One of the easiest eCommerce like WordPress Plugins that I have ever used is Easy Digital Downloads. Like most other WordPress plugins I have written about is this one is also FREE, and let’s face it everyone likes a good freebee.
The drawback is if you want or need additional features you have to spend money in the form of extensions. Some of which are fairly reasonable, while other extensions are a little on the pricey side for what they do. Don’t get me wrong, I am a developer and programmer myself and know that there is a lot of time and testing involved, but extensions approachin a hundred dollars and more can be more than most people have allowed in their budget.
It does come with the basics that will allow you to sell a simple digital download by means of Paypal basic/standard, which might be enough for you.
There is also a free service extension for those of you wishing to sell services rather than a physical download-able product. Or, you can use both at the same time for a combination of physical download-able products and services.
You may need to put on your thinking cap to initially get it configured. However, I would say it’s a lot easier to configure than some of the other Paypal / eCommerce solutions that I have tested out.
There are definitely eCommerce plugins that will take you hours upon end to configure and setup, and once you think you a good handle on how to use it, you find out you are doing something wrong and need to re-configure it all again.
Not with Easy Digital Downloads. I call it a set it and forget it plugin. As long as you don’t have hundreds of digital products you intend to sell, you can have it up and running in an hour or two, and even less if you have a good understanding of WordPress plugins and configuration settings.
This is one WordPress plugin I would definitely recommend if you have digital products to sell, or basic/simple services that you offer and sell.
Like I mentioned there are other eCommerce types and categories of WordPress plugins out there. Some of which get pretty complex and you wonder if Shopify or a similar service would be a better bet at some point.
Some people like the complexity and the idea of having more control, but a long with that comes much more learning time, and just upkeep and maintenance time.
I used to like the idea of having more control. However, more recently I am a big fan of “KISS” Keep It Simple Stupid. I don’t know how many times I have edited various files that resulted in more work in the long run, especially every time there was a WordPress update. I would have to reapply a lot of my customization’s.
That’s where a WordPress Child Theme, or your own Custom Plugin comes in handy, and can save you a lot of time and work. Assuming you know how to create a Child Theme and/or Custom Plugin.
Anyway the bottom line is if you have been thinking about selling digital products or simple/basic services on your website be sure to give Easy Digital Downloads for WordPress a test-drive!
I am the site owner and administrator of DialMe.com. I provide help and tips for Boonex Dolphin on the main part of this website where you will also find an assortment of other resources. Here, on the blog I write about a variety of topics surrounding WordPress, technology, social media/networking, SEO, and webmaster resources.
