Choose the right e-commerce platform for selling WordPress Plugins

Selecting the right eCommerce platform for selling WordPress plugins and themes can be a tough decision to make. For WordPress businesses to sell their goods, there are quite a few platforms available. Each has different properties, which can have a significant impact on exchange rates and the result. Making a smart decision involves a fair amount of research and analysis of the different viable platforms.

The article has been divided into three parts, using which a fair comparison has been made between the four platforms. The comparison is based on the features they offer, and it has nothing to do with the blatant favoritism.

So without any postponement, let us delve in it.

Let us start with a quick description!

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

It is a self-hosted eCommerce platform consisting of a free core WordPress theme and loads of plugins to sell or authorize any digital product. It is designed to sell all sorts of digital products.

Freemius

It is a managed eCommerce website primarily designed to sell plugins and themes from WordPress. It manages everything from subscription and licensing fees to transaction emails and opportunities for membership.

Gumroad

It is an eCommerce website designed to sell digital and physical goods to artists and creators. It is possible to license software using their platform. It provides many useful features for creators of all sorts.

WooCommerce

It is the WordPress ecosystem’s most commonly used free eCommerce app. It is designed to sell physical and digital items.

Setup & implementation

EDD

You will need to install and configure the plugin together with all applicable extensions once you have bought the EDD bundle as per your needs. Their documentation goes through the different shortcodes, features, customization options, compatibility problems with theme/plugin, and database setup.

Please note that because EDD is a self-hosted solution. You are expected to set up your transaction gateway, which will have its fees. There will be other costs involved in execution, such as website hosting and growth time to personalize the platform.

Freemius

The very first thing you need to do is make an account on their website.

Freemius offers a Buy Button, which you can put in your website and provides a tonal checkout form. This is a speedy and easy way to get all the required fees, licensing and subscription features without much time and configuration.

Gumroad

Gumroad is for independent authors, programmers, creators of apps, musicians, artists, educators, filmmakers, and anyone else in particular. This ensures the onboarding process must be similarly diverse and have choices available for experts in all those sectors. Find your Guide to Getting Started here.

WooCommerce 

WooCommerce has a super-useful 5-step setup method on their website. They are:

  1. Choose to host
  2. Install WordPress
  3. Pick a theme
  4. Activate WooCommerce
  5. Extend WooCommerce

These are conventional steps for any self-hosted eCommerce platform and indeed, everything you necessitate, to begin with.

CUSTOMIZATION

EDD

EDD is a highly configurable alternative that will involve eye for detail along every inch of the way. Because it comes as a one-size-fits-all approach, you will have to tailor the feel and look of the platform front-facing features to better convey your message. If you need to have a custom eCommerce repository that reflects your unique brand, this will demand a notable amount of improvement and design.

Please note that each one might have a different value and configuration process associated with it.

Freemius

You will want consumers to start using Freemius for its full value. You will not have to spend too much time customizing the Freemius platform except to customize the settings for the business model you have chosen to offer.

Using a Freemius plugin, you can add a fully-featured Users Dashboard on your website. These way consumers can monitor their account and transactions via their own branded page instead of the Freemius website. You can also use modified CSS to customize the look and feel of the in-dashboard pricing, checkout, and user dashboard.

Gumroad

Gumroad’s documentation is apparent on what they enable you to personalize and what not. There are comprehensive sets of features that suit the brand variety that can be offered on their website. The basics are you will need to upload information about the product, packaging materials, price information, and other generic information.

They send you brand, profile, and audience landing pages that can be personalized with CSS. If you sell with Gumroad, you would not have to create your website as you can use their platform.

WooCommerce 

WooCommerce can be highly personalized. They offer a helpful guide to policies and procedures on personalizing WooCommerce This way it would not hurt to start your personalization attempts. A WooCommerce extension is one of the simplest ways to expand the WooCommerce plugins default features. Even though many WooCommerce extensions come with a cost, you can build out a good deal of usable interface with them.

Customer support

EDD

All EDD products are supported by standard email support. You can also purchase priority assistance for $299/year or $99 for 45 days. Priority assistance allows EDD representatives to login to your page to help with troubleshooting if needed.

Freemius

Freemius gives customer service in several different ways. Their docs are primarily about setting up the Freemius SDK, using various application features, and introducing different customizations. The Freemius team offers email assistance for all vendors who have joined their platform. The sellers can be indie-developers who are launching a new plugin or theme business or a well-established plugin and theme businesses.

One of the significant drivers where Freemius offers support is for integration to the Freemius platform. The Freemius transition documents also include some of the new transition procedures from self-hosted eCommerce sites to Freemius.

Gumroad

The documents of Gumroad are comprehensive and tend to be well written and easily understood. The existing support system tends to be more than sufficient to meet their sellers ‘ needs. They also have an excellent feedback button on their help page, open for anyone to ask questions and a helpful section with ways to contact Gumroad.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce offers docs, pre-sales support, and premium email support when you purchase a plugin or theme. Their support policy covers their products “as-is” and therefore do not offer personalization assistance. This is all along with a sensible strategy.

Since WooCommerce is the most commonly used eCommerce platform on WordPress, significant bugs are worked out all the time.

final thoughts

All the four platforms, which handle all the challenging work and the group of other like-minded retailers, is genuinely something distinctive in the WordPress environment. As a WordPress business owner, you can learn a lot from them.

We hope that with the help of our article, you find the solution that works best for you by testing each of the choices presented in the comparison. You can always analyze their relevant offers as per your own business needs.