Boosting Your Customer Service with WooCommerce Support and Chat Plugins

For a successful e-commerce store, you need to boost your customer service. When your customers are satisfied, your business flourishes. You need to build a strong relationship with your customers to satisfy them. You can retain your customers when your customer services are excellent. WooCommerce helps you to build strong relationships between customers and the store owner.

Various customer support plugins on WooCommerce can assist you in growing your digital store. In this article, we will share 7 WooCommerce customer support and chat plugins to increase your sales to the next level.

Why We Need WooCommerce Customer Support and Chat Plugins

We need WooCommerce plugins because WooCommerce is a leading e-commerce platform globally. It is powering more than 30% of all digital stores. If you consider building your store on WooCommerce, you need multiple support plugins. Among many others, the best ones are the WooCommerce customer support plugins. According to various surveys, an e-commerce store can increase its 270% times more if they choose and install proper customer support plugins on sites. Robust customer support services make it easy for customers to contact the owners of the stores.

Top 7 Best WooCommerce Customer Support and Chat Plugins

Many WooCommerce plugins are available; we will discuss seven major ones here. These seven customer support plugins are used by almost every popular digital store. Let’s discuss each of these one by one:

1. LiveChat for WooCommerce

LiveChat for WooCommerce is one of the best WooCommerce Customer Support and Chat plugins. It is a powerful plugin. It is suitable for both small and medium-sized ecommerce stores. Its features include AI-powered AI routing and chatbots that generate leads. It automatically answers customers’ queries. It helps manage the queue and respond to every customer one by one. It also manages your multi-channel communication effectively. Moreover, it also manages your customers’ feedback and tracks website visitors. It is very cost-effective. Almost every digital business has this plugin.

2. WooCommerce Request a Quote

WooCommerce Request a Quote is a feature that allows customers to ask for a price quote for products instead of purchasing them directly. This feature is helpful for businesses that deal with custom orders, bulk purchases, or products with variable pricing.

Regarding customer support and chat plugins for WooCommerce, integrating a Request a Quote option can enhance the customer experience as customers can easily inquire about products or request a quote directly through the chat interface. This streamlines communication and makes it easier for customers to get the necessary information.

It will allow businesses to tailor the chat experience to their brand and specific needs. This includes branding the chat window, setting up automated responses, and seamlessly integrating the Request a Quote feature into the chat interface.

3. ThriveDesk for WooCommerce

Another major customer support plugin is ThriveDesk. It is one of the finest plugins available for WooCommerce stores. It is a multi-task performing plugin. Thrivedesk is specifically designed for e-commerce businesses. Its integration with WooCommerce offers unlimited possibilities for digital stores to thrive and lead in highly competitive online marketplaces. It has a robust set of features, making it an ideal choice for every digital store. Some of these features are as follows: Thrive Desk keeps the customer’s previous history intact and also provides performance metrics. It also manages orders effectively and saves replies for a longer time.

4. Woo Sell Services

Woo Sell Services is another plugin that enhances customer support. This plugin is available on both WooCommerce and WordPress. This integrates all your business activities within a single platform. This plugin empowers you to effectively communicate with your customers and create and sell your products conveniently.

This plugin also handles orders and dates and tracks the service status. It also receives live notifications. Thus, it ensures a smooth store operation. Other features include effective client communication, a single window for multiple functions, and management of delivery dates. We can safely say the Woo Sell Service plugin is a gateway to both small and large online enterprises’ success.

5. Freshdesk

FreshDesk is one of the best cloud-based customer support plugins. You can boost your customer support service with WooCommerce by installing this software. It offers WooCommerce integration for e-commerce stores and converts support requests through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, email, etc.

It offers AI-powered chatbots that guide customers in solving their queries. These chatbots connect the customers to the e-commerce experts if they face any issues. Like other plugins, it offers various customer care services. Some of its best features are Order and appointment management, third-party integration, and communication management. It provides summary reports and thus helps boost your digital store. Its price could be more affordable. Like Help Scout, Zendesk, FreshDesk, and other plugins and customer care support software, it is equally beneficial for all small and big e-commerce stores.

6. Help Scout for WooCommerce

Help Scout for WooCommerce is another of the most potent and easily accessible customer support plugins. This plugin is easy to use. It is equally affordable for every size of business. Like other plugins, it replies to customer queries in minutes. Thus, Help Scout has a positive impact on your customers.

Help Scout has many additional features as well. This plugin’s collaboration with other automation tools makes the work far more accessible. Its live chat support helps the customers in real time. Its AI-powered chatbots guide customers to relevant articles. This plugin also allows customers to share new updates and services.

Like the plugins mentioned above, Help Scout offers various features, from Email management to template and queue management. It also helps in blocking spam. Additionally, its pricing could be a lot higher. Every small and medium-sized store can also use it by paying a minimal price.

7. WooCommerce Support Ticket System

The “WooCommerce Support Ticket System” is another dedicated customer care WordPress plugin. It helps to manage customer requests and issues. It handles customer queries more effectively than other plugins and chat support software. It boosts your customer base by offering a structured customer interaction management system. It also keeps a record of all queries and makes sure to reply to them.

There is a list of features that make the WooCommerce Support Ticket System the top priority of every e-commerce store. Some of its exclusive features are ticket creation and tick tracking, as well as the attachment of files, screenshots, and additional information to support tickets. It also offers predefined responses to common queries. It also helps to notify when new tickets are created and updated. This brings consistency in prompt responses and follow-ups. It also offers reporting and analytics features. It generates reports and analytics on ticket trends and response times. Thus, it helps in customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

This article discusses seven customer support service support and chat plugins. These plugins are helpful for all small to big WooCommerce stores. These plugins have various features, making them the first choice of every digital store. They provide support from live chats to query management. They keep records of all customer queries and manage emails effectively. If you create your e-commerce store with WooCommerce, these plugins will prove a game changer. They will stand out in the highly competitive business environment—this array of WooCommerce customer support and chat plugins will convert visitors to an entire customer base.

15+ Best WordPress Plugins and Themes In 2024

In this article, I’m going to talk about my top picks for the best WordPress themes and plugins for 2024. These are great for anyone starting a new website or looking to improve their current one. 

As there are so many options available, it can be difficult to pick the right theme or plugin out of all the available options, and that’s the reason you are here. The right theme can really make your website look good and work well. 

I’ll show you the most popular and effective ones this year. Whether you want a professional look or something fun and creative, you’ll find the best options here. This guide will help you choose the perfect theme or plugin for your website’s needs.

Let me first begin with the best themes for 2024.

Top 8 Best WordPress Themes for 2024

1. BeTheme

BeTheme is a very popular WordPress theme known for being fast and versatile, suitable for many types of websites. It offers over 700 pre-built website designs that are ready to use. 

BeTheme includes BeBuilder, a user-friendly website builder with features like Header and Footer Builder, WooCommerce Builder, and more. BeBuilder has a Blocks mode with over 80 building blocks and pre-made layouts. It also has a Developer mode for advanced users. 

The theme comes with features like Dynamic Data, which lets you access site data, and Conditional Logic for content management. BeTheme is especially liked for its pre-built websites, which are customizable and responsive, making it easier to start any website project.

2. Uncode

Uncode is an all-purpose WordPress theme great for different types of websites, including business, agency, event, portfolio sites, and blogs. It comes with 95 demos, each designed for a specific purpose, making it useful for creative projects. 

Uncode has a WooCommerce Builder, which is helpful for creating online stores. This Builder allows you to design shop pages and product listings easily without needing to code. 

Additionally, Uncode includes a Wireframes plugin with over 550 section templates, helping you build landing pages or entire websites more efficiently.

3. Astra

Astra is a versatile WordPress theme suitable for any type of website. It’s compatible with all popular page builders, making it easy to use. Astra offers a variety of starter sites to launch different types of websites quickly, including small businesses, blogs, and online stores. 

The theme is packed with features like page headers, mega menus, multiple layout options, Google Fonts, unlimited colors, and custom widgets. 

Astra is particularly good for creating an online store due to its deep integration with WooCommerce, offering features like infinite scrolling and quick product views. It also works well with learning management systems like LearnDash and is optimized for SEO, helping your website rank higher in search engines.

4. Avada

Avada is a highly popular WordPress theme, trusted by over 750,000 users and celebrated in many positive reviews.

Its appeal lies in several key features: it has a one-click demo importer for easy setup, a live visual builder with a wide range of templates for quick website creation, and extensive customization options for layouts, headers, footers, and more. Updating the theme’s global styles is straightforward, enhancing user-friendliness. 

Avada is known for its responsive design, speed optimization, e-commerce support, and excellent customer service, making it a well-rounded choice for building websites.

5. Woodmart 

Woodmart is a WooCommerce theme for WordPress designed for building online stores. It comes with over 80 ready-to-use website designs, including themes for shops, businesses, fashion, electronics, and furniture. 

These designs can be set up with just one click. Woodmart makes it easy to create a store without coding skills, thanks to its Shop and Product Page builders using Elementor. The theme offers features like AJAX filters and a custom checkout process with Elementor, helping to make shopping faster and easier for customers, which can help increase sales.

6. Divi

Divi, which is created by Elegant Themes, is a highly popular WordPress theme that has impressed me with its powerful page builder. It offers a vast range of visual elements and modules to help you design an attractive website. 

The theme includes many pre-designed layouts suitable for various industries, which you can quickly import with one click. Divi’s front-end editor allows easy content replacement, and its drag-and-drop builder enables you to move elements around, save custom designs, and apply universal styles. 

You can also add testimonials easily. Divi provides full layout control, inline text editing, and the ability to use custom CSS, making it very flexible and user-friendly. Additionally, it’s SEO-friendly, which helps your website rank better in search engines.

7. Hestia Pro

This multipurpose WordPress theme is designed to be fast, modern, and user-friendly. It’s versatile, offering both one-page and multi-page layouts for any type of website. The theme has a sleek design, making it great for presenting your business or services in a professional way. 

It works well with popular page builders like Beaver Builder and Elementor. Hestia Pro is also fully compatible with WooCommerce, so you can easily create attractive product and shop pages. 

Additionally, it comes with a variety of starter sites for e-commerce and other business types, making it a user-friendly option for creating diverse websites.

8. XStore

XStore is a popular theme for creating online stores using WordPress and WooCommerce. It offers a quick way to build an online shop with over 130 customizable shop designs. 

The theme includes tools for creating multi-vendor marketplaces and various layout builders like Single Product, Product Archive, Checkout Layout, and Cart Layout. It also features 15 sales-boosting tools, such as a feature that shows fake live viewing to increase sales, a selection dropdown for product variations, a popup showing fake sales, suggestions for products that are often bought together, a sticky add-to-cart bar, and express checkout.

These features are designed to enhance the shopping experience and increase sales on your site.

Top 7 Best WordPress Plugins for 2024 

Now that you’ve explored the best WordPress themes and likely chosen one that fits your requirements, let me shift your focus to plugins. Next, I’ll show you some of the top plugins that work well with your chosen theme to make your website even better. 

These plugins will help improve how your website works and looks. They’re great for making your site faster, safer, and more user-friendly. They can also help your site show up better in search engine results and make it easier for visitors to interact with your content. 

So, let me begin with the comprehensive list of best plugins for 2024. 

1. Freelancer Marketplace Plugin

The Freelancer Marketplace Plugin is an excellent plugin for WordPress websites. It lets you create a site where freelancers and clients can work together. The plugin works with WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads. It’s easy to use, and you can change how it looks and works. 

Features include a system for bidding on projects, managing payments, chatting, and rating both freelancers and clients. It also handles disagreements and emails. The plugin works with many WordPress themes and comes with good instructions and help. 

Thus, I highly recommend this plugin for website owners who want to create a platform where freelancers and clients can connect and work together. It’s particularly useful for those running a WordPress site and looking to build a freelance marketplace, similar to websites like Upwork or Freelancer.

2. EDD Landing Pages for Categories and Tags

The “EDD Landing Pages for Categories and Tags” plugin is for WordPress sites using Easy Digital Downloads. It helps to improve how products are shown on your site. 

You can add more details, like text and images, under your product lists. It also makes it easier for visitors to find what they want with better sorting and navigation features. This plugin is good for making your online store more user-friendly and easier to find on search engines.

3. Akismet

Akismet is a free plugin for WordPress that helps keep your comments section free from spam. It automatically checks comments and separates the ones it thinks are spam into a different area for you to review. This way, you don’t have to go through lots of spam to find real comments. 

You can set up your comment settings so that comments either need approval or, if you don’t want to moderate them, Akismet will prevent spam from showing up. 

It’s usually very accurate, but it’s good to regularly check the spam section to delete unwanted comments and approve any that were wrongly marked as spam.

4. AddToAny Share Buttons

The AddToAny Share Buttons plugin helps increase traffic and engagement on your WordPress website by making it easy for people to share your content. Users can share their webpages and blog posts to social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and messaging services like WhatsApp. 

The plugin is popular and customizable. It lets you choose from different styles of share buttons, like standard ones on content or floating buttons. There are also options for share counters, follow buttons and custom icons. 

Plus, you can use official buttons from platforms like Facebook and Twitter and integrate sharing analytics to see how often your content is shared.

5. Modula Image Gallery

Modula Image Gallery is a WordPress plugin that lets you easily create image and video galleries for your website or blog. It’s user-friendly and doesn’t require any coding. You can quickly add images to create beautiful galleries using presets. 

The plugin offers features like video extensions, slideshows, and sliders. It also allows you to filter galleries, making them more user-friendly. 

Additionally, you can protect your galleries with a password and add right-click protection to stop people from downloading your images. Modula also has creative features like animations for loading images.

6. Google Analytics Dashboard

The Google Analytics Dashboard plugin by MonsterInsights for WordPress makes it easy to see important information about your website right in your WordPress dashboard.

It lets you add Google Analytics without needing to code, and you can see stats like who’s visiting your site and how they’re interacting with it. This plugin is useful for understanding your audience, checking your content’s performance, and even tracking your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) performance. 

For e-commerce sites, it has special features for tracking sales and customer behavior. It also helps with following European privacy laws (GDPR) by allowing you to anonymize visitor data and manage cookie consent.

7. WP ERP

WP ERP is a WordPress plugin designed for business management. It helps manage different aspects of a business directly from your WordPress site, including human resources (HR), customer relationship management (CRM), and accounting. 

The plugin is easy to use and has three main parts: HR for managing employee information and requests, CRM for handling customer data and contacts and accounting for tracking your business’s finances. WP ERP is suitable for streamlining business processes and keeping everything organized in one place.

Conclusion

Thus, with my years of experience as a blogger, I can say that choosing the right WordPress theme and plugin is really important. A good-looking, professional theme makes your website more appealing and can help you get more people to use your site or buy your products. 

Themes are a quick way to make your site look great without taking a lot of time. The perfect theme helps you share what your business is about in a clear and engaging way. 

Along with themes, the right plugins can add important features to your site, making it work better and be more user-friendly. Now that you’ve seen some of the best themes and plugins, you can choose the ones that fit your site best and start building.

Unveiling the Top Suggestion Boards Plugins for WordPress

WordPress, being one of the most popular content management systems (CMS), provides a vast array of plugins to enhance functionality and engagement on your website. When it comes to gathering feedback, suggestions, and feature requests from your audience, suggestion boards play a vital role. In this article, we will delve into the best suggestion boards plugins for WordPress, focusing on the following plugins:

Let’s explore each of these plugins in detail and understand their features and benefits for WordPress users.

1. IdeaPush Pro

IdeaPush Pro stands out as a potent suggestion board plugin for WordPress, designed to streamline the idea submission process. With an intuitive and user-friendly interface, it encourages users to submit their suggestions effortlessly. Real-time updates, voting, commenting, and integration with popular tools are some of its impressive features. IdeaPush Pro facilitates efficient management and prioritization of ideas, making it an ideal choice for websites seeking an interactive feedback mechanism.

Pros:

  • User-Friendly Interface: IdeaPush Pro boasts an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy for users to submit suggestions and ideas without encountering any complexities.
  • Real-Time Updates: The plugin offers real-time updates, keeping users informed about the status of their suggestions and fostering a sense of transparency and engagement.
  • Voting and Commenting: Users can vote on suggestions and provide comments, enabling a democratic selection of the most popular ideas and encouraging further discussion.
  • Integration Capabilities: IdeaPush Pro integrates seamlessly with popular tools, enhancing its versatility and usability within existing workflows.

Cons:

  • Limited Customization: While IdeaPush Pro provides an excellent user experience, its customization options might be relatively limited compared to some other plugins, potentially restricting the alignment with specific website aesthetics.

IdeaPush Pro excels in user engagement and ease of use by offering social login for effortless suggestion submissions, a moderation feature for content quality control, and social sharing capabilities to broaden idea outreach. Additionally, it integrates seamlessly with Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, and HubSpot, enhancing workflow efficiency and marketing strategies. The plugin supports suggestion export, utilizes cloud-based storage, and allows users to attach images to their suggestions, providing a comprehensive feedback experience.

2. Simple Feature Request

Simple Feature Request lives up to its name by simplifying the feature request collection process for WordPress websites. This plugin allows users to submit their ideas, which can then be upvoted or downvoted by the community. By organizing and managing these requests efficiently, Simple Feature Request helps you prioritize the most popular and relevant features for potential implementation. Its ease of use and intuitive interface make it a valuable asset for websites aiming to involve their audience in product development.

Pros:

  • Simplified Submission Process: True to its name, Simple Feature Request streamlines the feature request submission process for users, making it effortless and encouraging more participation.
  • Community Voting: The plugin enables users to upvote or downvote ideas, facilitating a democratic approach to feature prioritization based on popular demand.
  • Efficient Idea Organization: Simple Feature Request effectively organizes and manages feature requests, helping website owners to focus on implementing the most requested features.

