Home
/
eCommerce
/
WordPress
/
10 eCommerce WordPress Plugins for Your Small Business

10 eCommerce WordPress Plugins for Your Small Business

August 13th, 2021

Since there are over 50,000 plugins in the WordPress repos today, you might be tempted to install as many as your server can fit. You don’t want to start doing this, however, because you can seriously slow down your installation and make your page resolve slower simply by adding in too many plugins. Since search rank is increasingly tied to page performance, choosing the right plugins might even be important for SEO reasons.

Consider what you’re currently using while you look over these rankings. Chances are that there’s at least one or two plugins you could easily replace with a more efficient new piece of software.

1. Akismet

Possibly one of the most well-known and widely installed plugins worldwide, Akismet is a security plugin that helps to protect WordPress against bad actors and code injection from outside sources. It was once listed among those most likely to be used by casino sites, but there’s no reason that your small business can’t benefit from this simple tool. It’s probably lighter than most competing security solutions as well.

2. MonsterInsights

If install base is the primary metric you consider when picking out new pieces of software, then MonsterInsights should be at the top of your list. With some 2 million active users, it must be doing something right. This Google Analytics plugin will help you to draw vital insights from the traffic that goes into your eCommerce site. While it’s probably more helpful for those who manage company blogs, nearly any type of administrator should be able to get some decent mileage out of it.

3. AliDropship

Assuming that you’re already working with the AliExpress platform, you’ll want to integrate this ecosystem into your WordPress-based eCommerce site. AliDropship doesn’t have many of the features that you’d expect out of a dedicated dropshipping module, but it allows users to fulfill orders with a single click. That’s enough to earn it a slot in any online seller’s WordPress installation.

4. SSL Certificate

Purists might note that SSL certificates are provided by software that comes bundled with WordPress, but this is such an important issue that you want to make sure that you at least switch on one of the basic SSL tools that are included with the software. Even if you don’t have to actually install an outside plugin you’ll want to create a certificate because it’s considered one of the most important ways to protect WordPress sites.

5. All in One SEO

Considering that so many SEO plugins are heavily bloated, it’s nice to find one that’s actually got everything you need in order to justify it’s size. As you might imagine, All in One SEO is certainly not lightweight in the strictest sense of the word. However, the fact that it can handle titles, meta descriptions and many other SEO-related writing tasks, it might be able to replace several other plugins you currently have installed. Best of all, it provides a high-quality dashboard for you to get an at-a-glance look at your current situation.

6. WPForms

Considering the privacy problems that many people have expressed in regards to Google Forms, you’re going to want to look for an alternative. You might want to give WPForms a try, which still includes geolocation-tracking but it’s GDPR-compliant so you won’t have to worry as much about regulatory issues. WPForms, and its top competitor Formidable Forms, has been listed among the best WordPress plugins for those who want to create some kind of survey or invoicing form. Either of these plugins will probably outperform the otherwise ubiquitous solution from Google.

7. Lightbox

Administrators who want to present images in a way that’s stylish as well as functional will want to look into the WordPress Lightbox plugin. As the name suggests, it’s exclusively focused on the display of images so you won’t have to worry about the software getting in your way or doing something you don’t need it to. Administrators simply have to link an image and they’ll see it displayed on their page with an overlay that features navigational buttons. Those who already use Gallery Plus can insert galleries into their WordPress posts or pages while taking advantage of Lightbox’s sophisticated overlay effect. Since everything is hidden under an abstraction layer, you won’t have to worry about the way that you’ve authored the code.

8. Antispam Bee

Those who appreciate traditional spam filters that take submitted text and pass it through some checks should appreciate Antispam Bee, which works in much the same way that an email spam blocker would. It keeps a virtual eye out for anything that seems to be a violation of your presets and then puts the offending comments automatically in a repository to await your moderator’s action. Anybody who likes the feeling of having comments moderation on without automatically blocking everything should like this plugin. It’s great for eCommerce managers who end up with a lot of junk in their product review sections.

9. WP Super Cache

Imagine that you run a massive store that’s managed through WordPress and your site takes a while to resolve. While you naturally want to cut down on the amount of plugins and content you currently have installed, WP Super Cache can make up for times when this isn’t really an option. It creates static files by leveraging data stored in your WordPress site’s database and then temporarily stores them on your server. Users who log onto your site will receive these cache files so they don’t have to even hit your database at all.

10. Redirection

Over time, products change and that means you’ll have to swap around the permalinks that go to your posts and pages. If you neglect to properly redirect them, then the aptly-named Redirection will do it for you. While it might not be the most feature-rich tool, it’s a must for those who manage big stores and have a lot of turnover.