As we’ve explored building an ecommerce site with WordPress we’ve
covered taxes, shipping, discounts and payment options. Those are
some big-ticket items, but there are other cool features you’re going
to want in your ecommerce site. Here’s a sampling of must-have
features:
• Inventory Tracking: One must-have feature for ecommerce sites
that want to run with the big boys is inventory tracking. We’re
talking SKUs, bulk product updating and even sending notifications
when you’re running low on a popular item.
• Variants & Add-Ons: Sometimes your products can get
complicated with different options and extras. Variants might
include size or color options—something that doesn’t require an
entirely separate product listing. Add-ons are extras that might
go nicely with whatever the customer is buying. It’s basically an
up-sell option, but one that’s tied closely to a specific product. For
example if you sell yo-yo’s, an obvious add-on is extra yo-yo string.
• Related Products: Another popular cross-selling feature is to
show related products.
• Customer Accounts: One standard ecommerce feature is to allow
customers to create their own login. This can speed up repeat
purchases, but you have to be careful about requiring customers
to log in—forcing customers to create an account can kill their
purchase.
Product Types: What kind of products are you selling? Physical, virtual, services, downloads, donations, subscriptions, membership? Not every store is simply shipping goods. If you’re selling something different—or one day might—you’ll need to make sure your plugin can handle it. Some are better suited and offer special features for different types of products (like managing download links).
• WordPress Integration: How easily can you integrate with WordPress? You should be able to seamlessly plug your products across your site. Use simple short codes on pages or posts, or use widgets across your site to highlight products, show off bestsellers, related products and more. Any respectable plugin should make this easy.
• International: Will you be selling worldwide? Better make sure
your plugin can handle translation and localized numbers, dates
and currency formats.