Cons:

  • Basic Customization: The customization options may be somewhat basic, limiting the plugin’s adaptability to specific design requirements and branding preferences.

Simple Feature Request facilitates seamless user engagement with social login options and effective content management through its moderation feature. It empowers users to extend the reach of their feature requests via social sharing. While integration options are versatile with potential links to Zapier for workflow enhancement, specifics may vary. The plugin also supports image attachments to feature requests, enriching the feedback process.

3. Nolt

Nolt stands as a visually appealing and seamlessly integrable suggestion board plugin for WordPress. Users can easily submit their ideas and suggestions, while the community can engage by voting and providing feedback through comments. The plugin offers customization options to match your website’s design and branding, ensuring a cohesive user experience. Nolt’s intuitive design and customization capabilities make it an attractive choice for websites seeking an aesthetically pleasing and functional suggestion board.

Pros:

  • Aesthetic Design: Nolt stands out with its visually appealing design, enhancing user engagement and making the suggestion board more inviting for users to participate.
  • Customization Options: The plugin offers a range of customization options, allowing website owners to align the suggestion board with their website’s branding and design elements.
  • User Engagement Features: Nolt encourages user engagement through upvoting, downvoting, and commenting, promoting a sense of community and collaboration.

Cons:

  • Pricing Tiers: Depending on the scale of your website and the required features, Nolt’s pricing tiers may be a consideration, potentially impacting its affordability for smaller businesses or websites.

Nolt offers a user-friendly experience with social login capabilities for swift idea submissions and features robust moderation tools for content curation. Users can easily expand the influence of their ideas through social sharing. While direct integrations like Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, or others may require customization, the plugin encourages collaboration. It may support image uploads and could utilize cloud storage for seamless data accessibility.

4. UseResponse

UseResponse presents a comprehensive feedback and suggestion board platform, empowering businesses to collect and manage feedback effectively. Its versatile feature set includes a feedback portal, a knowledge base, and community forums. UseResponse integrates seamlessly with WordPress, allowing users to submit suggestions and ideas directly from the website. The plugin facilitates a streamlined feedback process, making it an excellent choice for websites aiming to gather insights and engage with their user community.

Pros:

  • Comprehensive Platform: UseResponse is a versatile platform offering not only a suggestion board but also features like a feedback portal and knowledge base, providing a comprehensive feedback solution.
  • Integration with WordPress: Seamless integration with WordPress enables a smooth user experience, allowing users to submit suggestions directly from the website.
  • Knowledge Base Integration: The integration of a knowledge base complements the suggestion board by providing information and solutions to common queries.

Cons:

  • Learning Curve: Due to its comprehensive feature set, UseResponse might have a steeper learning curve for users unfamiliar with feedback and knowledge base platforms.

UseResponse stands as a comprehensive platform offering various engagement avenues, including social login for streamlined interaction and moderation tools for content curation. Users can extend the reach of their feedback through social sharing. Although direct integrations with platforms like Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, or HubSpot may require specific configurations, UseResponse offers flexibility in workflow enhancement. The plugin supports image attachments to feedback, potentially enhancing the clarity of suggestions and may employ cloud-based storage for efficient data management.

5. PHPBack

PHPBack is a versatile feedback and suggestion board plugin, offering an intuitive interface for users to submit their suggestions and ideas. The plugin is designed to efficiently collect and manage feedback from website visitors. With customization options and integration capabilities, PHPBack provides flexibility to match your website’s requirements. Its adaptability and ease of use make it a compelling solution for WordPress websites seeking to incorporate a robust suggestion board.

Pros:

  • Intuitive Interface: PHPBack offers an intuitive and straightforward interface, making it easy for users to submit suggestions and ideas without any learning curve.
  • Flexibility and Customization: The plugin provides customization options, allowing website owners to tailor the suggestion board to their specific design and branding preferences.
  • Efficient Feedback Management: PHPBack effectively collects and manages feedback, aiding in the prioritization and implementation of popular suggestions.

Cons:

  • Limited Advanced Features: While PHPBack excels in simplicity, it may lack some of the advanced features found in more comprehensive feedback platforms.

PHPBack focuses on simplicity and user-friendliness, featuring social login for ease of use and a moderation system for content quality control. While specific integrations may vary, potential connections through Zapier can enhance workflow processes. The plugin allows users to share their feedback through social channels, expanding the idea’s reach. Additionally, PHPBack supports image uploads and may utilize cloud storage for efficient data handling.

6. FeaturesOS

FeaturesOS is an advanced suggestion board plugin focusing on enhancing user engagement and collaboration. It offers users the ability to submit suggestions and ideas, engage in discussions, and upvote or downvote features. With a wide array of customization options and seamless integration with WordPress, FeaturesOS provides a comprehensive tool for gathering user input. Its emphasis on collaboration and customization makes it an appealing choice for websites aiming to foster a sense of community and user-driven development.

Pros:

  • Focus on Collaboration: FeaturesOS places a strong emphasis on collaboration by allowing users to engage in discussions, upvote/downvote features, and participate actively in the feedback process.
  • Integration with WordPress: Seamless integration with WordPress ensures a seamless user experience and facilitates efficient suggestion submission.
  • Customization Options: The plugin offers customization options, enabling website owners to align the suggestion board with their brand and design choices.

Cons:

  • Potentially Overwhelming for Some Users: The collaborative nature of FeaturesOS might be overwhelming for users who prefer a more straightforward and streamlined suggestion submission process.

FeaturesOS emphasizes collaboration, supporting social login for effortless participation and effective moderation features. Users can easily share suggestions on social platforms to widen their impact. The plugin may offer integration options through Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, or others for a more connected workflow. Image uploads are supported, providing a visual element to the suggestions, and cloud storage may be utilized for seamless data access.

7. Canny

Canny is a widely recognized suggestion board plugin, facilitating efficient gathering and management of customer feedback. It provides users with a platform to submit ideas, upvote or comment on existing ones, and stay updated on the status of their suggestions. Canny offers integration options with popular tools and a sleek user interface, enhancing the overall user experience. Its reputation and feature-rich design position it as a top choice for websites seeking a robust and user-friendly suggestion board.

Pros:

  • User-Friendly Interface: Canny provides a user-friendly interface, making it easy for users to submit suggestions, upvote existing ideas, and stay informed about the progress of their suggestions.
  • Integration Options: The plugin offers integration capabilities, allowing seamless integration with popular tools and platforms, enhancing its utility.
  • Visibility of Progress: Users can track the progress of their suggestions, promoting transparency and user satisfaction.

Cons:

  • Pricing Structure: Depending on the scale and needs of your website, Canny’s pricing structure may be a consideration, particularly for smaller businesses or startups.

Canny offers a user-friendly interface with social login capabilities, encouraging user engagement and participation. The plugin provides moderation tools for quality control and social sharing features for idea dissemination. While integration options vary, Canny may connect with platforms like Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, or HubSpot for enhanced functionality. Users can attach images to their suggestions for better illustration, and the plugin may utilize cloud storage for efficient data handling.

What to Look for in a Great Suggestion Board Plugin for WordPress

Selecting the ideal suggestion board plugin for your WordPress website is a crucial decision that can significantly impact user engagement, product development, and overall user satisfaction. Here are essential features and considerations to keep in mind when evaluating and choosing a suggestion board plugin:

1. User-Friendly Interface

A great suggestion board plugin should offer an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for both website administrators and users. The submission process for ideas and suggestions should be simple, encouraging maximum participation.

2. Customization Options

Look for a plugin that allows customization to match your website’s branding, colors, and design. Customization is essential to maintain a seamless and consistent user experience throughout your website.

3. Integration Capabilities

Consider plugins that integrate seamlessly with third-party tools and platforms such as Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Salesforce. Integration enhances workflow efficiency, allowing for automated processes and better collaboration.

4. Moderation Tools

Effective moderation tools are essential to ensure the quality and relevance of submitted ideas. Look for plugins that provide features for content moderation, enabling administrators to review and approve suggestions before they are published.

5. Social Login and Sharing

Incorporate plugins that support social login, making it easier for users to participate and contribute using their existing social media credentials. Social sharing features are also beneficial to amplify idea visibility and encourage more engagement.

6. Image Attachments

A plugin that allows users to attach images to their suggestions provides a visual element, enhancing the clarity and impact of the ideas presented.

7. Export Functionality

Choose a plugin that allows for the export of suggestion data. This feature is crucial for analyzing user feedback and suggestions effectively, enabling data-driven decision-making.

8. Cloud Storage

Plugins that utilize cloud-based storage provide efficient data management and accessibility. Cloud storage ensures data security, scalability, and uninterrupted access to suggestions.

9. Community Engagement Features

Look for plugins that encourage community engagement through features like voting, commenting, and discussions. These features foster collaboration and help identify the most popular and valuable suggestions.

10. Scalability

Consider the scalability of the plugin to ensure it can accommodate a growing user base and an increasing volume of suggestions without compromising performance.

11. Affordability and Licensing

Evaluate the pricing structure and licensing options to ensure that the plugin aligns with your budget and licensing needs. Consider whether the plugin offers a free version or trial period for testing and evaluation.

12. Customer Support and Updates

Ensure the plugin comes with reliable customer support and receives regular updates. Timely updates ensure compatibility with the latest versions of WordPress and address any security or functionality concerns.

In summary, a great suggestion board plugin for WordPress should prioritize user experience, customization, integration capabilities, moderation, and engagement features. By considering these factors and aligning them with your website’s specific needs and goals, you can choose a plugin that enhances user engagement and facilitates effective gathering of feedback and suggestions.

Conclusion: IdeaPush Pro – Your Premier Suggestion Board Plugin

In the quest to enhance user engagement, streamline feedback gathering, and prioritize feature development, the choice of a suggestion board plugin is pivotal. Among the plethora of options available, IdeaPush Pro stands out as the epitome of an exceptional suggestion board plugin for WordPress.

With a perfect blend of user-friendliness, customization options, seamless integrations, moderation tools, and community engagement features, IdeaPush Pro excels in every aspect. Its intuitive interface makes idea submissions a breeze, allowing users to participate effortlessly. The availability of social login and sharing functionalities extends the reach of ideas, promoting collaboration.

Moreover, IdeaPush Pro’s seamless integration with Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, and HubSpot elevates workflow efficiency, making it an ideal choice for businesses seeking streamlined processes. The plugin’s ability to support image attachments and utilize cloud-based storage further enriches the feedback experience.

In conclusion, when seeking the best suggestion board plugin for WordPress that embodies all the essential features for effective feedback collection and collaboration, IdeaPush Pro emerges as the clear frontrunner. Its comprehensive set of features, combined with an intuitive design and seamless integrations, make it an indispensable tool for any website striving to foster a vibrant and engaged user community. Opt for IdeaPush Pro and unlock the true potential of user-driven product development and enhanced user satisfaction.

Fortify Your Website: Top WordPress Security Plugins To Safeguard Your Content

Are you looking to fortify your website and safeguard your valuable content? Look no further! In this article, we’ll explore the top WordPress security plugins that can help protect your website from potential threats. Whether you’re a seasoned website owner or just starting out, these plugins are essential for enhancing your website’s defenses.

Website security is a crucial aspect of maintaining a successful online presence. With the increasing prevalence of cyber threats, it’s important to take proactive measures to ensure the safety of your website and its content. Luckily, WordPress offers a wide range of security plugins that can help you fortify your website and protect it from hackers, malware, and other malicious activities.

From firewall protection to malware scanning and login security, these plugins offer a comprehensive set of features to keep your website safe and secure. By implementing these plugins, you can have peace of mind knowing that your valuable content is safeguarded against potential threats.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the world of WordPress security plugins and discover the top options available to fortify your website and protect your precious content. Get ready to take your website security to the next level and ensure the safety of your online assets. Let’s get started!

Looking to fortify your WordPress website and protect your valuable content? Check out these top WordPress security plugins that can help safeguard your site against potential threats. With features like malware scanning, firewall protection, and login security, these plugins offer peace of mind. Don’t let your website become vulnerable – invest in the right security measures today!

Fortify Your Website: Top WordPress Security Plugins to Safeguard Your Content

Welcome to the ultimate guide on fortifying your WordPress website with the top security plugins available. In today’s digital landscape, ensuring the security of your website is of utmost importance. WordPress, being the most popular Content Management System (CMS) in the world, is often targeted by hackers. However, with the help of reliable security plugins, you can significantly enhance your website’s security and protect your valuable content. In this article, we will explore the best WordPress security plugins and how they can help safeguard your website.

Why Do You Need WordPress Security Plugins?

When it comes to website security, prevention is always better than cure. Implementing robust security measures can help you prevent potential attacks and stop hackers in their tracks. WordPress security plugins play a crucial role in fortifying your website by providing features such as malware scanning, firewall protection, login security, and much more. These plugins act as a virtual shield, making it significantly harder for malicious actors to compromise your website’s security. With the increasing number of cyber threats in today’s digital world, it is essential to invest in a reliable security plugin to ensure the safety of your website and the sensitive data it holds.

1) Wordfence

Wordfence is a powerful security plugin that offers a comprehensive set of features to protect your WordPress website. Its robust firewall protects against brute force attacks, malicious IPs, and unauthorized logins. Additionally, Wordfence scans your website for malware and known vulnerabilities, alerting you in case of any suspicious activity. The plugin also offers real-time threat intelligence and blocks known attackers automatically. With Wordfence, you can rest assured that your website is shielded from a wide range of threats.

One of the notable features of Wordfence is its two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security to your login process. It also provides detailed reports on traffic patterns, login attempts, and other security-related information. The plugin’s intuitive interface ensures ease of use, and its regular updates keep up with the ever-evolving threat landscape. With over 3 million active installations, Wordfence is trusted by website owners worldwide.

In summary, Wordfence offers a comprehensive security solution for your WordPress website. Its firewall, malware scanning, and two-factor authentication features make it an excellent choice for fortifying your website.

2) Sucuri

Sucuri is another popular WordPress security plugin that specializes in website integrity monitoring and malware detection. It provides continuous scanning and monitoring of your website, ensuring that any malicious activity is promptly identified and resolved. Sucuri offers a website firewall that blocks suspicious traffic and filters out harmful requests before they reach your website. The plugin also features a DNS-level firewall, providing an additional layer of protection.

In addition to its monitoring and firewall capabilities, Sucuri offers a powerful malware scanner that scans your website files and database for known threats and vulnerabilities. If any issue is detected, the plugin provides instant alerts and assists in cleaning up the infection. Sucuri also offers website backup services, allowing you to restore your website to a previous state in case of any security incident.

With its comprehensive security features, Sucuri is an exceptional choice for protecting your WordPress website from malware and other malicious activities. The plugin is trusted by major organizations and security professionals around the globe, making it a reliable option for fortifying your website’s security.

3) iThemes Security

iThemes Security, formerly known as Better WP Security, is a feature-rich WordPress plugin that offers a wide range of security enhancements. The plugin provides a one-click security check, which scans your website for vulnerabilities and suggests necessary measures to improve its security. It also performs malware scanning, brute force attack protection, and file change detection to ensure the integrity of your website.

With iThemes Security, you can strengthen your website’s security by implementing features such as two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of protection to your login process. The plugin also allows you to enforce strong password policies, limit login attempts, and hide sensitive information from potential attackers. Additionally, iThemes Security includes a robust logging system, which records all security-related events and provides insights into potential threats.

Overall, iThemes Security is a comprehensive WordPress security plugin that offers a range of features to fortify your website’s security. Its user-friendly interface and extensive documentation make it accessible to both beginners and experienced users.

4) All In One WP Security & Firewall

All In One WP Security & Firewall is a powerful security plugin that focuses on both the website’s security and user interface. The plugin provides an easy-to-use dashboard with a user-friendly interface, allowing you to configure various security settings without any technical expertise. All In One WP Security & Firewall protects your website against brute force attacks, user account vulnerabilities, and malicious traffic.

One of the standout features of All In One WP Security & Firewall is its user account security enhancement. The plugin enables you to enforce strong passwords, limit login attempts, and apply user role-based security. It also provides a security grading system, which evaluates your current security settings and suggests improvements to further fortify your website.

The plugin’s firewall functionality protects your website by filtering out malicious traffic and blocking suspicious IP addresses. It also offers features like file integrity checking, which detects any unauthorized changes to your website files. With its user-friendly interface and extensive security options, All In One WP Security & Firewall is an excellent choice for bolstering your website’s security.

5) BulletProof Security

BulletProof Security is a comprehensive security plugin that offers several features to protect your WordPress website from various threats. The plugin focuses on strengthening the website’s core files, the wp-admin folder, and the wp-login.php file. It protects your website against SQL injection, XSS, RFI, and other common vulnerabilities.

BulletProof Security provides a one-click setup wizard, which guides you through the initial configuration process. The plugin’s dashboard displays essential security information, such as login attempts, blocked attackers, and system status. It also offers features like malware scanning, firewall protection, and file monitoring to ensure the integrity and security of your website.

With its emphasis on core file protection and extensive security features, BulletProof Security is a go-to option for safeguarding your WordPress website. The plugin’s ease of use and reliable performance make it a popular choice among website owners.

Key Takeaways: Fortify Your Website with Top WordPress Security Plugins

  • WordPress security plugins are essential for protecting your website from potential threats.
  • Regularly updating your plugins and themes is crucial to maintaining website security.
  • Installing a firewall plugin adds an extra layer of protection against malicious activity.
  • Enable two-factor authentication to secure your WordPress login credentials.
  • Regularly backup your website to ensure quick recovery in case of a security breach.

