You have two types of options — an e-commerce plugin that works with your existing WordPress site or a theme that includes an e-commerce plugin.  And there are a few options for each type.  I’ll start with the stand alone plugin and then look at the theme+plugin options.

E-Commerce Plugins

The two main e-commerce plugins are Shopp and WP-E-Commerce. There are a few other plugins, like eShop, that you may also want to consider.   I’ve spent most of my time, though, reviewing Shopp and WP-E-Commerce and can therefore only make observations on these plugins.  If you want more information on eShop, here’s a  good review on eShop by Tyron Shum.

WP-E-Commerce

WP-E-Commerce seems to be the most used plugin and has been downloaded over 500,ooo times ~ probably the reason it was the first option I found when I started my search.

The Good Stuff

• I downloaded version 3.7.5.3 and installed it with no problem.
• It adds a new menu to your Dashboard called Products and you can easily navigate to the cart options and to your orders.
• It’s really easy to add and customize new products.
• It comes with several widgets that you can easily add to your sidebar — Latest Products, Product Categories, Product Tags, Product Specials, Shopping Cart.
• You can add unlimited categories and subcategories to your shop.
• It integrates with Chronopay, PayPal, PayPal – Express, Google Checkout, and manual payment (for cash or money orders).
• It works with most existing themes, and the cart is easily customized to match your existing theme. Which also means you can easily change the look of your site simply by installing a new theme.

The Not So Good Stuff

This is harder to answer and please note that this is my personal experience and observation. It may change over time, as I will certainly continue to watch WP-E-Commerce and may eventually use the plugin.  But a few initial observations encouraged me to continue my search.

• Although the core plugin is free, you will need to purchase the Gold upgrade to get product search, multiple image upload, gallery view, Grid View and multiple payment gateway options.  Which kind of makes it not really a free plugin, as those are fairly standard functions for an online shop.
• Documentation.  Although there is adequate online documentation, you’ll probably want to purchase the most thorough documentation — WP-E-Commerce Bible —written by a user of the plugin.  If I felt confident with the support forums, I wouldn’t feel it necessary to purchase the WP-E-Commerce Bible but…
• Support.  After spending some time in the support forums and even posting a few questions, I just didn’t feel confident that the support would be there if I really needed it.  I posted a few simple questions and have yet to receive a response.  And I see a number of posts that have gone unanswered.

Overall, WP-E-Commerce does seem to be a very powerful plugin that can easily transforms your WordPress powered site into an online store. But having to upgrade to the Gold cart to get all the needed features, possibly purchase more documentation, and not feeling so secure with the support, I decided to look at other options.

Commercial Solutions

Plugins

There are a few commercial plugins that are worth considering.  I can’t really offer a thorough review, as I haven’t purchased and used each one, but here’s a few that I looked at in my search:

• Shopp has really thorough online documentation, the support forums are active with quick responses to posts, and it is a full featured cart for only $55. Here’s a link to all of  Shopp Features
• WordPress Shopping Cart Plugin I didn’t spend much time here, as their online demo is limited and doesn’t contain any products.  But you may find more information if you dig around on their site.

Plugins+Themes

All the options above require that you already have a WordPress theme, and the shopping cart plugin simply adds the e-commerce functionality to your site.  But another option is to purchase a WordPress theme with an e-commerce plugin built into the theme.  I’ve looked at a few of these options, and I’ve been most impressed with Store from Templatic.

It has all the standard features plus more.

• You can sell tangible or digital downloads.
• Multiple product images.
• Grid view.
• Bulk upload (CSV) to import your products if you’re currently using another shopping cart.
• Coupon codes.
• Easily add and customize your products…

Find all the features at the Store details page.  And after you read through the features, be sure to take a look at the demo.  The shopping cart is smooth, elegant, and simple, and the theme is attractive and well structured.  Also note that this not just an online shop theme; it also incorporates your blog posts as well.

One of the most important things for me, though, is support, and Templatic’s support is rock solid.  I’ve purchased other themes from Templatic, and their support has been quick and reliable.

[see Update at bottom of post]

There are a few other plugin+theme options, like Market Theme , that you may want to investigate, but  I’ve decided on the Store theme+plugin from Templatic for my current project.

The not so good thing about this option, though, is that the e-commerce plugin is tied to the theme, which will make it more difficult to change the look of your site in the future.  But  Templatic continues to release new themes for their plugin, so there will  be new themes to choose from in the future.

[disclosure: none of the links on this page are affiliate links]

Would love to hear your experiences with the various e-commerce solutions for WordPress, as it is truly a dynamic and wonderful combo. And though there may not be an ultimate, ideal solution as yet, there are some very good options out there.

[Update: I actually tried the Store Theme+Plugin and discovered it didn't work as expected. I need to write a part two to this post, as I discovered another plugin that looks very promising -- PHPPurchase -- which I now plan to use to develop next WordPress Ecommerce site.  ]

For a graphic (as in visual) example, consider a tree. We look at a tree and see a trunk, limbs, perhaps leaves and fruit, and that’s it.  But that’s only half the picture; the real picture is below the surface, under the soil, where the root system of the tree lives.

The root system is where the tree really lives; it’s the source of the trunk, the trees, and the leaves that we see above the surface.  A healthy root system means a healthy tree, and an unhealthy root system means an unhealthy tree.

Seeing the Whole Picture

Being mindful of what’s below the surface can often help us correct or even prevent problems from showing up “above the surface.”  This is true for trees, and it’s also true for websites.

