Greetings from a seasoned WooCommerce user, developer, and advocate with over 12 years of experience!

I “play” with WooCommerce daily and believe there’s room for improvement. Simply catching up with competitors isn’t the right goal—STANDING OUT (yes, in all caps) is what we should be aiming for.

When you’re focused solely on closing the gap, you risk being seen as “the alternative to” rather than a standout in your own right. WooCommerce, with its unique ecosystem and flexibility, has the potential to thrive by embracing its strengths instead of chasing a moving target. By stepping away from the “catching up” mindset, you can create a truly exceptional product—one that isn’t just comparable but incomparable, one that leads rather than follows.

So, let’s take a step back.

I believe ecommerce software should let you sell ANYTHING (products) to ANYONE (customers around the world), while getting PAID and being able to DELIVER the package asap.

If Woo can address all that, it can really become outstanding, a piece of software that is worth talking about, and that doesn’t need to be compared to others. Because it’s unique.

There’s a reason why you can’t compare pears to apples—yet you could argue that diamonds outshine gold.

So, here’s an overview of key areas where WooCommerce might have weaknesses compared to other ecommerce platforms, together with some context.

Installation

TLDR: WooCommerce’s onboarding wizard feels disconnected from settings, leaving users confused when trying to make adjustments due to a different UI. A gamified, step-by-step approach—highlighting essentials like payments, shipping, products, and taxes—would guide users more effectively, without needing extra plugins. WooCommerce setup seems too technical for some users, who find it less intuitive than other platforms. Ideally, setup should be as easy as adding a product, price, payment method, and shipping rate. Performance issues often stem from hosting; a “hosting detector” could pinpoint server-side caching or optimization problems to prevent setup delays. Core features are limited but improving. ​​

• The “wizard” makes sense, but it’s too “detached” from the actual settings. Users complete the wizard, but then if they want to change something they get lost because the UI is different.
• Instead of a wizard, I’d like to see some sort of gamification or “10 steps to go live today”, where people know they have to set up payments, shipping, a product, taxes, and off they go. I don’t want to INSTALL PLUGINS at this stage. Going live should require WooCommerce only.
• Users think that technical knowledge is required to set up WooCommerce, unlike some platforms that offer simplified onboarding. It shouldn’t be like that. There’s something, somewhere, that makes them think like that. It should be as easy as publishing your first product, giving it a price and a photo, adding payment methods, adding shipping rates, and you go live. At the moment, they waste so much time going through the wizard or the settings alone.
• Performance heavily depends on hosting, which can lead to slow speeds if not optimized. There should be a “hosting detector” somewhere that tells them what the possible issues are. Also, detect the bloody server-side cache if present, because that’s a killer during development / setting up and users keep saying “but I don’t have a cache plugin!”.
• Core WooCommerce is limited; essential features often require multiple paid plugins. But I know you’re working on that.

Product Management

TLDR: WooCommerce’s default setup faces several challenges that can hinder usability and scalability. The lack of variety in product types, like subscriptions or bundles, makes it less versatile compared to specialized platforms. The “variable” product UX is cumbersome; a simpler approach with easy variation management would be ideal. Bulk editing is limited, with large-scale edits often leading to site timeouts. Featured products remain confusing to many users, and the product admin is tedious, requiring too much input for a basic setup. Managing multiple categories, tags, or attributes is overwhelming due to pagination and poor organization.

• Lacks variety in default product types, like subscriptions or bundled products, compared to specialized platforms. Besides, “variable” product’s UX is very cumbersome. I’d rather only have a “simple product”, with options. And a clean, smooth way to add variations, that doesn’t require adding attributes first in a separate tab.
• Bulk editing options for products are minimal, making large-scale edits time-consuming. If editing more than 50 products at a time, the site can go into timeout. Think of Setary, YITH bulk editing, similar extensions on the Woo marketplace, export/import combos. Whatever is better than the default WordPress bulk edit action is very welcome.
• Featured products are difficult to manage, and even understand! People don’t know when/why/how to use this feature. I’ve got a webinar on that.
• Product admin and its setup are boring, difficult and require a lot of attention. I need to know that in order to publish a product I need a title, a price, and an image. That’s it, the rest is optional.
• Managing >10 product categories, or >10 product tags, or >10 product attributes is impossible. Pagination makes it hard to find the right taxonomy, to bulk edit, to “indent them” and turn them into children or parents, and the store manager doesn’t have the full picture available.

