WordPress

What is woocommerce

16 min 07 Oct 2024 Author:
Mateusz Hauer
Hauer Mateusz
What is woocommerce

Woocommerce - create an unlimited store on Wordpress

That is, how to launch an online store in a Wordpress environment. when you already have a site without the need to involve external platforms or Saas solutions. We will discuss what Woocommerce is, its limitations and possibilities. We will tell you about the basic configuration in what case it is worth considering building a store on Woocommerce and what is the cost of implementing a store on Wordpress.

Table of Contents :

What is Woocommerce ?

Meet Woocommerce. Store module for Wordpress

Is Woocommerce legal ?

Woocommerce plugin is released and operates under GNU GPL license. You can download for free, use the store and offered solutions for commercial purposes, modify, create extensions, which can be sold further without the permission of the authors.

Wocommerce is a (ecommerce module) plugin installed to Wordpress, which extends its capabilities with store solutions and functionalities. Thanks to it, your site on Wordpress will be able to sell from now on. In order for the store to fully function you need to take :

  1. steps in the proper configuration of the store,
  2. matching the default store styles and design to the website design
  3. adding shopping cart functionality and order process with statuses,
  4. integration of online payment, bank transfer,
  5. integration of registration, login functionality,
  6. add a new sub-page 'store' to the menu and 'equip' it with a list of products, fitting in the form of e.g.: sidebar
Woocommerce has over 230 million downloads and over 5 million active installations
Number of active installations and downloads of the Woocommerce plugin from https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce/advanced/

Woocommerce provides support for online store solutions from the admin and frontend layers. However, as you can see there is still a lot of work to be done to make the store customer-friendly.

Advantages of Woocommerce. Why is it worth it ?

Leaving aside the issue that everyone praises his own, in the topic of discussing advantages we would like to focus on facts and indisputable data that we will give as advantages, for you to evaluate on your own and draw conclusions on your own.

Ability to customize any functionality and layout

In Woocommerce, thanks to its flexibility, you can implement any layout including dedicated views for :

Why ?

Wordpress is a very flexible CMS, Woocommerce is a module that already works in this environment offering its solutions to extend the cockpit with the functions of the store (from the scope of functionality and backend). However, what kind of frontend code will be integrated with the store is irrelevant here (or in other words, there are no limits or restrictions on the layout or features because it is to the HTML code that we plug the store's and WP's functionalities, and not the other way around).

To sum up

Woocommerce does not have a rigid framework and restrictions on design customization. You will implement any layout and UX functionality on Woo.

There are no rigid frameworks, limitations and requirements imposed by the system garden, and trying to bend them ends up with 10h of work and fighting with the default module setting as is the case in PrestaShop e.g.: sidebar module or the use of filtering only at the top above the product list, but we can no longer make it as a sticky bar in the form of 'sticks' to the bottom edge of the browser, which other platforms like PrestaShop or Shoper box solutions impose on us.

No restrictions on technical and SEO optimization

Similarly for front-end code. Technical optimization solutions and SEO depends on assumptions and developers paying attention to code correctness and optimization in terms of e.g.: Google Core Web Vitals. SEO for woocommerce will be performed very similarly to Wordpress itself, i.e.: from the cockpit level with the use of e.g.: SEO plugin Yoast, properly optimizing sub-pages such as : product card, category list or shopping process. Nevertheless, the plugin alone will not give us high positions.

Unique content for product descriptions and categories in your store

Your store should contain unique content, the product list should be equipped with descriptions, and each product should have its own dedicated description.

Integrations with any external program after API

Thanks to the growing popularity of Woocommerce, incumbent companies have had to take Woocommerce into account by making it possible to integrate just after APi with their platforms. Popular allegro, dhl, Comarch, Baselinker, Inpost etc already have ready plug-ins or at least provide APi for simple integration of Woocommerce functionality with their products.

You can easily find plug-ins that perform the tasks of :

You can find plugins for Woocommerce in the free Wordpress repository or on the WP Desk plugin developer website (https://www.wpdesk.pl/) or from Woocommerce https://woo.com

See the capabilities of WPDESK
Plugins from Woocommerce

Check out our list of the best plugins for Wordpress and see how to search for plugins to avoid cluttering Wordpress.

There is no plugin you are looking for ? Do you need a proprietary functionality for Woocommerce ?

However, if you need functionality that Woocommerce does not have or there is no plugin for it then you can have them written by Wordpress developers. See creating Wordpress pages

Simple and intuitive management from the admin panel

The simplicity and clarity of the panel is key here. The convenient interface of Wordpress, which also favors its popularity and in which we also work with Woocommerce gives us the feeling of working in one ecosystem. On the plus side, we can count the lack of switching to another interface or the fact that we have to learn how the store works from the beginning if we are already familiar with Wordpress.

