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Maybe you've heard of WooCommerce and wondered what all the fuss is about? Perhaps you use an eCommerce platform like Shopify but are sick of them taking a cut of your sales? This is the guide for you. Learn what WooCommerce is with all the common questions answered. You'll go from Padawan to Jedi expert in no time at all.

Just What Is WooCommerce?

With over 21 million downloads and powering 28% of all online stores, WooCommerce is an eCommerce powerhouse. But unlike all those other eCommerce systems you've used or heard of WooCommerce is different. It runs on an open source platform called WordPress which can be downloaded for free and installed on virtually any web host.

 

WooCommerce is open source as well. Anyone can download it and modify it as they wish. Extend it. Break it. Build a store with it.

 

Anything you want to do, you can. That's the beauty of open source software. There are hundreds of WooCommerce experts worldwide that build plugins (extensions) for it to expand your store. There are custom themes built specifically for WooCommerce that give you the ultimate plug and play ability. All in all, WooCommerce is the easiest eCommerce platform to use - period.

How much is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce, like WordPress (the platform it runs on), is 100% free. You can download WooCommerce either from woocommerce.com or WordPress plugin repository and you'll see that there are extensions that extend the functionality of WooCommerce and that do cost real life money. Many of these have free versions and even if they don't, they're so cheap that for less than $500 you'll have the store of your dreams. And the best part? If you want to pay nothing, you can. Out of the box, WooCommerce just works. Shipping, Payments and everything you need all in one easy to use plugin.

Are there any product limits when using WooCommerce?

You'll be pleased to know there are no product limits imposed by WooCommerce. Unlike other eCommerce platforms where you're restricted to a certain amount of items unless you up your subscription tier. WooCommerce has no such restrictions.

 

While there aren't any set limits in WooCommerce as mentioned above, there are technical limitations.

 

You won't be able to list 50,000 products on a $5 host and have your site run perfectly. If you have what will be a larger store, we'd recommend hiring an expert to help guide you along the way with optimizing your store for performance and helping you pick the perfect host.

Is WooCommerce Safe?

In one word - Yes. WooCommerce is extremely safe. While there have been historical instances of vulnerabilities within WooCommerce, these have always been disclosed quickly, professionally and patched. No software is 100% secure, and you should be aware of that before using anything.

 

WooCommerce is certainly as secure as other software, and it has the benefits of being open-source.

 

This means security experts around the world can examine the core code and submit improvements to the WooCommerce team. WooCommerce is also owned by Automattic who's owner, Matt Mullenweg, co-founded the open-source platform, WordPress. You can't get a better team to put your trust into.

Does it Work with my Payment Provider?

Most probably! WooCommerce supports Stripe, PayPal and more out the box along with hundreds of other gateways available as add-ons (both free and paid). If a payment gateway exists, you can be almost certain that there's an add-on for WooCommerce that integrates it.

What Can I Sell With WooCommerce?

Anything! That's the beauty of WooCommerce. There are no restrictions on what you can sell. You can sell digital products, physical products and even allow your customers to custom design their own t-shirts through the use of a WooCommerce add-on. It doesn't just stop there though, through the use of paid add-ons. You could run a subscription box business, take recurring payment, run a membership site... Anything you can think of, you can do with WooCommerce.

Does WooCommerce Charge A Transaction Fee?

As mentioned above, WooCommerce is 100% free! There are no transactions fees or similar. The only fees you'll incur through selling with WooCommerce are that of your chosen payment provider. Pretty neat, eh?

Can I Change The Emails Sent To Customers?

You've most probably seen a running theme by now. So you guessed it! You absolutely can send completely customized emails to your customers. Change the copy, change the colors, the branding anything you want to do. The sky's the limit.

What About Reports?

Out the box, I'll be honest, WooCommerce's default reporting does leave a bit to be desired. Sure you can see total orders amount taken in 30 days, but for those analytical geeks like me, you can't really drill down into the numbers and find out what's working and what isn't with your store. Luckily someone else thought the same and built a pretty nifty tool called Metorik. Metorik is an analytics and reporting tool for WooCommerce and is definitely something you should check out.

Can I create Variations?

Yep! WooCommerce supports multiple variations and attributes. This is vital for any eCommerce store. Some only allow you to have one attribute for each product, i.e., color. Meaning you couldn't have color and size. But with WooCommerce if you sell t-shirts, your t-shirts could have the attributes "Color, Size, Cut" and anything else you want! Allowing your store to offer your products in exactly the way you want.

Can I Create A Blog?

You can. As WooCommerce is just a plugin that extends WordPress. You still have the full power of WordPress available to you which includes creating pages and posts. Allowing you to create your dream blog to bring in the customers.

Conclusion

WooCommerce is a powerful tool that allows anyone of any capability to build an online store with no prior experience. In less than a day you can have your dream eCommerce store up and running. All you need is your domain, some hosting and some time. Have you tried WooCommerce before? Perhaps you're a seasoned WooCommerce expert? Maybe there's a burning question you've wanted to ask about WooCommerce? Let us know in the comments below.