Is WordPress Good for Ecommerce? – Pros and Cons

In the last two decades, the world of eCommerce developed immensely. For those willing to surf on the waves of modern business strategy it’s a beautiful land of endless opportunities. Online visibility and SEO, weaponized with headless eCommerce and other useful architectures created a business environment equally accessible for small and big businesses.

The rise of eCommerce established numerous changes in the way companies and entrepreneurs plan and develop their endeavors.

The need to place business online ushered in the rapid expansion of diverse website building solutions. WordPress is among the most notable ones. This content management system allows users to set up their website even if they have no technical knowledge.

Is WordPress Good for Ecommerce

However, it’s not enough to have your online presence set easily and affordably. There are other aspects influential to the success of an eCommerce business venture.

We analyzed different WordPress features and came up with a list of pros and cons in terms of whether or not WordPress is a good choice for eCommerce websites

Pros of WordPress for eCommerce websites

There’s no perfect software solution for any intention. However, WordPress has a couple of valuable features that eCommerce business owners should explore. Here are a few positive features of WordPress that we can benefit from.

A wide range of available plugins

Running an eCommerce business means allowing your visitors an optimal user experience. To achieve a high level of UX, WordPress users rely heavily on numerous plugins. These are small pieces of software that you can implement within your website with just a few clicks.

woolentor
WooLentor – WooCommerce Builder

Some software development companies even go so far as to develop plugins that enable you to build websites in WordPress. This way users can build an eCommerce platform without restrictions imposed by WordPress themes.

Elementor and similar platforms allow users to build enhanced WordPress websites without the use of multiple plugins. It even comes with numerous WooCommerce plugins and other additions that benefit eCommerce platforms. The reason why these types of software are a valuable asset is that installing too many different plugins can slow down a website.

Unlike microservices in eCommerce website architecture, plugins are not decentralized so their performance directly influences the functionality of the entire platform. Furthermore, plugins that come from different developers can often cause each other to fail, which leads to disruptions in the user experience.

Seamless usability

Many eCommerce startups suffer under a restrained budget, which is why most business owners look for ways to save their cash on every corner. Content management systems such as WordPress are intuitive and user-friendly, therefore, allow even those users with no technical knowledge the opportunity to build a dynamic website.

Seamless usability of WooCommerce
Seamless usability of WooCommerce

Hiring a professional design team is costly and if your operation is small at first and you have no specific requests, building a website using WordPress is a reasonable decision.

Thanks to a wide range of themes, users can pick prebuilt website samples and introduce fresh content seamlessly. Themes are easy to adjust within their limitations, however, there’s a rich offer of eCommerce website templates so the need for adjustments is minimal.

Among the most notable benefits of building a website using WordPress, is that you can build a responsive website, which is essential for eCommerce. The ability to run your website across all platforms is crucial for the success of any business endeavor nowadays. 

Cons of WordPress for eCommerce websites

When it comes to downsides, just like any other piece of software, WordPress has a set of its own. Here are a few reasons why you should not rely only on WP when building an eCommerce platform. Note that neither of the points we presented is a complete deal breaker. 

Monolithic architecture

Thanks to its primary features, WordPress is a dominant content management system for more than a decade. It’s easy to use, allows seamless scalability, and provides a set of SEO tools that are vital for business growth. However, as the eCommerce industry evolved, there was a growing need for intense content personalization. This is where the monolithic architecture of WordPress creates difficulties for website builders. 

Monolithic Architecture
Monolithic architecture

Monolithic architecture is a rather traditional way of developing software applications. It’s created as a block with three components, database, server-side, and customer end interface, managed from the same code base.

So, any change or maintenance of the system directly impacts the customer’s experience. Because of its monolithic structure, applying new technology often requires extensive and time-consuming coding and rewriting.

Today, eCommerce websites require a different architecture approach, one that separates the front end (the customer’s side of the website) from the back end (the code and databases that support the website). This approach is called headless, and it allows the content development team to unhook from the software developers, making each group free to use their preferred programming language or tools. As it is, WordPress remains restrictive in this area, however, there are software solutions that help break the monolithic architecture of WP into headless. 

The limitation issues

WordPress is not originally or specifically created for eCommerce use. It means that some features, essential for an online store, are not integrated into the offered system. This situation requires experienced developers with the knowledge to solve the problem efficiently and quickly.

The last thing any business wants is to offer a poor website customer experience due to the use of less effective plugins. Using reliable plugin sources with appropriate support services is a safe way to avoid these and similar situations.

Customization is another issue that often arises, especially with large eCommerce stores. In most cases, they need specific features and additional upgrades. Although developers can add these elements, the WP doesn’t allow their implementations.

WordPress is a well-known and often used platform. Due to its popularity, even with regular updates the company website can become vulnerable and targeted by hackers. Keeping the business and customers’ data safe is among the most important tasks.

Therefore, the main strategy should consider adequate measures to achieve this goal. It’s an essential activity not just for WordPress but for any business platform, in general.

Conclusion

The final verdict is WordPress is a good enough platform for an eCommerce website. If you’re running a small operation and you’re planning on expanding your business in the future, the answer is yes. WordPress is just good enough to provide all the basic elements for a successful online presence.

However, if you’re looking for the most effective way to conduct your eCommerce business, WP has a few flaws you should be aware of. In total, WordPress is a good enough solution, but if you’re not satisfied with “good enough” WP gives you solutions that expand its value for more demanding users.

Tyler Smith
Tyler Smith
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