WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress, turning any WordPress site into a full online store. It powers a large share of online stores worldwide and is known for flexibility, a huge extension ecosystem, and tight integration with content and SEO.
Overview
WooCommerce runs on WordPress (PHP/MySQL). You get products, variations, orders, customers, coupons, and shipping zones out of the box. Advanced features come from plugins and themes. Data lives in WordPress posts and custom tables; the WooCommerce REST API supports integrations, headless commerce, and third-party tools.
Market segment
Strong fit for small to mid-size businesses, bloggers and content-driven sites adding commerce, and anyone already on WordPress who wants full control over hosting and code. Popular with agencies and developers who prefer a single CMS + store stack.
Specialization
Content + commerce: Same WordPress backend for blog, pages, and products. Extensibility: Thousands of plugins for payments, subscriptions, bookings, and B2B. Self-hosted: You own the data and server; no platform lock-in.
Main features
- Products (simple, variable, grouped, external), categories, tags, attributes
- Orders, customers, coupons, reviews
- Multiple payment gateways and shipping methods via extensions
- REST API for integrations and headless setups
- Themes and page builders (Gutenberg, Elementor, etc.)
What makes it different
Unlike hosted SaaS (Shopify, BigCommerce), WooCommerce is self-hosted: you manage hosting, security, and updates. Unlike Magento, it's simpler to set up and run, with a lower cost of ownership. The tradeoff is ongoing maintenance and plugin compatibility. It excels when you want one platform for content and commerce and full control over data and code.