Frequently Asked Questions

In this section, we’ll address some common questions related to fortifying your WordPress website with top security plugins. Read on to learn how you can safeguard your valuable content.

1. Why is website security important?

Website security is vital because it protects your website from potential threats and attacks. Hackers can target your site for various reasons, such as stealing sensitive data, defacing your content, or using your platform to distribute malware. By prioritizing website security, you can ensure the safety and trust of your visitors.

Implementing security measures, such as using top WordPress security plugins, can help safeguard your content and fortify your website against potential vulnerabilities, keeping your data and users safe.

2. What are WordPress security plugins, and why do I need them?

WordPress security plugins are tools designed to enhance the security of your WordPress website. They provide a range of features like firewall protection, malware scanning, login protection, and more. Installing these plugins can significantly reduce the risk of security breaches and unauthorized access.

While WordPress itself is a secure platform, plugins and themes can introduce vulnerabilities. Using reliable security plugins adds an extra layer of protection, actively monitoring and mitigating potential threats. It’s essential to choose well-known and regularly updated plugins with positive user reviews.

3. What are the top WordPress security plugins available?

There are several outstanding security plugins available for WordPress websites. Some of the top choices include:

a. Wordfence Security: Offers robust security features, including malware scanning, login protection, and firewall.

b. Sucuri Security: Provides website monitoring, malware scanning, and post-hack security actions.

c. iThemes Security: Offers a wide range of security features, such as two-factor authentication, brute force protection, and IP blocking.

d. All In One WP Security & Firewall: Focuses on user account security, firewall protection, and database security.

Remember to thoroughly research and compare features before choosing a security plugin that best suits your website’s needs.

4. How do WordPress security plugins work?

WordPress security plugins work by actively monitoring your website for potential threats and vulnerabilities. They use various techniques to enhance security, such as:

a. Firewall Protection: Blocks suspicious IP addresses and malicious traffic from accessing your site.

b. Malware Scanning: Conducts regular scans to detect malware or malicious code that could harm your website.

c. Login Protection: Implements measures like limiting login attempts and enforcing strong passwords to prevent unauthorized access.

d. Post-Hack Actions: Helps you recover and secure your website after a successful attack, minimizing downtime.

These plugins also provide real-time alerts and notifications, allowing you to take immediate action against potential security threats.

5. Are there any additional measures I can take to enhance website security?

Absolutely! While installing security plugins is crucial, there are other steps you can take to strengthen your website’s security:

a. Regularly update WordPress, plugins, and themes to ensure you have the latest security patches.

b. Use strong and unique passwords for all user accounts, including administrators and contributors.

c. Limit the number of login attempts by implementing login lockouts or two-factor authentication.

d. Regularly backup your website to an external location or cloud storage.

e. Use SSL certificates to encrypt data transmitted between your website and users’ browsers.

Remember, maintaining a secure website is an ongoing process that requires staying vigilant and keeping up with the latest security practices.

Summary

When it comes to keeping your website safe, WordPress security plugins are super important. They can help protect your content from hackers and malware. Some top plugins to consider are Wordfence, Sucuri, and iThemes Security. These plugins offer features like firewalls, malware scanning, and login protection. Don’t forget to regularly update your plugins and themes to stay ahead of any vulnerabilities. Remember, keeping your website secure is crucial for protecting your hard work and ensuring a safe browsing experience for your visitors.

Check out these WooCommerce and EDD WordPress Plugins!

Where to Sell WordPress Plugins? A Comprehensive Guide

WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system, powers a significant portion of the internet. The extensive range of plugins available plays a crucial role in enhancing and customizing WordPress sites to meet specific needs. If you’re a plugin developer, the opportunity to sell your plugins and generate revenue is immense. In this article, we’ll explore five popular platforms for selling WordPress plugins, namely Easy Digital Downloads (EDD), WooCommerce, Freemius, CodeCanyon, and Gumroad. Additionally, we’ll introduce a helpful WordPress plugin template to kickstart your plugin development journey.

Top 5 Advantages of Selling WordPress Plugins

Selling WordPress plugins can be a rewarding venture for developers, providing numerous benefits that extend beyond monetary gains. Here are some compelling advantages of entering the WordPress plugin market:

1. Wide User Base – WordPress powers a significant portion of the internet, and its user base is vast and diverse. By selling plugins for this platform, you gain access to a massive audience actively seeking solutions to enhance their websites.

2. Recurring Revenue – WordPress plugins often require regular updates, maintenance, and support. By offering premium plugins, you can establish recurring revenue streams through renewal fees or subscription models, providing a stable income over time.

3. High Demand – As businesses and individuals constantly seek ways to improve their online presence, the demand for specialized functionalities offered by plugins is continuously increasing. Creating a plugin that fulfills a specific need can result in high demand and sales.

4. Community and Collaboration – The WordPress community is vibrant and collaborative. Selling plugins allows you to engage with this community, receive feedback, and collaborate with other developers. This interaction can foster growth, knowledge sharing, and potential partnerships.

5. Customization and Specialization – Plugins allow users to customize their websites and tailor them to their unique requirements. By focusing on a niche or specific functionality, you can create plugins that cater to the needs of a particular audience, establishing yourself as an expert in that domain.

In summary, selling WordPress plugins is a lucrative opportunity that offers financial stability, market exposure, community engagement, and the chance to make a positive impact on the WordPress ecosystem. By leveraging these advantages, you can build a successful plugin business and contribute to the growth of the WordPress platform.

Top 5 Platforms for Selling WordPress Plugins

1. Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is a robust platform designed specifically for selling digital products, making it an excellent choice for WordPress plugin developers. EDD provides a streamlined process for setting up and managing your plugin sales. The platform offers features like discount codes, affiliate program integration, and a range of payment gateways for smooth transactions. EDD also provides detailed sales and earnings reports to help you track your progress and optimize your marketing strategies.

Selling Process:

  1. Set Up an Account: Create an account on the Easy Digital Downloads platform.
  2. Plugin Listing: List your plugin on the platform by providing details like the plugin’s name, description, price, and any other necessary information.
  3. Configure Payment Settings: Set up payment gateways to receive payments from customers. EDD supports multiple payment options, including PayPal, Stripe, and more.
  4. Manage Sales: Utilize the EDD dashboard to monitor sales, generate discount codes, manage licenses, and gather insights into your plugin’s performance.
  5. Provide Support: Offer customer support to users who purchase your plugin to enhance their experience and address any queries they may have.

2. WooCommerce

WooCommerce, one of the most popular eCommerce platforms for WordPress, is a versatile option for selling plugins. While it’s primarily designed for physical and digital products, it can effectively handle plugin sales too. With WooCommerce, you can leverage its extensive plugin ecosystem to enhance your online store. It offers customization options, secure payment gateways, and order management features. However, keep in mind that you’ll need to integrate additional extensions to optimize the platform for plugin sales.

Selling Process:

  1. Install WooCommerce: Set up WooCommerce on your WordPress site and configure it to suit your needs.
  2. Plugin Integration: Integrate your plugin into WooCommerce as a digital product.
  3. Listing and Description: Create a product listing for your plugin, providing a detailed description, price, and any other relevant information.
  4. Secure Payments: Configure secure payment gateways to process transactions, such as PayPal, credit cards, or other options supported by WooCommerce.
  5. Monitor Sales: Use WooCommerce’s analytics and reporting tools to track sales, analyze customer behavior, and optimize your sales strategy.

3. Freemius

Freemius is a platform tailor-made for WordPress plugin and theme developers. It offers a range of tools to help you sell and distribute your plugins seamlessly. Freemius provides features like licensing, updates, analytics, and in-depth customer insights. Its dashboard allows you to monitor your plugin’s performance, manage licenses, and gather valuable data to improve your product and marketing strategies.

Selling Process:

  1. Install WooCommerce: Set up WooCommerce on your WordPress site and configure it to suit your needs.
  2. Plugin Integration: Integrate your plugin into WooCommerce as a digital product.
  3. Listing and Description: Create a product listing for your plugin, providing a detailed description, price, and any other relevant information.
  4. Secure Payments: Configure secure payment gateways to process transactions, such as PayPal, credit cards, or other options supported by WooCommerce.
  5. Monitor Sales: Use WooCommerce’s analytics and reporting tools to track sales, analyze customer behavior, and optimize your sales strategy.

4. CodeCanyon

CodeCanyon, part of the Envato Market family, is a popular marketplace for WordPress plugins and other digital assets. By selling your plugins on CodeCanyon, you tap into a vast user base actively looking for WordPress solutions. The platform offers exposure to a global audience, built-in payment processing, and the credibility associated with the Envato brand. However, keep in mind that CodeCanyon charges a commission on your sales, impacting your overall earnings.

Selling Process:

  1. Create an Account: Sign up for an account as a seller on CodeCanyon.
  2. Submit Your Plugin: Prepare and submit your plugin for review, ensuring it meets CodeCanyon’s submission guidelines and quality standards.
  3. Review and Approval: CodeCanyon will review your submission for quality, functionality, and compliance with their requirements.
  4. Publish and List: Once approved, your plugin will be listed on CodeCanyon for users to browse and purchase.
  5. Manage Sales: Use the CodeCanyon dashboard to manage sales, respond to customer inquiries, and analyze performance.

5. Gumroad

Gumroad is a user-friendly platform that allows you to sell various digital products, including WordPress plugins. It offers customization options, integrates with your existing website, and provides analytics to track your sales. Gumroad’s straightforward setup and user interface make it an attractive choice for plugin developers looking for a hassle-free selling experience.

Selling Process:

  1. Create an Account: Sign up for an account as a seller on CodeCanyon.
  2. Submit Your Plugin: Prepare and submit your plugin for review, ensuring it meets CodeCanyon’s submission guidelines and quality standards.
  3. Review and Approval: CodeCanyon will review your submission for quality, functionality, and compliance with their requirements.
  4. Publish and List: Once approved, your plugin will be listed on CodeCanyon for users to browse and purchase.
  5. Manage Sales: Use the CodeCanyon dashboard to manage sales, respond to customer inquiries, and analyze performance.

In conclusion, each platform offers unique features and advantages for selling WordPress plugins. Choose the one that aligns with your goals, target audience, and selling preferences to effectively market and sell your plugins.

Best Features Comparison

Feature CategoryEasy Digital Downloads (EDD)WooCommerceFreemiusCodeCanyonGumroad
Product FocusDigital ProductsDigital and Physical ProductsDigital ProductsDigital ProductsDigital Products
Ease of UseIntuitive InterfaceFamiliar WordPress EnvironmentUser-Friendly SetupUser-Friendly InterfaceEasy to Navigate
Licensing & UpdatesYesWith Additional Plugins/ExtensionsBuilt-In Licensing and UpdatesN/A (Depends on Developer)N/A (Depends on Developer)
Payment OptionsMultiple Gateways SupportedVarious Payment GatewaysMultiple Payment OptionsVarious Payment OptionsVarious Payment Options
Commission FeesVariable based on ExtensionsTransaction fees applyTransaction fees applyCommission on SalesTransaction fees apply
CustomizationExtensible with Add-onsExtensive Plugin EcosystemCustomizable Plans & BrandingLimited CustomizationCustomizable Appearance
Reporting & AnalyticsComprehensive InsightsBuilt-in AnalyticsDetailed Sales AnalyticsDetailed Sales AnalyticsBasic Sales Reporting
Marketing ToolsDiscount Codes, Affiliate ProgramMarketing ExtensionsBuilt-In Email Marketing FeaturesExposure through Envato MarketBuilt-In Social Media Integration
Community SupportActive Community and ForumsLarge WooCommerce CommunityDeveloper Community & SupportDeveloper Community & SupportDeveloper Community & Support
Platform IntegrationWordPress IntegrationSeamless Integration with WordPressWordPress IntegrationWordPress IntegrationWordPress Integration
Trial & TestingPossible with Extensions/Add-onsPossible with ExtensionsBuilt-In Trial PeriodsN/ABuilt-In Trial Periods
Global ReachAccessible to a Global AudienceGlobal Audience ReachGlobal Exposure via PlatformGlobal Exposure via PlatformGlobal Exposure via Platform

This comparison table provides a quick overview of the distinctive features and functionalities offered by each platform, helping you make an informed decision based on your specific needs and priorities.

How to choose the best platform for selling your WordPress Plugins?

Choosing the best platform for selling your WordPress plugins involves considering various factors to align with your goals and audience. Here’s a concise guide:

1. Understand Your Product and Audience

   – Define your plugin’s nature, target audience, pricing model, and potential for recurring revenue.

2. Research Platform Suitability

   – Evaluate platforms like EDD, WooCommerce, Freemius, CodeCanyon, and Gumroad based on their features, fees, audience reach, and ease of use.

3. Consider Specialization and Focus

   – Choose a platform specialized for digital products if your focus is exclusively on plugins, or a general eCommerce platform like WooCommerce for a broader approach.

4. Analyze Fees and Costs

   – Compare transaction fees, commission rates, and any hidden charges associated with each platform to ensure they align with your revenue goals.

5. Assess Marketing and Exposure

   – Determine the marketing efforts and exposure potential each platform provides to effectively promote and sell your plugins.

6. Review Integration and Customization

   – Consider the ease of integrating your plugins and customizing the selling process to match your brand and user experience.

7. Check Support and Community

   – Evaluate the availability of support, developer community, and collaboration opportunities on the platform to ensure smooth operations and growth.

8. Trial and Test

   – Consider using a trial period or testing the platform with a smaller product to assess its suitability before committing fully.

9. Seek User Feedback

   – Gather feedback from other plugin developers or sellers who have used the platforms to understand their experiences and insights.

10. Align with Long-term Goals

   – Choose a platform that aligns with your long-term business goals, scalability requirements, and potential for growth in the WordPress plugin market.

When choosing the best platform for selling your WordPress plugins, understanding your product and target audience is key. Research various platforms like EDD, WooCommerce, Freemius, CodeCanyon, and Gumroad, considering their suitability based on features, fees, and ease of use. Evaluate if specialization or a broader approach aligns better with your plugin focus. Assess transaction fees, marketing opportunities, integration, and customization options. 

Prioritize platforms with supportive communities and reliable customer service. Consider trialing platforms and seeking feedback from experienced developers. Ultimately, align your choice with your long-term business goals and potential for growth in the WordPress plugin market.

WordPress Plugin Template Boilerplate

If you’re just starting out in the world of WordPress plugin development and looking for a foundational template, the WordPress Plugin Template Boilerplate on GitHub is an excellent resource. This boilerplate provides a basic structure to kickstart your plugin development journey. It offers a clear and organized codebase, guiding you through essential aspects of plugin creation, including hooks, settings, and activation/deactivation processes. Utilizing this boilerplate can significantly accelerate your plugin development, saving you valuable time and effort.

Conclusion: EDD is the best platform to go!

In conclusion, among the array of platforms available for selling WordPress plugins, Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) emerge as a standout choice for discerning developers. Its focused approach to digital products, intuitive user interface, and robust set of features make it the premier platform for plugin sales. 

EDD offers seamless integration with WordPress, specialized licensing and update management, and a wide array of customization options. The platform’s flexibility in payment gateways and a comprehensive analytics suite further solidify its position. Moreover, the active community support and extensibility through various add-ons make EDD a powerful tool in the hands of developers seeking to effectively market and sell their WordPress plugins. With its ability to cater specifically to digital product sales, EDD is undoubtedly the top choice for anyone looking to succeed in the competitive landscape of WordPress plugin marketing.

Overall, choosing the right platform to sell your WordPress plugins is a crucial decision that impacts your reach, revenue, and overall success. Evaluate your needs, consider the features and fees of each platform, and leverage the provided WordPress Plugin Template Boilerplate to get started on your plugin development journey. With the right strategy and platform, you can successfully market and sell your WordPress plugins to a global audience.

Top 10 AI WordPress Plugins

In wеb dеvеlopmеnt, WordPrеss is a well-known name that powеrs millions of sitеs. Many dеvеlopеrs, bloggеrs, and businеssеs usе this bеcausе of its usеr-friеndly intеrfacе and vеrsatility. By 2023, it has powered 43.2% of all wеbsitеs. The constant rise in its popularity accounts for an avеragе of 661 nеw platforms bеing crеatеd еvеry day. It runs 30% of thе top 10 million wеbsitеs on thе intеrnеt. 

Wе’ll refer you to thе top 10 WordPrеss artificial intеlligеncе (AI) plugins in this article, offering a glimpsе into thе futurе of wеb technology. Lеt’s takе a fascinating journey into thе world of thе AI plugins in WordPress and lеarn about thе amazing improvеmеnts thеy can bring to your wеbsitе! 

Why You Should Use AI WordPrеss Plugins? 

WordPress offers some of the best AI plugins in the tech sphere for your projects. Thеsе еxtеnsions, or plugins, lеt you add spеcific fеaturеs to your wеbsitе without lеarning complicatеd coding. Thеy lеt you customizе thе fеaturеs and appеarancе of your sitе, making it distinctivе and tailorеd to your rеquirеmеnts. Thеsе offеr quickеr, wisеr, and morе logical solutions to simplify your product’s lifecycle. 

Hеrе are some of the many advantages of using thе AI plugins in thе WordPrеss wеbsitе :- 

Streamlined operations 

Whether it is crafting email responses, content generation, or data analysis, artificial intelligence excels at handling these jobs swiftly. Automating these processes gives you more bandwidth to concentrate on other critical aspects of your business. 

Enhanced search visibility 

Elevating your website’s presence on search engines should be paramount. Artificial intelligence lends a helping hand by optimizing elements such as meta descriptions, images, and more, boosting your site’s SEO performance. 

Content creation and automation 

With AI-driven content creation, you can weave compelling narratives without the usual toil and effort, infusing your website with fresh, engaging material that resonates deeply with your audience. 

