Why Business Owners Choose WordPress for eCommerce

WordPress powers some of the biggest names in eCommerce – from startups to enterprises doing hundreds of millions in revenue. Yet many business owners still wonder: “Is WordPress actually a good choice for eCommerce?” The answer is a resounding yes. WordPress offers the flexibility, control, and scalability that serious eCommerce businesses need to thrive.

Many businesses gravitate toward platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce because they handle the technical complexities for you. You don’t have to think about server configurations, traffic spikes, or caching – it’s all handled behind the scenes. That’s exactly why many businesses choose them, and why they work so well for stores of all sizes (including some doing $100 M+ in annual revenue). But this convenience comes with trade-offs in flexibility, control, and long-term costs that lead many businesses to WordPress instead. With the right hosting setup, WordPress becomes a powerful foundation for stores that want to customize, optimize, and fully own their eCommerce experience.

Why business owners choose WordPress for eCommerce and its benefits

WordPress powers millions of websites, including major eCommerce brands like NutriBullet and Tonal. Its flexibility and control are key reasons why businesses, from startups to enterprises, trust it for their online stores. WordPress isn’t just the world’s largest CMS; it’s a platform that can adapt to your business’s unique needs.

One of the primary reasons business owners choose WordPress, especially in the enterprise space, is its open-source nature, offering complete control over customization. With a vast range of themes, plugins, and integrations, including tools like ERP and CRM systems, WordPress allows you to fully tailor your online store to fit your specific business requirements. This level of control is particularly valuable for larger enterprises that need to craft a solution suited to their exact needs.

Another reason WordPress stands out is its cost-effectiveness. Unlike closed platforms like Shopify that charge revenue-based fees, WordPress allows you to pay only for the resources you need. This can lead to significant savings, particularly for high-volume stores or growing businesses that want to avoid high transaction costs from third-party platforms.

While WordPress itself won’t impose additional fees, your host and the tools you choose to integrate might. The beauty of WordPress is that it gives you the flexibility to select platforms and solutions that align with your needs, without being penalized as you grow. Spoiler alert: This is the philosophy we uphold at BigScoots as a managed host for WordPress!

With WordPress, you also get full ownership of your data. Unlike many closed platforms, WordPress allows you to control, export, and secure your customer and transaction data, providing you with peace of mind and full transparency.

Lastly, if you’re serious about SEO, WordPress has built-in features that help your eCommerce site rank higher. From product schema and custom taxonomies to full control over internal linking and URL management, WordPress provides the tools you need to optimize your store for search engines and increase your visibility, driving more traffic.

Common concerns with using WordPress for eCommerce

While WordPress is a powerful platform for eCommerce, there are some common concerns businesses might have, like:

• Building your website from scratch.
• Increased maintenance work.
• Higher upfront costs.
  

These concerns are often felt more acutely when planning for a high-traffic store. You’ll need to optimize for peak periods, ensure secure transactions, manage large order volumes, handle payment gateway integrations, and comply with security regulations like PCI. All this can feel overwhelming.

However, there are a couple of things to consider:

Long-term cost-effectiveness: WordPress may require more time and investment upfront compared to platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce. But as your store grows, platforms like Shopify can become increasingly expensive – their enterprise plans can cost as much as $2,300 per month. With WordPress, especially when paired with the right hosting, you can maintain greater flexibility while keeping costs more manageable over time.

Control and customization: While setting up WordPress might take a bit more effort, it gives you complete control over your store’s functionality. You can tailor everything to your business’s exact needs, whether it’s customizing the customer experience, managing your data, or optimizing for growth.

At BigScoots, we’ve helped businesses like Valentte navigate the complexities of high-traffic eCommerce. Valentte initially considered migrating to Shopify when moving away from Kinsta, but they ultimately chose BigScoots’ Enterprise Hosting for WordPress to support their business needs. They saw better performance, improved site stability, and a significant reduction in costs compared to other options.

With BigScoots’ dedicated infrastructure, Cloudflare Enterprise integration, and proactive support, we provide the performance, speed, and security that high-traffic stores need. The right managed hosting partner can make a world of difference, enabling businesses like Valentte to focus on growth without worrying about performance or maintenance issues.

Managed Hosting for WordPress: The foundation for eCommerce success

Solid hosting is what ensures that your store can operate smoothly and efficiently as it grows. The right hosting setup guarantees that your store will run at peak performance without hitting technical barriers.

At BigScoots, we focus on providing the control and customization that other hosts can’t. Unlike many WordPress hosts that rent server space from third-party providers like AWS or Google Cloud, we own our entire infrastructure. This gives us complete control over hardware-level optimizations and customizations, ensuring that your store runs at its best, regardless of the complexity of your needs.

We also built in ample buffer room at the platform level, making sure that servers are never stretched too thin, even during high-traffic periods. Plus, with our Growth Protection Policy, your store won’t be penalized for surges in traffic. If your business is growing, we’re here to help you succeed, not hold you back.

Other hosts may boast about features, but at BigScoots, we focus on owning the infrastructure that makes those features possible. This level of control is why enterprise businesses trust BigScoots to handle the technical challenges of WordPress hosting.

Choosing the right host is essential. BigScoots is a true managed service provider, offering proactive monitoring and optimization at the website level, not just the server level. Our hands-on support means your store is fully optimized, so you can focus on business growth without technical concerns.

Choosing WooCommerce vs other eCommerce extensions for WordPress

Most store owners turn to WooCommerce when adding eCommerce features to their WordPress sites, and for good reason. It powers millions of online stores worldwide and offers a broad range of tools, from product management to payment gateways, as well as shipping integrations, making it a versatile choice for businesses of all sizes.

But did you know WooCommerce isn’t your only option? While it’s the most popular, there are other eCommerce plugins for WordPress that might be a better fit for your specific needs.

