What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a plugin that adds an online store to a WordPress site. Merchants create simple, variable, grouped, downloadable and external products, manage stock and coupons, and process orders from the WordPress dashboard, while shoppers browse a catalog, add items to a cart and pay at checkout. Because the store runs inside WordPress, product pages sit alongside blog posts, landing pages and other content on the same site.
The core plugin handles taxes, shipping zones and rates, customer accounts, order emails and sales reports. Since 2023, new stores have used block-based cart and checkout pages by default and kept orders in dedicated database tables for faster queries. Most stores add extensions: payment gateways such as WooPayments, Stripe and PayPal, subscriptions and bookings, shipping carrier integrations and marketing tools. A REST API and mobile apps for iOS and Android let merchants connect other systems and manage orders away from a computer.
WooCommerce is developed by Automattic with outside contributors and is distributed free through the WordPress.org plugin directory, which listed more than 7 million active installations in September 2026. It appeals to merchants who want to own their store’s code and data and pick their own hosting, in contrast to hosted platforms such as Shopify that bundle software and hosting into a monthly subscription.
Key features of WooCommerce
- 01
Product and inventory management
Merchants list physical, digital, variable and grouped products with prices, images, attributes and stock levels, and set up coupons, sales and low-stock notifications from the dashboard.
- 02
Cart and checkout blocks
Block-based cart and checkout pages can be customized in the WordPress editor and support express payment buttons from compatible payment providers.
- 03
Payment gateways
WooPayments, Automattic’s own payment service, handles cards and digital wallets inside the dashboard, and extensions connect stores to other providers such as Stripe, PayPal and Square.
- 04
Shipping and taxes
Stores define shipping zones, flat rates, free shipping and local pickup, calculate sales tax or VAT by location, and add carrier extensions for live rates and label printing.
- 05
Extensions marketplace
The WooCommerce Marketplace sells official and third-party extensions for subscriptions, memberships, bookings, product bundles, marketing automation and accounting integrations.
- 06
Orders and analytics
Order management, customer records, refunds, automated emails and a built-in analytics dashboard show revenue, top products and other store performance trends over time.
- 07
REST API and mobile app
Developers connect WooCommerce to ERP, inventory and marketing systems through its REST API and webhooks, and merchants use the Woo mobile app to track sales and fulfill orders.
Who uses WooCommerce?
- Small businesses and creators add an online shop to an existing WordPress website instead of moving to a separate e-commerce platform.
- Merchants selling digital goods such as e-books, courses and software licenses deliver downloadable products and manage customer access automatically.
- Agencies build custom stores for clients, using WooCommerce hooks, extensions and the REST API to connect inventory, accounting and shipping systems.
- Subscription businesses use extensions to sell recurring boxes, memberships and services with automatic renewal payments.
History of WooCommerce
WooCommerce was created by WooThemes, a WordPress theme company founded in 2008 by Adii Pienaar, Magnus Jepson and Mark Forrester. Developers Mike Jolley and James Koster built it as a fork of Jigoshop, an existing WordPress e-commerce plugin, and WooThemes released it on September 27, 2011. The free plugin, supported by paid extensions, soon became the company’s main business.
Automattic acquired WooThemes in May 2015, bringing WooCommerce under the same owner as WordPress.com. Under Automattic the plugin gained its own payment service, block-based cart and checkout pages and a new order storage system. WooCommerce has also been drawn into the legal fight between Automattic and the hosting company WP Engine: Automattic’s October 2025 counterclaims accuse WP Engine of misusing the WooCommerce trademark as well as WordPress’s.
- 2011
WooThemes launches WooCommerce on September 27 as a fork of the Jigoshop plugin.
- 2015
Automattic acquires WooThemes, bringing WooCommerce under the WordPress.com owner.
- 2023
Block-based checkout and high-performance order storage become defaults for new stores.
- 2025
Automattic’s counterclaims accuse WP Engine of misusing the WooCommerce and WordPress trademarks.
WooCommerce pricing
Pricing modelFree and open source
The core plugin is free; merchants pay for hosting, optional extensions and themes, and transaction fees charged by payment services such as WooPayments.
Prices change often. Check the official WooCommerce website for current plans.
WooCommerce alternatives
Well-known alternativesShopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce, PrestaShop, Squarespace and Wix
WooCommerce: frequently asked questions
Who owns WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is owned by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr. Automattic acquired WooThemes, which created WooCommerce in 2011, in May 2015. The plugin’s code is open source, and Automattic develops it with contributions from outside developers.
What is WooCommerce used for?
WooCommerce is used to run online stores on WordPress websites. Merchants use it to sell physical products, digital downloads, subscriptions, bookings and memberships, handling the product catalog, cart, checkout, payments, shipping, taxes and orders from the WordPress dashboard.
Is WooCommerce free?
Yes, the core WooCommerce plugin is free and open source. Running a store usually involves other costs, however, including web hosting, a domain name, transaction fees from payment providers and, for many merchants, paid extensions or themes from the WooCommerce Marketplace and other vendors.
When was WooCommerce released?
WooCommerce was released on September 27, 2011, by WooThemes, which built it as a fork of the Jigoshop e-commerce plugin. Automattic acquired WooThemes, including WooCommerce, in 2015, and the plugin has been updated regularly ever since.
Does WooCommerce require WordPress?
Yes. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, so it must be installed on a WordPress site, either on self-managed hosting or on a WordPress.com plan that allows plugins. Current versions of WooCommerce require recent releases of WordPress and PHP.
Sources
- WooCommerce woocommerce.com
- WooCommerce plugin, WordPress.org wordpress.org
- WooCommerce, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
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