Data analysis 

AI uncovers invaluable insights that help you to make informed, data-driven decisions by delving deep into the performance of your website metrics. 

Learning the benefits, let’s explore the top AI plugins of WordPress in detail to make our sites better. 

Top 10 AI WordPress Plugins 

Numerous plugins harness the power of artificial intelligence to simplify website management and improve content quality. Out of these top AI WordPress plugins is based on their popularity, effectiveness, and the value they bring to website owners and developers. Here is our amazing collection of premium AI plugins for different tasks: 

All-in-One SEO 

Source : All-in-One SEO 

It is a robust SEO plugin that offers a usеr-friеndly еxpеriеncе for bеginnеrs and advanced customization options for еxpеrts. Upon activation, it еffortlеssly gеnеratеs mеta tags and optimizеs titlеs for sеarch еnginеs, simplifying sеarch enginе optimization.  

Prеmium usеrs can finе-tunе sеttings and utilizе thе Robots.txt еditor for crawlеr instructions. Also, this plugin boasts XML and RSS Sitеmap support, Imagе Sеarch Enginе Optimization, and API support, еnhancing thе SEO capabilities of your wеbsitе. It еvеn automatically notifiеs sеarch еnginеs of sitе changеs.  

Pros Cons 
User-friendly for beginners, it works effectively out of the box. It can be overwhelming for absolute beginners due to its feature richness. 
Extensive features, including XML Sitemaps, Image SEO, and Schema markup. Some advanced features, including fine-tuning settings and the Robots.txt editor for the crawler, require upgrading to the premium version. 
Customization options for premium users. Regular updates may be necessary to keep up with evolving SEO practices. 
Automatic search engine notification of site changes. Premium pricing may not suit budget-conscious users. 

Pricing: 

Its premium version price is starting From $15.86/month. 

DIVI AI 

Source : Divi AI 

The free version of DIVI AI is feature-packed, but the premium version, starting at $49.60 annually, unlocks advanced features and unlimited keyword support. Its key features include one-click image and text content generation, content improvement prompts, and AI image creation with style refinements. It’s ideal for those lacking content and images, serving as a web design assistant. However, a Divi membership is required to access Divi AI. 

Pros Cons 
It streamlines website creation with AI-generated content and images and even enhances the existing ones. Divi AI requires a Divi membership for access. 
DIVI AI adapts and learns from your website for context-aware results. . Its extensive reliability on shortcodes can sometimes hinder content transfer. 
It simplifies the web design process. Sometimes, becomes overwhelming with endless options for customization. 
Divi AI plugin is versatile for building a wide range of websites. Monthly subscription costs may be less budget-friendly for some. 

Pricing: 

After a membership subscription, it has a free trial period, and Paid plans start at $18/month when paid yearly. 

Formidable Forms 

Source : Formidable Forms 

Formidable Forms, a free WordPress plugin, simplifies contact form creation with ease. It features an in-built form styler for seamless theme integration, allowing code-free customization of colors, fonts, and more. Fully responsive and mobile-friendly forms enhance user experience. 

The intuitive Formidable Lite offers advanced drag-and-drop functionality and advanced features like calculators or surveys to create custom forms without coding skills.  

Pros Cons 
It provides a powerful no-code interface to build forms. This possesses initial complexity for beginners. 
This offers a responsive form design.   
Furthermore, it also offers seamless email marketing integration and a robust community.   

Pricing: 

It has a free version but; premium plans range from $39.50 to $599/year with a 14-day money-back guarantee. 

Uncanny Automator  

Source : Uncanny Automator 

It is an indispensable plugin, lauded with a 5-star rating and over 20,000 active installations. Originally robust in automating tasks, it now wields AI capabilities to amplify your efficiency. With this tool, you can effortlessly create AI-driven workflows, and automate tasks like generating blog posts, social media content, and more without coding. It seamlessly integrates with other plugins, enhancing your WP site’s functionality. 

Pros Cons: 
This plugin simplifies automation with no coding required. The premium version comes at a cost.   
It offers integration with various plugins for versatility.   Some advanced automation may require technical knowledge. 
Harnesses AI to streamline content creation.   

Pricing: 

Uncanny Automator provides a free version and premium plans starting at $149/year. 

AI Content Writing Assistant 

Source : AI Content Writing Assistant 

It is a Contеnt Writеr and Imagе Gеnеrator. This all-in-onе solution produces uniquе contеnt and stunning imagеs with just a singlе click and rеvolutionizеs thе contеnt crеation procеss for your wеbsitе.   With an array of powerful fеaturеs and a usеr-friеndly intеrfacе, this is thе practical solution for promoting thе contеnt and еngagеmеnt of your platform.   

Pros Cons 
It effortlessly generates high-quality content and stunning images. This may require some learning for users new to AI-powered content generation. 
This plugin offers advanced image generation with DALL-E integration.   
User-friendly interface with customization options.   
Boosts reader engagement, increasing website traffic and conversions.   

Pricing: 

The plugin offers a range of features for free, with advanced options available at competitive prices. 

AI Engine 

Source : AI Engine 

It is a potеnt AI-powеrеd WordPrеss plugin that еmpowеrs wеbsitе ownеrs with AI tools for strеamlinеd contеnt crеation, imagе gеnеration, chatbot development and languagе tasks.  This plugin sеamlеssly intеgratеs AI sеrvicеs likе OpеnAI’s ChatGPT into wеbsitеs.   

Just put the tool’s special pin in the plugin’s settings to make AI Engine work with other AI tools.  

Pros Cons 
Efficient content creation. Potential additional costs. 
Internal API to access the other plugins. PHP 7.4+ requirement in the WordPress website. 
Quick content suggestions for AI-related tasks.   
Customizable templates for image generation to add alt text, title, caption, and description.   

Pricing: 

The PRO plan starts at $29/year, expanding on standard features with multi-website support. 

Akismet 

Source : Akismet 

Akismet is one of the best plugins that greet every WordPress site from the start. It employs the magic of artificial intelligence and machine learning to wage war against those pesky spam comments. With millions of websites trusting Akismet, it has become a formidable foe against all bot-generated spam. It is like a wise sage, spotting familiar patterns across countless websites, even catching those sneaky manual spam comments. 

Pros Cons   
The installation and usage of the Akismet plugin is very easy. The free version lacks API to request access. 
It speeds up your site by keeping spam at bay. The pro version is a must for commercial use. 
Completely free for personal blogs.   

Pricing: 

It is a free version, but its Pro version costs $10 per month. 

WordLift 

Source : WordLift 

WordLift is not just an SEO tool; it is like having a magic wand for your website. It uses artificial intelligence to make your content more appealing to Google and readers. It is your wise curator connecting your website with captivating knowledge.  

This plugin also adds eye-catching snippets to your text and works seamlessly with Google Data Studio for detailed insights. Wordlift offers useful widgets like timelines, navigation aids, and search tools. 

Pros Cons: 
It attracts an audience genuinely interested in your content. Unfortunately, there is no free version available. 
You can use its lite version for 14 days. There is a learning curve about how it works. 
Make your website more engaging for visitors with a newly created plugin by the WordLift team.   

Pricing: 

It has a Free version and three paid versions: 

  •  Starter at 49€/mo (annually), 
  •  Professional at 79€/mo (annually), 
  • Business + E-Commerce at 199€/mo (annually) 

Grammarly 

Source : Grammarly 

Grammarly is the world’s most renowned spelling and grammar checker, and it is a versatile solution that seamlessly improves your writing. Beyond grammar and spelling checks, it enhances your writing style, readability, and content quality. Its paid versions provide advanced features like tone suggestions, full sentence rewrites, style guidance, brand tone consistency, and a plagiarism checker. 

Pros Cons 
It checks the grammar and spelling of the content in real-time. Paid plans can be relatively expensive. 
It enhances sentence structure and word choice for improved clarity.   
It detects potential plagiarism in the content.   

Pricing: 

Premium and Business plans start at $30/month, with additional features beyond the free version. 

Voicer 

Source : Voicer 

WordPrеss usеrs arе sееking to еnhancе thеir contеnt accеssibility. This is a licеnsеd plugin powеrеd by thе Googlе Cloud Platform that transforms tеxt into natural spееch with outstanding audio quality. It еffortlеssly gеnеratеs audio vеrsions of your blog posts, promoting inclusivity for onlinе audiеncеs. This cutting-еdgе AI plugin harnеssеs thе powеr of artificial intеlligеncе and machinе lеarning frameworks as well as algorithms.  

Pros Cons 
It is an easy-to-use text-to-speech conversion for the WP website. No free version is available.   
It offers high-quality audio output with voice customization.   
It has an extensive voice selection.   

Pricing 

The price of the plugin starts from $20. 

Final Thoughts 

WordPrеss is thе go-to platform for wеbsitе dеvеlopmеnt in 2023. To еnhancе wеbsitеs furthеr, AI plugins offеr pеrsonalizеd usеr еxpеriеncеs, strеamlinеd opеrations, improvеd SEO, еffortlеss contеnt crеation, еnhancеd sеcurity, and data analysis.  

Among thе top 10 AI WordPress plugins, wе rеcommеnd using ’AI Contеnt Writing Assistant’ for contеnt and imagе gеnеration and ’Voicеr’ for tеxt-to-spееch convеrsion. Thеsе plugins arе еssеntial for staying compеtitivе and еlеvating your WP wеbsitеs in an еvеr-еvolving digital landscapе.  

Author Profile

Author Name: Harikrishna Kundariya

Biography: A marketer, developer, IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain savvy, designer, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies. His 12+ years of experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and SaaS applications.

Top 11 FAQ Plugins for WordPress

In today’s digital age, where information is just a few clicks away, websites play a pivotal role in disseminating knowledge, offering products, and providing services. However, with the ever-increasing complexity of content and services offered online, users often find themselves in need of quick answers to common questions. This is where Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) come to the rescue.

FAQs are a valuable tool for websites, offering a concise and organized repository of answers to the most common queries users may have. In this article, we delve into the world of FAQ plugins for WordPress, exploring the top choices that can transform your website’s user experience. We’ll also outline the advantages of implementing FAQs on your website, such as reducing customer support inquiries, enhancing user engagement, and streamlining information dissemination.

Whether you’re running a business website, a personal blog, or an online store, finding the right FAQ plugin can significantly improve your site’s usability and accessibility, making it an indispensable asset for both site owners and visitors.

In this article, we’ll explore the top FAQ plugins for WordPress that can help you easily manage and display your FAQs, providing a seamless user experience.

1. Ultimate FAQ

Ultimate FAQ is a user-friendly plugin that allows you to create and manage FAQs on your WordPress site effortlessly. It offers a simple interface, making it easy for beginners to add and organize frequently asked questions. The plugin provides customizable FAQ templates, enabling you to match the look and feel of your website. It also supports categories and tags, helping you categorize your FAQs for easier navigation.


Advantages:

  • User-Friendly: Ultimate FAQ is highly user-friendly, making it accessible to both beginners and experienced users.
  • Customization: It offers customizable FAQ templates, allowing you to match your website’s design.
  • Organization: Supports FAQ categories and tags for efficient organization.
  • Bulk Import/Export: It allows you to import and export FAQs in bulk, saving time when managing extensive FAQ content.

Disadvantages:

  • Limited Styling in Free Version: The free version has limited styling options, potentially requiring additional CSS customization for advanced design changes.

Why You Should Try It: Ultimate FAQ is an ideal choice for those looking for an intuitive and user-friendly FAQ plugin. It simplifies the process of creating and organizing FAQs on your WordPress site, making it accessible even to beginners. With customizable templates, it allows you to maintain a cohesive look and feel with your website’s design. Its support for categories and tags ensures that your FAQs are well-organized, helping users easily find the information they need.

2. Easy Accordion

Easy Accordion is a versatile plugin that not only allows you to create FAQs but also responsive and SEO-friendly accordions. It’s an excellent choice if you want to present your FAQs in an accordion-style format, saving space on your webpage. You can insert various content types, and the plugin offers customization options for colors and styles to seamlessly integrate with your site’s design.

Advantages:

  • Responsive Design: Easy Accordion specializes in creating responsive and SEO-friendly accordions for FAQs.
  • Content Variety: It supports various content types within the accordion.
  • Customization: You can customize colors and styles to seamlessly integrate with your site’s design.

Disadvantages:

  • Limited FAQ-Specific Features: It lacks specific FAQ management features like categories and tags.
  • May Require CSS Knowledge: Advanced customization may require CSS knowledge.

Why You Should Try It: If you want to present your FAQs in a space-saving and visually appealing accordion format, Easy Accordion is the way to go. This versatile plugin not only lets you create FAQs but also responsive and SEO-friendly accordions. With customization options for colors and styles, you can seamlessly integrate it with your website’s aesthetics, enhancing user engagement and keeping your content organized.

3. Quick and Easy FAQs

Quick and Easy FAQs lives up to its name by providing a straightforward way to add frequently asked questions to your WordPress site. It includes a built-in shortcode generator, making it easy to embed FAQs anywhere on your pages or posts. The plugin also integrates seamlessly with the Gutenberg block editor for modern WordPress content creation.

Advantages:

  • Ease of Use: Quick and Easy FAQs is designed for simplicity, making it easy for users of all levels.
  • Shortcode Integration: It integrates smoothly with the Gutenberg editor and offers shortcode integration.
  • Translation-Ready: The plugin is translation-ready, accommodating global audiences.

Disadvantages:

  • Basic Features: It lacks advanced features such as categorization, search, or detailed statistics.
  • Limited Customization: Advanced customization options are limited.

Why You Should Try It: Quick and Easy FAQs is a time-saving choice for adding FAQs to your WordPress site. It lives up to its name, allowing you to swiftly create and embed FAQs anywhere on your website. With its built-in shortcode generator and integration with the Gutenberg editor, it streamlines the process of adding FAQs to your content, making it hassle-free for both beginners and experienced users.

4. Notice FAQ

Notice accordion FAQ plugin is an excellent choice for businesses and individuals looking to enhance their website’s functionality and reach. Its user-friendly nature, combined with powerful AI tools and multi-language support, makes it a versatile solution for creating dynamic FAQ sections. The seamless integration with your website and deep, customization level enables you to create visually appealing FAQs in no time.

Advantages:

  • Deep level of customization: You can customize everything from the background color to the space between accordions.
  • AI assistance: The AI tools allow you to easily generate/reformulate/correct and translate your FAQ in multiple languages.
  • Responsiveness & SEO optimization: Notice blocks are optimized for SEO and fully responsive making them a great choice to boost your website’s visibility.
  • Access to a range of other widgets with the same plugin such as blogs, job boards, privacy policies, documentation and more which enables you to centralize your content.

Disadvantages:

  • Edition outside of wordpress: Once you have installed the wordpress widget, the edition is done on Notice editor rather than on wordpress directly, but you can still preview it on wordpress

Why You Should Try It: This plugin is an essential tool for businesses and individuals seeking to amplify their website’s impact. Its user-friendly interface, powerful AI tools, and multi-language support make it a versatile solution for crafting dynamic FAQs. With seamless integration and extensive customization options, this plugin enables effortless creation of visually appealing FAQs, enhancing user engagement and website functionality significantly.

5. Accordion & FAQ

Accordion & FAQ is a versatile plugin that offers both accordion and FAQ functionality. It enables you to create responsive and collapsible FAQ sections, enhancing user experience. The plugin provides a shortcode for easy integration, allowing you to place FAQs wherever you need them on your site. While it’s user-friendly, customization options are somewhat limited in the free version.

Advantages:

  • Versatility: It provides the flexibility to create both accordion-style content and traditional FAQs.
  • Responsive Design: Accordions created with this plugin are responsive.
  • Shortcode Integration: Offers shortcode integration for easy placement.

Disadvantages:

  • Lacks Advanced Features: It lacks some advanced features like extensive customization or categorization.
  • Free Version Limitations: Customization options may be limited in the free version.

Why You Should Try It: Accordion & FAQ offers a versatile solution for those who want to combine accordion-style content with traditional FAQs. This plugin allows you to create collapsible and responsive FAQ sections with ease. Its shortcode integration makes it simple to place FAQs where needed. While the free version has limitations in customization, it’s still a great choice for a quick and functional FAQ setup.

6. Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base is more than just a FAQ plugin; it’s a comprehensive system for creating and managing knowledge bases and articles on your WordPress site. It employs custom post types to organize your articles efficiently and includes advanced search functionality to help users find the information they need quickly.

Advantages:

  • Comprehensive Knowledge Base: Provides a complete knowledge base system with custom post types.
  • Advanced Search: Offers advanced search functionality, aiding users in finding information quickly.

Disadvantages:

  • Not FAQ-Centric: It’s not designed specifically for FAQs and may be too robust for simple FAQ needs.
  • Lacks FAQ Schema: It doesn’t include FAQ Schema structured data.

Why You Should Try It: Knowledge Base is your go-to plugin when you need more than just FAQs. It provides a comprehensive system for organizing articles and creating a well-structured knowledge base. With custom post types and advanced search functionality, you can build a rich resource for your users. This plugin is particularly suitable for websites that aim to provide in-depth information and support.

7. WP Responsive FAQ

WP Responsive FAQ is a premium plugin designed for creating responsive and mobile-friendly FAQ sections. It offers category-based organization, helping users navigate through your FAQs effortlessly. The plugin also includes search functionality for improved accessibility, making it a suitable choice for websites with extensive FAQ content.

Advantages:

  • Mobile-Responsive: Designed for mobile responsiveness, ensuring FAQs display well on all devices.
  • Category-Based Organization: Allows for efficient grouping of FAQs.
  • Search Functionality: Includes search capabilities for user convenience.

