Sell Ebooks, Fashion, and More on WordPress with WooCommerce

Kira M. Newman Mar 10, 2012 Tweet

I cover startups and apps on a daily basis now, but not often do I see one I’ll actually use. WooCommerce is an exception.

Based in South Africa, WooCommerce helps you turn your WordPress blog into a bona fide online store – with tons of room for creativity. “WooCommerce has got more features than you can shake a stick at,” they joke.

Among those features: customizable themes (WooCommerce is a subdivision of WooThemes, which sells WordPress themes); promotional features like reviews, coupons, and flash sales; and order tracking. The freemium service features upgrades like payment gateways (including PayPal and Google Checkout), different shipping for each country, and a currency converter.

“WooCommerce democratizes ecommerce in making it easier and more accessible to start selling online,” the team explains. That means selling physical goods as well as digital downloads; one copywriter used WooCommerce to sell more than $20,000 worth of her e-book, Copy Hackers, in just a day.

WooCommerce is a noteworthy example of how a stellar product can come from anywhere. The WooThemes headquarters is in Cape Town, but over half the team is scattered across the world because hiring locally was tough. Up until now, only 2 team members have been working on WooCommerce.

And Cape Town isn’t exactly a tech hub, so mentors and advisors are hard to come by. Still, since launch in 2011, WooCommerce has attracted 50,000 users in 4 months and some early revenue.

“We’ve never found it a challenge to be an international startup/business interacting and selling to users worldwide,” WooThemes cofounder Adii Pienaar says simply.

Hear more from WooCommerce at our Tech Cocktail SXSW #StartupLife Celebration tonight.

Editor’s Note: Thank you to Vitrue, a sponsor of our #Startuplife Celebration and Tech Cocktail’s special SXSW video series. Check out Vitrue’s live daily updates from SXSW!