WordPress dominates the kingdom if one wishes to start a blog or a website afresh. Likewise, WooCommerce is that e-commerce platform that triumphs the online shopping domain. This popular e-commerce solution fuels over 28% of the total online stores in the world with 22,315,687+ downloads! Just as WordPress has changed the world of the blogging industry, WooCommerce has left a significant impact on the e-commerce industry.
If words don’t impress you, the numbers definitely will! According to statistics, WooCommerce clearly portrays how powerful it is and how often it is used in the e-commerce industry. However, the first step to using it and getting the most out of the same, you need to install WooCommerce plugins and organize an operational shop with every required feature that entices the users to buy your product/service.
WooCommerce supports a bunch of extensions and plugins in case you look forward to further enhance the aspects of your website. How can these be useful? Well, WooCommerce plugins improve the looks and features of your WordPress website so the users have a better experience at the WooCommerce website.
WooCommerce Product Table is a bestselling plugin that presents your products in innovative new ways. Unlike the typical WooCommerce store layouts, product tables are incredibly flexible and you can choose what information is displayed about your products. It’s much easier than customizing WooCommerce templates, which is normally the only way to change how products are listed. Customers can view more products per page and search and sort the responsive table to quickly find products and buy from you.
Product tables can increase sales for many types of WooCommerce store. For example, they’re ideal for WooCommerce wholesale stores where you need a less visual way to present products to regular customers. The extra product data and search, sort and filters lend themselves to product directories needing a space-saving way to list large numbers of products. Product tables are even popular for WooCommerce niche sites such as online restaurant ordering systems.
The WooCommerce table plugin’s features include:
- Choose your columns – display any standard WooCommerce product data fields in a table, plus extra data via custom fields and taxonomies.
- Direct one-page ordering – by including add to cart buttons in the table (with or without quantity selector or product variations), customers can select and order products directly from the product table view.
- Fully customizable – with dozens of further options, you can configure your product tables to your heart’s content.
Developed by leading UK WordPress agency Barn2 Media, WooCommerce Product Table is a high quality and well supported plugin. Definitely worth a look if you’re looking for new ways to list products in your store.
Below are some user reviews of WooCommerce Product Table.
2. WooCommerce Password Protected Categories
WooCommerce Password Protected Categories is an easy-to-use plugin to create private areas within any WooCommerce store.
There are lots of reasons why you might need to restrict parts of WooCommerce. For example, you might want to build a WooCommerce wholesale store which is separate from your public retail shop. You may be a photographer selling different products to each customer. Perhaps you have members-only products that aren’t available for the public to buy.
The plugin’s features include:
- Password protected categories – lock down specific product categories behind a simple but secure password. No need to create maintain separate accounts for each user.
- Private categories – alternative option to mark categories as ‘private’ so that only specific logged in user roles can see them.
- Supports sub-categories – if you protect a parent category, all its sub-categories are automatically protected. Customers can enter a single password to unlock a category, its child categories and all their products.
- Multiple passwords – each category can be protected with as many passwords as you like.
- Visibility options – choose whether your password protected categories and products will appear in public parts of your WooCommerce website.
- Customizable password login form – change the wording on all parts of the password entry form.
Below are some user reviews of WooCommerce Password Protected Categories.
WooCommerce Private Store is a simpler version of WooCommerce Password Protected Categories, designed for stores that need to be completely private. Instead of having public AND private areas of WooCommerce, the plugin completely hides WooCommerce from public view. The other parts of your website will remain available to everyone. Normal visitors to your website will never know that you have a hidden e-commerce shop.
The WooCommerce private store’s features include:
- Easy to use password protection – hide all parts of WooCommerce behind a simple password. Once a customer enters the correct password, your entire shop will become visible including products, categories, tags, menu items and widgets.
- Logged in users option – instead of password protecting WooCommerce, you can automatically unlock the store to logged in users.
- Multiple passwords – either add a shared password for all your customers, or give different passwords to different customers.
- Hide products from search engines – all WooCommerce content is hidden from public view including from your menus, sidebars, the WordPress search and noindexed from search engines
Below are some user reviews of Private Store.
4. Pay with Amazon
As the name suggests, this plugin allows the customers to make payments through Amazon wallet. But before you initiate the implementation, make sure you follow a few points. This plugin functions only with SSL ready sites and can be accessed currently only in USA, UK and Germany. You need not worry about the payment if you intend to use it on a single site. Recurring payments are also handled efficiently through this plugin.Since it is developed by the same developer, it works seamlessly with WooCommerce.
Plugin highlights:
- The elements are completely compatible with smartphones and tablets.
- Users are equipped with the implemented Amazon Payment fraud protection feature which in turn improves the user-experience.
