Building Your Business Online: WP Engine Announces New eCommerce Solution for Small/Medium Businesses

AUSTIN, Texas — March 10, 2021 — WP Engine, the world’s most trusted WordPress technology company, today announced an exciting new WooCommerce hosting solution for small and medium businesses (SMB) looking to make the leap into online sales or make more money faster with their existing eCommerce business.

WP Engine’s eCommerce Solution allows SMBs to create a stunning, mobile-friendly WooCommerce site quickly and easily. Owners will be able to either optimize an existing online store or build one with a quick setup wizard; take advantage of ready-to-use eCommerce themes; drag and drop tools to add content and products in seconds; enable blazing-fast product searches that increase revenue and use WP Engine’s automated plugin updates, which save valuable time and allow store owners to relax knowing their site is secure and updated. 

“The world moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic and thousands of new eCommerce businesses started as a result,” said Seth Halpern, Senior Vice President and General Manager – SMB Business Unit at WP Engine.

“This new eCommerce solution will help new and existing digital store owners grow their business online by making more money from the increased traffic to their store while providing those new customers a world-class customer experience.” 

WP Engine and eCommerce: A Powerful Partnership for SMBs

The WP Engine eCommerce Solution is the easiest way to launch or grow your eCommerce business on one of the fastest and most secure WordPress platforms in the industry. 

• Enjoy the advanced search features of Elasticsearch powered by ElasticPress with only one click and experience the immediate revenue increases of up to 18% for stores that enable it.
• Effortlessly launch a new WooCommerce store with a DIY-friendly, no-code store creator and easy-to-use design tools, or easily migrate an existing WordPress store from another host.
• Sell more knowing your store is hosted on industry-leading infrastructure optimized for site speed, security, and scalability; with Instant Store Search results from the most affordable Elasticsearch eCommerce solution.
• Take advantage of 24x7x365 support from WP Engine’s award-winning WordPress experts. 

Additionally, licensing for Smart Plugin Manager is included with every site hosted on an eCommerce plan. Smart Plugin Manager uses machine learning and visual regression testing to automate plugin (and theme) updates safely, extending beyond WordPress core to also check:

• Your store’s homepage
• The Cart page
• The WooCommerce Checkout page
• The My Account page
• Up to 3 product categories
• 12 unique product types
• And of course, Smart Plugin Manager checks WooCommerce and any other WooCommerce plugins for updates at the time and interval you select. Find out more here.

The State of eCommerce Today

The surge of online activity in 2020 accelerated what was an already booming eCommerce marketplace. In 2019, for example, eCommerce sales reached $600 billion in the U.S. alone, making up more than 10% of overall retail sales. In 2020, that number jumped to $794.5 billion, up 32% year-over-year, representing more than 14% of total retail sales.

It’s a clear indication of the digital-first pivot so many businesses have had to make, and a validation from consumers that it’s a model they increasingly prefer. In fact, eCommerce trends are expected to continue growing unabated, with some estimates placing global eCommerce sales as high as $6.5 trillion by 2023. 

When it comes to the actual experience of online shopping, consumers are very clear in their preference for superior search functionality, through technologies like Elasticsearch. For online store owners this is a critical imperative, especially when you consider that 43% of shoppers on retail sites go directly to the search bar and spend more than double the amount other shoppers do. An overwhelming majority of online shoppers (68%) say they won’t return to a site with a poor search experience. 

WooCommerce on WordPress

Given that eCommerce can be the lifeblood of a small business, it’s crucial to make the right choice when picking a provider for your eCommerce site. According to BuiltWith, WooCommerce powers 29% of all eCommerce sites on the Internet, making it the most popular way to build an eCommerce site. This combination of WordPress, the most popular way to build any type of site, and WooCommerce, the most broadly used plugin for eCommerce, is a powerful combination for SMB owners.  

That’s why WP Engine, the fastest WordPress hosting platform as well as the most popular, hosting more WordPress sites among the top 10 million than any other WordPress vendor, is proud to introduce its eCommerce solution bringing the best of WordPress, WooCommerce and Elasticsearch together. Get started with WP Engine’s eCommerce Solution.

About WP Engine

WP Engine, the world’s most trusted WordPress technology company, powers the freedom to create on WordPress. We provide the most relied upon and trusted brands and developer-centric WordPress products for companies and agencies of all sizes, including Headless WordPress, Flywheel, Local and Genesis. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, WP Engine has offices in Brisbane, Australia; Kraków, Poland; Limerick, Ireland; London, England; Omaha, Nebraska and San Antonio, Texas. Read more at www.wpengine.com.

Contacts

WP Engine

Eric Jones

[email protected]