By default, WooCommerce is a great eCommerce platform to start with. Since it’s built on top of WordPress, there are hundreds of plugins available to make your web store even better.
In this article I will show you some of the best WooCommerce plugins around, categorized by use. These plugins allow you to improve your product listing, use various discount methods, improve your ordering process and maximize your sales by going social.
Most of these plugins are paid, with many of them costing only a nominal fee compared to the benefit they bring you. You will find some free plugins in this list as well.
Some plugins are offered by WooThemes (the company behind WooCommerce), while many others are offered by independent developers. The latter can be cheaper, however, WooThemes is known for its excellent product support but you’re gonna pay for it. Just be sure to check the reputation of an independent developer when it comes to support, since the lower pricing comes with slow or even no support in some cases.
Improve your Product Listings
Many WooCommerce themes already come with an optimized look and feel for your product listing pages. To further enhance the actual content of your product page or offer wholesale pricing, here are some great plugins to consider.
Product Options
In the official WooCommerce repository you will find two popular product option plugins.
Product Add-ons allows for the more basic type of configuration, at a price of around $55.
If you want to go a bit more advanced you can decide to go with Gravity Forms Add-ons for around $99. With this plugin you can even let your customer build their own product combination, like configuring their own computer.
There’s also Product Options for WooCommerce which is in line with the features being offered by ‘Gravity Forms Add-ons; at a price of around $18.
A simple and free plugin to allow for gift wrapping is WooCommerce Product Gift Wrap which you can use to offer gift wrapping for free or a small cost.
Wholesale Pricing
If you want to offer wholesale pricing (a discounted price for retailers or bulk buyers) WooCommerce Wholesale Prices does a great job for around $16.
It is quite easy to use, just give a member the ‘wholesale-customer’ status in their membership and specify wholesale prices. When these customers log in they see both the retail price and the wholesale price.
Product Image Magnifier
Another simple yet very effective plugin is YITH WooCommerce Zoom Magnifier.
This plugin adds a professional zoom to your product images and it doesn’t cost a dime!
Increase Sales
Getting more sales is what it’s all about. WooCommerce comes with quite an ingenious coupon module already built-in, but you might want to extend this even further.
Giving discounts based on quantity, running promotions or offering a rewards program are well proven methods of increasing sales. Let’s have a look at some plugins which help you do this.
Dynamic Pricing
Getting a customer to add more products to their order is one the easiest ways of increasing your revenue per customer. Offering discounts is one of the best ways you can do this.
Both the WooCommerce Dynamic Pricing & Discounts for around $25 and Dynamic Pricing for around $129 roughly do the same job, the latter being offered in the WooCommerce repository but at quite a steep price.
These plugins allow you to set up various pricing rules, like getting a 10% discount for orders over $100 or offering a cross-sell for a product with 25% off. You can also run seasonal promotions or have different membership statuses (Gold, Silver etc.) with different discounts.
Loyalty Rewards and Referral Programs
Getting a previous customer to order again is more cost effective than aqcuiring new customers. Setting up a loyalty rewards program is a great way of doing this, offering a specific amount of points for each order. You can assign a value to these points, after which a customer can use these points as a discount for future purchases.
The Loyalty Rewards for WooCommerce plugin gives you plenty of ways to set up your rewards program for around $22.
WooCommerce offers a rewards plugin themselves called WooCommerce Points and Rewards but honestly it comes with less features at a higher price tag of around $129.
If you want to reward your customers for bringing in new customers the Refer A Friend for WooCommerce is a perfect addition to your store for around $21.
You can set up different rules to give a discount to both the new and the referring customer without needing to do anything extra. This way you not only get the new customer’s purchase but the referring customer is more likely to buy again to redeem their own discount as well.
Optimize your Sales Process
Below you will find a number of plugins which will simplify the ordering process for you and your customers. Tasks like auto-complete for addresses, emailing someone their cart contents or using an availability notification can help things to run smoother. They might also earn you some additional sales too.
Ordering Products
Checking addresses on accuracy is a tedious task which is better left to the customer while ordering their product.
The Google Address Autocomplete for WooCommerce plugin helps your customers while only costing around $11. It uses the Google Places API to complete the address while being typed in. This way your customer can select their address from a list, preventing typing errors or missing information.
Another nifty plugin is Order Delivery Date for Woocommerce which comes with a date picker to select a specific delivery date. This is ideal for web stores offering gifts, but also for delivering packages that a customer needs to sign for (so you’ll know they are home, reducing returns).
Smarter Shopping Carts and Stock Management
If you want to offer assisted shopping and have the ability to email someone their cart contents, you will definitely need Email Cart for WooCommerce for around $11.
This allows you to send a customer a link to their pre-filled (by you) shopping cart after which they can order right away or add even more. This is great when you’re also getting orders by phone, or receive emails from customers asking advice for a combination of products.
When you run a web store with a low inventory or very popular products, you can sometimes run out of stock. If you don’t want to miss out on any sales, you need a stock availability plugin.
WooCommerce Availability Notifications allows for different ways of alerting your customers on the status of your stock with customized messages for around $16.