A multitude of extensions and functionalities

Numerous community, free plugins, groups on FB, forums and official wordpress repository. All this makes WP more and more popular, and if you have a problem or question it has 99% already been asked and there is an answer.

The cluster of developers who have already written more than 10,000 plugins on their own initiative, companies specializing in API development, CRM integration or writing their own plugins is already a real powerhouse of Wordpress.

See 10 Woocommerce plugins that are worth installing.

As Wordpress grows and is updated, Woocommerce is also being developed with new features and capabilities

What functionalities does Woocommerce have ?

With Woocommerce, implement any online store from a basic store performing a simple product sale to a configurator and a shopping path with a step-by-step order form including, for example: a dynamic shopping cart or a pull-out customer panel showing the inventory during the product ordering process.

Are you looking for an optimal solution for your store ?

See our offer :

Payment gateways

Using the appropriate extensions (plug-ins), your store will process online payments.

With solutions such as:

Customers will be able to make payment right at the time of ordering by selecting a bank and then proceeding to online payment. In addition, Woocommerce supports PayU, Stripe payments.

Automatic taxes (geolocation)

Your store on Wordpress can automatically display prices in currency and set taxes according to the place / country / residence of users. The appropriate plugins are used for this.

To enable taxes - as they are disabled by default in Woocommerce.

Go to menu: WooCommerce → Settings → Main settings

Once in, enable tax rates and calculations and save the changes.

In the settings menu you will see the item Tax

All you have to do now is choose whether you will enter product prices with or without tax.

Configuration of the transaction execution process

During the order process, you can personalize the appearance of :

It is worth noting that you can implement the order form standard or in the form of a step-by-step form such as: 3 steps order.

Limit sales to location

As we have already mentioned with the help of plugins you can update the taxes and currency of the store but also limit sales to selected regions and user locations.

Determine delivery costs for specific implementations

With the WooCommerce Local Delivery plugin, you can easily determine the areas to which your store will deliver products.

You can create multiple delivery zones and adjust shipping costs against the selected zones.

Default currency and selection

There are many plugins to choose from so you can implement support for several currencies on your store along with setting a default currency or detecting the country from which the user enters the store and adjusting the currency. Some of the plugins are paid but you can use free plugins ie :

Product configuration parameters

Examples of product editing capabilities in Woocommerce

For products, their entry method can be guided by CSV files, integration with a third-party program, manually or after an API.

Adding and configuring a product is easy. In the product edition, you can easily realize :

When defining the product weight and dimension, you will be able to use the dynamic pricing option for setting product shipping pricing options.

Woocommerce - cross sell or combined sale

It is also possible to set up-sell and cross-sell (combined sale) of products. By linking products with attributes, you can also offer them as related products in the section : 'other customers also selected'.

Products are searchable through advanced options in the list of products accessible from the Products tab.

Products in Woocommerce. List of products showing stock, price, category.

Stocks

With the stock function for each product or product group, you can determine the quantity in stock. With messaging, you can inform the user about the last pieces available or if the product is out of stock. Also, if a product is out of stock, you can offer to sign up for a waiting list with an email notification when the product returns to the store.

With baselinker store integration, you can easily transfer your store management just to baselinker and use its potential. See what is baselinker integration with Woocommerce

Shipping in Woocommerce

Woocommerce allows you to simply and easily set shipping cost options and how to ship your order to customers. It has built-in options offering flat rate as a rate, personal pickup or delivery options based on order weight or distance.


Calculation of parcel cost.

Woocommerce calculator will calculate your customer's order delivery cost at the door.

Reviews, coupons and discounts

Easily increase the loyalty of your customers. Woocommerce has a built-in mechanism for discounts, coupons and leaving reviews by Customers who actually bought the product.

Coupons in Woocommerce

To be able to use the ability to create coupons, you just need to enable the option in the settings, ie: WooCommerce -> Settings. In the first tab, go to the Main settings section, click the checkbox Enable use of coupons.

To add a coupon, just create it in the menu on the left Marketing -> coupons.

Reviews

You can enable the feature of reviews ( testimonials ) only from verified customers in your store directly from the WP cockpit.

Support for many Woocommerce features that seem difficult on the surface are simply 'clickable' from within the wordpress cockpit

Customer statuses and notifications

Orders in woocommerce have corresponding statuses in each case. Order statuses inform the user about the stage his order is at. There are several types of notifications in the system :

With the status mechanism, Wordpress can send the notification and order status directly to the phone or email at the same time.

You can adjust the appearance of notifications and content in the case of email to match the overall style of the store, add a logo and freely form the communication with customers.

