system. However, you can also add countless add-ons that allow you to accept card payments, Amazon Payments, Stripe, Authorize.net, PayFast, PayU, and Chase. Anyway, there is a total of (at least) 500 WooCommerce Payment Gateways. In the short future I will write a comprehensive article about all of them.
What About Shipping Plans?
WooCommerce enables free shipping and tax-shipping based on location. You can set up your shipping plans and display them in the checkout form. WooCommerce includes all countries and cities, and all you have to do is to select the one that you want to operate in or even set up Worldwide shipping classes.
Can I Translate WooCommerce in My Language?
Of course, you can! WooCommerce is already translated into over 50 languages, and many others are still under development. The language file is available in the original WooCommerce folder under i18n/languages.
As the world’s largest eCommerce platform, WooCommerce is used by people all over the world – which means it’s essential that it can be translated into as many languages as possible.
Fortunately, translating WooCommerce into your language is relatively straightforward. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to do it.
Why Would I Want to Translate WooCommerce?
Since WooCommerce is open source software, anyone can contribute to its development – including translating it into their language.
Translating WooCommerce allows more people to use the platform in their language, leading to a better user experience and more sales.
How to Translate WooCommerce
WooCommerce is available in many languages, thanks to the community’s efforts. You can see a complete list of available languages on the WooCommerce Transifex page.
You can contribute by translating it yourself if your language isn’t yet available. Solving WooCommerce requires some technical skills, but it’s not complicated.
First, you’ll need to sign up for a free Transifex account. Then, you can join the WooCommerce translation team and start translating.
It’s worth noting that translating WooCommerce is a big job – there are over 1,000 strings that need to be translated. As such, it’s best to start by simultaneously translating just a few strings.
Once you’ve translated a string, you can submit it for review by other team members. Once approved, it will be added to the WooCommerce codebase and made available to everyone.
Can I Build My WooCommerce Theme?
Regarding eCommerce platforms, WooCommerce is one of the most popular choices among online store owners. Part of the reason for WooCommerce’s popularity is its vast array of available themes.
With so many themes, it’s only natural for store owners to wonder if they can build their WooCommerce theme.
The answer is yes. You can build your WooCommerce theme. However, it’s essential to remember that building a theme from scratch can be a significant undertaking. If you’re not a developer or don’t have much experience working with WordPress, trying to build a WooCommerce theme from scratch is probably not the best idea.
There are a few different ways to build a custom WooCommerce theme. One option is to use a WordPress theme framework like Genesis or Underscores. These frameworks provide a starting point for building a custom theme and can make creating a theme much more effortless.
Another option is to use a WooCommerce-specific theme. These themes are designed specifically for WooCommerce and often include features designed to work well with the WooCommerce plugin.
If you do decide to build a WooCommerce theme from scratch, there are a few things you’ll need to keep in mind:
- You’ll need to ensure that your theme is compatible with the latest version of WooCommerce.
- You’ll need to ensure that your theme includes all the necessary template files.
- You’ll need to test your theme thoroughly to ensure it works as intended.
Building a custom WooCommerce theme can be a lot of work, but it can also be a great way to create a unique and custom online store. If you’re up for the challenge, plenty of resources are available to help you get started.
How Many People Use WooCommerce?
According to Barn2.com, at least 5+ million stores are the number of active installs of the free WooCommerce plugin.Â
E-commerce is growing at an incredible rate. By 2021, global e-commerce sales will be expected to reach $4.5 trillion. A significant portion of this growth is due to the rise in popularity of WooCommerce.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that turns a WordPress website into an online store. It’s estimated that WooCommerce powers over 28% of all online stores. That’s a huge market share!
Why is WooCommerce so popular? There are a few reasons:
- It’s free (or very inexpensive)
- It’s easy to set up and use
- It has a ton of features
- It’s highly customizable
- It has excellent support
- It integrates with many other software
- It’s SEO friendly
- It’s fast
- It’s secure
- It’s mobile friendly
There are plenty of other reasons why someone might choose WooCommerce over other e-commerce platforms, but these are some of the most popular.
