Best WooCommerce Alternative – eCommerce Plugin

If you’ve ever been on the market for a new eCommerce plugin, then this one’s for you. We have all grown to know wooCommerce as our go-to eCommerce plugin, however is there a better option? Or maybe your theme isn’t compatible with wooCommerce, is there a better WooCommerce alternative?

We think Miwoshop might be the next big eCommerce plugin and WooCommerce alternative. Why? Read on to find out…

Like Woocommerce, Miwoshop is easily integratable with WordPress and allows websites to sell products online, in no time at all. With a simple free plugin, you can start selling and accepting payments online. Whether you’re selling shippable items or digital goods,  Miwoshop can definitely get the job done.

However, what makes it so different from Woocommerce?

Well, that’s what I needed to find out. I personally have set up eCommerce websites for friends in the past and I’ve always used Woocommerce. However, I’ve found Woocommerce to be a bit restrictive and at times problematic straight out of the box, so it was an interesting opportunity for me to try out this new software. For me (and for many of you), if I was going to switch eCommerce Plugins, I wanted an eCommerce solution that could fix the problems I always had with WooCommerce. And I think MiwoShop did just that the trick.

1. Uploading Products is a Breeze

For me, this is where MiwoShop outshines other eCommerce solutions. When you’re running a store, chances are you’re going to be uploading A LOT of items. The last thing you want to do is wasting time uploading your products onto your site. In my opinion, MiwoShop’s interface is the easiest to upload products quickly and easily.

Plus, if you have similar items, you can easily copy previously uploaded items and change them as necessary. While this could probably be done with other third party plugins, it’s nice to have this as a built in feature.

Additionally, because MiwoShop provides an easy to use front end publishing platform, you can easily upload products from the front end. This is great for you to upload items easier, or if you hire virtual assistants and don’t want them working in the backend.

2. Feature Rich eCommerce Plugin

While other eCommerce Plugins have many third party functionality that you can easily install, MiwoShop packages everything all into one plugin. You no longer need to search the WordPress Directory for a compatible plugin or worry about plugins going out of date, because MiwoShop handles everything all in their one plugin. Some of the coolest built-in features (in my opinion) include:

1. Affiliate Program Integration
2. Rewards/points system to improve customer retention
3. Product Reviews and Ratings
4. Printable Invoices
5. MultiCurrency, MultiLanguage, and MultiPayment ready
6. Sell Downloadable Digital Products
7. Coupon and Gift Card Ready
8. Product Comparisson
9. Email Newsletter Capability

And that’s only to name a few! While all of this isn’t impossible to create with other eCommerce solutions, it’s great that everything is packaged into one easy plugin. All you have to do is check off which of the features you want. No more searching. No more hassle.

3. Very Detailed Analytics

I have stressed in the past the importance of keeping track of your analytics, but for eCommerce stores, this is even more important. Google Analytics really won’t do the trick for online stores, because it’s so much more than just getting a lot of traffic. You want to know how well that traffic converts, what items are doing well, which are being viewed, and also which one’s are underperforming.

MiwoShop did just that and provides a very simple, but very detailed one-page analytics chart, where you can figure all that out in just a couple clicks.

4. Intuitive “Amazon-like” Interface

While I have spent a lot of time selling through Amazon and ebay. And have even set up many eCommerce websites for friends in the past, using WooCommerce, I have never actually set one up for myself.

Why?

The interface of previous WordPress eCommerce Plugins were never enough for me and never did compare to sites like Amazon. The time it took me to upload items, and the tedious nature of using WooCommerce just never provided me the persuasion I needed to fully convert.

However, that might just change with MiwoShop. Miwoshop hasan interface that is very similar to Amazon, in its ease of use and intuitive product management design.

5. Easy Migration from other plugins

They made it easy to migrate from many eCommerce alternatives. Whether you use WooCommerce, Marketpress, WP E-Commerce, and many more, they have an easy to use migration platform set up.

6. Great Customer Support

Even with their free plan, they provide some great customer support. They have a bunch of articles, how to’s, manuals, and video tutorials to help you get your online store up and ready!

Things to think about…

While there is a lot of good with MiwoShop, this review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention some things that I wasn’t in love with. And there really is only one thing, but for many this may be quite a large deterrent, as of now.

The lack of Third Party Design. 

One of the great things that WooCommerce does provide is the large availability of “WooCommerce Ready Themes”. These are third party themes that have already planned the CSS designs of WooCommerce to match their theme.  MiwoShop just doesn’t have that luxury.

However, that’s mainly because MiwoShop is a very new plugin. It has just come out a couple of months ago and is so new to the WordPress community, that designers have not caught onto the trend. Give it a couple of months and I’m sure you’ll start to see some amazing designs for this great WordPress eCommerce plugin.

Conclusion – Best Woocommerce Alternative?

With the amazing features already built in and the flexibility that the MiwoShop eCommerce plugin provides, you really can’t go wrong. In my opinion, it is worth the time to test it out and see if the functionality and interface makes your life easier managing your online shop. After all, the plugin is free and the majority of the functions are provided in the free version.

While you may be concerned with lack of design options, don’t worry. In a matter of months, there will be third party designs, and with a bit of experimentation, you’ll be able to customize the design to match your theme. All in all, I would say the MiwoShop ecommerce plugin is a yes and I say go for it!

 MiwoShop Ecommerce Tutorial

This post is already quite long as it is, but let me give you a very quick tutorial to show you how easy it is to use MiwoShop.

 1. Install Miwoshop as usual – Miwoshop Tutorial

Install the plugin as usual, you can download the free version on the WordPress Directory here.

2. Change your Settings – Miwoshop Tutorial

Edit your settings to make sure everything is exactly as you like it. Namely, the name of your store, image resolution, design, etc.

3. Manage your Payment- Miwoshop Tutorial

Most important! Setup Paypal or whatever service you would like to accept payments with. The free version only comes with a couple options, however Paypal or direct credit card by SSL should be enough.

4. Start Uploading Products – Miwoshop Tutorial

Start uploading your products online and fill up your inventory! It is fairly self explanatory how to upload products, however all you have to do is go into Miwoshop>Products>Insert and you can start adding a new product! Or click copy and you can copy and change their demo items.

5. Set the Home Page

One of the biggest issues people wonder is how come their home page still displays their blog or previous home page. To change this, simply go into Appearance>Customize>Static Home Page and set your Front Page to the Store Front.

6. Customize your Site!

Go into System and browse the various settings in Design and Theme Editor to make your site look exactly as you’d like!

The plugin is very intuitive to use, so you should be up and running in no time. So, if you’re interested, go check out MiwoShop now!