Checkout Process

TLDR: WooCommerce’s checkout options present a trade-off: the classic checkout is functional but outdated, while the newer block is visually appealing but lacks compatibility and customization options. WooPayments feels incomplete without PayPal and other gateways, offering no real advantage over Stripe. Additionally, built-in cart recovery tools are sorely missing, limiting revenue opportunities.

• Classic checkout is “ugly” but compatible and customizable. Checkout block is “beautiful”, but often not compatible with extensions and not customizable via PHP. Yet. This should be the number 1 priority.
• WooPayments – until it comes with integrated PayPal and some other popular gateways, it makes no sense to me. It’s just a Stripe wrapper with a different name. There is no financial advantage in using WooPayments over the official Stripe plugin.
• Lacks built-in tools for cart recovery, which are standard on many other platforms. WooCommerce’s goal should be to “help store managers make money”, and cart recovery is definitely a good strategy.

Inventory Management

TLDR: WooCommerce lacks advanced stock management features, such as bundling or multi-warehouse support. Managing stock per location and defining reduction rules is essential, as is a “warehouse manager” role with location-specific access to orders and inventory. Sales and inventory reports are too basic, missing robust analytics, exports, and filtering found in other platforms.

• Does not offer detailed stock management options, like bundling or multiple warehouses. Like, if I order a “6 bottles” variation, I expect the stock to go down by 6, and not 1. Also, if I have multiple warehouses, I need a simple way to know the stock in each location, and define the stock reduction rules (warehouse A first, then B, then C).
• Which brings us to the “warehouse manager” user role, which should have access to orders that only sold stock from their location, and location-filtered stock takes and views.
• Basic sales and inventory reports; other platforms have built-in analytics and reporting. Also, PDF/CSV exports, filtering, screenshots sharing.

Frontend User Experience

TLDR: WooCommerce lacks built-in advanced filtering, search options, currency switchers, and language switchers, essential for global commerce. The transition from “classic” to “blocks” is slow and confusing, leaving users in limbo. Without official multilingual and multicurrency solutions, WooCommerce risks losing ground to platforms offering these features as standard.

• Lacks advanced filtering and search options without plugins, unlike dedicated platforms.
• At the moment, while I understand we’re transitioning from “classic” to “blocks”, there is a lot of confusion among users. Which one is better, why and when to revert, why and when to upgrade. The process is too slow at the moment, and this “limbo” will possibly bring someone to build the “Classic WooCommerce” plugin…
• No currency switcher or language switcher… WooCommerce, remember, “should let you sell ANYTHING to ANYONE”, and I’ve lost countless clients because there is no official solution or integration with multilingual and multicurrency. Other software does this out of the box.

Settings

TLDR: The WooCommerce dashboard can feel overwhelming for non-technical users, with scattered features and excessive options. Onboarding wizards or tooltips shouldn’t be necessary; a simpler, intuitive interface would eliminate the need for explanations. Developer-specific settings, like endpoint slugs, should be hidden to focus on essential tools for store managers. Experimental features, such as HPOS or Brands, shouldn’t be buried in Advanced settings—clear descriptions and contextual guidance, like links to blog posts, are essential. Additionally, WooCommerce lacks native support for managing multiple stores from one dashboard, unlike competitors.