Now that we know a little about WooCommerce let’s look at how many people use it:
1. WooCommerce is used by 4.9% of the top one million sites
This number comes from BuiltWith, a website that tracks technology usage across the internet.
According to their data, 4.9% of the top one million websites are using WooCommerce. That’s many websites!
2. WooCommerce is used by 22% of the top 100,000 sites
This number comes from W3Techs, a website that tracks website technology usage.
Their data shows that 22% of the top 100,000 websites use WooCommerce. That’s an even higher percentage than BuiltWith’s data!
3. WooCommerce is used by 27.1% of all e-commerce sites
This number comes from Statista, a website that tracks all kinds of statistics.
Their data shows that 27.1% of all e-commerce websites use WooCommerce. This is an incredibly high number!
4. WooCommerce is used by 39% of all WordPress sites
This number comes from WordPress itself.
Their data shows that 39% of all WordPress sites use WooCommerce. That’s almost double the percentage of all e-commerce sites!
5. WooCommerce is used by 3.8% of all websites
This number comes from NetMarketShare, a website that tracks website technology usage.
According to their data, 3.8% of all websites are using WooCommerce. This is a lower number than the other data sources, but it’s still significant.
These five data sources all show that many websites use WooCommerce. It’s one of the most popular e-commerce platforms on the internet!
Is WooCommerce Developer Friendly?
WooCommerce is the result of the Open-Source community at WordPress. This means people who contribute to WordPress also contribute to WooCommerce. It’s simple, flexible, and integrated with the platform you already like and know.
WooCommerce is currently under heavy development by over 340 official contributors, but you can talk to them, help them and join them in the WooCommerce developer community.
“Ok, ok. We understood it is awesome. But what about WooCommerce as a platform for developers? Is it developer-friendly?“
In short, the answer is yes. WooCommerce is very developer-friendly.
Why? Well, there are a few reasons.
To start with, WooCommerce is built on top of WordPress, a very developer-friendly platform. WordPress is well-documented, has a massive community of developers and users, and is very extensible.
If you’re a developer who wants to work with WooCommerce, you’ll have no trouble getting started. You can find all the documentation you need on the WooCommerce website, and plenty of resources are available from other developers and the community.
WooCommerce is also highly customizable. If you’re a developer, you can easily create custom WooCommerce plugins and themes to meet your specific needs.
And if you need help, the WooCommerce team is always happy to provide it. They have a very responsive support team, and they’re always delighted to help developers working on WooCommerce projects.
In short, WooCommerce is an excellent platform for developers. If you’re looking for a forum that’s user-friendly, well-documented, and highly customizable, WooCommerce is a great option.
4 Common WooCommerce Errors And How To Deal With Them
1. Can’t Add Another Product to Cart WooCommerce Error
This error is triggered when you try to add a product to the cart. The error message says:
“Can’t add another product to cart”
This error is typically caused by a conflict with the WooCommerce settings or plugins. You can resolve this issue by following these steps:
- Check the WooCommerce settings and make sure that the “Allow adding products to cart” option is enabled in the General tab of your Settings screen.
- Check if any plugins are interfering with WooCommerce functionality, and turn them off if needed.
- If you have a custom theme, check if there are any conflicts with it and update your theme.
2. Declination of Service or Authorization for Payment Processing Failed
The Declination of Service or Authorization for Payment Processing Failed notice means that the payment processing service provider was unable to process the transaction. This can happen for a number of reasons, but it is usually due to an issue with the customer’s bank or credit card.
In these cases, it is always best to contact your payment processing service provider and see if they can provide you with more information about why the transaction failed.
3. Instant Payment Notification Failed
If you have a WooCommerce online shop, then you have to be prepared for the possibility of instant payment notification failing.
There are many reasons why notification might fail, but the most common one is that the customer’s bank declined the transaction. This can happen if someone else has fraudulently used their card and they have not yet been caught. It can also happen when a customer has not checked their statements and they do not know that they are in debt.
If you want to avoid this problem, then make sure that your customers’ bank account details are up-to-date on your store. If any changes take place in their account, then update them on your store as soon as possible so that there is no delay in getting paid for orders.
