I’m going to take a leaf out of Chris Lema’s book right now to answer whether WordPress should be used for eCommerce: It depends.
There are camps of thought that think WordPress isn’t right for eCommerce, and there are people that think it’s the only way to go. Having worked with and used several different eCommerce platforms (both hosted and self-hosted), I’ve definitely developed the mindset that there are use cases for each. WordPress can be the right choice in a lot of circumstances, but not all.
Hosted vs. self-hosted
If you’re not sure about the major differences between hosted vs self hosted platforms, I recommend reading Patrick Rauland’s overview of the major differences. WordPress eCommerce usually falls under self-hosted eCommerce (I don’t count WordPress.com since it uses external eCommerce solutions). Forbes also recently wrote about this, though I don’t necessarily agree with their conclusions.
The typical viewpoint is that WordPress plugins like WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads are great for small stores or people that just want to quickly and easily sell a few items, while hosted platforms like Shopify and Bigcommerce are for “serious” stores.
This viewpoint is actually pretty backwards, not to mention the fact that the number of items is a poor way of determining which platform you should use.
Give each its due
Is WordPress the best platform on which to build apps? I don’t always think so, but it could be. Is it always a good choice for eCommerce? Nope. However, it’s the right one for lots of stores, and it’s the wrong one for lots of stores.
There are a few major strengths and weaknesses of both WordPress and hosted solutions. I’ve worked most with WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, and Shopify, but have tried lots of other eCommerce solutions for comparison. Some of the knocks against WordPress aren’t valid, but we should note that some are.
WordPress eCommerce weaknesses
Everyone loves to talk about how easy certain WordPress plugins are to use. When you compare WordPress plugins to something like Shopify, this just isn’t true. They may be easy to use for people that are familiar with WordPress, but not for the average user who wants to start selling online with no experience.
WordPress requires a domain name purchase, hosting setup, installation, plugin installation and setup, theme installation and setup, blah blah blah, you get the drift. With hosted solutions, you don’t worry about this (though solutions like Evermore — which was covered by Post Status when it launched — make this interesting). You pay your monthly bill, and you’re handed a store website – you just pick the name and get rolling. You can start adding products right away, and then you might get into changing your theme or other setup.