Disadvantages:

  • Paid Plugin: It’s a paid plugin with no free version available.

Why You Should Try It: WP Responsive FAQ is perfect for those who prioritize mobile responsiveness and organized content. It offers category-based organization, ensuring users can navigate through FAQs with ease. The inclusion of search functionality enhances the accessibility of your FAQs, making it an excellent choice for websites with extensive FAQ content, ensuring a smooth user experience.

8. FAQPlus

FAQPlus is a feature-rich plugin that simplifies FAQ management on your WordPress site. It provides an easy-to-use shortcode generator and supports rich content, such as images and videos within FAQs. Additionally, it offers customization options for styles and layouts, allowing you to tailor the FAQ section to your site’s design.

Advantages:

  • Rich Content Support: It supports rich content, including images and videos within FAQs.
  • Shortcode Generator: Offers an easy-to-use shortcode generator.
  • Customization: Allows for customization of styles and layouts.

Disadvantages:

  • Paid Plugin: Requires a purchase for full functionality.

Why You Should Try It: FAQPlus is a feature-rich plugin that streamlines FAQ management. With its user-friendly shortcode generator and support for rich content, it caters to diverse needs. Customization options for styles and layouts allow you to tailor the FAQ section to your website’s design. Whether you want to embed images, videos, or other media in your FAQs, FAQPlus has you covered.

9. Ultimate Blocks

Ultimate Blocks is a collection of content blocks for the Gutenberg editor in WordPress. While it’s not a dedicated FAQ plugin, it includes a FAQ block that makes it easy to insert and manage FAQs within your content. It offers a range of other content blocks, enhancing your site’s functionality.

Advantages:

  • Diverse Content Blocks: Offers a variety of content blocks for the Gutenberg editor, including a FAQ block.
  • SEO-Friendly: Provides SEO-friendly design for improved search engine performance.

Disadvantages:

  • Not Dedicated to FAQs: While it includes a FAQ block, Ultimate Blocks is not solely dedicated to FAQ management.

Why You Should Try It: While not exclusively a FAQ plugin, Ultimate Blocks offers a variety of content blocks for the Gutenberg editor, including a dedicated FAQ block. This plugin simplifies the process of inserting and managing FAQs within your content. It’s a versatile choice for those who want to enhance their website’s functionality beyond FAQs, offering a wide range of content blocks for various purposes.

10. FAQ Schema

FAQ Schema is a plugin that focuses on adding structured data to your FAQs for SEO benefits. By implementing FAQ structured data, you can enhance your website’s appearance in Google search results, potentially earning rich results like FAQ snippets. It’s a lightweight and straightforward solution for SEO-conscious website owners.

Advantages:

  • SEO Enhancement: Focuses on adding FAQ Schema structured data to improve SEO and search engine visibility.
  • Simplicity: It’s a straightforward solution for SEO-conscious website owners.

Disadvantages:

  • Not a Full FAQ Plugin: It doesn’t offer the full spectrum of FAQ management features.
  • No Content Creation: It doesn’t create custom FAQs; rather, it enhances existing ones with structured data.

Why You Should Try It: FAQ Schema is the plugin to consider if you’re serious about improving your website’s search engine visibility. By implementing FAQ structured data, you can enhance your website’s presence in Google search results, potentially earning rich results like FAQ snippets. It’s a lightweight and straightforward solution for SEO-conscious website owners who want to boost their organic traffic.

11. Arconix FAQ

Arconix FAQ is a lightweight and simple FAQ plugin for WordPress. It offers an easy way to create and display FAQs using shortcodes. The plugin’s responsive design ensures your FAQs look great on all devices. While it may not have extensive styling options, it excels at providing a basic and functional FAQ solution.

Advantages:

  • Lightweight: Arconix FAQ is a lightweight and straightforward FAQ plugin.
  • Responsive Design: Ensures FAQs look great on all devices.

Disadvantages:

  • Basic Functionality: Offers basic functionality without advanced features like categorization or search.
  • Limited Styling Options: Customization options are limited.

Why You Should Try It: Arconix FAQ is a straightforward and lightweight plugin for those who want a basic yet functional FAQ solution. Its responsive design ensures your FAQs look great on all devices, and its use of shortcodes simplifies the process of adding

Conclusion

Each of these plugins caters to different user needs and preferences, so consider your specific requirements when selecting the one that best fits your WordPress website. Whether you need advanced customization or a basic, no-frills FAQ solution, there’s likely a plugin on this list that suits your needs.

When choosing a FAQ plugin for your WordPress site, consider your specific needs and preferences. If you want a dedicated FAQ plugin with extensive features, plugins like “Ultimate FAQ” or “FAQPlus” are excellent choices. On the other hand, if you need a lightweight and straightforward solution, “Arconix FAQ” might be more suitable.Ultimately, the right plugin will enhance user experience, reduce support requests, and improve the overall usability of your website. So, choose wisely and create an engaging FAQ section for your audience.

Top 10 Calculator Plugins for WordPress to Enhance Your Website

Are you looking to add interactive and dynamic calculator functionalities to your WordPress website? Calculators can be incredibly useful tools for engaging your audience and providing them with valuable insights. Whether you need a mortgage calculator, price estimator, or any other type of calculator, WordPress has a plethora of plugins to choose from. In this article, we’ll explore the top 10 calculator plugins for WordPress that can help you achieve your website’s goals. Let’s dive in!

1. Everest Forms

Everest Forms is a versatile plugin that not only offers an easy way to create forms but also comes with a built-in calculator feature. It allows you to build interactive forms with calculated fields to provide instant results to users.

Pros:

  • Effortless Creation: Building forms is a breeze with the intuitive builder.
  • Instant Calculations: Users receive immediate responses thanks to calculated fields.
  • User-Centric: The user-friendly design enhances overall experience.

Cons:

  • Limited Complexity: The calculator may feel basic for intricate calculations.
  • Design Constraints: Advanced customization options might be limited.

2. Involve.me

Involve.me is an all-in-one platform that includes interactive content tools, and it features a calculator builder. You can create quizzes, assessments, and interactive calculators to engage your audience.

Pros:

  • Multifaceted Content: Beyond calculators, you can create quizzes and more.
  • Integration Heaven: Seamlessly connects with marketing and CRM tools.
  • Lead Magnet: Ideal for generating leads through interactive content.

Cons:

  • Steep Learning Curve: Navigating its extensive features can be overwhelming.
  • Feature Restrictions: Certain advanced functionalities are gated behind paid plans.

3. Calculator Builder

As the name suggests, Calculator Builder is solely focused on creating dynamic calculators for your WordPress site. It provides a user-friendly interface to design various types of calculators without any coding.

Pros:

  • Calculator Focus: Dedicated entirely to crafting interactive calculators.
  • Templates Galore: Pre-designed templates accelerate setup.
  • Real-time Preview: Instantly see how your calculator looks while designing.

Cons:

  • Limited Form Features: May lack advanced form-building functionalities.
  • Integration Limitations: Not as comprehensive as other form plugins.

4. Formidable Forms

Formidable Forms is a robust form builder that also comes with advanced calculator functionalities. It’s suitable for both simple forms and complex calculations.

Pros:

  • Customization Prowess: Forms and calculators are highly customizable.
  • Integration Marvel: Integrates with a host of third-party services.
  • Formula Magic: Perform intricate calculations using formulas.

Cons:

  • Learning Curve: Navigating the platform might require a learning curve.
  • Tiered Plans: Some advanced features necessitate higher-tier plans.

5. Gravity Forms Advanced Calculations

Advanced Calculations completely revamps calculations in Gravity Forms. Not only does it empower you with advanced mathematical functions and conditionals, it improves the formula editing experience with a powerful new editor, complete with syntax highlighting, autocompletion, shorthand field references, and so much more!

Pros:

  • Add-on Ecosystem: Boasts a wide range of powerful add-ons.
  • Scalable Solution: Suitable for various types of forms, from simple to complex.
  • Logical Calculations: Conditional logic enhances the accuracy of calculations.

Cons:

  • Cost Accumulation: Expenses can escalate with multiple add-ons.
  • Basic Version Limitations: Some advanced features are exclusive to premium versions.

6. Zigaform – Price Calculator & Cost Estimation Form Builder Lite

Zigaform specializes in price calculation and cost estimation forms. It’s designed to help businesses create accurate quotes and estimates for their products or services.

Pros:

  • Price-Centric Design: Tailored for price calculation and cost estimation.
  • Visual Appeal: Visual form designer ensures aesthetic forms.
  • Dynamic Calculations: Conditional logic allows dynamic adjustments.

Cons:

  • Lite Limitations: Lite version might hold back certain advanced features.
  • Premium Requirement: Some advanced features demand upgrading.

7. Calculated Field Form

Calculated Field Form is a simple yet powerful plugin that focuses on adding calculated fields to your forms. It’s useful for creating dynamic forms with instant calculations.

Pros:

  • Field Calculation Focus: Specifically designed for calculated fields.
  • Incremental Additions: Easily integrate calculations into existing forms.
  • Mathematical Magic: Supports various mathematical operations.

Cons:

  • Form-Building Constraints: Limited compared to comprehensive form builders.
  • Supplementary Plugins: Might require additional plugins for complex functionalities.

8. Forminator

Forminator is a versatile form builder that includes an easy-to-use calculator feature. It’s known for its modern design and interactive elements.

Pros:

  • Interactive Diversity: Offers interactive polls, quizzes, and beyond.
  • Marketing Integration: Seamlessly connects with email marketing tools.
  • Live Previews: Visualize changes in real-time during the design phase.

Cons:

  • Feature Lockdown: Some advanced features are reserved for premium versions.
  • Integration Limitations: Not as expansive as other form builders.

9. Calculation For Contact Form 7

If you’re already using Contact Form 7, this plugin adds calculation capabilities to your forms. It’s a handy way to enhance your existing forms with calculation functionality.

Pros:

  • Contact Form 7 Integration: Seamlessly integrates with existing forms.
  • No Need to Switch: No need to migrate to a different form builder.
  • Streamlined Enhancement: Easily incorporate calculations into your forms.

Cons:

  • Contact Form 7 Dependency: Limited to users of Contact Form 7.
  • Manual Complexities: Complex calculations might require manual adjustments.

10. Mortgage Calculator

As the name implies, Mortgage Calculator specializes in providing users with instant mortgage calculations. It’s a great tool for real estate websites and financial blogs.

Pros:

  • Mortgage Specialization: Tailored for accurate mortgage calculations.
  • Simplicity in Focus: The focused interface promotes user-friendliness.
  • Niche Relevance: Enhances user experience for real estate and finance sites.

Cons:

  • Limited Scope: Might not cater to websites outside real estate and finance.
  • Niche Restriction: Limited utility beyond its designated domain.

In conclusion, adding calculator functionalities to your WordPress website can greatly enhance user engagement and provide valuable insights to your audience. Depending on your specific needs and level of expertise, you can choose from a variety of calculator plugins, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one solution or a dedicated calculator builder, these top 10 plugins have got you covered. Experiment with a few to see which one aligns best with your goals and website’s requirements.

How to Select a Freelancer Marketplace Plugin for WordPress

Introduction

Freelance services have expanded exponentially in the past decade and are projected to increase further in the coming years. With such growth, it is predicted that freelancers will account for as much as 80% of the entire workforce worldwide by 2030. The so-called “gig economy” is not just another buzzword anymore. With 57.3 million freelancers in the US alone (which makes around 36% of the total country’s workforce), there is no denying the fact that it is now the reality we live in.

These online professional services marketplaces serve as mediators between employers and workers to help them establish business relationships with each other. Each day, these websites help millions of their users find suitable jobs or staff, thereby earning their owners tremendous income. Freelance work, previously seen as pure side gigs and extra jobs, has now become a big job choice.

Using a WordPress Freelancer Marketplace Plugin

When you want to optimize your Freelance Marketplace’s strengths and functionality, using a WordPress Plugin is the perfect way to do that. Below are some of the reasons why you should use WordPress Freelance Marketplace Plugin to build your own Platform for Freelancer.

  • Freelance Marketplace Plugins are specifically designed and built to meet the needs of people interested in creating a freelance marketplace or other related ventures, after extensive study. Therefore, providing you with a Freelance Platform with the best framework possible would include all the necessary features and capabilities.
  • There is a rich eco-system available with WordPress plugins and codes that can help you develop and customize your WordPress Freelance Marketplace in whatever way you wish.
  • WordPress plugins have the potential to help you focus more on SEO and content marketing. They are two really effective tactics that will in no time draw clients and visitors to your website.
  • Finally, it wouldn’t be a problem with WordPress integrating with other tools and plugins. If required, you can use multiple WordPress solutions altogether to help you develop and automate your website on the Freelance Services Marketplace.

How to Find a Suitable WordPress Plugin for a Freelancer Marketplace

You’ll need to study and compare what plugins are better suited for your WordPress website. Below are several parameters that could be used:

  • Design: You need to get the template tested. A Freelancer Marketplace website uses many complex workflows, which is why it is critical that the plugin offers a great design and user-friendly features.
  • Payment Gateways: For a freelancer marketplace the processing of payments is crucial. It’s not really a problem, to begin with but later you do need a solution to essentially automate all payments. Therefore you will need to test which payment gateways are supported and you can use your WordPress plugin to enforce this. However, bear in mind, many payment gateways only allow businesses in some countries and many businesses in other countries than the US and Western Europe still have trouble getting accepted by other payment gateways.
  • Scalability: You’ll need to test the plugin’s backend structure in terms of technical scalability but also administrative ease here. It is vital that the backend has all the information at hand so that the website operator can easily find out what is going on and have all the details at hand in case of conflicts or demands for refunds.
  • Eco-System: Does the plugin come with an ecosystem of other great plugins, which can be easily added later in a cost-effective way? Here you want to start with a simple configuration to test your idea first but then you want to have access to a rich ecosystem with other plugins where you can easily add additional functionality to make your platform very awesome and where you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. So, you can verify whether your Freelancer Marketplace plugins are compatible with other applications or plugins.
  • Familiarity: You may also need to bear in mind that it is easier to find cost-effective developers for technical assistance when choosing a plugin that is compatible with other applications such as WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads because they have already worked on similar projects.

Must-have Features of an Excellent Freelancer Marketplace

In my opinion, if you want a perfect freelance marketplace, it must have the following features available:

1. Easy Onboarding Process – The platform must also offer a quick and easy onboarding process that will benefit both the customer and freelancer. The best feature for this one is that the customer can hire the freelancer right on his profile, or right on the Freelancer List.

2. Freelancer List – Customers must easily locate each of the available Freelancers, along with their profiles to check and see whether they fit the criteria that the customer is looking for.

3. Excellent Bidding Process with the option to Create Project Milestones – It is a must-have for a Freelancer Marketplace to have an excellent bidding flow and process. It must contain necessary and clear information about the Freelancer’s Bid, and also the option to create project Milestones(either by the Customer or the Freelancer).

4. Rating Procedure – The platform should enable the parties to rate each other depending on their performance as a party involved in the project.

5. Social Login – Since many people will register to your platform, we must give them an easy and quick registration process, by enabling them to register using their Social Accounts.

6. Manage Disputes and Settlements among the Parties – Different problems, issues and misunderstandings may arise during Project Execution among the parties, so because of that, there must be a way for the parties to report any disputes to the Site Administrators. They should have the capacity to submit disputes or claims against the party and the whole process needs to be managed.

7. Ability to scale up the Freelancer Marketplace – Besides offering Freelance Services to your customer, it is a great strategy if you are able to offer other products or services right on your Freelancer Marketplace. You can either sell digital downloads, website themes and designs, documents, and others. There’s always an opportunity to let more revenue flow in so we don’t want to waste it.

8. Payment Gateways – Freelancer Marketplace must have the ability to collect payments early on and hold them back until the projects are closed. Preferably, customers can pay with different payment methods such as Credit Cards, PayPal Balance and many more options.

These are just a few suggestions I have in mind if we are to talk about an efficient and effective Freelance Marketplace platform to service customers. Of course, there would be a lot more, but I hope you keep in mind these important features.

In order to achieve the above features on your Freelancer Marketplace Platform. You might want to check out this Freelancer Marketplace Plugin for WordPress.This plugin will help you build a freelancer marketplace for WordPress and Easy Digital Downloads. It also offers a comprehensive collection of settings and configurations to give you total control over your own freelancer marketplace, allowing you to configure it any way you want.

Conclusion: Developing a Freelance Marketplace is not a problem when you have the perfect solution

It will never be easy to start your own Freelancer marketplace with WordPress without the right resources and software, to begin with. You may have thought it would be difficult today to create your own online marketplace for freelance services, but what you really need is to be completely prepared and ready with the right tool, skills, and knowledge.

Just make sure that these features are well integrated and incorporated on your Freelance Marketplace, as well as the correct marketing and management, your marketplace will soon be up and running together with many clients and freelancers working with you.

Value of Good Customer Service for your Digital Product Webstore

If they run into problems, customer anger rises and they can’t find a representative to speak to quickly. There are many online businesses that are not responding to customer complaints or their responses are very sluggish, adding insult to injury. However, response time is crucial because three out of five customers never complete their purchases due to poor customer service.

American shoppers believe that customer service is a “true test” of how much a brand values them. Which is to say, they recall the customer service you have. For both negative and positive reasons the customer service that you provide is strong. 70% of consumers said they would remain loyal to certain retailers because of good customer service and 70% of customers cite poor customer service as a reason for not buying from a brand.

It costs seven times more to attract new customers than to retain existing customers. Providing excellent customer service not only improves revenue and revenues but also allows businesses in the industry to stand out. There are so many ways to offer excellent online service, even without face-to-face contact.

What is Good Customer Service?

