How to Make a Multi Vendor Ecommerce Website with WordPress

Do you want to make a multi vendor eCommerce website in WordPress?

A multi-vendor eCommerce website allows you to have multiple vendors and sellers sell their products on your marketplace for a small fee or commission.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily create a multi vendor eCommerce marketplace using WordPress open source software.

What is a Multi Vendor Ecommerce Website?

A multi vendor eCommerce website is a platform where multiple vendors, sellers, and businesses can add and sell their own products and services.

It is a popular online business idea that allows the website owner to make money online by charging a fee or commission for each transaction.

Some of the most popular eCommere websites like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, are all examples of a multi-vendor eCommerce marketplace.

You can make a multi-vendor site easily for the relatively small cost of making an eCommerce website using WordPress.

That being said, let’s take a look at how you can easily make a multi-vendor eCommerce website without any technical skills.

What Do You Need to Start a Multi Vendor Ecommerce Website?

First you need to make sure that you’re using the right website builder platform to build your multi vendor eCommerce website.

We always use and recommend WordPress because it powers 43% of all websites on the internet. It is a free open source software that also allows you to add multi-vendor features on your site.

To create a multi-vendor website in WordPress, you will need:

• A domain name idea, this will be your website’s name on the internet (think amazon.com, google.com, etc).
• Web hosting account – this is where your website lives on the internet. All websites need web hosting.
• SSL certificate – this allows you to securely accept payments online.

Normally, a domain name would cost you around $14.99 per year and web hosting starts at $7.99 per month (usually paid annually).

This can be a significant amount of money for those who’re just starting out.

Luckily, the folks at Bluehost have agreed to offer WPBeginner users a generous 63% discount on web hosting with a free domain name and SSL certificate.

Basically, you can use our Bluehost coupon to get started for $2.75 per month.

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Note: you can of course use any other web hosting provider as well. We have a list of hosting service providers that specializes in WooCommerce hosting because this is the WordPress plugin that we’ll be using for our eCommerce platform.

Once you have signed up for hosting, you can follow our WooCommerce tutorial to install the eCommerce functionality in WordPress.

After that, you’re ready to add the multi vendor functionality in WordPress.

Adding Multi Vendor Functionality in WooCommerce

WooCommerce doesn’t come with support for multi-vendor stores. To add this, you need a WooCommerce multi vendor addon.

We recommend using WC Vendors as the best WooCommerce multi vendor plugin. It is super easy to set up and comes with all the features you need to have multiple vendors set up their own stores on your marketplace.

First, you will need to install and activate the free WC Vendors Marketplace plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Note: This is the limited free version of the plugin, and it provides only the core functionality. You still need the base free plugin in order to use the premium version of the plugin which has more features. We will cover that in the later steps.

Upon activation, you’ll be asked to run the setup wizard.

Next, you’ll see the first screen of the setup.

From here, you can choose if you want to manually approve vendors, give them shipping and tax options, and set a base commission rate.

Click on the Next button to continue.

On the Capabilities tab, you can fine-tune the user permissions for vendors. These are the actions they can perform on their own products and stores.

Once you’re done, click the Next button to go to the pages section.

WC Vendors can automatically create important pages needed to run your multi vendor store. But if you want to create your own pages, then you can select them here.

If you choose your own pages, then you’ll also need to manually add the shortcodes shown on screen to each page.

We recommend sticking with the default settings here to make the setup easy.

Simply click on the Next button to continue, and then click on ‘Return to Dashboard’ to exit the setup wizard.

Next, you need to install and activate the WC Vendors Pro plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, it will also ask you to run the setup wizard.

On the next screen, you can restrict vendors from accessing the WordPress admin dashboard.

This is a good practice to keep your WordPress site secure.

You can also choose different commission types like percentage, percentage + fee, fixed, and fixed + fee.

Once you select that, go ahead and click on the Next button to continue.

You’ll now see the features that you can enable for the Vendor dashboard. These options will give vendors access to more features to manage their store and products.

Simply choose the features that you want to enable and then click on the Next button.

On the pages screen, the plugin will automatically create a Pro Dashboard page for you.

Optionally, you can also choose a page to display vendor ratings. Simply create a new page in WordPress with the [wcv_feedback_form] shortcode inside it, then select the page here.

