WordPress E-Commerce Security Guide

When it comes to e-commerce, WordPress may not be the first name that comes to mind. This is primarily due to WordPress’s reputation as primarily a blogging platform. Therefore, WordPress’s functionality as an e-commerce platform brings about some debates as well.

Honestly, using WordPress for e-commerce comes with its advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will delve into all aspects of using WordPress for e-commerce to help you make your decision.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a popular open-source content management system that allows you to build your website from scratch without using complex programming languages.

What is WordPress Used For?

We mentioned that WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world. However, if you haven’t heard of this Content Management System (CMS) before, you may ask yourself the following question: “What is WordPress used for?”

The short answer to this question is: “WordPress is a content management system used primarily for blogging, company websites, portfolios, forums, membership sites, and of course, e-commerce.”

Why is WordPress Popular for E-commerce Websites?

Let’s set aside the statistics on WordPress’s dominance on the web and focus on why e-commerce businesses choose WordPress. Here are the top eight reasons:

It’s Free Since WordPress is an open-source system, you can use it for free whenever you want. Unlike other website builders where you have to pay each time you use their software, with WordPress, you only need hosting and a domain to build your e-commerce site.

It’s Flexible Even if you have no knowledge of web development, creating your e-commerce website through WordPress is quite easy. Due to the variety of installed themes in WordPress, you can customize your site according to your preference. Additionally, you can integrate many plugins that enhance your e-commerce site, such as email campaigns, contact forms, credit card payments, etc. With all these features, nothing is impossible with WordPress. It’s highly flexible because it gives you unlimited authority to do whatever you want with your site.

It Offers Built-in Analytics When you create your e-commerce site using WooCommerce on WordPress, you already have a built-in analytics tool. This means you don’t need to purchase third-party analytics tools or software.
It’s SEO-friendly WordPress is a content management system that search engines like Google love to crawl. If Google loves WordPress, it means your e-commerce site’s SEO marketing strategy is crucial.

It’s Mobile-Friendly WordPress offers many themes that are compatible with both desktop and mobile devices.

It Supports All Types of Media Having an e-commerce site means you’ll need different types of media for engaging advertisements. You can easily upload any informative content to your WordPress site, such as high-quality images, videos, audio, or animations, which will help increase sales for your products.

It Provides Superior Security As the popularity of e-commerce sites grows, hackers are taking more interest in these online businesses. With a WordPress e-commerce website, you can be sure that developers constantly update the CMS framework, plugins, and everything related to security to protect their websites from hackers.

It Has a Large Community With thousands of WordPress users online, you’ll never feel lost when you encounter any issues. For example, if you encounter difficulties while setting up your WordPress e-commerce site, you can find blogs, forums, or social media groups that will help you.

WordPress E-commerce Theme Selection

Deciding on the perfect WordPress e-commerce theme for your needs isn’t straightforward, identifying the most relevant features for your store can be quite perplexing. So, here are some essential aspects to bear in mind before you select a WordPress e-commerce theme.

Ease of Navigation contributes significantly to a positive website experience. Studies have shown a majority of users prefer navigating rather than searching on a website. Ensure that the path from the homepage to checkout is intuitive, adhering to the principle that users should be able to find or purchase specific products with minimal clicks.

Fast Loading Time is crucial. A significant portion of customers will abandon a site if it takes too long to load. Page loading speed is critical for SEO and user experience. Test the theme’s demo on tools like PageSpeed Insights, Pingdom Tools, and GTmetrix to check for potential speed issues.

Website Security is paramount when operating an e-commerce store since you’re handling sensitive customer information. While WordPress’s security largely depends on your hosting, enhancing your site’s security with an SSL certificate and security plugins is a wise move.

Mobile Responsive Design is essential in today’s digital landscape. Websites must look and function seamlessly across a variety of devices and screen sizes. Although most contemporary themes are mobile-responsive, it’s prudent to conduct your mobile testing on the theme’s demo to ensure compatibility and usability.

Clean Code is key to avoiding SEO problems. The theme you select should be coded according to the latest standards to prevent bloat, which can slow down indexing by search engines and negatively impact user experience. Tools like the W3C Markup Validator can be useful for checking a theme demo for markup errors.