Customer service is the position that lets clients get the value they’ve paid for from a product or service, particularly when things go wrong. Most companies have a dedicated customer service team, but those invested in providing quality experiences make support a priority for the organization at large.

The word ‘good customer service’ is intended to help clients make the right decisions. Your eCommerce brand needs to reduce the uncertainty of your customer, answer any questions and build enough confidence to persuade the shopper to pull the trigger and purchase. In comparison to traditional retailers – online shops don’t benefit from supportive customer service assistants.

Good Customer Service Strategies

Below are some best strategies to exercise good customer services on your WordPress webstore:

Build trust and relationship with customers

Loyalty is both the rarest asset in eCommerce and the main determinant of sustained eCommerce performance. When you can produce loyal customers consistently-you have a competitive advantage for yourself.

Note, the market is full of rivals and if your customer service fails by any measure, online shoppers need not walk far to visit one of the thousands of other rival stores in your niche. eCommerce brands need to work harder to maintain customers and create trust than any other company. It’s just that quick to abandon your online shoppers without having to offer any explanation.

Request Customer Feedback

Let’s face it, most consumers won’t leave reviews or suggestions unless you ask them to. Write a follow-up email asking them to rate their experience or write a short review on your blog or on social media. They’ll more than likely jump on it, particularly if you’re offering a small discount on a future purchase for that.

Feedback and ratings are also important for the company as they provide useful information and allow companies to see what works and what isn’t. Poor reviews aren’t all negative either, they’re an opportunity to find out and fix what went wrong. If the review was constructive or negative, reacting and thanking the client is often the right way to. Getting a conversation started is often a win-win. And the name of the game is being positive with social media.

Live Chat With Customers

Live chat is a great way for current and potential customers to get easy, easily accessible help. Fixes real-time consumer issues. There’s no need to have live chat available 24/7. You should set hours and post them on your website, so that customers know where you can be found. The duration of live chat will be dependent on the highest traffic levels, with additional hours added during a sale or directly after a promotional email has been sent.

Provide Service Through Social Media

Community Support for the clients. Social networking is where people meet and talk and connect, so why not be where your clients are and talk with them to answer any questions or concerns they may have. Your customers will not only appreciate the immediate attention, but it will also encourage future customers to see how open your company is.

Alerts from social media let you know when your business is being addressed, and let you join in the discussion. According to a report by Bain & Company, businesses that connect with customers and respond to customer service requests on social media end up generating 20 to 40 percent more revenue from those clients.

Prepare FAQs to lessen customer inquiries

Head off (and reduce) supporting questions by developing a FAQ page or other documentation that communicates your specific policies and responds to the most popular queries. Providing this knowledge to your customers, and making it easy to find, gives them the opportunity to self-serve and saves valuable time.

5 Tips in replying to a customer

1. Respond as soon as possible – Always get back to the customer as soon as possible whenever there’s an issue. Cases like these need attention since they could’ve spotted a technical issue happening on the website. Otherwise, it is still important to be active in answering inquiries and questions.

2. Be helpful by offering assistance – If the customers complain about not being happy with the digital product they bought, instead of directly conducting a refund, it is better to ask the customer what they are unhappy about the product. 

Negative feedback will be very helpful in further improving the product. Or in our case, we simply assist the customer and help them on how to use the product properly. This way, we are showing that we truly care about the customer’s thoughts and that we are putting effort into connecting with our customers.

3. Avoid compromising the store’s reputation – If there was an issue with your system and caused inconvenience to the customer, if possible, avoid divulging too much information when explaining to the customer. Compromising the store’s reputation is the last thing you want (e.g. web stores system being faulty). As long as it can be fixed as soon as possible, an apology email works but it’s best to not make it sound severe and be simple about it. 

4. Always investigate customer claims thoroughly –  There was actually one time where a customer lied about purchasing a product from us. It turns out, he was just trying to get a free product. But we handled it by being nice and polite all the way. 

Showing screenshots (if any) of unpaid transactions or no transactions at all under the same name/email. Another case would be a customer did purchase a product but used a different email and name. As such, there was a misunderstanding but was easily resolved by asking politely without judging the customer right away. At the end of the day, staying polite is the best solution in handling cases like these and at the same time being thorough.

5. Always be polite – Customers often get nervous when buying digital products online due to fraudulent cases, hence, if there’s a case where they don’t receive the product after purchasing, they mostly complain, reach out, and scream “scam”. Cases like these are unavoidable and happen quite often for digital marketplaces/stores. But, don’t get discouraged. Just reach back and explain the cause of the delay after investigating the case thoroughly. It could be there was a system bug, payment not going through, or other hiccups that delayed the process. 

Again, being polite is the best way to go and, of course, don’t forget to add the line “Thank you for your understanding and patience”. Though the customer might be quite the opposite of what the line means, in this way, we can calm their opinion about the store.

Conclusion: Good Customer Service equals to Sales

Customer service is vitally essential for any company. While the internet breaks down barriers to retail market entry around the world, competition for eCommerce is intense. The goods are a commodity more than ever before. Customer service is an important part of the brand.

When the best customer service in your market is offered by your eCommerce shop, you can build loyal customer relationships, create daily repeat sales and maintain profit margins by persuading consumers to pay a premium. Focusing on customer satisfaction and providing your customers with the very best experience gives your company an incredible, competitive advantage that goes way beyond your competition. Concentrate on the entire shopping experience through consumers ‘eyes to make sure it’s simple, friendly, and personal all over your web.

As for a Digital Product Marketplace, apart from exercising a Good Customer Service, one must also know how to properly manage their vendors, since they are a vital component of a marketplace. This article How to Manage Vendors in a Digital Product Marketplace could be very helpful for you.

As many experienced online marketers know, you’ll be on the road to success when you put your customers and vendors first and meet their needs, rather than putting your goods or services first.

How to improve website navigation for your EDD store

It is very important to work your first impression with customers. If your website is unappealing to your audience and difficult to navigate, then it’s likely to increase the bounce rate. Your website navigation should instead help customers find the products they want quickly and easily.

Good navigation on your Easy Digital Downloads WordPress websites improves the online shopping experience and helps merchants increase sales and profits. Setting up your WordPress websites with Easy Digital Downloads could be your smartest move if you are into eCommerce and have excellent digital goods ready to offer for download.

Even relatively small differences in global navigation — i.e., the navigation that appears on almost every page of a site — may significantly impact users and their ability to find products. They have increasingly shorter attention spans, so you need to be able to quickly attract their attention – and make the shopping experience pleasant and easy.

Why improve your website navigation?

It can be safely said that navigation is one of the most critical parts of your store’s design. Good navigation provides an improved user experience leading to more sales and revenue. On the other hand, poor navigation frustrates the users leading to a higher bounce rate.

As mentioned before, poor website navigation has a higher tendency to increase the bounce rate.  As a matter of fact, studies show that 76% of consumers say the most important characteristic of a website is ease of use. The objective is to help shoppers get to what they want faster and without running into unnecessary complexity that can clog up the path to purchase.

Navigation can make or break your website’s overall performance when it comes to retaining visitors, keeping them engaged and driving them through the conversion funnel. Strong site navigation makes it easy for visitors to quickly find the information that interests them. It also helps search engines index your important information efficiently and effectively.

So in summary, webstore owners need to once in a while check and optimize their site navigation because:

  • Site navigation is very important to customers until they reach their purchase decision.
  • Excellent Navigation leads to more sales and revenue for your webstore.
  • Increased your Visit Duration and Decreased Bounce Rate
  • Keep your clients and visitors happy and coming back for more, thus you won’t lose your customers.
  • Good navigation makes the whole process easy and smooth. Bad navigation is frustrating and can lead to a loss of sales.

Although it may seem negligible, having organized and easy-to-follow navigation for a website is very beneficial and important for the overall user experience.

How to Improve Website Navigation for EDD

Even relatively small differences in global navigation — i.e., the navigation that appears on almost every page of a site — may significantly impact users and their ability to find products.

To improve your EDD WordPress site navigation, consider these suggestions.

1) Search Feature

Search is one of the most important tools for EDD WordPress website navigation. It should be included at or near the top of every page on a site. For this, you need to select a good EDD theme that already offers an on-site search bar or install a search plugin instead.

When using an in-site search feature, the search results page must always produce relevant results. It must compensate for misspellings, show related items and even produce results for products you don’t have while displaying similar products you offer.

2) Accurate navigation titles

Visitors should have a general idea of what they should find on a page even before clicking any navigational link. This is true whether it’s the main navigation link or an internal text link. Use accurate text to describe the linked page so visitors know what they’re going to get. Cryptic or misleading navigation text confuses and annoys visitors, possibly to the point of site abandonment. Make sure all link verbiage, whether textual or in an image, accurately portrays the corresponding pages.

3) Clickable links and pages on the navigation

When using multiple categorical divisions in your navigation, all heading elements should be clickable links. This is true even with drop-down menus where clicking a sub-category link may be the natural inclination of the visitor.

In order to add a navigation menu on your EDD website, an excellent and flexible plugin we have been using is the Nav Menu Roles. This plugin lets you hide custom menu items based on user roles.

4) Product Categories and Subcategories

Product categories are often arranged in a hierarchy that moves from the general to the specific. It is possible, however, that some products might naturally appear in more than one hierarchy.

5) Keep it consistent

Consistent navigation promotes ease of use and increases your visitors’ ability to find relevant information more quickly, and also so that people can find their way around the site from wherever they happen to be. If your navigation is constantly changing from page to page (except where absolutely necessary), visitors lose their on-site bearings and must reorient themselves constantly.

6) Follow Design Conventions

Although it might be fun to generate a unique and unusual form of website navigation, for eCommerce it is often best to follow common design and navigation conventions. With this in mind, navigation should either be at the top of the page or, for sites featuring left-to-right reading languages, on the left side of the page.

7) Filtered Navigation.

If you have tons of products on your webstore, Filtered navigation is essential. It makes for effective browsing by allowing the customer to narrow their product selection by eliminating results that are irrelevant to them.

8) Product Displays and Carousel Sliders

Carousels, or image sliders, and even simple product displays are commonplace on eCommerce sites which can be achieved by using shortcode for WordPress. Essentially, they allow your customers to promote several different products without using all of the space on the page, thus making it more user-friendly, creating an eye-candy, animated display. Fortunately, there is WordPress shortcode plugin out there that you can use.

If you want a WordPress shortcode plugin to enable product/vendors displays on your webstore, either a simple grid display or a carousel slider, you can try checking out the EDD Advanced Shortcodes plugin. This truly enhances website navigation and browsing capabilities of your products and vendor profiles in a more powerful manner using the advanced shortcode for WordPress provided.

9) Fix Broken Links

Always keep in mind to frequently check and fix broken links. Whether the page is yours or another website’s that you hyperlinked somewhere, 404 error pages aren’t helpful for visitors. Actually, they make them want to leave. WordPress has multiple plugins to check for broken links within your pages, posts, comments, directories, etc. but I suggest using Broken Link Checker since it’s one of the top plugins for this purpose.

10) Optimize for Mobile

As of 2017 Q1, mobile devices were found to be used for 49.7% of overall web page views globally. Make sure that everything you have on your desktop website version fits well with the mobile version. Choose either to create a responsive or adaptive mobile version depending on budget and what works best for your overall needs.

Keeping it simple and obvious will keep your clients and visitors happy and coming back for more. Be sure that your visitors are able to locate the necessary information as soon as possible, without searching through heaps of extra information. Navigation should assist the user in finding all the information they are after before a call to action can be made.

Conclusion: Make it easy for customers to find what they want!

Continuously thinking of new ways to attract more visitors to your EDD webstores can be very challenging. But what’s even more difficult is to keep and make your customers stay browsing on your website, how? That’s where good website navigation takes place. This should make it easy for your visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for.

Improving your website navigation also comes with improving your website speed. When it comes to page speed and load time, an improvement of just a single second can have huge implications for your bottom line. The result of this is faster loading times and happier visitors. You can read through this article “A Guide to WordPress Caching and the Best Caching Plugins” to learn more about WordPress Caching.

No one wants to go through leaps and hurdles to get to the endpoint, so make it easy and optimize your navigation for better user experience. Use any or all of these techniques above for your Easy Digital Downloads WordPress website, and you’ll be helping yourself and your visitors to move them toward your ultimate goal – conversions.

Best Abandoned Cart Email Strategies for EDD

Are you spending loads of your hard-earned money on driving more visitors to your Easy Digital Downloads WordPress website using various eCommerce paid tools and or via Facebook Ads or Google Adwords, yet not seeing the revenue follow? For most eCommerce businesses, one of the biggest leaks in their sales and marketing funnel is shoppers who add products to their cart, but then abandon them at checkout.

Cart abandonment is a rising challenge for all retail marketers as well as the most common and most inevitable scenario. SalesCycle reported that approximately 75.6% of carts were abandoned in 2018 and unfortunately, this is a number that has slowly been increasing in recent years. That means that only 1 in every 4 customers actually finishes their purchase.

Source: https://blog.salecycle.com/stats/infographic-the-remarketing-report-q2-2016/

This is why marketers usually turn towards emails to help recover these abandoned sales. Good Abandoned Cart Emails are so important for eCommerce marketers. With a great eCommerce marketing automation strategy (including the timing and message), they can set it up and have it recover sales on autopilot. This type of eCommerce email is one of the most effective, revenue-generating emails that you can send to prospects.

But if you’ve never set up a cart abandonment email, or you’re not satisfied with your current results, you’re probably wondering what makes great cart abandonment emails. That’s what we’ll be looking at today.

What are Abandoned Cart Emails?

Abandoned Cart Emails are messages sent automatically whenever a customer comes to your webstore and adds an item to their cart, but doesn’t buy the item. These emails can also be triggered when the customer abandons the checkout flow.

In other words, this is a follow-up email sent to someone who has added items to their cart and gotten through a portion of the checkout and then left the site without purchasing. Abandoned cart emails work to remind customers of items they left in cart – enticing them to come back to purchase what they are already so close to buying.

Consider these abandoned cart statistics from Moosend:

Source: Moosend

There are different types of emails you can send to your customers. But with numbers like that, cart reminder emails give some of the highest returns on your investment.

Now it may not be possible to persuade all cart-abandoners to go through checkout and triple your sales. Some customers may have never had the intention to purchase in the first place. But it’s worth putting in the effort to resolve as many lingering hesitations as you can because a significant percentage of them are persuadable.

Why do customers abandon their carts?

We can’t eliminate shopping cart abandonment. But, we can try to understand its root cause so as we can properly plan ahead and deal with it. Here’s a survey Baymard Institute has conducted containing reasons for Abandonment during Checkout.

Source: Baymard survey of 2,854 consumers, 2019

Now we can rehab our webstores by taking into consideration the above cart abandonment reasons. Work your way on making your checkout process smooth and hassle-free. But again, shopping cart abandonment cannot be totally eliminated. Other reasons why they abandon their carts are: visitors are just browsing, found a better price elsewhere and maybe suddenly have decided against buying it.

Abandoned Cart Email Best Practices

Even though we can’t eliminate cart abandonment entirely, we can minimize the likelihood of it happening – by using abandoned cart emails. Good abandoned cart email is one of the most effective, revenue-generating emails that you can send to prospects.

And in this article, we will show you some outstanding cart recovery email strategies that will help you lower your cart abandonment rate and increase your bottom line.

In order to be successful, there are some important things you need to include in your cart abandonment emails. They are enumerated as follows:

  1. High converting subject lines
  2. Include abandoned product
  3. Keep email simple and personal
  4. Offer Discount Codes/Coupons
  5. Mail Frequency and Creating Urgency
  6. Add CTA buttons and Contact Details
  7. Trust and Credibility through Product Reviews / Social Proofs
  8. Display your other products

Let’s explain each of the above Abandoned Cart Email Best Practices.

Unique and Effective Subject Line

If you like the subject line, and if you trust the sender, you will open it. If not, the chances are high that you won’t open it. In fact, 35% of email recipients open an email based on subject line alone.

This means that a good and effective subject line for abandoned cart email can grab the attention of the customer and increase open and click rates.

When recipients read your subject lines, they should be reminded of what they left behind. A well-written subject line for abandoned cart email can go a long way toward piquing the interest of reluctant customers.

Include abandoned product

Showcase exactly what was left behind in your customer’s cart. Reminding the product what they have missed out is very important. Make sure to add the product along with the product image, description, benefits, and features, etc. It’s not enough anymore to just include the name of the product. The image is a must along with the product details.

People might not remember what products had them clicking the “add to cart” button. After all, they may not really remember what product they abandoned if they had a particularly busy looking and scrolling through different webstores.

Keep email simple and personal

Besides attractive images and contrasting CTA buttons, it’s important that you have a convincing and personalized text and content that’s ultimately pushing towards conversions. With 94% of businesses saying how critical email personalization is to their success, basic personalization such as including the customer’s first name in the salutation or subject line is proven effective and very important.

An excellent subject line may contain some important points such as:

  • Customize the message by including their names or product names.
  • Make use of some great offers to bribe them in opening the email.
  • Play the idea “Fear Of Missing Out” (FOMO) to your customers.
  • Make it short and simple but alluring enough for them to open the email.

Also, it’s important never to overload readers with information. Instead, focus on what’s necessary for the prospect to return to their cart and complete their order. Writing short emails is an effective way of ensuring that you hold the reader’s attention long enough to do this.

Offer Discount Codes/Coupons

Most customers abandon their carts because the final price is more than what they expected. And there’s a simple way to recover the customers who have been scared away by the final price: issue a discount.

Offering discounts for customers to complete their purchases can really work in your favor. But, be aware of the pitfalls. A common concern is training customers to abandon transactions on purpose to receive a discount.