• The WooCommerce dashboard can be intimidating for non-technical users. It should be the opposite, and without the need of a wizard or a tooltip. If we require onboarding and a wizard, it means we’re trying to explain things that are difficult – it should be the opposite!
• Features are dispersed, making navigation and configuration a hassle. Too many tabs, too many options. Who needs to change the endpoint slugs, for example? That would be a developer only thing. All developers-only things need to go, and leave the important ones only. The fewer the options, the higher the “conversion rate” (which in this case, would mean the store manager successfully created a store and doesn’t need support).
• Experimental features (like it was for HPOS, product editor, and is now for Brands), should not be under Advanced > Features because this section is too hidden there. We also need to understand what each feature does and what the pros/cons are, so everyone can get some context – let’s put a nice paragraph with a link to a blog post in there, ok?
• WooCommerce doesn’t natively support managing multiple stores from one dashboard, unlike some competitors.

Customer Management

TLDR: WooCommerce’s customer management faces key challenges due to its reliance on WordPress’ basic user system. It lacks advanced filtering, segmentation, and CRM features like customer tagging, pipeline statuses, and lead scoring. There’s no support for custom user roles with tailored permissions, limiting options for personalized pricing, tax exemptions, or exclusive benefits. Insights into customer behavior are minimal, and critical tools like email marketing and loyalty programs require third-party plugins, leading to complexity and potential compatibility issues. Without native B2B support or robust customer management, WooCommerce struggles to match competitors offering built-in CRM and advanced user management capabilities.

1. Limited Filtering and Segmentation
   • Relies on the WordPress Users screen, which is not designed for advanced customer management.
   • No native support for filtering customers by purchase history, location, or custom attributes.
   • Cannot segment customers into groups for targeted marketing or pricing strategies.
   • Lack of dynamic segmentation features, such as automatic grouping based on behavior (e.g., frequent buyers, cart abandoners).

1. No Support for Advanced User Roles
   • Only provides basic roles like “Customer” and “Shop Manager,” with no native way to create custom roles.
   • Cannot assign tailored privileges to user roles, such as exclusive access to products, special pricing, or tax exemptions.
   • No built-in functionality for role-based content access, like showing specific product categories or discounts to select groups.
   • Misses the opportunity to assign user roles that can enhance user engagement, such as “VIP” or “Wholesale Buyer.”

1. Absence of Built-In CRM Features
   • No tools for managing customer details beyond basic profile information (name, email, and address).
   • Lacks options for tagging customers with labels for better tracking (e.g., “high spender,” “first-time buyer”).
   • Does not allow assigning pipeline statuses to customers, such as “Gold,” “Silver,” “Inactive,” or “Lead.”
   • No lead scoring to rank customers or prospects based on their value or likelihood of conversion.
   • Limited visibility into customer lifecycle stages (e.g., lead, active buyer, churned).

1. Inability to Perform Customer-Specific Actions
   • No native tools for granting customer-specific benefits like free shipping, tax exemptions, or custom price displays.
   • Cannot set individual customer-level discounts or promotions without complex workarounds.
   • No integration with customer loyalty or rewards systems to foster repeat purchases.
   • Missing ability to send personalized notifications or offers based on customer behavior.

1. Lack of Integration with Marketing Tools
   • No native email marketing features for customer engagement campaigns.
   • Requires third-party plugins for automating follow-up emails or abandoned cart reminders.
   • Does not support custom email sequences based on customer segmentation or tags.
   • No tools for managing and syncing marketing campaigns directly within WooCommerce.

1. Limited Customer Insights
   • Lacks comprehensive reporting on customer behavior and lifetime value.
   • No built-in tools for identifying high-value customers or frequent returners.
   • Cannot generate reports or dashboards focused on customer retention or churn.
   • Insights are scattered across various plugins and are not consolidated for easy access.

1. Inflexibility for B2B Use Cases
   • Difficult to manage wholesale customers without additional plugins for role-specific pricing and tax exemptions.
   • No dedicated B2B tools for managing purchase orders, multi-user accounts, or tiered pricing.
   • Lacks functionality for account-based customer support or multi-user access for corporate buyers.

