Should I Switch My e-Commerce Website to WordPress?

Should I Switch My e-Commerce Website to WordPress?

“I heard you mention that it was best to have your website on wordpress.org.  Do I need to make a switch over?

What’s the benefit of doing this?  I read online that you can pay $12 for a custom WordPress.com domain? Does this then mean that the .org issue is resolved?”

Answer: If your e-commerce platform doesn’t provide the features and flexibility that maximize sales, you need to switch.

When your blog is hosted on WordPress.com, you don’t technically own your blog.  It’s kind of like you’re renting the building (your website) rather than owning you own home.

The traffic and authority you gain from blogging on a WordPress.com or Blogger.com blog isn’t directly associated with your website.

You’re doing the hard word and WordPress.com (in your case) gets all the credit.

WordPress is my number one recommendation.  While it may cost more in the short-term switching to WordPress, it allows the control and features you need to make more sales over time.

Learn more about the many benefits of switching to WordPress.

You can pay $12 for a custom WordPress.com domain? Does this then mean that the .org issue is resolved?  

No.  While the WordPress.com blog will look like it’s on your domain, you still won’t have full control and flexibility of your blog like you would with WordPress.org.

Here’s an infographic describing the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org that may help.

An effective e-commerce website needs to have a simple way to take payments, plus control, design and navigation that sell your wedding accessories.

Many wedding pros choose a simple and inexpensive e-commerce platform that works great until they realize that they aren’t getting the SEO benefits and flexibility they need to really maximize leads and sales.

Learn more about how to generate real leads with your blog here.

It looks like Volusion (which you’re using, correct?) does NOT allow an installation of WordPress.org.  You also don’t technically own the contents of your website, so if you wanted to move to another web host, you’d have to rebuild your site on a new platform.  It’s kind of like you’re renting the website from them.

This would be a deal breaker for me because I want control of my website.  Read more about the Pros and Cons of Volusion here.

Investigate the pros and cons of the top e-commerce website solutions for small businesses first, then choose the option that best fits your needs.

I don’t have personal experience with e-commerce software. However, I hear good things about WooCommerce (for WordPress specifically) and BigCommerce.

Check out the features of these programs to start. Then you can dig into research for reviews from there.

My recommendations in order of preference:

• Leave Volusion and build a new website platform with a WordPress.org site and e-commerce software, something like Woo Commerce that works with WordPress.This would be an expense (I’m guessing thousands, but you’d have to get an estimate) because you’d be building a new site from scratch and it would cost a bit to duplicate the same features you currently have with Volusion.
• Buy a new domain and install a WordPress.org database on it.  Then migrate your WordPress.com blog posts over there and link to it from your current Volusion site.This would be less expensive because you’re only building a blog that matches your website design.
• Keep things as they are make the best of it!  Link to your current blog from your home page (there is a way to do this in Volusion, but you’ll have to hire someone.)  You’ll be limited with what you can do on WordPress.com blog, but you can still generate traffic and leads.

You’ll have to make a choice based on your situation, how much money you have to invest, and what’s best for you.  If you want a quote on doing #1 or #2, I highly recommend WP Help Club.

Don’t be overwhelmed!  Do your best and you can always make changes later as your business grows.

What do you think?

photo credit: arsp_025 via photopin (license) (Placed image on a background and added text)