If you were to offer a discount in your email, it could be the final push they need to complete their purchase. Save your discounts for the end. If you send a sequence of emails, save that coupon code for the very last one. This is your last shot at getting the customer to convert, after all.

Mail Frequency and Creating Urgency

Mail Frequency is a very essential element in your cart recovery process. When to send an abandoned cart email? Many stores prefer sending the cart recovery email right after the visitor abandoned the cart. Sending the email within an hour after the customer abandoned the cart, is the most preferred time because:

  • The email will arrive before the customer totally forgets about the cart;
  • The customer is still in their “buying” mood;
  • The email will arrive before the customer decides to purchase elsewhere.

Also, sending additional email reminders will greatly improve our chances of success. We can earn more revenue from abandoned carts and increase sales conversion by following up with a series of emails.

  • Email #2 must be sent after 24 hours, after the first one. Usually, the customers shop at the same time of the day. Also, we’ll remind them once again of their cart contents and of any discounts.
  • Email #3 must be sent after 72 hours, after the previous email. Use a persuasion technique of scarcity, by telling customers that the discount will expire soon. This is your last chance of converting the customer.

The most common way in creating a sense of urgency is by putting a limited time offers in the recovery emails we sent – usually free shipping or product discounts. This way, the customers will be more interested to take advantage of the discount and then continue with the purchase as soon as possible.

Add CTA buttons and Contact Details

Bold and attractive CTAs can really grab the attention of the shopper and push them towards an action you want them to take. Make it easy for the customer to finish buying the product. Let them know what they abandoned, show it (with a big image), then put the bold, easy-to-see, contrasting CTA right below that product image.

Another important thing to include in your contact information for people who want to reach out to ask further questions. There are many reasons why shoppers abandon carts. They may have extra questions and it’s a good idea to include your support contact info.

Trust and Credibility through Product Reviews / Social Proofs

Customers have become more careful especially first-time visitors on your website will need a little more convincing before opening up their wallets and proceed to purchase. This is where social proof can help you convert those first-time visitors or skeptical buyers.

The best way to do that is to use product ratings and reviews so that those prospects can see that other people (like themselves) have happily purchased from you before.

When 88% of consumers claim that ratings and reviews influenced their buying decision, this represents a big opportunity for you. Instead of just using this social proof on your website, you can use it in your abandoned cart reminder emails too.

Display your other products

People might have abandoned their shopping cart because they were unsure of their choice — maybe the item isn’t exactly what they had in mind. But, they might be sold on similar items they missed the first time.  Sometimes, offering alternatives to abandoned cart items can help return a missed sales opportunity.

With product recommendations, it’s easy to show off other stuff that your customers will love. (They might even like those options better.) Visitors might not have been completely sold on the items they added to their cart, but they might be interested in similar items they didn’t notice the first time on your site.

Conclusion: Start turning missed opportunities into recovered sales!

Too many eCommerce sites let potential revenue fly out the window because they don’t send people a friendly reminder that they left something behind. Improving your abandoned cart recovery is an incremental process that requires many smaller steps.

A good abandoned cart email contains many different elements which vary greatly from business to business. You might need to do a few testing to create an abandoned cart email that works for you and your audience. A great cart recovery campaign can make people remember you. 75% of shoppers plan on coming back to their abandoned cart. Quickly change their “plan” into “did” with abandoned cart emails that work. You see, abandoned cart emails are easy to set up, and really it should be something that everyone does give the high abandonment rates.

We are all aware that cart abandonment is an issue that can never be fully eliminated. But with some effort, we can at least recover a portion of our abandoned carts and to eventually turn those into actual orders. You can also read this article “How to effectively recover Abandoned Carts in eCommerce” to learn more. Don’t forget to apply the strategies above, and get started on recovering sales today.

How to optimize your Easy Digital Downloads WordPress Checkout Page

You’ve might work hard to attract visitors to your Easy Digital Downloads WordPress website and put a lot of time and money into creating and developing your products, but if those visitors don’t make it through your checkout process to finalize the purchase, none of those things really matters. Your success rises and falls on how many sales you make, not barely on how many people you can attract to your site. Unfortunately, most eCommerce websites don’t do checkout very well.

The checkout page is the most important part of your website as this is where prospects become customers, and it’s where you make money. Also, it is a frequently overlooked area for webstore owners looking for ways to increase online revenue and conversion. Achieving the best checkout page requires testing and optimization to hit your desired conversion rates and ensure your customers complete their transactions. Some eCommerce businesses excel at the checkout page while others overlook the functionality of this all-importance page.

Why do you need to optimize your checkout page?

While you may think a single page can’t cost your site that much money, you’d be surprised by how much a poorly-done checkout page could harm your conversions. Do you know why are you losing customers at your checkout page? Shopping cart abandonment is a big issue for eCommerce store owners because it can cost hundreds of billions of dollars in lost sales.

Tweaking your checkout page to better fit the needs of your business, and customers can have a significant impact on your revenue that will, therefore, increase your sales conversion rate in the long run. Fortunately, simply by tweaking a few small details in your checkout process, you can improve your conversion rate by a whopping 35.26%. But, how can we do that?

Best Checkout Page Optimization Strategies

Now that you’re crystal-clear on exactly how important your checkout page design is, let’s go straight to the best checkout page strategies to optimize your checkout page for higher conversion rates.

  • Keep process quick and simple

With each field you add to your checkout page you’re increasing the amount of time it takes a customer to give you money. Plenty of conversion studies have shown that the fewer clicks to checkout there are, the higher your conversion rate will be. With the cart and basket pages, the key is to keep things as simple as possible. Only include custom fields that are absolutely necessary, since these naturally provide more shopper friction.

The email address should be one of the first pieces of information collected. By collecting the email address first, you’re able to target customers later if their cart is abandoned. Only show fields that are absolutely required. Keeping your checkout form simple and free of clutter is an easy way to put your customers at ease while they breeze through the checkout process.

  • Remove page distractions

Keep in mind in order to be effective, your checkout page has to be laser-focused and straightforward. The goal of your checkout page is to get your customers to complete their purchase. This means you should only have one Call To Action (CTA) prompting your customer to make a purchase. You can replace or minimize the header and footer, in order to prevent any distractions for the user. The focus of the checkout page should be — well, the checkout page.

  • Display trust signals

When a visitor is shopping on your site, and providing private information, they want to feel safe. A secure site not only puts your customers at ease; it can also help you convert more visitors into customers. Baymard says that around 19% of visitors abandon the checkout page because they don’t trust sites with their payment information.

Don’t forget to include credit card logos and security seals. Trusted payment logos and trust badges/seals (if applicable) should be displayed prominently on your checkout page, along with accepted forms of payment. Displaying these images to your customers will increase their sense of security and trust in your site. Let shoppers know your site is a secure, trusted place to do business. Also, if you offer a money-back guarantee or some important notes you want to tell your customers, be sure to add those in the checkout page as well.

  • Make checkout mobile friendly

There is a possibility that your E-commerce website is responsive but is your checkout page optimized for mobile users? Stats show that 74% of mobile users are more likely to revisit your site in the future if your site works well on a mobile phones. Mobile optimization for the checkout page is a must to improve sales and conversion rates.

A fast, simple checkout will be significantly easier to use on mobile devices. Remember that more and more transactions are taking place on mobile devices, and a clunky mobile checkout might send a potential customer off to a competitor’s site.

  • Improve site loading times

Do you know that increasing the number of components on your checkout page will result in increased load times and reduced customer satisfaction? 59% of people will abandon a webpage if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds. Make sure to eliminate distraction by removing unnecessary features from your checkout page, and stick to the basics.

Stress test important pages on your site as much as possible to know how they work under extreme conditions, and investigate Google PageSpeed Modules or other tools to speed up load times.

  • Include multiple payment options

Offering multiple payment options is one of the best ways to keep these visitors shopping. 8% of people abandon the checkout page because they can’t find the payment option they want. And another 4% leave if their credit card is declined.

Offering multiple payment methods makes this easier for the customer, as they can choose the payment method they’re most comfortable with to overcome purchasing objections. Offering as many payment methods as you’re comfortable can drive additional conversions by ensuring your customers pay with the method of their choice. The preferred payment options are by credit card (42%) followed by PayPal (39%).

  • Guest Checkout

In the Baymard research, 37% of shoppers abandoned carts because they had to create an account to shop. That’s a huge number of potential customers to lose. Some of your customers will be hesistant to create an account with your store upon checkout — registration forms such as this can be very time-consuming and tiring to fill out, and they create mental tension by requiring another “decision” during checkout.

Anonymous checkouts are especially important for first-time customers. Forcing users to sign up for an account on the website before they reach the checkout page has been shown to decrease conversion rates. To solve this problem and make things easier for your customers is by introducing a guest checkout or including social login to make signup easy.

  • Offer Up-sells and Cross-sells

These are sales techniques we can also add on our checkout page to optimize sales conversion. Cross-selling pitches products in addition to what the customer is already interested in, and upselling suggests a more expensive version of the product. The idea is to make the customer spend more money they originally thought they’d spend. These are great, and have always done the trick when trying to increase online sales.

Unlike an eCommerce business that sells physical products, digital products that are available instantly don’t require a shipping address or phone number. Street address, state, and zip code are all fields you can immediately eliminate from your checkout form. Thus, the checkout page of a digital product webstore offers a simple, easy and less complicated checkout than with buying a physical product. So we need to remember that it is very important to make the checkout least difficult part of your customer’s eCommerce journey.

Conclusion: Increase your Sales Conversion Rate!

All in all, your eCommerce checkout page is the most important part of your online store. You cannot win sales and grow your business if you cannot get consumers to convert. A smooth checkout flow can increase profits for your online business and can improve cart abandonment rates.

Optimizing your checkout process will help increase revenue, and customer satisfaction. Along with this, you can also try improving the totality of your website by making sure that you have good and smooth site navigation. But where do you start? You can read this article “How to improve website navigation for your EDD store” to learn some tips and strategies on how to excel with site navigation.

Conversion rate optimization is an ongoing process. Develop ideas, make a change, test to see how it affects sales. I admit, there are other ways, too. But, it’s a guarantee that these steps will help you stay on the right track.

How to Build a Digital Product Multi-Vendor Marketplace Platform in WordPress

WordPress today powers 30% of the world’s websites and leading eCommerce software such as WooCommerce are actually WordPress plugins which have proven that WordPress is much more than just a blogging solution.

When you are considering setting up a multi-vendor digital product marketplace you might want to consider using Easy Digital Downloads (EDD). EDD is the leading WordPress solution which is specialized in selling digital products and offers a marketplace extension as well. Unlike WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads does not come with any in-built legacy made for shipping physical products, instead, it is truly optimized in selling digital products. In this article, we will outline how to set up a multi-vendor marketplace platform in WordPress with Easy Digital Downloads.

If you are interested in more information, please download our Free eBook on How to Build a digital product marketplace on WordPress which contains even more comprehensive and detailed information on how to set up a multi-vendor marketplace for digital products.

You can get our FREE EBOOK here:

Why create a Digital Product Multi-Vendor Marketplace Platform?

Sales for online marketplaces are expected to greatly double from $18.7 billion in 2017 to $40.1 billion in 2022 (MCFADYEN based on eMarketers). During the May 2018 survey made by Statista, 50 percent of global shoppers stated that they preferred to make first-time purchases at a retailer, whereas 47 percent of repeat buyers preferred online marketplaces. As per Statista, two of the top three reasons for purchasing at a marketplace instead of a retailer were more competitive prices and a broader selection of products available. Also 38% of all online shoppers in 2017 ordered from abroad.

Number of Digital Buyers Worldwide, Source: Smartinsights 2017 based on eMarketer

First of all, why should your first choice be is to sell a digital product and not a physical product in your marketplace? The three main reasons are:

(1) No inventory required

(2) No shipping and handling problems

(3) Easier to sell worldwide

When selling digital products, a creator will have the choice to either sell his digital products on his own website or using a digital product marketplace. Below are the arguments why it can be a good idea to start a multi-vendor marketplace platform rather than a single vendor store:

Why starting a Digital Multi-Vendor Marketplace Platform?

  • Trend and demand for niche marketplaces
  • Selling a digital product is easier than selling a physical product
  • Buyers prefer choice and larger product inventories 
  • Same launch costs as single-vendor websites
  • Low fixed costs enhancing chances of achieving break-even early on
  • Scalable business models with benefits in obtaining traffic (e.g. SEO and Social Media)

Types of digital eCommerce, Source: Pluginsandsnippets.com

Best is to start a digital product marketplace only in a niche you are very familiar with as this will save you time and it allows you to find solutions to problems quicker than when you know nothing about an industry. Some people also say you need a large amount of passion. We think it cannot hurt and will only help you if you actually care about the products you will sell in your digital product marketplace.

Before starting a WordPress Marketplace – Market Research

Conducting market research is the very first step we must work on and do before even building and starting our Digital Product WordPress marketplace. It is important to first conduct thorough market research and study the essential factors which can affect and contribute to the success of the business plan when starting a digital product marketplace.

Below an example of simple competitor research is presented:

Illustrative example competitor analysis, Source: www.pluginsandsnippets.com

An effective way to conduct a market study is by starting with the closest competitors of your digital product marketplace idea. Try to especially focus on the top 5 or 10 competitors and thoroughly research their profiles to understand what and how they are doing and where the market gap for a new digital product WordPress marketplace might be. When analyzing competitors, try to analyze the following:

  • What do they sell?
  • Number of Vendors / Products
  • Price ranges of their products
  • Alexa Rankings 
  • Followers on social media
  • Sources of traffic
  • Strengths and weaknesses

Reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors should not only be in terms of how good their website appears but more in terms of how good their business model is. Is this a marketplace platform you believe can attract the interest of customers and vendors? If yes, why? What do they do well? Which points they seem to neglect or where do they show weaknesses? There might be an untapped opportunity where the market is not served?

Doing this analysis properly will give you more information about the marketing strategies and tactics of each of the competitors and you will quickly figure out where there might be an untapped opportunity in the market that deserves to be serviced by your new digital product WordPress marketplace.

SEO can offer a cost-effective long-term marketing strategy for marketplaces since there is a lot of content placed there. Therefore you will need to do keyword research which is the process of finding and analyzing actual keywords entered in search engines. The objective of the keyword research will be to figure out which keywords would be easy to rank within our market niche, have decent traffic search volumes and show only a low level of competition.

Another topic to research and check are commission rates charged to vendors by similar digital product marketplaces. Standard commission fees for digital product marketplaces are somewhere between 10% and 30%. So before deciding what it will be, please check first how many potential competitors are charging to their vendors and see that your fees are in line with the market terms for your market segment.

Setting up a Digital Product Marketplace

Just like in starting a simple Digital Downloads eCommerce WordPress Website, the very first thing to do is to choose your Domain Name URL and a Web Hosting Provider.

The Domain Name URL is the internet address where Internet users can access your website. Registering domains will cost from $10 per year upward, depending on the registrar and top-level domain (TLD).

The next task will then be to select a suitable web hosting provider that will host your website. You can choose between a shared and a private server. If you have plans to make your website large, you might be better off starting with a private server as otherwise, you will have to move your website away from a shared account as soon as you get more traffic.

As mentioned initially, you will need to install Easy Digital Downloads which is the leading solution in WordPress and fully specialized to sell digital products online.

Installing a Multi-Vendor Marketplace WordPress Theme

The next step will be to install a WordPress Theme for your new marketplace platform. There are numerous free and paid themes available which are covered in a previous article and summarized here:

What you need to watch out for is to install a theme that supports the Frontend Submissions (FES) plugin in EDD. In case your chosen theme would not support FES, you can still install the theme but then you will have to manually develop designs for frontend vendor pages which is costly and time-consuming to do. Therefore, better use a standard theme which already supports FES, to begin with.

Please note, the theme just needs to serve the purpose to get you off the ground. You will have to rework your website many times during the operations of your digital product WordPress marketplace. We just need a theme to start with, makes your marketplace presentable and helps us to attract first customers and vendors.

Essential Marketplace Plugins for WordPress

After you have selected your WordPress marketplace theme, we need to install several specific EDD marketplace plugins for WordPress which are needed for operating a digital product marketplace with Easy Digital Downloads.

Frontend Submissions (FES) Plugin

Frontend Submissions Plugin

Frontend Submissions provides a full-featured front-end package to turn your Easy Digital Downloads powered website into a complete multi-vendor marketplace. It allows you to accept download submissions from third-party authors or vendors and allows them to list their products in your Easy Digital Downloads marketplace website.

By using the FES plugin on top of your EDD plugin, you can build a store where vendors and creators can sign up, list their products for sale, and manage their own accounts, all from within your WordPress marketplace platform. For a multi-vendor digital product store, FES is the key marketplace plugin for WordPress to use.

Commissions – An Essential Marketplace Plugin for WordPress

Commissions Plugin

The Commissions extension is what you need to administer the revenue split between your platform and third-party vendors automatically. The way it works is that you need to define the percentage of sales (the commission) your third-party vendors get on every product sale. For digital product marketplaces, commission rates should lie between 10% – 30% which will form your fee income.

The Commissions add-on is often paired with Frontend Submissions, but it can also work perfectly on its own. Commissions can be paid to any WordPress user at either a flat rate or a percentage of sales. It’s a key component for any Marketplace plugin in WordPress and Easy Digital Downloads.

PayPal Adaptive Payments

PayPal Adaptive Payments Plugin

Our PayPal Adaptive Payments, same as FES, the main marketplace plugin for WordPress, is a key WordPress plugin to use, as it automatically splits payments received between you and third-party vendors. This way, it avoids a lot of administrative work as the payment of third-party revenue can be done instantly and it saves significant time. This marketplace plugin for WordPress is a tested and true time-saver for all multi-vendor Easy Digital Downloads stores.