After that, you need to click on the Next button to finish the setup. WC Vendors Pro will also give you the option to edit different forms used by Vendors and install extensions to add new features.

You can now return to WordPress dashboard to continue the set up of your multi vendor website.

Setting Up Your WooCommerce for Multi Vendor Platform

Now that you have set up WC Vendor, the next step is to enable user account registration in WooCommerce.

First, you need to create a new page in WordPress and name it Account. Inside the page editor, you need to add the [woocommerce_my_account] shortcode.

Don’t forget to save and publish your page.

Next, head over to the WooCommerce » Settings page and switch to the Account & Privacy tab.

From here, you need to make sure that ‘Allow customer to create an account on the “My Account” page’ option is checked.

After that, switch to the Advanced tab. Under the Page setup section, choose the page you created earlier next to the ‘My account page’ option.

Don’t forget to click on Save changes button to store your settings.

Adding a Link to Sign Up as Vendor

Now you have set up WooCommerce for your multi-vendor eCommerce platform. Next, you would want to add links on your site, so that visitors can register as vendors.

Simply head over to the Appearance » Menus page and add the ‘Account’ page you created earlier to your main navigation menu.

If you like, you can rename the navigation menu option to something like ‘Sign in or Register’ or ‘My Account’.

Don’t forget to save your changes and preview your website.

You can quickly see what it looks like for logged-out visitors by opening a new browser tab in incognito mode.

The account page link will appear at the top.

Clicking on it will take users to account registration page where they can apply to become a vendor on your website.

Managing Your Multi Vendor Ecommerce Store

Once users sign up as a vendor, they may be automatically approved, or you’ll need to manually approve them, depending on which option you choose during the set up wizard.

If you need to manually approve them, then simply go to the Users page in WordPress admin area and switch to the Pending Vendor tab.

From here you can approve or deny a vendor application.

After a vendor is approved, they will get a notification and be able to log into their account to manage their vendor store.

From their vendor dashboard, they can add new products to sell, as well as manage orders, store settings, and more.

For instance, your vendors can enter their payment information under the Settings tab.

When Vendors add new products, you’ll get an email notification.

You can then manually approve and publish a product or delete it.

Products on your shop pages will now appear with vendor names.

Users can click on a vendor name to browse more of their products.

Customizing Your Multi Vendor Ecommerce Website Design

WordPress comes with thousands of pre-made templates that you can use to get started. We have made a list of best WooCommerce themes that you can choose from.

Sometimes, you’ll find a theme that matches exactly what you need. However, in most cases, you would want to customize the look and feel of your brand.

In that case, you will need a WordPress page builder plugin like SeedProd. It’s a drag & drop website builder tool that allows you to create completely custom WordPress themes without writing any code.

It comes with pre-made WooCommerce blocks that you can use to customize your product page, cart pages, and every other page on your store.

For more details, see our step by step guide on how to create a custom WordPress theme without writing any code.

Growing Your Multi Vendor Ecommerce Website

Now that you have created a multi vendor eCommerce website, the next step is to promote your website, so that more sellers and customers can find it.

Our team of experts have created a comprehensive list of the best WooCommerce plugins that you need to grow you your online store.

Following are a few of our absolute favorites and must have tools that we recommend:

1. All in One SEO for WordPress – The best WordPress SEO plugin on the market that comes with built-in support for WooCommerce SEO. It’s used by over 3 million websites to rank higher in Google. There’s a free version that you can use as well if you’re on a budget.

2. MonsterInsights – It is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress that allows you to setup enhanced eCommerce tracking. This helps you track the performance of products so you can see what’s working on your site.

3. WP Mail SMTP – This helps fix the WordPress email deliverability issues to ensure important website emails like purchase receipts, user registration emails, etc always get delivered in the user’s inbox.

4. WPForms – The best WordPress form builder plugin on the market. It allows you to easily create all sorts of forms that you’ll need to promote and grow your multi-vendor store such as user survey, contact form, polls, etc. There’s also a free version that you can use as well.

5. OptinMonster – It is the #1 conversion optimization toolkit for WordPress. It helps you convert website visitors into leads and customers. You can use it to add special free shipping bars, seasonal promotions, spin a wheel gamifications, and more.

WordPress comes with over 59,000+ free plugins. This is why it’s the top choice for experts when building any type of website including multi-vendor eCommerce stores.