When considering these elements, another vital question arises: Should you opt for WordPress hosting specifically tailored for e-commerce? This decision hinges on your specific needs, the scale of your e-commerce project, and the level of control and customization you require.

Every website and e-commerce store requires a web hosting service to be online. Hosting provides you with a server, allowing your site to connect to the internet and enabling people to visit the site.

Hosting comes in various forms and expertise levels. Some hosting types take their name from the hardware they’re based on, while others have unique features and specialized plans. E-commerce hosting falls squarely into this category.

A quality e-commerce hosting package includes a range of features specifically designed for such businesses. These may include free SSL encryption, assistance in setting up payment gateways, extra security measures, or scalability during periods of high traffic.

Did you know that WordPress has over 50,000 plugins?

While this number may be exciting for many WordPress users, it can also lead to doubt about how to select the best plugins for your specific needs from such a vast array of options.

In times of doubt, popularity can serve as an indicator of quality. Popular plugins tend to support various compatibility factors due to the support of plugin developers.

So, what are some popular plugins that can be useful when doing e-commerce with WordPress?

Here’s a list of popular WordPress plugins that you can use for e-commerce:

WooCommerce

Probably the most popular WordPress e-commerce plugin, WooCommerce is a fantastic plugin for building your digital storefront from scratch on WordPress.

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

Easy Digital Downloads offers a simple and intuitive plugin for managing and selling digital products on WordPress. While WooCommerce also supports this, EDD has more features focused on digital sales and a cleaner interface.

Cart66 Cloud

It’s tough to compete with WooCommerce in the e-commerce space, but Cart66 Cloud has carved out a solid niche. It provides a WordPress e-commerce plugin with most of the built-in features and easy setup.

Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart

Ecwid Ecommerce Shopping Cart is similar to WooCommerce but has a quite different setup. One key difference is that Ecwid can be used on any website you want. If you have a Drupal site, you can use Ecwid to set up an online store. The same applies to Tumblr, Facebook, WordPress, and more. WooCommerce, on the other hand, is limited to a single content management system.

How Can I Increase My Sales with WordPress?

If you’re wondering how to achieve this, here are 4 strategies for increasing your sales with WordPress:

Convert Visitors into Subscribers with an Email Subscription Plugin

Despite the increasing popularity of social media, email remains the most effective channel for marketing a business online. Email response rates are much higher than those on Facebook and Twitter.

To take advantage of this popularity, you can encourage visitors to subscribe to your email list. An excellent option for creating email subscribers is the MailChimp plugin, which is free for the first 2,000 subscribers. This plugin allows you to add subscription forms anywhere on your website. It also pulls valuable list and subscriber data into your WordPress dashboard, allowing you to track the growth of your list and see which messages are getting the best response.

Create Conversion-Optimized Landing Pages

A landing page is a web page designed to encourage visitors to take a specific action and looks different from the rest of your website.

You can use a landing page as a target for an advertising campaign (pay-per-click or social media) or an email campaign. Elementor is by far the best page builder for WordPress. Landing pages can be used for compelling messages and designing your entire WordPress site.

Reach Out to Those Who Have Previously Shown Interest in Your Products with PPC Remarketing

Most of your visitors will leave your website without looking at your products, let alone buying or interacting with them. That’s because attracting a visitor’s attention is not so easy.

This is where remarketing and retargeting come into play. Remarketing allows you to reach people who have previously shown interest in your products. When this happens, the chances of clicking on ads are higher, resulting in increased visits to your WooCommerce store.

Start Blogging About Topics That Matter to Your Customers and Potential Customers

 Blogging is such an easy task that you won’t need a plugin to do it. Because creating a blog is part of WordPress’s DNA.

By using your website as a platform to help solve your customers’ most urgent problems, answer common questions, publish educational content, and tell interesting stories, you can help people. So, you should create quality content that people will want to read for its SEO contribution.

Writing about topics that your customers want to learn more about is the most important way to attract more visitors to your website. And more visitors mean more sales.

How to improve your eCommerce security

While focusing on boosting sales and engaging customers, it’s crucial not to overlook the security aspect of your WordPress website. WP Safe Zone is a powerful security plugin that can help protect your site from various online threats, ensuring the safety of your valuable data and your customers’ information.