The roots of a website are the code, and it’s the code that actually creates what you see in that web browser.

That’s simple enough… or is it?

Well, there are a few complications:

• “Code behind the site” – uh, what’s that? You’re probably not a web designer, so even if you looked at the code, it may not make any sense to you;
• Not everyone looks at your site in the same browser. Even if it looks great on your browser, it might be totally broken in another browser;
• Appearances can be deceiving. Just because your site may look nice, it may have major problems under the surface.

Depressing, huh! It is, and I’ve felt so bad for folks who contact me wanting to make a few changes to their site only to find a terrible code mess below the surface that makes it impossible to make even minor changes.

But I don’t wanna be a web designer!

So do you really have to learn all the ins and outs of web design to make sure you get a stable, fully functional, happy cross browser friendly, easy to udpate website?

No, absolutely not!  You can dance a jig here if you want

But I would recommend that you consider how your site is built and designed before you decide on a web design solution.

Whether you are using service that provides pre-packaged templates or hiring a web designer, ask them how their templates are built before you sign up.

• Do they use CSS to separate content from presentation?
• Do they use valid HTML/XHTML code?
• Are their templates cross browser compatible?
• Will you have a stable, easy to use Content Management System, so you can update the site yourself?

If you have these four technical pieces in place, chances are you have a fairly stable site solution. But this solution still may not be what is best for you at this stage.  There’s also an organic piece to consider – what you currently need from your website and what you’re ready to invest in the website – but that’s for next time.

And if you can’t decipher what’s being offered, ask for help. Best to get help now before you spend money on a less than optimum solution.

A room holds more than pictures and furniture; it also holds a myriad of events, memories, feelings,  conversations, and conflicts that people have experienced in that room.  And it holds all this in its’ heart.  Yes,  a room has a heart – one that you can feel and sense  – and so does your website.

Where’s the heart of your website?

You may have all the technical pieces in place but still be missing something.  And that something missing may be the heart of the matter.

Kind of like walking in that room and feeling that something was off, a website can appear to have it all together and still be deader than a doornail!

Ever wonder about this phrase?  I mean, what the heck does deader than a doornail really mean? Although there are various explanations, this one makes a lot of sense to me:

If you hammer a nail through a piece of timber and then flatten the end over on the inside so it can’t be removed again (a technique called clinching), the nail is said to be dead, because you can’t use it again. (from World Wide Words).

Something that’s deader than a doornail, then, is of no further use; it had one shot at glory – to be hammered through that piece of wood – and that’s the end of the story.

If your website is missing your heart, then it is very possible that your visitors will not return.

Why? Because we all are looking for connection – real heart connection – and we move on when we don’t find it.  Conscious of it or not, we want to connect.

Ok, great, but how the heck do you put your heart into a website?

Great question, but the answer is really simpler than you might think — the same way you put your heart and soul into anything.

Mindfulness

Be fully present and centered when you are working on your site, and allow both the creation stage and later the maintenance/updates stage to flow organically and from a centered heart place.  Practically, this means not allowing technical challenges to cause emotional upheaval – much easier said than done – but still possible.

If you’re having trouble figuring out how to set up that new auto-responder and feel yourself getting tense,time to take a break and find your way back to calm. Use whatever method works for you – prayer, meditation, a few minutes of quiet, a short walk outside.  It can be as simple as sitting quietly, focusing on your heart and breath, and bringing peace into that inner space.

I personally use a combination of prayer and meditation, but find something that works well for you and return to the task when you are relaxed and peaceful.

If you are working on a new design with a web designer and the design just isn’t coming together, try to get as clear as you can about what you want. One way to do this is to spend some time looking at other sites, as that will help you clarify what you want AND what you don’t want.

And, write the content for your site from a quite, peaceful heart space.  It really does influence the heart and feel of your site, and people will sense it just as you do when you walk into a room and feel either peaceful or uneasy.

Openness

Share your humanity; it’s what connects us all. That means sharing your knowledge and expertise but from a place of humility and gratitude. Thank those who’ve helped you and share your personal mistakes. Who knows – it might save someone else from making the same mistake.

Genuinnesss

Be yourself. No need for makeup and veneers.  We all want to “prettify” our lives at times, especially when we are in business, but leave some raw, unedited material in your site/life/business. It makes life interesting and helps us CONNECT, which really is the point.

Think about it. Have you ever seen a field of wild flowers with TOO much color? No, instead you see a perfect display of color, harmony, and balance.

Kalanit is the Hebrew word for a cup shaped plant with colorful flowers which grows wild in Israel in the spring. After the wet winter months, the wild flowers emerge from the earth and cover the landscape with color.

One of those free gifts from heaven, they tell us in a beautiful way that “the winter is passed, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth…” (Shir HaShirim – Song of Songs 1:11).

Spring has arrived. The earth wakes from its winter slumber and paints a tapestry for all to see and enjoy.

Although great web sites don’t just grow naturally, I still consider the web design process in terms of the passing of winter to spring. The creative impulse within us remains, even if at times dormant, only to one day emerge with that “flash” of creativity that seems to appear out of nowhere. Just as spring flowers suddenly appear after the dark, dreary winter months.

These wild flowers are my artistic guide when creating web sites. They are also a great guide for life — encouraging me to  move with harmony and balance even in the dark winter months — knowing that spring will return and the flowers will once again bloom.