WooCommerce is not simple

I just saw this video from the WooRockets team and it made me grumpy. It’s not (just) because I’m a dye hard cynic. It’s not because I can’t stand another promo video.

It’s not because I feel threatened that web design is becoming more accessible and that undermines our industry.

It’s because it’s feeding a big lie.

Ok, I admit, the video is pretty awesome, it’s just the message is a bit misleading.

We need to stop setting up poor expectations

I’ve written before about expectations and misconceptions. I think it’s important for clients and agencies to set these from the start.

A big pull for WooCommerce is it’s simplicity. It’s how it is marketed and it works. But we are setting ourselves up for failure.

Yes, it is much better than the competition. Much much better and far more plug and play, but we are setting up a huge bubble if we do not mediate this with a some caution.

Because simpler doesn’t mean simple.

It’s not just WooCommerce, it’s WordPress in general.

Have a read of this fantastic dissection of the Envato ThemeForest market place where Mario talks of the dangers of poor quality themes and poor education about how they should be used. Again, expectations and misconceptions are not correctly set.

People get burnt and they will have a bad experience of WordPress and WooCommerce. That benefits no-one.

I think our responsibility is to be honest and not to sell hard. I think people appreciate that more and trust that more.

Otherwise we’ll end up like Irving Rosenfeld in American Hustle.

Irving: I want to show you something – this Rembrandt here. People come from all over the world to see this.
Richie: Yeah, he’s good, yeah.
Irving: It’s a fake.
Richie: What are you talking about? That’s impossible.
Irving: People believe what they want to believe. The guy who made this was so good that it’s real to everybody. Now who’s the master: the painter or the forger?

We don’t need to hustle when we sell WooCommerce. We don’t need to sell the dream that it’s all going to be easy and the answer to all their dreams. We need to set realistic expectations and help people grow their business. Only that way can we really grow our own and grow WordPress and WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is one choice out of many

Ultimately WooCommerce might not be the best choice for you if your main criteria is being simple. We won’t advise it unless it is the best fit.

There are other platforms out there that do simple a lot better.

If you want a flexible eCommerce platform and you have the eCommerce team to maximise results, then WooCommerce is for you.

Take a look at when and where to choose WooCommerce.