I've written a lot about eCommerce on WordPress over the last couple of years. The truth is there are a lot of eCommerce solutions for WordPress that are available. The decision comes down to what's right for you.
And there's an existing entrant that could be very exciting for you. More on that in a minute… Let's look at the options I've told you about.
The Total Platform
I've basically told you that if you wanted a complete platform—where you could do physical shipping, digital downloads, membership sites and more—WooCommerce was your best bet.
The Membership Platform
I've told you that if you were looking for a solution to do membership sites while also doing a bit of eCommerce, you should check out iThemes Exchange and the Pro Pack, because it's really easy. (And WooCommerce membership sites used to be hard).
The Digital Platform
If you were just focused on digital stuff, downloads, some content protection, and affiliate stuff, or if you were creating a marketplace (a store where you let others sell stuff), then you'd want to look at Easy Digital Downloads.
The eCommerce plugin you select is often a reflection of what you're trying to accomplish.
The reality is that a lot of plugins do a lot of things. The trick is to learn enough about each, so that when it's time to create a solution (for yourself or your clients), you know which tool is right for you.
After all, the eCommerce plugin you select is often a reflection of what you're trying to accomplish, not just a function of your favorite plugin.
But what if you're just getting started? What do you do then?
The challenge that all of these solutions bring with them is that you have to know something (a little more than something) about eCommerce to really do them right.
After all, there's more to decide than just a plugin.
- You need to think about security.
- You need to think about hosting.
- You may need to think about extensions and how things fit together.
That's a lot of choices and sometimes you're not selling enough to warrant spending a lot of money to learn from first-timer mistakes.
A simple, ready for you, hosted eCommerce solution on WordPress would be so nice.
The Hosted Solution
What if I told you there already was a hosted eCommerce solution ready for you and your WordPress site?
What if I told you that while it wasn't for everyone, because it didn't have every bell or whistle that some other solutions had, it might be for you?
What if I told you that they'd just lowered their price to a point where it makes sense to try it out because it's the best bargain you'll ever find?
All of these things are true.
Cart66 Cloud is a hosted solution that:
- Supports tons of payment gateways
- Supports membership sites
- Supports digital downloads
- Supports subscriptions
- Comes with full PCI compliance
- Has coupons
- Supports VAT tax support
And they've lowered their price to just $95 a year.
That's cheaper than most of the eCommerce sites you'd build on WordPress because even though many of those plugins are free, the extensions come with a cost.
So if you're not ready to build your own solution—from the total, the membership, or the digital solution—maybe it's time you try out the hosted solution.