Glossary
WooCommerce
Open-source e-commerce for WordPress
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a free, open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. It transforms a WordPress website into a fully functional online store, allowing businesses to sell physical products, digital downloads, services, and subscriptions.
Originally developed by WooThemes and acquired by Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com), WooCommerce powers millions of online stores worldwide.
Key Features
- Product management - Physical, digital, variable, and grouped products
- Payment processing - Integrates with Stripe, PayPal, Square, and hundreds of gateways
- Shipping - Flexible shipping zones, rates, and carrier integrations
- Tax calculation - Automatic tax rates by location
- Inventory tracking - Stock management and low stock alerts
- Order management - Order processing, refunds, and customer communication
- Extensibility - Thousands of plugins and themes available
Why Choose WooCommerce?
- Free core software - No per-transaction fees from WooCommerce
- Full ownership - You own your data and can host anywhere
- Customizable - Modify anything with code access
- WordPress integration - Leverage WordPress content and SEO
- Large ecosystem - Extensions for almost any need
- Active community - Documentation, forums, and developers
WooCommerce Considerations
While powerful, WooCommerce requires attention to:
- Hosting - Performance depends on quality hosting
- Security - Regular updates and security monitoring needed
- Plugin management - Too many plugins impact performance
- Technical knowledge - Customization may require development expertise