We hope this article helped you learn how to create a multi vendor eCommerce website. You may also want to see our ultimate conversion tracking guide, and our tips on converting abandoned cart sales in WooCommerce.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Make a Multi Vendor Ecommerce Website with WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

July 11, 2022 at 02:00PM

How to Add Taxonomy Images (Category Icons) in WordPress

Do you want to display taxonomy images or category icons in WordPress?

By default, WordPress does not come with an option to upload a taxonomy image or category icon. It simply just displays a category or taxonomy name on the archive pages.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily add taxonomy images or category icons in WordPress. We’ll also show you how to display taxonomy images on your archive pages.

Why Add Taxonomy Images in WordPress?

By default, your WordPress website does not come with an option to add images for your taxonomies like categories and tags (or any other custom taxonomy).

It simply uses taxonomy names everywhere including the category archives or taxonomy archive pages.

This looks kind of plain and boring.

If you get a lot of search traffic to your taxonomy pages, then you may want to make them look more engaging.

The easiest way to make a page more interesting is by adding images. You can add taxonomy images or category icons to make these pages more user-friendly and engaging.

A good example of it is a site like NerdWallet that uses category icons in their header:

You can also use it create beautiful navigational sections on your homepage like Bankrate:

That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily add taxonomy images in WordPress.

Easily Add Taxonomy Images in WordPress

First thing you need to do is install and activate the Categories Images plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can simply go to the Posts » Categories page. You’ll notice the plugin will be showing a placeholder image for your existing categories.

To choose your own category icon, you need to click on the Edit link below a category.

On the Edit category page, scroll down to the bottom and you’ll find a form to upload your own taxonomy image.

Simply click on the ‘Upload/Add New Image’ button to upload the image you want to use for that particular category.

Don’t forget to click on the Add Category or Update button to save your changes.

Next, you can repeat the process to upload images for other category images. You can also upload images for your tags and any other taxonomies as well.

Now the problem is that after adding the images, if you visit a category page, then you won’t see your category image there.

To display it, you will need to edit your WordPress theme or child theme. If this is your first time editing WordPress files, then you may want to see our guide on how to copy and paste code in WordPress.

First, you will need to connect to your WordPress site using an FTP client or your WordPress hosting file manager.

Once connected, you will need to find the template responsible for displaying your taxonomy archives. This could be archives.php, category.php, tag.php, or taxonomy.php files.

For more details, see our guide on how to find which files to edit in a WordPress theme.

Once you have found the file, you’ll need to download it to your computer and open in a text editor like Notepad or TextEdit.

Now paste the following code where you want to display your taxonomy image. Usually, you would want to add it before the taxonomy title or the_archive_title() tag.

<?php if( is_category() ) { ?> 
<div class="taxonomy-image">
<img class="taxonomy-img" src="<?php if (function_exists('z_taxonomy_image_url')) echo z_taxonomy_image_url(); ?>"  alt="" / >
</div>
<?php 
} else {  
//do nothing
} 
?>

After adding the code, you need to save this file and upload it back to your website using FTP.

You can now visit the taxonomy archive page to see it display your taxonomy image. Here is how it looked on our demo archive page.

Now, it may still look a bit awkward, but don’t worry. You can style that using a little bit of custom CSS.

Here is the custom CSS we used for the taxonomy image.

img.taxonomy-img {
    float: left;
    max-height: 100px;
    max-width: 100px;
    display: inline-block;
}

Depending on your theme, you may also need to style surrounding elements like taxonomy title and description.

We simply wrapped our taxonomy archive title and description in a <div> element and added a custom CSS class. We then used the following CSS code to adjust title and description.

.taxonomy-title-description {
    display: inline-block;
    padding: 18px;
}

Here is how it looked afterward on our test website.

Exclude Taxonomies from Displaying Taxonomy Images

Now some users may only want to use taxonomy images for specific taxonomies.

For instance, if you run an online store using WooCommerce, then you may want to exclude product categories.

Simply go back to the Categories Images page in WordPress admin area and check the taxonomies you want to exclude.

Don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily add taxonomy images in WordPress. You may also want to see these useful category hacks and plugins for WordPress or see our tips on getting more traffic from search engines.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Taxonomy Images (Category Icons) in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

July 10, 2022 at 07:02PM

How to Add Old Post Notification on Your WordPress Blog

Do you want to add an old post notification in WordPress?