WP Safe Zone offers a range of security features, including:

• Malware scanning and removal to detect and eliminate any malicious code or software.
• Firewall protection to prevent unauthorized access and attacks on your website.
• Brute force attack prevention by limiting login attempts and strengthening password security.
• File integrity monitoring to track changes made to your site’s files and directories, alerting you to any unauthorized modifications.
• Real-time security alerts and notifications to keep you informed about potential security risks and vulnerabilities.
• Website hardening measures to fortify your site’s defenses against common security threats.

By installing and activating WP Safe Zone on your WordPress website, you can significantly enhance its security posture and provide your customers with peace of mind when browsing and making purchases online.

In conclusion, by implementing these strategies along with the WP Safe Zone plugin, you can not only increase your sales but also ensure the safety and security of your WordPress e-commerce site, fostering trust and loyalty among your customers.

Select WooCommerce-Optimized Hosting for Enhanced eCommerce Security

“Choosing WooCommerce-Optimized Hosting: Elevating Your eCommerce Security”

With WooCommerce’s widespread popularity, numerous reputable hosts offer specialized WooCommerce hosting, enriching your eCommerce journey. Opting for a WooCommerce hosting plan unlocks a plethora of additional WooCommerce functionalities and robust security measures.

SiteGround presents competitively priced WooCommerce hosting plans, meticulously crafted to amplify your online sales. Their WooCommerce-tailored packages encompass automated WooCommerce and Storefront theme setup, seamless migration assistance, intelligent caching, and more.

But what about eCommerce security provisions within SiteGround’s WooCommerce plans? Let’s delve into the details:

1. Pre-Installed SSL: Safeguard customer transactions and instill shopper trust with a complimentary SSL certificate.
2. Managed Updates: SiteGround handles WordPress and WooCommerce updates automatically, ensuring your site stays current and fortified against potential threats.
3. PCI Compliant Servers: Secure online payment processing is guaranteed through SiteGround’s PCI compliant servers.
4. Web Application Firewall and AI Anti-Bot System: Benefit from SiteGround’s robust security measures, shielding your online store from various cyber threats.
5. Daily Backups: With SiteGround’s daily backup service, restoring your store is a breeze, empowering you to rebound swiftly from any unforeseen mishaps.

Boost Your eCommerce Security: Get an SSL Certificate Today

If you operate an online store, acquiring an SSL certificate for your website is essential. An SSL certificate encrypts data, ensuring the security of customer information. This encryption renders any data transmitted between the website and server unreadable, which is crucial for safeguarding sensitive details such as credit card information and personal data that your online store handles regularly.

Although many hosts provide a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, which is adequate from a security standpoint, investing in an Extended Validation SSL certificate (EV SSL) is likely a better option.

This instills confidence in visitors regarding the security of your website.

There are various SSL providers offering a variety of SSL certificates at different price ranges. PositiveSSL, for instance, is an SSL provider offering website and internal server security with an SSL certificate starting at just $47 per year, and there are many other cost-effective SSL certificate providers available.

Implement a Secure Payment Gateway

Consider avoiding storing customers’ credit card details on your server whenever possible. A simple way to achieve this is by employing a third-party payment processor. By doing so, they will manage all credit card data and customer information on your behalf.

Several payment gateways offer a variety of services and features, so it’s advisable to explore your options before making a decision. However, if you’re new to eCommerce and unsure about the features you’ll require from your payment provider, both PayPal and Stripe are excellent payment gateways. They facilitate secure payment setups for your online store efficiently.

Concluding Remarks on eCommerce Security

Ensuring the security of your eCommerce website is paramount in building trust with your customers and protecting sensitive information. Here are some final thoughts on eCommerce security:

1. Stay updated: Regularly update your website’s software, plugins, and themes to patch security vulnerabilities and keep your site secure.

2. Implement strong passwords: Use unique, complex passwords for all accounts associated with your eCommerce website, including hosting, admin, and payment gateway accounts.

3. Backup regularly: Perform regular backups of your website to ensure you can quickly restore it in case of a security breach or data loss.

4. Monitor for suspicious activity: Use security plugins and tools to monitor your website for any signs of suspicious activity or unauthorized access.

5. Educate yourself: Stay informed about the latest security threats and best practices in eCommerce security to proactively protect your website and customers.

By prioritizing eCommerce security and implementing robust security measures, you can safeguard your website and customers’ data, build trust, and ensure a positive shopping experience for your customers.