4. Currency Conversion Rate Failed
Currency conversion rates are always fluctuating, and it can be difficult to keep up with the changes.
The WooCommerce currency conversion rate failed plugin is one of the most popular plugins for WooCommerce stores. It automatically updates the conversion rates every time a customer pays in a different currency than their own.
WooCommerce also has an add-on that will allow you to sell products that are not yet available for sale by account holder due to tax rules.
What is the difference between WooCommerce memberships and subscriptions?
WooCommerce Memberships
WooCommerce Memberships is a plugin that allows you to set up a membership system for your WooCommerce store.
With WooCommerce Memberships, you can create and offer membership plans to your customers. Customers can sign up for a membership plan and access exclusive content, products, and discounts.
WooCommerce Memberships is a great way to increase customer loyalty and encourage customers to keep coming back to your store.
WooCommerce Subscriptions
WooCommerce Subscriptions is a plugin that allows you to set up a subscription-based business with WooCommerce.
With WooCommerce Subscriptions, you can offer products and services regularly. This is a great way to generate recurring revenue for your business.
Customers can sign up for a subscription and pay for it weekly, monthly, or yearly.
WooCommerce Subscriptions is a great way to offer products and services that customers will want to use regularly.
Key Differences between WooCommerce Memberships and WooCommerce Subscriptions:
There are a few critical differences between WooCommerce Memberships and WooCommerce Subscriptions:
- WooCommerce Memberships is a plugin that allows you to create a membership system for your store. Customers can sign up for a membership plan and access exclusive content, products, and discounts.
- WooCommerce Subscription is a plugin that allows you to set up a subscription-based business. Customers can sign up for a subscription and pay for it weekly, monthly, or yearly.
- WooCommerce Memberships is a great way to increase customer loyalty and encourage customers to keep coming back to your store. WooCommerce Subscriptions is a great way to offer products and services that customers will want to use regularly.
So, Which Is the Best Option for Your Business?
WooCommerce Memberships and WooCommerce Subscriptions are great options for businesses that want to offer exclusive content, products, and discounts to their customers.
If you want to increase customer loyalty and encourage customers to return to your store, then WooCommerce Memberships is the best option.
If you are looking for a way to offer products and services repeatedly, then WooCommerce Subscriptions is the best option.
Does WooCommerce have inventory management?
On short: Yes, WooCommerce have an inventory management system, but not a complex one.
WooCommerce allows store owners to track and manage their inventory from within the WordPress admin. This is a crucial feature for any eCommerce business, as it allows you to keep track of your stock levels and ensure that you never run out of products.
While WooCommerce does have a built-in inventory management system, it is pretty basic. For more advanced inventory management, you will need to install a plugin. Several great plugins are available for WooCommerce, each with its own set of features.
If you are running a small online store, then the WooCommerce inventory management system may be all you need. However, if you are running a larger store, you may consider using a plugin to get the most out of your inventory management.
What about booking system? Does WooCommerce have a booking system?
While WooCommerce does not have a built-in booking system, there are plenty of plugins and extensions that you can use to add a booking system to your WooCommerce store.
One of the most popular booking plugins for WooCommerce is Booking & Appointment Plugin for WooCommerce by PluginHive. This plugin allows you to add a booking and appointment system to your WooCommerce store in just a few minutes. The plugin is highly customizable and comes with several features, such as accepting online payments, managing bookings, sending confirmation emails, and more.
Does WooCommerce have a live chat feature?
Many people have one question about WooCommerce: whether it has a live chat. The answer is yes, WooCommerce does have a live chat.
WooCommerce live chat is a great way to provide customer support for your eCommerce store. It can answer product questions, troubleshoot problems, and provide general customer service. WooCommerce live chat is available 24/7 and is a great way to provide quick and efficient customer service.
There are many benefits to using live chat for customer service, including the following:
- It is quick and efficient
- It is available 24/7
- It can help you build customer relationships
- It can boost sales
Live chat is an excellent option if you want a quick and efficient way to provide customer service for your WooCommerce store. It is available 24/7 and can help you build customer relationships and boost sales.