If you have been producing content for some time now, then there is a chance that some of your content may be outdated.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily add old post notification to your WordPress blog.

Why Add Old Post Notification to WordPress Blog Posts

Content decay (outdated blog posts) can be a bit of a problem for a growing WordPress blogs.

Depending on your niche, sometimes your content may become irrelevant, incorrect, or inappropriate over a period of time. This may cause a bad user experience, a higher bounce rate, and lower search rankings.

Ideally, you would want to edit those articles and update them with more useful, accurate, and up-to-date information.

But that’s not always possible because your site may have too many old articles, and you may not have enough resources to update them. In that case, adding an old post notification may be helpful for your users.

It will let them know that the content is a bit older, and they should keep this in mind when using the information presented on that page.

Another solution that many blogs use is by simply adding the ‘Last updated date’ instead of the publishing date.

That being said, let’s take a look at how you can add the old post notification in WordPress, and how to display the last updated date on your articles.

• Method 1. Display Old Post Notification Using a Plugin
• Method 2. Display Last Updated Date in WordPress
• Method 3. Display Old Post Notification without Plugin (Code Method)

Method 1. Display Old Post Notification Using Plugin

This method is easier and recommended for all users that want to display an old post notification.

First, you need to install and activate the DX Out of Date plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » Out of Date page to configure plugin settings.

Here, you need to choose the period and duration. This is the time after which a post will be considered old by the plugin.

Below that you can provide a custom message to display on older posts and enable the notification to be displayed for all old posts. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to hide it for specific posts by editing them.

On the settings page, you can also choose post types, colors for the notification box, and add custom CSS if needed.

Don’t forget to click on the Save Changes button to store your settings.

You can now visit an old post on your website to see the plugin in action.

Hiding Old Post Notification on Individual Posts

Now let’s say you have an article that is older, but it is still accurate, up-to-date, and has great search rankings. You may want to hide the old post notification there.

Similarly, what if you have updated an old post with new information. The plugin will keep showing old post notification because it uses the post’s published date to determine its age.

To fix this, you can edit the post and scroll down to the ‘Out of Date Notification’ tab under the Post panel of the block editor. From here, simply uncheck the notification option and save your changes.

The plugin will now stop showing old post notification on this particular article.

Method 2. Display Last Modified Date for Your Posts

A lot of WordPress websites display the last modified date for their blog posts. Some replace the publish date with the last modified date as well.

The advantage of this method is that it shows users when a post was last updated without showing an old post message.

First, you need to install and activate the WP Last Modified Info plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head over to Settings » WP Last Modified Info page to configure plugin settings.

On the settings page, you need to turn on the Global display of the last modified info toggle. After that, you can choose how you want to display the modified date.

You can replace the published date, show it before or after the content, or manually insert it into a post.

Below that, you’ll find a bunch of options. If you are unsure, then you can leave them to default.

Don’t forget to click on the Save Settings button to store your changes.

You can now visit your website to see the last updated information for all your blog posts.

This problem with this method is that it will show the last updated date for all posts including the newer posts.

You can set a time gap under plugin settings. But this gap is only limited to 30 days.

The plugin also provides three blocks that you can manually insert into a post or page to display last modified info.

You also have the option to use custom CSS to style your last updated date notice. We used the following custom CSS in the screenshots above.

p.post-modified-info {
    background: #fbffd8;
    padding: 10px;
    border: 1px solid orange;
    font-size: small;
    font-weight: bold;
}

Method 3. Add Old Post Notification Using Code

This method requires you to manually add code to your WordPress theme files. If you haven’t done this before, then take a look at our guide on how to add custom code snippets in WordPress.

Simply copy and paste the following code in your theme’s single.php template.

// Define old post duration to one year
$time_defined_as_old = 60*60*24*365; 

// Check to see if a post is older than a year
if((date('U')-get_the_time('U')) > $time_defined_as_old) {

$lastmodified = get_the_modified_time('U');
$posted = get_the_time('U');

//check if the post was updated after being published
 if ($lastmodified > $posted) {
 
// Display last updated notice
      echo '<p class="old-article-notice">This article was last updated ' . human_time_diff($lastmodified,current_time('U')) . ' ago</p>';   

  } else { 
// Display last published notice 
echo '<p class="old-article-notice">This article was published ' . human_time_diff($posted,current_time( 'U' )). 'ago</p>';

}
}

This code defines old posts to be any articles published at least one year ago.