Marketing

TLDR: WooCommerce’s marketing tools are limited compared to competitors. Discount and upsell features are basic, lacking advanced rules and automation. Email marketing requires third-party integrations, adding complexity and cost, while other platforms offer native solutions for personalized campaigns. SEO capabilities are minimal without plugins, leaving users to rely on external tools for advanced optimization. These gaps make it harder for WooCommerce users to create effective promotions, engage customers, and improve online visibility seamlessly.

1. Basic Discount, Coupon, and Upsell Features
   • WooCommerce’s default tools for creating discounts and coupons are limited in flexibility. For instance, while you can set up percentage discounts or fixed amounts, there’s no built-in support for complex discount rules, such as tiered pricing (e.g., “Buy 3, get 20% off”) or advanced cart conditions (e.g., discounts for specific product combinations).
   • Upselling and cross-selling features rely on manual configuration. Store owners must assign related products individually, lacking automated systems that suggest complementary items based on purchase history or behavior.
   • Competitors offer more advanced promotional tools, including dynamic bundling, flash sales, and AI-powered product recommendations, directly within their core platforms.

1. Email Marketing Requires Third-Party Integrations
   • WooCommerce lacks built-in email marketing capabilities, forcing users to rely on third-party services like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or ActiveCampaign for email campaigns.
   • This dependence adds extra setup complexity, as users need to integrate and manage these tools separately, often requiring additional costs or technical expertise.
   • Unlike platforms like Shopify, which offer native email marketing solutions with templates and automation workflows, WooCommerce users cannot easily create abandoned cart emails, personalized offers, or customer retention campaigns without plugins.
   • The lack of integration also means missed opportunities for seamless data sharing between email campaigns and WooCommerce analytics, making customer engagement less efficient.

1. Basic SEO Tools Without Plugins
   • WooCommerce offers minimal SEO features out of the box. Users can edit product permalinks and meta descriptions, but advanced optimization requires plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math.
   • Competitors provide more comprehensive SEO tools, including schema markup for rich search results, automated sitemaps, and advanced settings for optimizing product categories and tags.
   • WooCommerce doesn’t natively include tools for image optimization, URL redirects, or structured data, which are essential for improving search rankings.
   • Store owners must rely on external solutions to compete with platforms like BigCommerce or Shopify, which integrate robust SEO features, saving users time and effort while enhancing visibility.

Performance

TLDR: WooCommerce performance challenges arise from its reliance on technical optimization, which many store managers lack the skills to implement. Handling large catalogs and high-traffic sites requires advanced hosting, caching, and database tuning. Frequent updates, while essential for security and functionality, can cause plugin conflicts or issues if not managed properly. Dependence on multiple plugins often leads to slower performance and compatibility problems. Despite these weaknesses, WooCommerce stores can be optimized using tools like caching plugins, CDNs, and optimized hosting. The key issue is the knowledge gap, highlighting the need for accessible optimization guidance or built-in performance enhancement tools.

1. Struggles with Large Product Catalogs and High-Traffic Sites Without Optimization
   • WooCommerce is highly scalable, but handling thousands of products or managing spikes in traffic requires significant optimization. Without technical expertise, store managers may face slow page loads, downtime, or server crashes.
   • Large catalogs demand robust hosting, database indexing, and caching strategies, which are not straightforward for non-technical users to implement.
   • Competing platforms often include built-in scalability solutions, while WooCommerce requires external tools and know-how to maintain performance at scale.

1. Frequent Updates and Security Checks
   • WooCommerce and WordPress release regular updates to improve security, compatibility, and functionality. However, these updates can create challenges, such as plugin conflicts or theme issues, if not properly managed.
   • Store managers often lack the technical skills to perform routine updates, test changes in a staging environment, and resolve compatibility issues proactively.
   • Neglecting updates leaves stores vulnerable to security threats, potentially impacting customer trust and business operations.