- Redirection to the amazon site is not required since the entire checkout procedure can be completed in one go.
- Logging in with the users’ Amazon account and subsequent payments is now easy-peasy. Their details are stored at your end too.
5. WooCommerce Multilingual
This plugin is lightweight and focusses on improving only on one aspect. It makes its end users comfortable working with any language that fits their ease, translating every e-commerce related element to the chosen language. The websites that use WooCommerce and WPML plugins as the base are tuned by this plugin.Over 50,000 users have installed this plugin and its compatibility with the latest WordPress version makes it worthwhile to consider.
Plugin highlights:
- Translates every WooCommerce compatible product listing.
- All the way till the checkout, it maintains the same language.
- Multiple currencies can be implemented in running the same store.
- The webmaster is now allowed to send email alerts in the desired language.
6. WooCommerce Customizer
This plugin is like an extension to the WooCommerce plugin, which provides options for customizing certain features explicitly. The default customizer does allow customization but this takes place by means of code. However, this free plugin comes with assorted tools which can get you through the customization process without coding. This plugin is kept updated and is well-appreciated by the community. It is compatible with WooCommerce 2.4.13 and the succeeding versions.
Plugin highlights:
- It customizes the looks of the Add to Cart button and the text inside the same.
- It is possible toalter the number of products shown on a single page with the help of this plugin.
- The plugin holds a dedicated placeholder for images and their sources.
- It allows you to set the option ‘Create account’ to default and then proceed with the checkout.
7. WooCommerce Product Slider
The user-experience can be improved by providing tools that aid in the way they interact with the website. WooCommerce product slider is one plugin that promises this by adding a simple, yet highly beneficial feature. It basically adds a slider that can feature different products and their features. You are also allowed to configure customization options to get satisfied with the custom solution.
Plugin highlights:
- It supports installations on multiple sites, being compatible most of the known web browsers including Internet Explorer.
- It works hand in handwith translation andholds up widgets.
- The plugin is easier to be implemented with the help of short codes.
- Every element on the front-end is interactive and mobile friendly.
8. WooCommerce Checkout Manager
Next in line, we recommend the WooCommerce Checkout Manager which particularly focusses on the checkout procedure. Those fields which form a part of the checkout page could be arranged, renamed, hidden or extended with this plugin. Updated regularly to ensure full compatibility with the latest WordPress script, over 40,000 users are using this plugin already. Additionally, it allows the customization of the billing and shipping sections. Being an open and free plugin, the features granted are exceedingly resourceful.
Plugin highlights:
- Its fifteen different field types can be used straightaway or customized further.
- You can hide or view a particular field for particular users in different circumstances.
- Orders could get sorted with its built-in feature and functionalities could be exported, allowing easier management.
- It automatically saves the field-information for the users.
Stripe is well-known payment gateway and this functionality gets added on to the e-commerce store driven by WooCommerce through this plugin. The user credentials are kept protected in the entire payment procedure while they pay through their credit cards. Unlike the other plugins, this plugin does not include any other customization tools, instead it only links the gateway to the website. The developer hasn’t updated this plugin for a year, so far the only drawback that holds it back.
Plugin highlights:
- It is very simple to use and the user need not worry about the coding part. This plugin will take care of everything.
- An SSL certificate is implemented on the web page which holds Credit Card details.
- Along with the CC details, payment procedures are also handled by the Stripe servers.
- You are only required to copy 2 APIs and paste them, to implement the product.
10. WooCommerce EU VAT Compliance
With the help of this plugin, the users can stay updated with the current EU VAT system. It employs various other functionalities into the e-commerce store to make this happen. Effective form 1st January 2015, the website follows the VAT system. For this to happen, the user’s location is traced and corresponding functionalities are triggered, keeping the user-experience unharmed.
Plugin highlights:
- It automatically detects the location of the user and saves the data securely to be handy in future.
- Prices including the VAT are automatically adjusted, supporting currency rates and conversion.
- The VAT details of various countries are stored in a secure database to be used readily in future.
- Itcomes with an analytic tool, permitting further analysis through the data deciphered.
WordPress combined with WooCommerce is undoubtedly the best online store that one can think of. The writer has provided good insight into some of the really productive plugins. I’ve been using Amazon pay and Stripe payment gateway on my store and this article sums up what it does. However, I would suggest if you could also include the following plugins into your list:
Woo Shop Front Customizer – https://wordpress.org/plugins/woo-shop-front-customizer/
Woo Shop Product Review Popup – https://wordpress.org/plugins/woo-shop-product-review-popup/
WP Responsive Landing Pages – https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-responsive-landing-pages/
I’ve been using these on my store for some time now. They are simple to use and offer good options to improve productivity.