Reports and analysis of sales results

The internal sales reporting system is quite powerful in Wordpress. Without the need to analyze GA4 implementing web analytics (although it is recommended for ecommerce ) already from the cockpit you have insight into sales and the ability to see which products are selling best.

Woocommerce sales reports

With WP cockpit reporting, you can keep track of your store's sales in real time, print summaries, analyze net sales charts, gross sales charts, run sales rankings and view store traffic.

Sales balance generated by Woocommerce

What kind of store can be implemented on Woocommerce ?

There are no limitations in this solution. You can make any online store in any configuration by creating an online store in the model in which :

In the case of digital products, full security of the product available to the customer only after purchase is maintained. The product can be sent to an email or downloaded through a link sent in the message.

How to run (install) a store on Wordpress Woocommerce ?

Installation of the plugin is simple. Search for the extension in the plugin search engine by typing Woocommerce.

To run a store on Wordpress, you need a Wordpress CMS installed. Then if you have properly configured Wordpress, PHP version min. 7.4, sufficient server space you can install the add-on.

To launch Woocommerce store, all you need to do in the basic version / if you do not create an author store / install Woocommerce store plugin, for this purpose, select from the WP cockpit menu item : plugins -> install -> type Woocommerce.

Is Woocommerce SEO friendly ?

SEO yoast optimization for Woocommerce

Woocommerce has no restrictions on the construction and creation of DOM elements in HTML, i.e.: creating frontend code that will be flexible and well rendered by browsers. Consequently, frontend code written correctly does not have top-down rules imposed on the integration layer (backend) of Woocommerce or rigid rules that prevent the performance of proper SEO optimization, such as:

Woocommerce i inne platformy sklepowe. Porównanie

How much does an online store on Woocommerce cost ?

The cost of a Woocommerce online store depends primarily on whether it is to be a proprietary store with dedicated design and functionality or whether it will be a more typical store we see in a SaaS solution.

In order to correctly determine the amount of the online store you must prepare or together with the Contractor determine the necessary functionalities such as :

  1. number of language versions,
  2. type of search engine : standard or hint-generating dynamic search engine,
  3. whether the store will have invoice generation,
  4. do you foresee advanced filtering and tagging of products ?
  5. how many versions of the product to include in the store e.g.: parameters to select the product from the product card e.g.: color, weight, material etc.
  6. will there be a product configurator ?
  7. whether you need a dedicated mobile version designed in-house / this question is related to the general question of the degree of sophistication of the store's graphic design?
  8. Will you be doing a blog/guide ?
  9. Integration with external systems ie: woocommerce baselinker integration, external CRM systems,

The cost of developing a store on Woocommerce for a single language version, including implementation of web analytics, SEO optimization, and an add-on for an intermediate project is :

The cost of a proprietary store on Wordpress with dedicated functionalities, effects, a responsive version where the UX and visual layer is designed in the form of new solutions instead of transferred 1:1 from desktop solutions and a package of options from the basic store. See our technology stack and why you should work with us.

Woocommerce security

Woocommerce module is safe as long as you take good care of your Wordpress system with which the extension works. The same practices and maintenance of good work habits apply here as with a site deployed on Wordpress. On an ongoing basis, you need to take care of updates, PHP versions, proper password setting and security, no or authorized automatic registrations, limits for failed registrations and logins, and proper security for the database and Wordpress itself.

Myths about Woocommerce

Woocommerce is only suitable for small stores

A store on a solution from WOO performs very well for both larger and smaller stores, there is no single product quantity from which it is no longer practical or usable. Consider performance and features more than estimating the size of the store for a specific ecommerce solution. For this solution, you will definitely need a dedicated server and technical optimization if you are thinking about products above 2-3 thousand.

This is how we implement this type of store on Woo itself, which additionally have integration with external CRM systems and are managed beyond the Woocommerce level.

Woocommerce is vulnerable to attacks and hacks

Just like any car can be stolen and broken into. Without taking care of the system, proper maintenance, any system will be vulnerable to attack and burglary.

Stores based on this solution are for amateurs

We have implemented and seen many professional and well executed stores just on Woocommerce. Compared to boxed or presta solutions, they are several levels above typical ecommerce in terms of UX and responsiveness. A post with examples of woocommerce stores coming soon ;)v

Woocommerce is for the greenies

Unfortunately, it depends. In the case of a very simple store where you sell by the piece, and the products and configurations are practically non-existent - you may be able to crank out all the technical parameters. For an already slightly larger configuration, you often have to modify functions and so-called hooks for Wordpress to handle a specific request.

Mateusz Hauer
Mateusz Hauer
Founder, Hauer Power
Over 15 years of building websites and CRM systems for companies across Poland and Europe. Passionate about clean code, performance, and solutions that truly work for business.

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