WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce plugin built for WordPress that transforms standard WordPress websites into fully functional online stores.

Meaning & Context

As the most popular e-commerce solution globally, WooCommerce powers over 28% of all online stores and offers extensive customization through themes and extensions. It provides core e-commerce functionality including product management, shopping carts, checkout processes, and payment gateway integration. Being open-source and WordPress-based, it offers exceptional flexibility for developers and content-focused businesses.

Why It Matters

For CRO professionals, WooCommerce's flexibility allows for extensive A/B testing opportunities across product pages, checkout flows, and content-commerce integration. Its large ecosystem of plugins and themes means optimization strategies must account for various implementation approaches and potential conflicts. Understanding WooCommerce's architecture is essential for implementing testing tools and interpreting results across this significant segment of online retail.

Example

A conversion optimizer runs A/B tests on a WooCommerce store's checkout page, testing a one-page versus multi-step checkout flow using native WordPress capabilities combined with a dedicated testing plugin designed for WooCommerce compatibility.