1. Relying on Multiple Plugins Can Lead to Compatibility Issues and Slow Performance
   • WooCommerce’s flexibility often requires multiple plugins to add features, increasing the risk of code conflicts, redundant functionalities, and slower site performance.
   • Each plugin adds to the database load, potentially increasing query times and page load speeds, especially on shared hosting environments.
   • Non-technical store managers may struggle to diagnose plugin conflicts or optimize performance through selective plugin use, caching, and monitoring tools.
   • While plugins are a strength of WooCommerce, their overuse without optimization knowledge can result in a poor user experience.

1. Highlighting the Opportunity for Optimization
   • WooCommerce stores **can be optimized** to handle large catalogs, traffic, and multiple plugins, but this requires technical expertise often beyond the reach of store managers.
   • Tools like caching plugins, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), optimized hosting, and database tuning are available but underutilized due to a lack of awareness or skills.
   • Educating store managers or offering built-in optimization tools could bridge this gap, ensuring WooCommerce stores achieve peak performance without relying heavily on external experts.

Community

TLDR: WooCommerce’s community has room to grow with no dedicated in-person or virtual conferences, relying instead on WordCamps and a busy Slack channel that can overwhelm users. However, its improved social media presence and responsive employees are strengths, as is its focus on humanizing the brand by showcasing the people behind Woo. To enhance community engagement, WooCommerce should consider creating its own events, organizing Slack discussions better, and further leveraging its personable, transparent approach to branding.

1. No Dedicated In-Person Conference
   • WooCommerce lacks its own physical conference or meetup events, which are crucial for fostering a stronger, more unified community.
   • WordCamps, while valuable, focus broadly on WordPress and don’t provide the in-depth, tailored experience WooCommerce professionals and store owners need.
   • Competing platforms like Shopify host their own conferences, creating dedicated spaces for networking, education, and innovation within their ecosystem.

1. No Dedicated Virtual Conference
   • WooCommerce has not established a virtual conference, missing the opportunity to connect global users, share insights, and showcase innovations.
   • A virtual conference would allow accessibility for all, especially those unable to travel for in-person events, while fostering thought leadership in the eCommerce space.

1. Overwhelming Slack Channel
   • The WooCommerce Slack community is a valuable resource, but its high activity level can overwhelm users, making it difficult to find relevant discussions or resources.
   • The lack of structured organization within the channel means important conversations or announcements can get lost in the noise.
   • Clearer categorization, searchable archives, or curated summaries could enhance usability and engagement.

1. Improved Social Media Presence
   • WooCommerce’s presence on social media has significantly improved, with responsive employees and timely updates.
   • While this is a strength, leveraging these platforms further through community-building activities, live Q&A sessions, and feature showcases could enhance engagement and loyalty.

1. Humanizing the Brand
   • WooCommerce does well by highlighting the people behind the brand, creating a relatable and approachable image for the community.
   • This transparency fosters trust and connection, and further initiatives like team member spotlights, “day in the life” content, or AMA sessions could maximize this strength.
   • Brands that emphasize the humans behind their products often see stronger community loyalty and advocacy.

Conclusion

WooCommerce is a powerful and flexible platform, but like any tool, it has its weaknesses. From limited customer management features to performance challenges, marketing gaps, and community hurdles, these areas highlight both its potential and its current limitations.

While the platform can be optimized to compete with or even surpass alternatives, much of this depends on store managers understanding how to address these issues. Moreover, WooCommerce’s community, though vibrant, has untapped opportunities to foster deeper engagement through dedicated events and better communication channels.

That said, WooCommerce’s unique strengths—like its open-source nature, growing social presence, and humanized branding—lay a strong foundation for growth.

Addressing weaknesses through innovation, education, and collaboration can help make WooCommerce the definitive choice for eCommerce.

Together, we have the opportunity to shape its future, making it a platform that’s not just functional but truly exceptional.