WooCommerce now powers over 5 million online stores. With the WordPress economy projected to surpass $20 billion this year, eCommerce remains the fastest-growing segment.
But launching an online store is only the first step. Standing out in this increasingly competitive landscape requires optimizing your customer‘s journey from product discovery to purchase and beyond.
That‘s where adding the right WooCommerce plugins comes in.
In this expert guide, we‘ll compare the top plugins and extensions to help you maximize sales, boost conversions, improve security, and create exceptional shopping experiences.
I‘ve personally tested dozens of options over my 10+ years as an eCommerce consultant. Below I‘m sharing my up-to-date research on the 32 best WooCommerce plugins of 2023 based on popularity, benefits, and value.
Let‘s dive in!
1. OptinMonster – Convert Abandoned Carts into Sales
A staggering 78% of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. That‘s a lot of lost potential revenue.
OptinMonster helps you recover those sales through targeted cart recovery campaigns. When someone tries to leave your site, you can display special offers or exit-intent popups.
Smart exit-intent technology detects mouse movement to identify shoppers about to leave. Then it prompts them with irresistible deals like 25% off or free shipping.
In testing, stores have generated over $10,000 in recovered revenue per month with OptinMonster.
Other valuable features include:
- Spin a wheel overlays and gamified contests
- Slide-in side tab for upsells and cross-sells
- Countdown timers and scarcity notifications
For lead generation, OptinMonster integrates with all major email services to help you rapidly grow your subscriber list.
Their free plan lets you create basic popups and bars to get started. Then you can upgrade to access advanced personalization and targeting rules.
2. LiveChat – Offer Real-Time Customer Support
Research shows 63% of online shoppers need some form of help while browsing. Live chat software meets that demand directly on your store 24/7.
LiveChat makes it effortless to engage customers, respond to inquiries, and provide assistance in real-time. Their team is actively monitoring over 150,000 chat windows at any moment.
Benefits for WooCommerce stores include:
- Mobile-optimized interface with automatic device detection
- Quick reactions with customizable canned responses
- Support for multiple languages and currencies
- Detailed analytics on chat volume, sales impact, and value per lead
Agents can monitor multiple chats simultaneously from desktop or mobile apps. With real-time visitor tracking, they can also initiate proactive outreach.
According to LiveChat, adding live chat typically generates a 15-20% increase in average order value. It also reduces refund requests by 22%.
Their basic plan is free forever and supports unlimited agents with basic reporting.
3. FunnelKit – Optimize Checkouts and Boost Revenue
WooCommerce handles default cart and checkout functionality. But optimizing user flows for higher conversion requires customization.
That‘s where FunnelKit shines. Their templated digital funnels help you reduce shopping cart abandonment and maximize customer lifetime value.
For example, FunnelKit offers a customizable one-page checkout template that captures emails before payment. This simple tweak lifts conversion rates by over 20% according to their research.
You can also use FunnelKit to create upsell funnels after checkout and set up automated post-purchase follow up sequences with WooCommerce.
Smart direction and page-level analytics let you monitor performance down to each step and make data-driven optimizations.
FunnelKit is 100% free and comes bundled with the fastest WooCommerce Stripe integration on the market.
For further customizations like A/B testing and advanced sequences, pricing starts at $99/month. But their essential checkout and cart recovery tools won‘t cost you anything.
4. Advanced Coupons – Offer Marketing Promotions That Convert
68% of digital consumers use coupons from retailers according to 2020 data. Offering discounts and markdowns caters perfectly to this demand.
But WooCommerce‘s default coupon tools are basic at best.
That‘s where Advanced Coupons shines. It‘s the #1 coupon and promotions solution designed explicitly for WooCommerce stores.
You can easily set up volume discounts, landing page coupons, free shipping thresholds, first-order reductions, and automated "coupon wheel" popups.
Protect yourself from abuse with fine-grained usage limits and robust coupon policies.
Advanced Coupons perfectly complements existing marketing efforts. It starts free and pricing suits even the smallest stores.
5. WP Mail SMTP – Keep Emails Out of Spam Folders
Deliverability issues plague many WooCommerce stores. Out of the box, WordPress sends email through PHP which has no reputation with major providers. So messages often land in spam.
WP Mail SMTP solves this by routing your mail through a trusted third-party SMTP provider instead.
Simply sign up for a free account with SendinBlue, Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES, or another reputable service. Then connect WP Mail SMTP and configure the settings seamlessly.
