Have you ever asked yourself, “Do I really need a multilingual eCommerce online store!?”
Multilingual eCommerce websites can help you in expanding your eCommerce service to more countries, enhancing your customer reach and bringing you a higher return on investment. There are many advantages of having a multilingual eCommerce website which can be summarized into the following points:
- Improving the customer experience: Customers love to be addressed in their native language. Customers are most likely to buy when you speak the customer’s language.
2,430 web consumers in eight countries were surveyed to learn about how language affected their purchasing behaviors. The below statistics were found:
- 72.1% of consumers spend most or all of their time on websites in their own language.
- 72.4% of consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product for which information in their own language was provided.
- 56.2% of consumers said that the ability to obtain information in their own language was more important than price.
- Increasing your market share: By breaking through language barriers and targeting a larger segment of consumers, you can exert a huge impact on your customer conversion rate.
- Increasing brand awareness: By providing valuable content to your audience, you are helping them to make purchasing decisions, and even if they don’t buy, you will enhance your reputation and increase traffic to your website, increasing your ranking.
According to one population-based study, you need to target 13 languages to reach 90% of the world’s economic opportunity.
| 1. Chinese 2. Spanish 3. English 4. Arabic 5. Portuguese 6. Russian 7. Japanese 8. German 9. Korean 10. French 11. Italian 12. Dutch 13. Swedish |
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Market Share of WordPress eCommerce Plugins
WooCommerce dominates the WordPress eCommerce plugins market with 78.4% of market share. WP eCommerce is in second place, with almost 10% of market share.
The total number of sites included in these statistics is 493,459. The breakdown of active sites using each plugin is as follows:
| Plugin | Total Sites |
| WooCommerce | 396,260 |
| WP eCommerce | 49,471 |
| Easy Digital Downloads | 13,813 |
| WP eStore | 13,138 |
| WP eShop | 11,962 |
| MarketPress | 8,333 |
| Shopp | 7,445 |
| Jigoshop | 4,987 |
Market Share of WooCommerce Multilingual Plugins
WooCommerce Multilingual leads with 79% of total market share.
The total number of sites included in these statistics is 38,000+. The breakdown of active sites using each plugin is as follows:
| Plugin | Total Sites |
| WooCommerce Multilingual | 30,000+ |
| WPGlobus | 7,000+ |
| WooCommerce Polylang Integration | 1,000+ |
In today’s fast-paced world, having a multilingual eCommerce website is definitely one major tactic to penetrate new markets and expand your business. As demand grows for simple and efficient eCommerce solutions, WordPress, along with its many eCommerce themes and plugins, is the perfect choice for your next eCommerce project. Platforms like the WooCommerce plugin offer you all the features you’ll need to run your online store. For the next step—taking your shop and going multilingual—the leading solution is WooCommerce Multilingual plugin.
After you have got all that set up and ready to go, it’s time to choose a stable, good WordPress Multilingual eCommerce theme. Below is a list of five that are worth noticing:
Top 5 WPML-Compatible eCommerce Themes
Storefront Theme
Introduction
Storefront provides a simple, solid foundation for your next eCommerce project. It comes with many display options and a wide variety of extensions. Its compatibility with many plugins makes it the best free ecommerce template to use. If you wish to expand your business and go global with a multilingual eCommerce website, Storefront and WPML is a brilliant choice.
What you will need
- A recent version of WPML (version 3.3.7 or above), including the String Translation, Translation Management, and Media translation add-ons and WooCommerce Multilingual
- Storefront (version 1.6.1 or above)
- WooCommerce (version 2.5.3 or above)
Translating Storefront Theme
Check out this tutorial on how to create a multilingual shop using Storefront theme and WPML.
You can follow this step-by-step tutorial on theme and plugins localization to translate all Storefront theme elements using WPML.
Check out this guide on how to use WooCommerce Multilingual to translate all strings generated by WooCommerce plugin.
Pros
- It is free!
- Super fast, simple, and clean.
- Compatible with WPML and WooCommerce plugins/extensions
- Easy setup
Cons
- You will need to purchase premium Storefront extensions to make any changes to the theme.
Divi Theme
Introduction
Divi is a multipurpose theme loaded with great graphics and a powerful page builder that has lots of eCommerce potential. Its compatibility with WPML makes it ideal for building your next or even first eCommerce website. Divi’s integration with Toolset will allow you to build sites using the drag-and-drop editor and fully control the layouts.