If you also want to send out emails based on stock numbers you can use Advanced Notifications from WooCommerce for around $29. You can send updates to both customers and suppliers, and these two plugins combined give you enough options to be able to inform everyone properly.
Let’s Get Social!
As a web store, it’s quite hard to become popular on the social networks without spending thousands of dollars on advertising.
These plugins below allow you to have your very own customers do the work for only minimal costs.
This ranges from offering coupons for those sharing your products in their network through to requiring a minimum number of likes for a discount to appear.
Sharing Frenzy
Offering a discount for a Like, Tweet or Google +1 for a product causes two reactions: The customer doing it receives a discount and is mostly likely to use it (why else would they share a product?), and their followers see the specific product appear in their timeline increasing trust in your store.
Social Coupon for WordPress is one of the most popular plugins to manage all the ground work for around $22. It works in combination with the built-in WooCommerce coupon system, so you can track it as well.
A different yet ingenious way of using Facebook is offering discount for Likes. This is exactly what the Discount for Likes plugin does (hence the name).
It works very simply, just enter any number of Likes to be achieved before discount is given. The idea is that customers will not only hit the ‘Like’ button themselves, but encourage their friends to do so as well. This doesn’t work for every product, but limited or specialized products are perfect.
Conclusion
WooCommerce is a great platform to work with and adding one or more of these plugins gives you some great opportunities to increase sales or reduce costs.
Even though the mentioned plugins are already very popular (often meaning great quality), make sure you always check out the level of support offered to help you if you come across any errors or issues with the plugin.
Don’t base your decision on pricing alone though. There’s nothing worse than ending up with a great plugin with no one to help you fix it when it breaks down.
Please let us know your favorite plugins in the comments section, or share any success stories you might have.
Frequently Asked Questions about WooCommerce Plugins
What are the best free WooCommerce plugins available?
There are numerous free WooCommerce plugins available that can significantly enhance your eCommerce store. Some of the best include WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips, which allows you to automatically add a PDF invoice to the order confirmation emails sent out to your customers, and YITH WooCommerce Wishlist, which lets your customers save products they’re interested in but not ready to purchase yet. Other notable mentions include WooCommerce Menu Cart, WooCommerce Direct Checkout, and WooCommerce Currency Switcher.
How can I improve my WooCommerce store’s speed?
Speed is crucial for any eCommerce store. You can improve your WooCommerce store’s speed by using a performance-optimizing plugin like WP Rocket. It offers features like cache preloading, browser caching, and GZIP compression, which can significantly improve your site’s loading times. Additionally, consider using a CDN service and optimizing your images for the web.
Can I customize my WooCommerce store?
Yes, customization is one of the key strengths of WooCommerce. You can use plugins like WooCommerce Customizer or YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter to customize various aspects of your store, from product pages to checkout fields. Additionally, you can use a page builder plugin like Elementor to design your store’s layout and appearance.
How can I manage my WooCommerce inventory effectively?
Managing inventory can be a challenge, especially for larger stores. Plugins like WooCommerce Stock Manager and ATUM Inventory Management can help you keep track of your stock levels, set up low stock notifications, and manage your inventory more efficiently.
Can I offer discounts and coupons on my WooCommerce store?
Yes, you can offer discounts and coupons on your WooCommerce store using plugins like WooCommerce Extended Coupon Features or YITH WooCommerce Gift Cards. These plugins allow you to set up various types of discounts and gift cards, helping you attract more customers and boost sales.
How can I improve my WooCommerce store’s SEO?
SEO is crucial for any online store. You can improve your WooCommerce store’s SEO by using a plugin like Yoast SEO. It offers features like keyword optimization, readability analysis, and XML sitemap generation, which can help improve your store’s visibility on search engines.
Can I integrate my WooCommerce store with social media?
Yes, you can integrate your WooCommerce store with social media using plugins like WooCommerce Social Login or YITH WooCommerce Social Login. These plugins allow your customers to log in to your store using their social media accounts, making the checkout process faster and more convenient.
How can I ensure the security of my WooCommerce store?
Security is paramount for any eCommerce store. You can ensure the security of your WooCommerce store by using a security plugin like Wordfence Security or Sucuri Security. These plugins offer features like firewall protection, malware scanning, and login security, helping you protect your store from potential threats.
Can I add a live chat feature to my WooCommerce store?
Yes, you can add a live chat feature to your WooCommerce store using a plugin like LiveChat or YITH Live Chat. These plugins allow you to interact with your customers in real-time, helping you provide better customer service and boost sales.
Can I automate tasks on my WooCommerce store?
Yes, you can automate tasks on your WooCommerce store using a plugin like AutomateWoo or WooCommerce Scheduler. These plugins allow you to automate various tasks, such as sending follow-up emails, managing stock levels, and scheduling product availability, helping you save time and effort.
Jacco BlankenspoorJacco Blankenspoor is a website developer from the Netherlands, and is currently just building lots of different websites. When he is not working on HIPAAHQ.com you might catch him grinding coffee.