After that, it checks if a post is older than a year. If it is, then it checks if the post was updated after publication. Then it displays a notice based on those checks.

Here is how it looked on our demo website for post that is old and was never updated.

Here is how it looked for a post that is old, but it was updated after being published.

We customized the old post notification with the following custom CSS.

p.old-article-notice {
    background: #fbffd8;
    padding: 10px;
    border: 1px solid orange;
    font-size: small;
    font-weight: bold;
}

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily display old post notification on your WordPress blog. You may also want to see our WordPress SEO guide or see our pick of the best popular posts plugins for WordPress.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Old Post Notification on Your WordPress Blog first appeared on WPBeginner.

July 09, 2022 at 03:00PM

5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins Compared – 2022

Are you looking for the best WordPress eCommerce plugin to build your online store?

Choosing the right eCommerce plugin is crucial for your business because a better platform means more opportunities for growth. Often users end up losing money because they didn’t do proper research when choosing the eCommerce platform to start their store.

In this article, we will compare the best WordPress eCommerce plugins. We will also explain their pros and cons to help you find which eCommerce plugin is right for your business.

What to Look for in a WordPress eCommerce Plugin for Your Site?

There are plenty of WordPress eCommerce plugins in the market. But not all of them have the right set of features for your use case.

For example, some eCommerce plugins are made for selling digital goods like eBooks, photos, music, etc. Others are better suited for selling physical products that need shipping.

If you want to run a drop-shipping business, then you’ll need an eCommerce solution that provides better support for drop-shipping.

Basically, you need to consider what you will be selling and what kind of features you would need to efficiently run your online store.

Apart from that, the following are some of the most important factors you need to look for when choosing an eCommerce platform.

• Payment solutions – Your eCommerce plugin should have support for your preferred payment gateways by default or through an extension.
• Design and customization – Your store’s design is your customer’s first interaction with your business. Make sure there are plenty of templates and easy customization options available
• Apps and integrations – Check out integrations available for third-party apps like email marketing services, CRM software, accounting software, etc. You’ll need those tools to manage and grow your eCommerce business more efficiently.
• Support options – Make sure that there are support options available. Good support can save you a lot of money in the long run.

What Do You Need to Run an eCommerce Website?

Ecommerce websites are resource-intensive, so the first thing you will need is the best WordPress hosting that you can afford.

If you’re on a budget, then you can start with SiteGround or Bluehost. All their plans are eCommerce ready and comes with SSL Certificate which you need to collect payments securely, dedicated IP, and a dedicated support line. They also offer 1-click install options for the most powerful WordPress eCommerce plugins (as you’ll find out later in this article).

If budget is not an issue, and you want the best performance, then we recommend using a managed WordPress hosting provider like WPEngine.

Next, you will need to choose a domain name for your website. Here is our guide on how to pick the right domain name for your eCommerce site.

Lastly, you will need to choose essential business plugins that you will need such as OptinMonster which help you reduce shopping cart abandonment and increase sales.

Having that said, let’s take a look at the best WordPress eCommerce plugins.

Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins – The Contenders

Now that you know what to look for in an eCommerce platform and what you need to get started, here are our top picks for the best eCommerce platform for WordPress users.

1. WooCommerce
2. Easy Digital Downloads
3. MemberPress
4. BigCommerce
5. Shopify

Let’s take a look at each one of them and compare their pros and cons.

1. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress eCommerce plugin. It’s also the most popular eCommerce platform in the world. WooCommerce was acquired by Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com’s blog hosting service) in 2015.

There is a large number of addons and themes available for WooCommerce. They also have a passionate developer community behind it. Recently several hosting companies have started creating specialized WooCommerce hosting solutions.

