Whether you’re new to WooCommerce or have been using it for some time, security is important. Your customers’ transactions should be easy and without a thought about their data being stolen. In this article you’ll learn the answer to “Is WooCommerce secure?” as well as some extra tips to keep it that way.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform that enables businesses to create and manage online stores. It is a plugin for WordPress, which means that it can be seamlessly integrated into WordPress websites, allowing businesses to leverage the powerful CMS features of WordPress along with the ecommerce functionality of WooCommerce.
WooCommerce offers a range of features, including product management, payment gateway integration, shipping options, tax calculations, inventory management, and more. It is highly customizable, with a range of themes and extensions available to add functionality to the store. It also provides extensive documentation and support, making it easy for businesses to set up and manage their online store.
WooCommerce is free to download and use, making it an affordable option for businesses of any size or niche. It is also a highly scalable ecommerce platform, meaning that WooCommerce can grow when the business experiences increasing traffic and sales. WooCommerce is an extremely powerful and flexible ecommerce solution that gives businesses the freedom to create and manage an online store with total ease.
How popular is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a popular ecommerce solution that allows businesses to create an online store and sell their products or services online. It’s so popular that over 13.5 million people use WooCommerce, and it has a user base larger than other 3rd party ecommerce platforms in the market, like BigCommerce and Shopify. WooCommerce is built as a plugin for WordPress, which is the most widely used website builder in the world, making it a popular choice for businesses and individuals looking to create an online store.
The biggest reason for the popularity of WooCommerce is its ease of use. It has a simple and easy to understand interface, which makes it easy for users to set up and manage their online store without any technical knowledge. Also, WooCommerce offers a variety of customization options, including oodles of plugins and themes that allow users to setup their store to their specific branding needs.
WooCommerce is free to use, making it extremely accessible to businesses that have small budgets. While being a free solution, WooCommerce offers a vast set of features including payment gateways, shipping options, inventory management, and much more.
To summarize, WooCommerce is a popular ecommerce solution due to its ease of use, flexibility, and affordability, making it a great choice for businesses looking to sell their products or services online.
3 Reasons why WooCommerce is secure
WooCommerce, being a widely used ecommerce solution, and because it’s used in conjunction with the number one most popular content management system, WordPress, has taken extensive measures to make sure of the security of its users' online stores. Here are three reasons why WooCommerce is secure:
- Regular security updates
- Access to secure payment gateways
- Lots of security features
Regular security updates
WooCommerce is regularly updated with security patches and bug fixes. The updates address any vulnerabilities that may have been identified and provide enhanced security features to protect against new threats.
Access to secure payment gateways
WooCommerce integrates with a wide range of payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square, which are trusted and secure payment methods. These payment gateways use encryption and other security measures to protect sensitive customer data and transactions.
For convenience, here are just a few links to some of the most popular WooCommerce payment gateways that are also free:
Lots of security features
WooCommerce offers a wide range of built-in security features, such as SSL encryption enforcement, two-factor authentication options, and password protection. Also, there are several security plugins available in the WooCommerce marketplace, which can be installed in order to buff up security.
WooCommerce is extremely serious about security and provides many solid security features to protect users' online stores and their customers' sensitive information.
Tips to keep WooCommerce secure
To keep a WooCommerce online store secure, here are five tips:
- Keep WordPress, WooCommerce and all plugins up-to-date
- Use strong passwords
- Install a security plugin
- Use secure payment gateways
- Perform regular backups
Keep WordPress, WooCommerce and all plugins up-to-date
It's super important to keep WooCommerce and all your other plugins updated regularly to the latest version. Many of the updates issued, often contain critical security patches and bug fixes, which can help to prevent vulnerabilities.
Use strong passwords
Encourage your registered customers to use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication. This helps to prevent brute force attacks and unauthorized access to the store. The last thing you want you or your customers to face is a data breach.
Install a security plugin
Use a trustworthy and well supported WordPress security plugin that can scan for vulnerabilities and malware, and help to protect against attacks. Many WordPress security plugins can also help you enforce strong passwords amongst your customers, and much more. Popular security plugins for WooCommerce include Wordfence, Malcare, and Shield Security.
Use secure payment gateways
Make sure to choose well known and trusted payment gateways that have strong security measures in place, such as PayPal, Stripe, or Square. WooCommerces offers all of these as payment gateway connections. In choosing these types of payment gateways, it helps with preventing unauthorized access and keeps your customers' information safe.
Perform regular backups
Backups can be a lifesaver, especially if an update goes wrong or in a worst case scenario, your site somehow was hacked. Make sure to perform regular backups of your online store, and in that backup, you should be including all products, orders, and customer data. This can help to get the store back to running order in the event of a security breach or data loss.
Overall, by following these tips and implementing some solid security measures, your WooCommerce store will remain secure, while protecting sensitive customer data from possible threats.
In Summary
So, to sum it up the answer to “Is WooCommerce secure” is yes. You just need to be diligent in keeping up with updates. It also wouldn’t hurt to try to beef up your WordPress website’s security. Your customers will thank you. Happy safe and secure selling!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need web developer skills to use Shopify or WooCommerce?
No. Both platforms welcome beginners, but you might get more out of WooCommerce’s extensions if you’ve got some previous experience.
How long does It take to set up a WooCommerce store?
You can install WooCommerce to your WordPress site with just one click. Then, you just need to add your products and you’re off. You could be up and running in just a few hours.
Is hosting a WooCommerce site complicated?
Not at all. We can arrange managed hosting here at Verpex and can provide advice and guidance on getting the most out of the platform.
How much does WooCommerce hosting cost?
Prices are very reasonable and start from just $2.99 per month at Verpex.
Nile Flores is a long time professional blogger, as well as WordPress website designer and developer from the St. Louis Metro East. Nile blogs at NileFlores.com, where she’s passionate about helping website owners, whether they’re small business owners or bloggers. She teaches about Blogging, Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Website Design, and WordPress. Additionally, Nile loves to speak at WordCamps (WordPress conferences) across the United States. When Nile isn’t knee-deep in coding, she’s a proud mom of a college student, and enjoys oil painting, cigar smoking, nail art design, and practicing traditional Okinawan kempo karate.
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