WooCommerce vs Simple Virtual Downloads: Which One Must You Use?

By means of its market share, WordPress is the most well liked strategy to create an eCommerce retailer. And in spite of the overpowering approval for WooCommerce, there are in reality a couple of ways in which you’ll use WordPress to create an eCommerce retailer, with Simple Virtual Downloads being every other stellar possibility.

That may have you ever questioning… relating to WooCommerce vs Simple Virtual Downloads, which plugin must you utilize to construct your retailer?

Smartly, the straightforward solution is that WooCommerce is for bodily merchandise, while Simple Virtual Downloads is for virtual merchandise.

However whilst the above sentence is usually true, it’s additionally just a little bit oversimplified. This is, you’ll nonetheless use WooCommerce to promote virtual merchandise, and it’s additionally conceivable to promote bodily merchandise with Simple Virtual Downloads.

Since the solution isn’t all the time so easy, we’re going to dig right into a complete WooCommerce vs Simple Virtual Downloads comparability on this publish.

By means of the top, you must know which one is the correct possibility in your WordPress eCommerce retailer.

WooCommerce and Simple Virtual Downloads

There’s no arguing with the truth that WooCommerce is the enormous in WordPress eCommerce. Obtained by way of Automattic for ~$30 million in 2015, WooCommerce has a whopping ~35% market share when it comes to all eCommerce sites at the Web.

WooCommerce used to be at first constructed to take care of bodily merchandise, although you’ll now use it for virtual merchandise, as effectively.

Its reputation, blended with the truth that it’s sponsored by way of Automattic, manner:

• There’s an enormous market for third-party extensions that you’ll use so as to add further capability on your retailer. The similar is going for WooCommerce subject matters.
• It receives steady fortify and building. Principally, it’s no longer going away any time quickly.
• It’s simple to seek out lend a hand or skilled fortify for those who run into any problems.

Easy Digital Downloads, frequently abbreviated as EDD, isn’t as well-liked as WooCommerce. By the numbers, it powers simply ~0.2% of the BuiltWith Best Million. However that’s not anything to scoff at, and it’s slightly well-liked by eCommerce shops that promote virtual merchandise.

Because the title suggests, Simple Virtual Downloads used to be constructed to take care of virtual merchandise, although it does now be offering rudimentary fortify for bodily merchandise. Like WooCommerce:

• Simple Virtual Downloads has a market of each reliable and third-party extensions. Simple Virtual Downloads took its hosted market in-house in 2017, however you’ll nonetheless to find quite a few third-party add-ons as effectively.
• Whilst Sandhills Building, the corporate in the back of EDD, isn’t as giant as Automattic, it’s nonetheless slightly established. Past EDD, it additionally has plugins like Prohibit Content material Professional and AffiliateWP.

What Can You Promote with WooCommerce and Simple Virtual Downloads?

Good enough, so in spite of the simplified model we gave you initially, you’ll use each WooCommerce and Simple Virtual Downloads to promote each bodily and virtual merchandise.

With that being mentioned, there’s a explanation why that’s nonetheless a excellent rule of thumb:

• When you can use Easy Digital Downloads to sell physical products, it’s nonetheless constructed with virtual merchandise in thoughts so the fortify for bodily merchandise is rarely going to be as detailed as what you get with WooCommerce.
• WooCommerce has plenty of options that simply simple don’t observe to virtual merchandise. Principally, there’s a large number of overkill that you simply don’t want with a purely virtual retailer.
• Whilst each fortify tool license keys, maximum builders appear to desire Simple Virtual Downloads’ strategy to license keys and subscriptions. EDD’s tool licensing module is up to date ceaselessly.

Key takeaways:

• In case your retailer sells most commonly virtual merchandise, with only some bodily merchandise thrown in, Simple Virtual Downloads is most likely your best choice.
• In case your retailer sells most commonly bodily merchandise, you’ll most likely need WooCommerce as a result of Simple Virtual Downloads is most effective supposed for fundamental bodily transport. If you make a decision you need to promote a couple of virtual merchandise at some point, you’ll nonetheless be fantastic as a result of WooCommerce does fortify virtual merchandise.

What Fee Gateways Can You Use?

In relation to giant title cost gateways, you almost certainly gained’t understand any distinction between WooCommerce vs Simple Virtual Downloads. This is, each plugins fortify giant names like:

• PayPal
• Stripe
• Authorize.internet
• 2Checkout

With that being mentioned, WooCommerce’s gateways for Stripe and PayPal are unfastened, while Simple Virtual Downloads will price you $89 for get entry to to Stripe.

Moreover, if you want a distinct cost gateway – like a unique native cost gateway – WooCommerce has a broader set of extensions due to its reputation.

You’ll to find a big listing of third-party payment gateways for Easy Digital Downloads, however lots of them aren’t well-maintained.

Key takeaways:

• Each fortify all of the primary cost gateways.
• WooCommerce will provide you with extra cost gateways totally free.
• WooCommerce has higher fortify for smaller, native gateways because of its reputation.

What Upload-Ons and Subject matters Are To be had?

As a result of its reputation, WooCommerce has a bigger collection of plugins and subject matters. For instance, some fast searches flip up:

• ~5,600 WooCommerce plugins at WordPress.org, in comparison to ~600 for Simple Virtual Downloads
• ~2,700 WooCommerce plugins at CodeCanyon, in comparison to ~300 for Simple Virtual Downloads

In fact, you don’t want hundreds of plugins – you most effective want a couple of key plugins. So the disparity between the ones two numbers shouldn’t essentially sway your determination.