What you will need
- A recent version of WPML (version 3.3.7 or above), including the String Translation, Translation Management, and Media translation add-ons and WooCommerce Multilingual
- Divi (version 2.6.4 or above)
- WooCommerce (version 2.5.3 or above)
Translating Divi Theme
Find our full tutorial on building multilingual sites with Divi theme.
You can follow this step-by-step tutorial on theme and plugins localization to translate all Divi theme elements using WPML.
Check out this guide on how to use WooCommerce Multilingual to translate all strings generated by WooCommerce plugin.
Pros
- Ideal for non-technical users.
- Provides neat documentation.
- A powerful drag-and-drop page builder.
- Compatible with WPML, WooCommerce, MailChimp, and Google Maps.
Cons
- Tons of options that may overwhelm you.
- Not the optimal option for developers.
- You may encounter an unpleasant experience when switching from Divi to another theme as Divi’s page builder generates short codes which will be broken links if you chose to activate a different theme.
MayaShop Theme
Introduction
MayaShop is loaded with layout options, skins, colors and fonts, enabling you to craft a highly customizable eCommerce theme. It is 100% compatible with WPML, which makes it a smart pick for building your eCommerce website. It is coupled with neat and organized documentation to guide you through your build.
What you will need
- A recent version of WPML (version 3.3.7 or above), including the String Translation, Translation Management, and Media translation add-ons and WooCommerce Multilingual
- MayaShop (version 2.9.3 or above)
- WooCommerce (version 2.5.3 or above)
Translating MayaShop Theme
Check our complete tutorial on how to Translate MayaShop theme using WPML.
You can follow this step-by-step tutorial on theme and plugins localization to translate all MayaShop theme elements using WPML.
Check out this guide on how to use WooCommerce Multilingual to translate all strings generated by WooCommerce plugin.
Pros
- Highly customizable.
- Compatible with WPML, Jigoshop, and WooCommerce plugin.
- Great documentation for beginners.
Cons
- Paid theme
Neighborhood Theme
Introduction
Neighborhood is a responsive, multipurpose shop theme that provides an awesome drag-and-drop page builder and an unlimited number of layouts and colors, which will make your eCommerce site stand out. The Neighborhood theme is fully compatible with WPML, making building your next eCommerce website an effortless experience.
What you will need
- A recent version of WPML (version 3.3.7 or above), including the String Translation, Translation Management, and Media translation add-ons and WooCommerce multilingual
- Neighborhood theme (version 2.05 or above)
- WooCommerce (version 2.5.3 or above)
Translating Neighborhood Theme
Check out this tutorial on how to Translate Neighborhood Theme Using WPML
You can follow this step-by-step tutorial on theme and plugins localization to translate all Neighborhood theme elements using WPML.
Check out this guide on how to use WooCommerce Multilingual to translate all strings generated by WooCommerce plugin.
Pros
- Simple drag-and-drop page builder.
- Extremely customizable.
- Compatible with WPML and WooCommerce.
Cons
- Paid theme
The Retailer Theme
Introduction
The Retailer theme comes with many theme options, lots of pre-built layouts and tons of other features. It is fully compatible with WooCommrce which make it a good choice for building a clean and professional online store. Its integration with WPML allows you to translate all the theme elements effortlessly.
What you will need
- A recent version of WPML (version 3.3.7 or above), including the String Translation, Translation Management, Media translation add-ons and WooCommerce multilingual plugin.
- The Retailer theme (version 2.4.4 or above)
- WooCommerce (version 2.5.3 or above)
Translate The Retailer Theme
Check out this tutorial on how to Translate The Retailer Theme using WPML
You can follow this step-by-step tutorial on theme and plugins localization to translate all Storefront theme elements using WPML.
Check this guide on how to use WooCommerce Multilingual to translate all strings generated by WooCommerce plugin.
Pros
- Highly customizable.
- Compatible with WPML and WooCommerce.
Cons
- Paid theme
Conclusion
Choosing the right theme and plugins to run your WordPress eCommerce online store might be tricky, as the market has got an enormous number of choices. Choosing an eCommerce theme that is fully compatible with WooCommerce and WooCommerce Multilingual plugins will ensure you an effortless experience in building your eCommerce online store.
Resourses
https://www.sellwithwp.com/wordpress-ecommerce-plugin-statistics/
http://solutiondots.com/blog/wordpress-multilingual-plugins.html