WooCommerce

Before giving you the alternatives, we’ve gotta look into WooCommerce a bit more. It is, after all, the go-to choice for most WordPress store owners. Here’s why:

• Product management: Handles physical, digital, and affiliate products, with features like product variations, stock management, and customizable attributes.
• Payment and shipping integrations: Works with popular payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Square. Plus, it supports shipping carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
• Order management: Features customer accounts, guest checkout, inventory tracking, and automated email notifications to keep things running smoothly.
• Extensions and integrations: WooCommerce has a massive library of extensions, so you can add features like subscription services, bookings, and integrations with CRM and ERP systems.
• SEO and marketing tools: WooCommerce includes basic SEO tools like customizable product metadata, schema markup for better search visibility, and SEO-friendly URLs. For marketing, it offers built-in coupons, cross-sells/upsells, product reviews, and email marketing integrations with tools like Mailchimp. It also provides basic sales and customer analytics. However, most people use plugins for more advanced features across all of these areas. 

North Commerce

For businesses that need a strong, all-in-one eCommerce solution, North Commerce is a great choice. It offers the flexibility and features businesses need to scale, all wrapped up in a user-friendly package designed for real success:

• Complete solution: North Commerce integrates all the tools you need (product management, order tracking, and customer relationship features) into one easy-to-use platform. No more juggling multiple plugins; it’s all there, ready to go.
• Fast checkout for increased sales: Streamline the buying process with a single-page checkout and smart order bumps, designed to boost your average order value and enhance the overall customer experience.
• Tailored to you: Whether you’re comfortable with Gutenberg blocks or prefer the North Commerce editor, the platform offers powerful customization options, so your storefront is unique!
• Automate and save time: Automate everything from order processing to security and email workflows, so you can focus on growing your store while North Commerce handles everything else!
• Advanced customer management: Take full control of customer engagement with tools for advanced segmentation and personalized marketing campaigns, helping to drive loyalty and repeat business.

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

If you’re selling digital products (like software, eBooks, or music), Easy Digital Downloads might be a better fit:

• Digital product focus: Designed specifically for digital sales, including software licenses and updates.
• Payment gateways: Integrates with PayPal, Stripe, and other payment options, offering easy one-click payments.
• Discounts and promotions: Set up customizable discount codes, product bundles, and promotions.
• Customer management: Tracks customer lifetime value and purchase history, making it easier to market directly to your buyers.
• File download protection: Secure links for downloadable products to prevent unauthorized access.

MemberPress

If your business runs on a subscription or membership model, MemberPress could be the plugin for you:

• Membership model: Manage subscription access and content restrictions based on membership levels.
• Content protection: Restrict access to certain pages, posts, categories, and custom content based on membership status.
• Payment integration: Works with PayPal and Stripe for secure recurring payments.
• Reporting and analytics: Provides insights into membership metrics, revenue, and engagement.
• Course management: Integrates with LearnDash for managing online courses and educational content.

While WooCommerce is a strong default choice, depending on your business needs, plugins like North Commerce, Easy Digital Downloads, or MemberPress might offer additional features that align better with your goals. BigScoots’ managed hosting for WordPress helps you navigate the complexities of multiple plugins, especially for enterprise customers, ensuring your store runs smoothly, no matter which extensions you choose.

Feature	WooCommerce	North Commerce	Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)	Membership Press
Product management	Physical, digital, and affiliate products with variations, stock management, and customizable attributes.	All-in-one solution with product and order management.	Digital products (eBooks, software, etc.)	Subscription-based content management and access.
Payment gateways	PayPal, Stripe, Square, and more.	Custom payment integrations with major gateways.	PayPal, Stripe, and others with one-click payments.	PayPal, Stripe (recurring payments).
Shipping integrations	USPS, UPS, FedEx, and others.	N/A	N/A	N/A
Order management	Customer accounts, guest checkout, inventory tracking, order updates.	Includes order management and customer tracking.	N/A	N/A
Extensions & integrations	Massive library for subscriptions, bookings, CRM/ERP, and more.	Customizable storefronts, automations, and integrations.	Limited extensions, focused on digital products.	Integration with LMS (LearnDash), access control tools.
Discounts & promotions	Built-in marketing tools and promo options.	Order bumps, discounts, and promotions.	Discount codes, product bundles.	Subscription and content access restrictions.
SEO tools	Built-in SEO tools, with support for custom plugins.	Supports SEO tools and customizable product categories.	Basic SEO support for digital products.	N/A
Customer management	CRM integrations, customer segmentation.	Advanced segmentation for personalized marketing.	Customer tracking for lifetime value.	Member engagement and revenue tracking.
Best for	Businesses of all sizes, especially high-volume ones.	Businesses that need an all-in-one eCommerce solution.	Digital product stores.	Membership and subscription-based businesses.

Elevate your online store with BigScoots

WordPress is perfect for building an online store that grows with your business. Whether big or small, you have complete control over how your store looks and functions. And with a wide range of plugins and integrations, you can create a store that’s as unique as your business.

Even the best platform needs the right support to reach its full potential, which is why choosing the right hosting provider is crucial. A hosting partner that understands the needs of high-traffic eCommerce stores is key to ensuring your website stays fast, secure, and reliable, even as you grow.

At BigScoots, we offer fully managed hosting with complete control over your infrastructure. With our enterprise-level solutions, including direct Cloudflare integration and proactive, expert support, BigScoots is the perfect partner for businesses that want to optimize performance and focus on growth.
It’s time to elevate your eCommerce store with a hosting provider that truly understands your needs. BigScoots will ensure your site runs smoothly and performs at its best, so you can focus on growing your business.

Let us handle the hosting, while you handle the success. Get started with BigScoots’ Managed Hosting for WordPress today.