WordPress is no longer just a blogging platform. Now you can build almost any kind of websites with WordPress whether it is ecommerce, forums, and niche social networks, etc. It is so flexible that you just need to install a plugin in order to transform it into anything you imagined.
In fact, according to Datanzye, WordPress is the CMS of choice for almost 23{f48cdb843be78821f3e6bad1e0e37d22b133730599e0a9a60c52ba26b491813c} of ecommerce websites. Although there are lots of WordPress based ecommerce plugins that instantly transforms a website into a fully-functional ecommerce store, WooCommerce stands out from the rest in terms of user adoption and its features.
In fact, comparing with a hosted platform like Shopify, WooCommerce has a lot of benefits. Some of them are listed below.
- Price: WooCommerce is a free software. You can download it from official repository and install it on your WordPress website.
- Usability: If you’re a WordPress blogger, you’re already familiar with the user interface. So you won’t face any difficulty when operating a WooCommerce powered store.
- Customizability: If you want a full control on your ecommerce site, it is always better to pick a self-hosted platform.
- Free extensions: Best of all, you can find tons of free plugins in the official repository that would work seamlessly with WooCommerce plugin.
If you’re looking for an inspiration to start a bookstore on your WordPress website powered by Woocommerce, this post is for you.
Let’s take a look at some of the world’s most popular books store on WordPress and what extensions they’re using.
Primary Book Club
Just because you’re opening an ecommerce store, doesn’t mean that you should make it based on the pay-per-product business model. In fact, not all ecommerce stores are based on the pay-per-business model.
Many retail companies based on the pay-per-products model are also now offering subscription model business as well. Some examples are Amazon Prime and Sight Glass Coffee.
On the other hand, some startups are entirely based on subscription business model such as NatureBox and Blue Apron. The subscription model has a lot of advantages over the pay-per-product model, for both you and your customers.
For retailers like you, it drives recurring sales which help you predict the income you’re about to make. Another advantage is that unlike a pay per products business, the customer lifetime value (CTV) is high for subscription retail business.
Now let’s take a look at an example of WooCommerce based books store that runs under subscription based business.
The Primary Bookclub is an online membership club for children’s books where parents can choose a plan that fits for their kids. Once the plan is chosen, members will receive a set of books selected by experts on a monthly basis.
They use WooCommerce Subscription extension that allows site owners to accept recurring payments for physical and virtual products and services.
Ziglar
Zig Ziglar Corporation was founded in 1977. They are trainers that help people achieve the best in personal and vocational performance.
Their online store is a combination of digital and physical stores where they sell a wide variety of products such as books, CDs, ebooks, MP3s, etc.
Below are a couple of WooCommerce extensions they use on their site.
- WooCommerce Memberships: This plugin is an easy-to-use, site-wide membership solution that brings your content, shop, and memberships together.
- WooCommerce Product Bundles: One of the best ways to increase Average Order Value of your ecommerce store is to sell your products as product bundles. The product bundles add-on plugin lets pre-configured or customizable bundles by grouping products together.
Enterprise Nation
Enterprise Nation is an eCommerce networking platform based in the UK. Apart from WooCommerce, the site is also powered by BuddyPress plugin, which allows site owners to build a niche social networking community on their site. On their site, members can shop for digital downloads or order printable books.
Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell K. Hamilton is a New York Times Bestselling Author. She writes on fantasy and paranormal fiction. Some of her popular works are Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series and the Merry Gentry series.
Below are few extensions she uses in her store.
- USPS Shipping Method: Showing the exact shipping rate can be a hassle if you’re not offering free shipping. This plugin shows accurate shipping rates automatically.
- Gravity Forms Product Add-ons: This extension gives you full control over how the prices should appear.
- Authorize.Net AIM: It securely accepts credit card payment using Authorize.net AIM
The Lime Green Solutions
Lime Green Solutions is a website ran by Dave Calmer where he offers coaching services and sells ebooks. Aside from selling premium books from the bookstore, he also offers free ebooks to download.
Below are a few WooCommerce extensions he uses on his store digital ecommerce store.
- WooCommerce Google Analytics: This free extension provides seamless integration between WooCommerce store and Google Analytics. It supports Universal GA, eCommerce and enhanced eCommerce event tracking.
- Table Rate Shipping: This plugin extends WooCommerce’s default shipping options and gives you highly customizable shipping options based on location, price and weight, etc.
- Newsletter Subscription: During the checkout process, this plugin allows customers to sign up to your MailChimp or Campaign Monitor email lists.
- eWAY: This extension allows you to take credit card payments without directing your customers to any third-party site.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not
In 1918, Believe It or Not! was built on the foundation of a small daily newspaper cartoon drawn by Robert Ripley. Currently, the foundation has been selling books and DVDs on their store. Let’s take a look at a few WooCommerce extensions they use on their WooCommerce Store.
- Advanced Notifications: This add-on plugin is helpful to notify staff about the availability of your products, sending stock notices to suppliers, or even sending new orders to drop shippers.
- PayPal Pro: This plugin lets you handle the checkout process with PayPal without making your customers leave your site.
- Product Gallery Slider: It turns your product galleries into a fully responsive slideshow powered by jQuery.
- WooSlider: It strengthens your slideshow by letting you control every aspect of your slideshow like transitions, sliding speed, etc.
Would you like to add more WordPress powered bookstore that isn’t mentioned here? Feel free to share them here in the comments section.
Author bio: Shahzad Saeed is a freelance blogger for hire. He writes on WordPress, marketing and ecommerce.