The plugin connects Easy Digital Downloads to the versatile Adaptive Payments gateway. With this gateway integration, you can easily split payments with up to 6 different receivers at the same time. You can set each receiver up with a specific percentage of the payment within the settings for this gateway. Also, you can determine whether you would like to use chained or parallel payments.

We do really like to recommend you to use this plugin and benefit from its very helpful and straightforward features. We have customers who spent a lot of time executing payments to vendors manually every month and is simply a lot of work which you do not need to do if you have an automated solution. PayPal Adaptive Payment Gateway is not actively promoted anymore by PayPal and you will need approval from PayPal before you can implement it. Nevertheless, we recommend using it as it saves a lot of time and as far as we are aware PayPal still accepts new users into its program.

Product Reviews

Reviews Plugin

The Reviews plugin from Easy Digital Downloads makes it quick and easy for your visitors and customers to review the products offered on your website and for leaving a rating. Reviews are a sign of engagement and trust, therefore installing such a marketplace plugin WordPress extension is a must.

Apart from these essential plugins, you will have many more plugins available to choose from Easy Digital Downloads, third-party vendors or from the WordPress plugin directory.

How to source your first vendors?

After you have successfully set up your digital product marketplace and installed the specific EDD WordPress plugins, the next essential step to take is to be able to fill up your catalog with products, but how? The answer is, we first need vendors to get on board with us. It wouldn’t be a marketplace if there were no vendors. This means we will have to source our first vendors who will contribute the digital products for sale on our marketplace.

From where can you obtain first vendors willing to sell their products with you? Based on our experience, vendors are normally sourced from the following sources when starting a new digital product marketplace:

  • Creating your own products
  • Partner with vendors you know personally
  • Reaching out to potential new interested vendors.

Read our eBook for more insights on each source of vendors.

You can get our FREE EBOOK here:

Marketing Strategies for Digital Product Marketplaces

Once your WordPress marketplace has been launched, promoting your digital product marketplace is important for gaining the attention of future customers and prospective vendors. The process of selling and promoting digital products is quite similar compared to how you would sell and promote physical products on any eCommerce website.

Now, if you are looking for ways to effectively market your digital product marketplace, here are the strategies that should be tested.

Social Media Marketing

Social media refers to websites and applications that allow users to create and share content as well as participate in social networking with other users. Different Social Media Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and many other remains a very great way to establish your brand and build an audience.

Keep in mind, depending on your target market, there will be different social networks of relevance. E.g. management professionals you most likely find on LinkedIn, developers there are many on Twitter and Youtube, etc. Try to figure out which social media networks your target audience is most active and these should be the social media channels to focus on.

Social media marketing is an art by itself and there are many techniques and tricks to be mastered. Most important we find is to post regularly. For this, you can use a service such as Buffer which allows you to put your posts in a queue so that you won’t forget to post at least once per day.

Normally, the tasks are to review your posts, compared to your competitors, research and learn what can be improved and implement it. The key performance indicators (KPIs) normally are engagement received, number of followers, retweets/reposts, shares, clicks which drive traffic to your website. This all needs to be monitored on a regular basis. So be prepared for a steep learning curve and lots of trial and error until you know how to master social media marketing for your digital product WordPress marketplace.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of optimizing your website to be found by search engines. The objective is to rank on the first page such as Google, Bing or Yahoo when somebody enters a keyword in the search bar. The result will be that you will be getting free traffic from organic search results via the search engines as you will improve your website position in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

There are two sides to any successful SEO approach SEO has two techniques to improve website position, On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO.

On-Page SEO

This refers to all the optimization tasks that we do on our websites such as optimization of text titles, meta descriptions, page titles, contents, image optimization by adding alt tags and descriptions, checking keyword density in text, internal linking, creating sitemaps, ease navigation, reducing page load times and many more tasks.

Overall, the on-page technique aims to structure and present your website in a search engine friendly manner. This is a very important task and to be done before even thinking about working on Off-page SEO link building.

Off-Page SEO (Backlink Building)

This refers to all the activity that happens away from your website to raise your site’s rankings by building quality back-links. Building quality backlinks is at the heart of off-page SEO. Search engines use backlinks as an indication of the linked-to content quality, so a site with many high-value backlinks will usually rank better than an otherwise equal site with fewer backlinks. Below find some strategies you can use to obtain backlinks for your digital product WordPress marketplace:

  • Participating in Forum Discussions
  • Blogger Outreach
  • Guest Blogging
  • Press Releases

These are just some of the techniques which can be used to build backlinks. Feel free to talk with an SEO agency, they normally can provide you with additional options where to place backlinks and can also help you work on that.

Email Marketing

An email marketing list can become a very effective tool for communicating with your audience on a regular basis.

The first step in setting up your email marketing program is to install an onboarding process. Mostly this can be done by adding a subscription form at the checkout page to stay updated on news and product updates (e.g. install the Mailchimp extension). Another way is to add a widget or a popup window with subscription suggestions on your website.

Email newsletters should be sent on a regular basis (e.g. monthly) but also not overdoing it as otherwise unsubscribe rates will become high. For digital product marketplaces here, some ideas what to put in your newsletters:

  • Present new products
  • Summarize new blog posts or research articles you have written
  • Present select vendor achievements or story
  • Present customer showcases and how your marketplace could help them
  • Introduce new features of your marketplace
  • Ask for user opinions on topics of interest

Only by tracking and comparing your newsletter results you can figure out how to make your email marketing campaign more effective and which changes lead to best results among your audience.

There are still other marketing strategies you might want to consider or also some which might not be suitable for a digital product marketplace. Read the Free eBook on How to Build a Digital Product Marketplace on WordPress for more information.

You can get our FREE EBOOK here:

How to operate your WordPress Marketplace

Now that we have successfully set up our multi-vendor marketplace platform and, have started with marketing and vendor onboarding, we need to focus now our attention on the operations of our digital product marketplace.

There are actually a lot of different elements that we need to keep on our radar, constantly observe and work on in order to enhance and improve our WordPress marketplace.

Sales Optimization

Normally the main goal of your digital product’s marketplace will be to maximize sales and profits over the long-run. In eCommerce we have 4 factors which determine your revenues as shown in the following graphic:

Sales Optimization in eCommerce, Source www.pluginsandsnippets.com

This means you can maximize revenues of your digital product marketplace when you seek to maximize each of the 4 revenue drivers:

  • Number of Visitors – See previously mentioned marketing strategies which will be needed to attract and grow the number of visitors
  • Conversion Rates – You will need to work on your website to best convert visitors into paying customers
  • Number of Orders per Customers – The more times your customers return and purchase from you, the higher your sales will be
  • Average Order Value (AOV) – Mostly depends on the price point of your products, how your products are packaged and how easy/difficult it is to sell them.

As for any eCommerce website you will need to work on improving each of these four factors in order to max out your full sales potential.

Vendor Management

Running a successful digital product multi-vendor marketplace platform means keeping an eye on multiple vendors. Vendors come to your store with their own ideas, expectations, and ways of doing things. You have to gather these different vendors under one umbrella.

Your job as a store manager is to help vendors sell as much as possible as easily as possible, while still retaining the ability to make important decisions about your store. This means making vendors happy while making yourself happy as the store manager.

Now, we’re here to give you some tips on how to manage and help your vendors earn.

Product Curation

Most digital product marketplaces will opt for curating all products they receive from vendors for the following reasons:

  • Avoiding harm: Digital products are subject to harmful code additions that might not be detectable by normal users. The worst that could happen is that any form of digital code or program harms customer’s computers. Therefore, it is important to review each product and know the vendors you work with as otherwise, the risk may get too high.
  • Avoiding chargebacks: In the case of product descriptions that would not be accurate, they will have a good chance of requesting chargebacks as payment gateway providers will have the last say in such cases. It is therefore in the best interest of the marketplace operator to ensure product descriptions are accurate to avoid problems later on. Especially products listed from new vendors will require a careful review.
  • Establishing a personal relationship with your Vendors: A product curation process will also establish a more personal relationship with your vendors. As the operator of a multi-vendor marketplace platform, your vendors are not simply your sellers but rather they are your business partners. It is very important to establish a good personal relationship with them. Why not use product curation as one way to do this? Especially smaller niche marketplaces have an advantage here as they can afford to deal with their vendors on a 1:1 basis.

It is very rare to see a digital product marketplace that would not use a curation process to ensure a high-quality of products are listed in its marketplace. However, we are still checking for best practices on how to do this. Let us know if you know any good example which should be listed here.

Monitoring How Vendors are Doing

As the operator of your marketplace, you don’t simply source vendors and let them be on their own selling digital products on your website. It is very important to also monitor how your vendors are doing. You should, therefore, run different reports from time to time to benchmark and compare your vendors to find out what works, what doesn’t and what are the best practices that might help all the vendors to sell more.

  • If you find vendors who are underperforming, first, check vendor profiles if all necessary information is present in so that they will have a well-established identity that your customers may see and observe.
  • The next step is to check their product listings. Are the product descriptions accurate and are the products well presented? In case of problems, does the problem lie with the seller or with your processes? Is it easy to list products? Are there enough information fields to completely present the products?
  • You might as well enhance and optimize your website’s navigation and experience which would definitely help your vendors get a sale.

Promote your Vendors on Social Media and your Blog

Advertising and promoting your vendors, along with their products, in different Social Media Channels such as Facebook and Twitter can be a good way to get visitors and help your vendors with marketing their products. Remember, if your vendors earn, you earn, so it’s in your best interest to help them market their products.

As part of your digital marketplace marketing campaign, writing blog posts about vendor products can help you to create additional content for your web page and offer your vendors another platform to market their products. However, make sure the articles to be published comply with the required quality standards you need to maintain for your blog.

Providing Vendor Resources

Working with vendors and helping them to market their products will become an ongoing task. As such you will need a process to help your vendors. In the beginning, vendors will have a lot of questions as they will need to understand how to work with your digital product WordPress market place and what they will have to do to earn money.

Therefore, in order to anticipate their questions, it is advisable to follow a pro-active approach. One way to do this is to send out a series of education emails to new vendors upon sign-up. The objective is to help vendors to complete their product listings and then in a second step motivate them to list more quality products on your digital product marketplace.

Building a Team

We all know that running a digital product WordPress Marketplace is tough. When you’re starting out with your business, you will have to do all the tasks required. From running and managing your marketplace like updating and creating products, managing vendors, paying commissions, sourcing more vendors, managing promotions, customer support, handling social media accounts, SEO Management – the list of To-Dos is endless.

However, as a business owner, it’s better to spend your time doing what you do best – running and growing your company. But that’s not to say the routine tasks and administrative duties aren’t important because they absolutely are. Depending on your budget, you will have to consider hiring people. Normally you want to hire employees in a lean manner. So apart from hiring employees, you have the following alternatives to hire:

When your marketplace is very new you don’t want to incur big costs at the beginning and first test out if there are demand and interest in the products. Therefore, you should consider outsourcing tasks first to freelancers then to virtual assistants until your marketplace produces stable revenues and profits so that you can afford to hire employees.

Tasks you can Outsource

It is important to know what tasks you should outsource before you start building your team – including freelancers and virtual assistants who you can work with on a more permanent basis. When considering to outsource tasks, look for manual, time-consuming work or tasks that are repetitive, can be thought to others and where you are better off using help rather than when having to spend the time yourself.

Here are some daily tasks you should consider delegating:

  • Customer service: Answering emails and phone calls from customers.
  • Social Media Management: Creating content, responding to comments, and other community management tasks.
  • Research: Vendor research, product research, benchmark comparisons
  • Store management: Reviewing product descriptions, managing vendors, tracking KPIs
  • SEO: Off-page link-building
  • Technical operations: Website maintenance, SEO management, and other administrative tasks.
  • Data-entry: Bookkeeping or inputting data from different sources into a spreadsheet.
  • Etc.

Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

If you want to know how your digital product marketplace is doing, you need to keep track of your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This is an important step to take to ensure that you are not going off track.

Example dashboard of tracking KPIs

A key performance indicator – also known as “KPI” is a performance measurement that impacts the result of your online store. KPIs need to improve and achieving your objectives will provide important milestones on your road to online success. Monitoring important KPIs for your online store tells you whether your business is moving towards meeting your objectives or not.

Essential KPIs you should track

KPIs for digital product marketplaces are numerous to track but important is to focus on those where any change will impact the financial result of your business. Tracking should be done at least on a monthly basis or even on a weekly basis. The advantage of doing a weekly tracking is that you will find out sooner in case of any problems and have more time to take action. If you wait until the month-end, you might find out that too late that were problems and it leaves money on the table.

We present a selection of KPIs which will be useful to consider tracking on a regular basis for a digital product marketplace. They are:

Website Traffic (Number of Visitors)

  • Website Traffic
  • Average Time on Site
  • Domain and Page Authority
  • Alexa Ranking
  • Social Media Followers

Conversion Rates

  • Conversion from Visitor to User
  • Conversion from User to Paying Customer (Free to Paid product)
  • Cart Abandonment Rate
  • New Customer Signups
  • Email list subscribers
  • Number of orders

Average Order Values

  • Number of products
  • Average Order Value

Measuring KPIs on a regular basis is an important step towards professionally managing your digital products marketplace and finding the areas where you can still improve in order to achieve your business goals. To really grow your multi-vendor marketplace, you need to monitor your webstore’s performance on an ongoing basis and take actions every time KPIs, move in the wrong direction. Once you’ve decided which KPIs you want to track, make it a part of your weekly and/or monthly routine to follow them closely.

Automating and Improving Processes

At the beginning of your website, tasks are fine to deal with as they come up. But as you grow, these tasks get more and more frequent, and the demand on your time and your team’s time becomes even greater. After a while, these small tasks can significantly eat into productivity; reducing output, creativity, and even profit margins.

You will be confronted with seeking new ways to automate and improve your processes as your digital product marketplaces scale up and become larger. The objective is to save time, money, and sell more. Ultimately, it provides gets your business ready to scale-up exponentially. Automations include mostly:

  • Email automations
  • Reporting
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Payment of vendor commissions
  • Etc.

Automating tasks and improving processes is an ongoing task and there will be many more ways to save time and benefit from automated solutions and improved processing. Obtaining a sufficient level of automation is key to fully scale-up your digital product marketplace to reach its full potential.

Website Security

Another important element that most eCommerce companies need to consider from the very beginning is the eCommerce website security. If you run an eCommerce website, you’ll know that they are a major target for hackers, fraudsters and yes, even for your own competitors. Just think about the thousands of user IDs, personal information, product catalog and prices, financial information including credit card details a typical eCommerce webstore has. That’s what makes eCommerce sites, big and small, so attractive to cybercriminals to exploit and competitors to leverage on.

As your multi-vendor marketplace platform becomes larger you will also find that you will have to spend more time in making your infrastructure more solid and enhance the security of your marketplace. Here are some basic measures you will have to implement to keep your digital product marketplace save (among many others):

  • HTTPS / SSL – today Google views it as an outdated practice to use HTTP and punishes websites still using the old HTTP protocol. Therefore, implementing a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate from the start is a must. You can purchase one from your hosting company or a reputable SSL vendor at affordable costs.
  • Complex Passwords – Insist that every user have to use passwords that comply with a minimum standard.
  • Payment Gateway Security – While it may make processing payments more convenient, having credit card numbers stored on your database is a liability. In order to save your business from this terrible fate, you should never store credit card information on your servers and ensure your payment gateways security is not at risk. Today you can easily use third-party payment processing providers such as PayPal or Stripe who will manage all sensitive Credit Card information in a professional manner.
  • Firewalls – using firewall plugins and also configuring your server firewall is a must to protect again malicious attacks.
  • Backup your data – Data loss due to hardware malfunction or cyber-attacks are not uncommon. And if you don’t back up your data regularly, you are at the risk of losing it for good. Employ automatic daily backup service so that even if you forget to do it manually, all your data will be backed up automatically minimum once a day.

These are just a few elements to mention and to work on. As your digital product marketplace becomes bigger, paying close attention to security becomes even more important.

Conclusion: Building a Digital Product Multi-Vendor Marketplace Platform is a Journey, not a Destination

Building a digital marketplace is a good idea as today the trend goes towards creating specialized niche marketplaces that can offer better know-how and a much more focused approach than a generalist marketplace. Many buyers prefer to buy from a marketplace rather than a single vendor store.

Easy Digital Downloads offers an open-source solution to run a digital product marketplace on WordPress by installing select marketplace plugins for WordPress. These are either freely available or are very reasonably priced. Also, many useful plugins are available on the WordPress plugin directory.

The marketing tactics require a bit a different focus for a multi-vendor marketplace platform compared to a single vendor store. SEO and Social Media Marketing are two important strategies to focus on, especially as traffic there is cheap in the long-run compared to other sources of traffic.

Vendor management and tracking your Key Performance Indicators are a must in establishing a successful digital product marketplace. Activities and tracking of KPIs should focus on factors which will influence users and revenues later on.

Ongoing work will be required and normally only by keep testing and optimizing your WordPress marketplace you can exactly understand how your marketplace business works and how to make it a success. Creating a digital product marketplace is not a destination but one of the most interesting journeys in eCommerce. Feel free to take it.

This article provides an overview of how to build, set up and operate your digital product marketplace in WordPress. If you are interested in more details, please download our Free eBook on How to Build a Digital Product Marketplace on WordPress which contains even more comprehensive and detailed information on how to set up a multi-vendor marketplace platform for digital products.

For any feedback or comments feel free to reach out to us as we are also interested in your input digital product marketplaces can be made even better.

You can get our FREE EBOOK here: