Probably it is not a secret that WooCommerce is the fastest growing shopping cart in the world. Industry reports indicate that WooCommerce powers millions of active online stores globally. This number has steadily grown, with WooCommerce remaining a strong choice for a significant percentage of all e-commerce platform switches. So we decided to find out what were the reasons that pushed a brand new solution from nowhere to become a market leader in a remarkably short time.
1. WordPress Plugin
Here comes a simple fact: WordPress is the most used CMS in the world. According to different sources hundreds of millions of websites are built with WordPress, representing over 43% of all websites globally. Huge number of site owners who use WP sooner or later reach a moment when they want to sell something to their audience. In this case there are basically two options:
- Use an independent shopping cart like Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Shopify, or BigCommerce etc. It means spending time on learning how everything works which honestly may become a serious issue. Merchants would also need to find appropriate hosting environment since some platforms are quite resource-consuming.
- Use a native WordPress plugin for e-Commerce. It can be easily installed into WP admin panel and doesn doesn’t require too much time to get acquainted with. It totally looks and feels as WordPress.
In most cases the choice is obvious. But why exactly merchants choose WooCommerce over other e-Commerce plugins?
2. Stable and Bugless
Straight after initial release in September 2011 WooCommerce gained a reputation of a stable and comparingly bugless solution. First versions couldn’t boast strong out-of-the-box functionality. However, it was more than enough to create a small online business. And even more inspiring was that WooCommerce Development Team didn't seem to sleep at all...
3. New Versions, Fixes and Extensions
WooCommerce GitHub page has seen numerous releases over the years, demonstrating continuous development. Developers Team did their best to:
- Provide new features that Woo Community really needed.
- Quickly and effectively fix reported bugs.
- Improve cart usability and user-friendliness.
Add an intuitive admin interface, several hundreds of extensions, open source code and all the beautiful templates from Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com). All together it makes WooCommerce a preferable solution not only for WordPress users but for all e-merchants.
4. Well Supported
Unlike a huge part of open source solutions that fail to deliver strong support for their product WooCommerce did all their best to help users cope with any kind of issues:
- Documentation
- FAQs
- Video Tutorials
- Community Forum
- HelpDesk
As a result a merchant who faces a problem can easily fix it by himself or get professional help from Support Team.
5. Price.
And yes, we almost forgot - WooCommerce is totally free.
Why Numbers May Lie
Installing a WooCommerce plugin at WordPress site doesn’t always mean the site owner will use it. Users may simply play with a new extension and find out how things work or, for business reasons, after test driving WooCommerce, go to another solution, etc.
However, even taking this into consideration, the WooCommerce success story is still a remarkable example of how to create, launch and maintain a great e-Commerce solution.
P.S.: in case you are interested in WooCommerce migration (from any most popular shopping carts, such as migration from Magento) check this page for more info on how to make your data transfer simple and effective.
Monthly Update – January 2026
January 2026 kicks off with renewed focus on AI-driven personalization and sustainable e-commerce practices. For online store owners, especially those on robust platforms like WooCommerce, leveraging AI to understand customer behavior and offer tailored shopping experiences is paramount. This includes dynamic product recommendations, personalized marketing messages, and predictive analytics to optimize inventory. Furthermore, as consumer awareness around environmental impact grows, highlighting your store's commitment to sustainability, whether through eco-friendly packaging, ethical sourcing, or carbon-neutral shipping, can significantly boost brand loyalty and attract new customers. Consider integrating tools that allow customers to offset their carbon footprint at checkout or clearly display product sustainability metrics. Technical performance also remains a key competitive differentiator; ensure your WooCommerce store is optimized for speed, mobile responsiveness, and seamless integration with third-party logistics and payment gateways. Regularly review your analytics to identify bottlenecks and user experience friction points, implementing A/B tests to continuously refine your store's performance. The beginning of the year is an ideal time to audit your entire e-commerce ecosystem, ensuring every component contributes to a future-proof, customer-centric strategy.
For more details, explore our FAQ section or schedule a call with a migration expert.