Pros of Using WooCommerce

Here are some of the advantages of using WooCommerce as your WordPress eCommerce plugin:

• Extensions and Themes – There are hundreds of extensions and themes available for WooCommerce, which makes it easy for you to add new features to your eCommerce site. A large collection of themes means you have tons of options when choosing your site’s design and layout.
• Supports Both Digital and Physical Goods – With WooCommerce, you can sell physical as well as digital downloads (such as ebooks, music, software, and more).
• Sell Affiliate or External Products – Using WooCommerce, you can add affiliate or external products to your site. Affiliate marketers can create product sites and provide users with a better experience.
• Complete Inventory Management – WooCommerce comes equipped with tools to easily manage your inventory or even assign it to a store manager.
• Payment and Shipping Options – WooCommerce has built-in support for popular payment gateways, and you can add many other payment options using extensions. It can also calculate shipping and taxes.
• Affiliate Management – You can easily add built-in affiliate management to WooCommerce using AffiliateWP and create your own referral program. This helps you avoid paying middle man fees.
• Ecommerce SEO – WooCommerce is fully SEO optimized with the All in One SEO plugin (AIOSEO). This helps your product page ranks higher in search engines.
• Ecommerce Growth Tools – WooCommerce has third-party extensions like WooFunnels that help you with funnel optimization to get maximum sales. You can also use Advanced Coupons extensions to add BOGO deals, free shipping, and even sell gift cards.
• Support and Documentation – There is excellent documentation available online for WooCommerce. Apart from documentation, there is a knowledge base, help desk, and community forums available.

Cons of Using WooCommerce

• Too Many Options – WooCommerce is very easy to use, but the number of options available on the settings page can be quite intimidating for a new user.
• Finding Addons – There are lots of addons available for WooCommerce, sometimes a user may not find the right addon for features that they need.
• Theme Support – WooCommerce works with any WordPress theme, but it’s not always as easy to set up or good-looking with all themes. You need a WooCommerce-ready theme to take full advantage of its features without too much hassle. Alternatively, you can use SeedProd builder to create custom WooCommerce pages with drag & drop interface.
• Scalability – As your store gets larger, you will need to move to a managed hosting provider like WP Engine to scale your WooCommerce store.

WooCommerce is the perfect choice for any kind of eCommerce website. It has a large community of developers and users, a lot of addons and themes, excellent support for multilingual websites, and the best free and paid support options.

2. Easy Digital Downloads

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) allows you to easily sell digital downloads online using WordPress. It’s very easy to use and comes with powerful features to create a beautiful and functional digital goods store.

We use Easy Digital Downloads to sell our software like WPForms and MonsterInsights, so we can easily say that it’s the best eCommerce platform for your site.

With Easy Digital Download’s growth, there are now even managed EDD hosting offerings that comes with EDD pre-installed.

Pros of Using Easy Digital Downloads

• Designed To Sell Digital Goods – Easy Digital Downloads is built from the ground up to sell digital downloads. Unlike eCommerce plugins that can be used to sell all kinds of products, EDD provides a far better experience for selling digital goods.
• Easy To Use – Easy Digital Downloads is very easy to use, from the start you would instantly figure out how to add products and display them. This is really useful for the first-timers.
• Extensions – There are hundreds of extensions available for Easy Digital Downloads including addons for payment gateways, email marketing platforms, and other marketing tools.
• Themes – Easy Digital Downloads works with almost any WordPress theme, however, if you have not chosen a theme yet, then Easy Digital Downloads has themes built specifically for the plugin.
• Software Licensing – Easy Digital Downloads comes with robust software licensing support that allows you to sell plugins as well as SaaS products with proper digital rights management.
• Affiliate Management – You can easily add built-in affiliate management to Easy Digital Downloads using AffiliateWP and create your own referral program. This helps you avoid paying middle man fees.
• Ecommerce Growth Tools – Easy Digital Downloads seamlessly integrates with growth tools like MonsterInsights to offer you enhanced eCommerce tracking, AIOSEO to offer you maximum eCommerce SEO growth, and OptinMonster to offer content personalization and conversion optimization features.
• Awesome Support – The plugin is very well documented, and you have free support forums, videos, tutorials, and even an IRC chatroom. There is also a priority support option for premium users.

Cons of Using Easy Digital Downloads

• Digital Downloads Only – As the name suggests, Easy Digital Downloads makes it easier to create eCommerce sites for digital goods. But if you want to sell non-digital goods along with digital downloads then it will become quite complicated.
• Selling External Products – If you want to add an external product or an affiliate product to your EDD store, then you will need to install a third-party add on for it.

When it comes to selling digital products online, we believe that Easy Digital Downloads is the best plugin to do that. We have used Easy Digital Downloads with great success, not only on client sites but also on our own projects to generate tens of millions each year.

You can use SiteGround EDD hosting to start your Easy Digital Downloads store with just a few clicks.

Note: There’s also a free version of Easy Digital Downloads that you can download from WordPress directly.

3. MemberPress

MemberPress allows you to sell subscription-based digital products and services. It’s the best WordPress membership plugin with tons of integration options. It can even integrate with WooCommerce.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons MemberPress.

Pros of Using MemberPress

• Sell Subscription-Based Products – This allows you to easily sell subscription-based products, membership plans, pay-per-view content, and more.
• Powerful Access Rules – Powerful access control allows you to define user access levels and content restrictions. Only users with permissions will be able to access restricted content.
• Built-in Course Builder – MemberPress comes with a course builder that allows you to create & sell courses by offering your users an immersive online learning platform.
• Content Dripping – MemberPress allows you to release paid content over time similar to episodes on Amazon Prime shows or other platforms. This feature is known as automatic drip content.
• Affiliate Management – You can easily add built-in affiliate management to MemberPress using AffiliateWP or Easy Affiliates plugin. This let you create your own referral program. This helps you avoid paying middle man fees.
• Powerful Extensions – You can integrate it with your WooCommerce store or LearnDash LMS. There are tons of extensions to connect MemberPress with third-party services such as AffiliateWP to create your own affiliate program.

Cons of Using MemberPress

• Limited Payment Options – MemberPress only supports PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net.
• Yearly Pricing – Pricing plans are available on yearly terms alone.

MemberPress is the perfect eCommerce plugin to sell subscription-based products, sell courses, or build a membership website. It’s beginner-friendly and can be easily extended with addons that allow you to take your eCommerce website in any direction you want.

4. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a fully hosted eCommerce platform that offers seamless integration with WordPress. This allows you to use a scalable eCommerce platform while using WordPress to manage your content and run your website.

It has a powerful integration plugin for WordPress which makes it very easy to embed your products in WordPress. It automatically creates the sign-in, cart, account, and other important pages for you.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of using BigCommerce as your WordPress eCommerce platform.

Pros of Using BigCommerce

• High scalability – It includes all the features you will need with enterprise-grade security, high performance, and easy scalability.
• Less Maintenance – Keeping your eCommerce engine separate from other content makes it easier to run your WordPress site.
• Sell across Multiple Channels – You can use it to sell not only on your website but also on other channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.
• No transaction charges – Unlike some other eCommerce platforms, it does not charge you on each transaction. You can choose from dozens of top payment gateways and only pay the payment service provider.

Cons of Using BigCommerce

• Limited Integrations – BigCommerce integrates with all the top third-party apps and tools. However, its app store is still growing, and you may not find an integration for some less popular apps.
• Yearly Sales Threshold – They have a yearly threshold on sales for each plan. If you reach that threshold then you’re upgraded to the next plan. This may increase costs as your business grows.

BigCommerce is an incredibly powerful yet very easy-to-use eCommerce platform. It’s a SaaS eCommerce platform, but with their BigCommerce WordPress plugin, you can have the best of both worlds.

It takes away the pains of scaling your hosting requirements as your business grows. At the same time, you don’t have to worry about security, performance, or finding extensions for SEO and caching.

BigCommerce is a rising contender in WordPress for headless eCommerce. It takes care of technology infrastructure, so you can focus on growing your business.

5. Shopify

Shopify is a fast-growing eCommerce platform that handles everything for you. Shopify isn’t a plugin, but it’s an all-in-one solution that’s completely hassle-free. See our guide on Shopify vs WooCommerce for a detailed side-by-side comparison of the two platforms.

Let’s look at the Pros and Cons of Shopify.

Pros of Using Shopify

• Super Easy for Beginners – No need to worry about the technical aspects of an eCommerce store such as setting up SSL, integrating with different payment gateways, handling shipping, worrying about taxes, etc. Shopify handles it all.
• Supports Both Digital and Physical Goods – Whether you’re selling physical goods like shirts or digital downloads like music, Shopify can handle it all.
• Complete Inventory Management – Shopify comes with an inventory editor and bulk importer combined with an order tracker which makes managing inventory a breeze.
• Payment and Shipping Options – Shopify makes it easy for you to accept credit cards both online and in person. Their shipping system streamlines your fulfillment process with direct integration with popular providers like USPS.
• Facebook Store and Buyable Pins – Shopify integrates with everything. Whether you want to create a Facebook store or create buyable Pins on Pinterest, you can do it all with Shopify.

