The everlasting conflict between the two powerful leading open source platforms, Wordpress and Drupal continues in the eCommerce arena as well. While both of them have their advantages and disadvantages, the debate on which one is better persists. Let's compare the two platforms and learn about their plugins:

Wordpress

Initially used as a blogging platform, Wordpress is now being employed to build robust eCommerce sites. Being the powerful plugin that it is, Wordpress can transfigure any traditional site into a fully fledged online marketplace. It is also simple to learn and can be easily navigated by any layman. So if you are going with Wordpress to build your digital shop as opposed to a shopping cart software, here are a few best and free Wordpress eCommerce plugins for you to explore:

1.) Woocommerce

Woocommerce is undoubtedly the most widely used free eCommerce plugin. It not only possesses all the top class features to turn your website into a big multinational eCommerce store, but also bears a collection of free paid extensions and themes to help you tailor your site as per your needs. Today Woocommerce is being used by big entrepreneurs like Cosmopolitan and Harley-Davidson.

2.) WP eCommerce

WP eCommerce is a powerful, simple to set, and rich in feature eCommerce solution. It's the second most widely used platform and integrates well with many payment processors and shippers. WP eCommerce users can also purchase a variety of upgrades and premium add-ons online.

3.) Jigoshop

A reliable and robust eCommerce solution from a UK based web design agency, Jigoshop offers 30+ fully fledged, highly customizable themes and about a hundred plus extensions to make your store look and feel great.

 

4.) Cart66 Lite

Cart66 Lite, earlier known as  PHPurchase is a lightweight, secure eCommerce solution to create any PCI compliant eCommerce store. It employs Mijireh Checkout to gather and send credit card information to your payment gateway. It also integrates flawlessly with Amazon S3 to help you sell digital products.

 

 

Drupal

Drupal is the 3^rd most used open source content management system. Although, not as user friendly and simple to learn as Wordpress, it is far more extendable as compared to it. Here are some essential eCommerce Drupal modules:

1.) Ubercart - Ubercart comprises of powerful features that you can’t get any other way. You can create products listings and interactive catalogs easily. The products can be classified and organized automatically; the stocks can be tracked with just one click.

2.)Drupal Commerce - A perfect solution for all prevalent eCommerce aspects through CMS including payments, pricing and products. With Drupal Commerce, you can build a variety of product categories and displays while managing order and payment procedures at the same time.

3.) Amazon Store - If you are selling your products on Amazon, this is a must have module as it implements Amazon Associate Web Service. It is an easy to install module which can be activated easily.

4.) eCommerce Invoice - It’s an easy to use module for Drupal websites that is used to create invoices. You can create as many invoices as you want using this, and after creating you can also email them to your clients.

 

Having said all this, we would recommend you to choose your shopping cart carefully, based on your specific needs. Both Drupal and Wordpress are powerful open source CMSs and come with advanced modules to cater to your eCommerce needs.