Suddenly your operational emails and customer notifications will start landing in inboxes like magic.
You can even track opens, clicks, and unsubscribes to better understand engagement.
WP Mail SMTP is a must-have plugin for any WooCommerce site using official notifications. Over 3 million WordPress sites rely on it for reliable delivery.
6. SeedProd – Create High-Converting Landing Pages
Every WooCommerce store needs dedicated landing pages and sales funnels. But building these from scratch demands expensive developers and designers.
SeedProd makes creating custom pages easy through their drag and drop editor.
Pick from beautiful templates for product launches, webinars, lead capture, and more. Then customize copy, colors, and layout at will to match your brand.
Natively integrated WooCommerce blocks allow showcasing products, taking payments, and tracking conversions without code.
Dynamic features like popups, countdown timers, and iframe embeds cater perfectly to promotions.
For developers, SeedProd offers custom PHP, HTML, embed codes, and CSS for advanced customization needs.
Pricing starts free for core features then scales based on usage. For serious growth, explore their unlimited Enterprise plan.
7. MonsterInsights – Unlock Actionable Google Analytics Insights
Understanding your customers and site performance requires analytics. MonsterInsights makes unlocking those insights easy.
It seamlessly connects Google Analytics to your WordPress dashboard for data-driven decisions in one place.
Review top-level traffic metrics like unique visitors, page views, bounce rate, and average session duration without leaving your site. Drill-down further into acquisition channels and engagement.
MonsterInsights particularly shines for eCommerce stores with enhanced tracking. It captures customer profiles, shopping behavior, and purchase history automatically.
See your top earning products then optimize their positioning. Analyze conversions to improve funnel drop-off points leading to checkout.
Their Google Analytics 4 integration even makes future-proofing your data easy as the industry shifts to this new standard.
For WordPress professionals, MonsterInsights is an essential go-to tool. Try their limited free version or unlock all features starting at $99 per year.
8. TrustPulse – Leverage Social Proof and FOMO
Peer-influenced notifications subtly employ psychological triggers for higher conversions. Also known as social proof or FOMO (fear of missing out) marketing.
TrustPulse makes tapping into this powerful technique easy. Their smart embeddable notifications react dynamically to show nearby user activity.
As visitors browse products, you can display recent purchases, stock running low, or limited-time left countdowns. These build urgency while also providing social validation.
According to economists, matching choices to others persuades 3x more effectively than traditional advertising.
Ecommerce research also found sites leveraging social proof have conversion rates 4x higher on average.
TrustPulse compliments paid ads and email remarketing beautifully. Their forever free plan supports unlimited sites with all core notification capabilities.
9. Stripe Payment Gateway – Accept Credit Cards Securely
Choosing the right payment gateway ensures seamless checkout and maximized acceptance rates.
Stripe tops our recommendation list thanks to stellar fraud protection, built-in security, and reduced PCI compliance scope.
Their WordPress plugin lets you accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club cards directly on your store.
Stripe is renowned for top-tier infrastructure, supporting Fortune 500s and enterprise brands. But pricing suits smaller stores with no monthly fees beyond competitive card processing rates.
For those selling globally, Stripe simplifies accepting 135+ currencies and local payment methods preferred across the world.
Your customers will appreciate easy Apple Pay and Google Pay checkouts along with saved payment option renewals.
For recurring payments, Stripe combines elegantly with leading subscription management plugins like MemberPress and Paid Memberships Pro.
Stripe maintains stellar 4.9/5 ratings across WordPress repositories thanks to reliable uptime and helpful support. We encourage their solution for any compliant WooCommerce business.
10. WP Rocket – Speed Up and Optimize Your Store
Site speed dramatically impacts online shopping experiences. Research by Akamai found a 100ms delay reduces conversions by 7%.
Yet over half of sites fail recommended performance budgets.
WP Rocket prevents losing customers to sluggishness using intelligent caching and image optimization. Together these serve pages in under 200ms while minimizing resource strain.
Activating their plugin safely takes all complexity out of site performance:
- Powerful object and browser caching rules
- Responsive image resizing and next-gen WebP conversion
- Deferred CSS/JS loading for faster rendering
- Lazy image loading only when visible
- Asset minification and combination
Expect an instant boost after installing on your WooCommerce site. Pages load visibly faster and convert better with WP Rocket.
Their free trial lasts 14 days to test impact with no commitment required. We highly recommend at least trying it once.