Cons of Using Shopify

• Monthly Platform Fee – Shopify charges you a monthly fee to use their platform which is comparable to purchasing hosting and individual addons using the other plugins in this list.
• Shopify Payments – Shopify encourages you to use their payment platform which is powered by Stripe and is a very good option for beginners. However, if you want to overcomplicate things and use external systems, then Shopify charges you an additional fee.

If you want to have a powerful platform without having to deal with technical issues, then Shopify is the solution for you. While the monthly fee sounds bad at first, the hassle-free approach and peace of mind are definitely worth it because it allows you to focus on what you do best, your business!

Shopify does not have a native integration with WordPress. Often times, business owners end up switching from Shopify to WordPress to get more features while reducing their overall cost.

Conclusion – The Best WordPress eCommerce Plugin is:

If you want maximum control, flexibility, and features, then WooCommerce is the best solution for you.

If you’re selling digital goods like eBook, software, music, or other files, then Easy Digital Downloads is the best WordPress eCommerce plugin for you. You can use SiteGround’s EDD hosting to get started with 1-click.

If you don’t want to manage all the technical stuff of building an online store, then BigCommerce is the best option for you. It lets you use a SaaS eCommerce platform side by side with WordPress as your content management system.

That’s all we hope this article helped you find the best WordPress eCommerce plugins for your site. You may also want to see our comparison of the best drag and drop WordPress page builders, and our expert pick of the best business phone services for small businesses.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins Compared – 2022 first appeared on WPBeginner.

July 08, 2022 at 05:00PM

How to Disable Directory Browsing in WordPress

Do you want to disable directory browsing in WordPress?

Directory browsing can put your site at risk by showing important information to hackers which can be used to exploit vulnerabilities in your site’s plugins, themes, or even your hosting server.

In this article, we will show you how you can disable directory browsing in WordPress.

What Does Disabling Directory Browsing in WordPress Do?

Every time someone visits your website, your web server will process that request.

Usually, the server delivers an index file to the visitor’s browser, such as index.html. However, if the server can’t find an index file, then it may show all the files and folders in the requested directory instead.

This is directory browsing, and it’s often enabled by default.

If you’ve ever visited a site and seen a list of files and folders instead of a webpage, then you’ve seen directory browsing in action.

The problem is that hackers can use directory browsing to see the files that make up your website, including all the themes and plugins that you’re using.

If any of these themes or plugins have known vulnerabilities, then hackers can use this knowledge to take control of your WordPress blog or website, steal your data, or perform other actions.

Attackers may also use directory browsing to look at the confidential information inside your files and folders. They might even copy your website’s contents, including content that you would usually charge for such as ebook downloads or online courses.

This is why it’s considered a best practice to disable directory browsing in WordPress.

How to Check is Directory Browsing is Enabled in WordPress

The easiest way to check whether directory browsing is currently enabled for your WordPress website is by simply visiting the /wp-includes/ folder link like this: https://ift.tt/wm3OPGq.

You’ll want to replace www.example.com with your website’s URL.

If you get a 403 Forbidden or similar message, then directory browsing is already disabled on your WordPress website.

If you see a list of files and folders instead, then this means that directory browsing is enabled for your website.

Since this makes your website more vulnerable to attack, you’ll typically want to block directory browsing in WordPress.

How to Disable Directory Browsing in WordPress

To disable directory listing, you’ll need to add some code to your site’s .htaccess file.

To access the file, you’ll need an FTP client, or you can use the file manager app inside your WordPress hosting control panel.

If this is your first time using FTP, then you can see our complete guide on how to connect to your site using FTP.

After connecting to your site, simply open your website’s ‘public’ folder and find the .htaccess file. You can edit the .htaccess file by downloading it to your desktop and then opening it in a text editor like Notepad.

At the very bottom of the file, simply add the following code:

Options -Indexes

It will look something like this:

Once you’re done, save your .htaccess file and upload it back to your server using an FTP client.

That’s it. Now if you visit the same https://ift.tt/XyvKzie URL, you’ll get a 403 Forbidden or similar message.

We hope this article helped you learn how to disable directory browsing in WordPress. You may also want to see our ultimate WordPress security guide, or see our expert pick of the best WordPress membership plugin to protect your files.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Disable Directory Browsing in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

July 07, 2022 at 04:00PM