The theory right here is simply let’s say that WooCommerce has a far greater extension market, which could be useful if you want some particular area of interest characteristic.

With that being mentioned, Simple Virtual Downloads has extensions for all of the essential capability you want to promote virtual merchandise, in addition to quite a few great-looking subject matters.

Key takeaways:

• WooCommerce has a considerably greater market for add-ons and subject matters.
• That may no longer imply any distinction in actual existence since you most likely most effective want a number of key plugins – you’ll want to test your self if every resolution can be offering the important capability thru core capability or add-ons.

Is One Plugin More uncomplicated to Use Than the Different?

Each plugins make it simple to create an eCommerce retailer and there aren’t massive variations in usability. If you’ll use WooCommerce, you should not have any issues the use of Simple Virtual Downloads (and vice versa).

If you wish to see a comparability of the way it works to create a shop with every plugin, we’ve written detailed tutorials for every plugin:

• WooCommerce tutorial
• Easy Digital Downloads tutorial

Each tutorials take you thru all of the procedure of making an eCommerce retailer, which must provide you with an concept of the convenience of use of each plugins.

Key takeaway:

• Each plugins make it simple to create an eCommerce retailer with WordPress.

WooCommerce vs Simple Virtual Downloads: Pricing

In any case, we come to worth…

Whilst each core plugins are unfastened, it’s just about a for the reason that you’ll want to acquire a minimum of a couple of top class extensions, regardless of which plugin you select.

Sadly, there’s no blanket rule for which is inexpensive – it’s roughly like asking, “is a purple automobile inexpensive than a blue automobile?”. The solution is, it is dependent…

Because of Simple Virtual Downloads’ price increases in late 2016, particular person WooCommerce extensions are usually just a little bit inexpensive, or from time to time relatively priced. For instance:

• WooCommerce paid cost gateways typically price $79, however they’re $89 for Simple Virtual Downloads.
• WooCommerce tool licensing is $129, and habitual bills is $199. On Simple Virtual Downloads, tool licensing is $199 and habitual bills is $199.

Simple Virtual Downloads also sells bundles, although, which will prevent an important amount of cash. For instance, you’ll get get entry to to all of the extensions to be used on limitless websites for $499 in keeping with 12 months, which saves you a ton of cash, particularly on a couple of websites:

This package deal used to price $899, which used to be tricky to abdomen. However the brand new pricing of $499 makes it a perfect deal. And you’ll additionally to find even inexpensive bundles for those who don’t want each and every unmarried extension.

Whilst there are several WooCommerce bundles, there’s not anything similar to the price you get with Simple Virtual Downloads’ bundles.

So if you want to make use of plenty of extensions, particularly on a couple of websites, Simple Virtual Downloads’ package deal manner may in reality make it extra reasonably priced.

Key takeaways:

• There’s no exhausting rule about which is inexpensive for WooCommerce vs Simple Virtual Downloads.
• Person WooCommerce extensions appear to typically be just a little inexpensive.
• Simple Virtual Downloads’ bundles may make it extra reasonably priced, particularly if you want plenty of extensions or are working a couple of shops.

eCommerce Efficiency

One crucial side to remember is efficiency. eCommerce WordPress websites are very not easy and generate a large number of cache-bypassing dynamic web page lots. They serve as so much like club websites, for which we now have a whole publish devoted to the do’s and don’ts in regards to hosting.

As a result of Simple Virtual Downloads is extra centered in its manner, it usually has higher out-of-the-box efficiency. For instance, right here’s an Simple Virtual Downloads retailer loading in beneath 600 ms on Kinsta.

Whilst it’s unquestionably conceivable to make WooCommerce load speedy, it typically calls for extra tweaking and WooCommerce-optimized hosting. Our WordPress staff offers with optimizing prime visitors WooCommerce and EDD websites each day. Now we have noticed all of it. Listed here are only some techniques we move additional to seek out the very best steadiness between efficiency and capability:

• Now we have speedy server-level page caching in position with regulations to verify right kind WooCommerce and EDD capability.
• By means of default, positive pages that are supposed to by no means be cached, equivalent to cart, my-account, and checkout, are excluded from caching.
• Customers robotically bypass the cache when the woocommerce_items_in_cart cookie or edd_items_in_cart are detected to verify a clean and in-sync checkout procedure.

At Kinsta, you additionally the power to make a choice a plan that has extra PHP workers. PHP employees necessarily take care of the entire requests that aren’t served from cache.

Must You Use WooCommerce or Simple Virtual Downloads?

In spite of everything, it nonetheless comes again to the straightforward distinction we arrange within the intro:

• For a shop that sells most commonly bodily merchandise, WooCommerce is most probably the most suitable choice.
• For a shop that sells most commonly virtual merchandise, particularly those who require tool licenses, Simple Virtual Downloads is most probably the most suitable choice.

Your retailer’s distinctive wishes may greenback the traits and make one plugin a more sensible choice than the opposite, however the above is a great rule of thumb for many shops.

What about you – have you ever used each those plugins? Which one would you counsel and why/when?

The publish WooCommerce vs Easy Digital Downloads: Which One Should You Use? gave the impression first on Kinsta Managed WordPress Hosting.

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