Introduction
In the vast world of WordPress eCommerce plugins, CT Commerce Lite stands out as a premier choice for users seeking a solution that is both lightweight and versatile. Ideal for hobbyists, small business owners, and those operating on shared servers, CT Commerce Lite provides an excellent balance of simplicity and functionality. The plugin’s core strength lies in its ability to be extended through a variety of free and paid add-ons, allowing you to tailor your store to your specific needs and preferences. This guide will delve into how these add-ons can unlock the full potential of your eCommerce site and help you build a robust online store.
Why Choose CT Commerce Lite?
Before exploring the available add-ons, it’s important to understand what makes CT Commerce Lite a compelling choice for eCommerce:
• Lightweight and Fast: CT Commerce Lite is designed to be exceptionally lightweight, with a total file size of less than 200KB, encompassing all PHP, JavaScript, and CSS files. The frontend specifically loads only about 40KB of JavaScript, ensuring that your site remains fast and responsive. This speed is not just a technical advantage but a critical factor for business success. According to Google, as page load time increases from 1 second to 3 seconds, the probability of a bounce increases by 32%. Akamai also highlights that a 100-millisecond delay in load time can cause conversion rates to drop by 7%, making the performance benefits of CT Commerce Lite significant.
• Gutenberg Block Integration: The plugin is fully integrated with the Gutenberg block editor, allowing for easy store customization using WordPress’s block system. This integration includes a built-in gallery block, which features the Image Gallery Plugin and Lightbox Plugin. These tools enhance product presentation by offering a visually appealing gallery and a lightbox effect, respectively, creating an immersive shopping experience that can lead to increased customer engagement and satisfaction. Additionally, being block-based means you can incorporate other gallery, social sharing, and rating blocks available on the internet to customize the look and feel of your pages. However, note that image variation swatches work specifically with the builtin Gallery block.
• Dynamic Pricing and Images for Variations: CT Commerce Lite supports dynamic pricing and image options based on product variations. This means you can set different prices and images for each variation of a product, providing a tailored shopping experience that reflects the specifics of each variant. This flexibility is crucial for managing products with multiple options, such as size or color, and helps in presenting variations clearly to customers.
• Modular Approach: The plugin adopts a modular approach to maintain minimal server processing. The core functionality is kept lightweight, with additional features available through add-ons. This ensures that only the necessary components are loaded, reducing server load and optimizing performance. Just install the add-ons for the functionality you need—no unwanted bloat.
• Versatile Product Management: The plugin allows for various pricing and image options for product variations, enhancing product presentation. Additionally, you can label products as “out of stock” or “pre-order,” which helps in managing inventory and setting clear customer expectations.
• Theme Compatibility: The plugin is designed to work seamlessly with any WordPress theme, requiring some CSS Modification. This ensures that your store maintains its visual appeal regardless of the theme you choose.
• Custom Dashboard: A centralized custom dashboard simplifies store management. From this dashboard, you can easily configure settings, view pending orders, and manage completed orders, streamlining the administrative aspects of running an eCommerce site.
• Built-in Features: CT Commerce Lite is packed with built-in features that enhance its functionality:
• Gallery Block: Integrated into the core plugin, it allows the use of the Image Gallery and Lightbox features without needing additional plugins.
• SMTP Settings: Built-in SMTP settings facilitate the direct sending of order information to your email, keeping you informed about new orders and customer communications.
• Shipping and Billing Settings Tabs: Manage shipping and billing settings directly within the plugin. These settings can be expanded with additional add-ons to accommodate specific business requirements.
• Discount and Coupon Code : The plugin also provides options for discount and coupon codes, adding another layer of flexibility to your pricing strategy.
Free Add-ons from the WordPress Repository
The core functionality of CT Commerce Lite can be significantly enhanced with a variety of free add-ons available in the WordPress repository. These add-ons are designed to improve various aspects of your store, from visual appeal to user experience and payment options.
Improve User Experience:
• Floating Cart: A Floating cart ensures that the shopping cart can be peaked into by customers, to keep up with their shopping. This convenience can lead to higher conversion rates as customers are less likely to abandon their carts. Plugin provides a compact version of the shopping cart that can be placed in a widget area , navigation or sidebar, offering a quick overview of items in the cart without interrupting the browsing experience.
Boost Social Proof and Sharing:
• Social Sharing Buttons: Social media is a powerful tool for driving traffic and increasing sales. This plugin allows customers to share your products on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,, reddit , whatsapp and linked expanding your store’s reach.
Expand Payment Options:
• CTCL Stripe: This plugin adds ability to accept credit card / debit card payment through Stripe
• Phone Payment Gateway: This plugin adds a phone-based payment option to your store, catering to customers who prefer paying by phone. This can be particularly useful in regions where online payment adoption is lower.
Free Add-ons from the Github (in process of being published in wordpress.org)
The core functionality of CT Commerce Lite can be significantly enhanced with a variety of free add-ons available in the Github repository too. These add-ons are designed to improve various aspects of your store, from visual appeal to user experience and payment options.
Improve User Experience:
• CTCL Product Display: Gutenberg block to add product display in page or post. It can be used to set up a basic category pages and add products as related products.
Boost customer engagement :
• CTCL Order Status : This block giver user ability check order status note set by store owner on product detail section.
Make decision based on analytics :
• CTCL Analytics: Plugin to display Analytics of CT Commerce Lite eCommerce site where users and view sales report in chart
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Paid Add-ons from Payhip
In addition to the free add-ons, CT Commerce Lite offers premium extensions available on Payhip, developed by Ujwol Bastakoti. These paid add-ons provide advanced features that can further enhance your store’s functionality.
• CTCL SMS: Get SMS notification when sale is made on your site with CT Commerce Lite plugin.
• CTCL Paypal: Paypal Addon for CT Commerce Lite eCommerce plugin. Although paid this I can arrange for you to get it for free.
• CTCL Custom Shipping:Display Custom Shipping Option/s to Customer and print shipping label
• CTCL Variation Swatches: Convert Product variation of CT Commerce Lite product selects into clickable Swatches automatically on activation of this plugin.
Why CT Commerce Lite is Perfect for Shared Servers, Hobbyists, and Small Businesses
CT Commerce Lite is specifically designed for environments where resources may be limited. Its lightweight nature makes it ideal for shared servers, ensuring that your site remains fast and efficient even when hosting conditions aren’t optimal.
• Optimized for Shared Servers: Shared hosting environments often come with constraints on resources. CT Commerce Lite’s efficient design means your store will perform well, even on these limited platforms, without compromising user experience.
• Ideal for Hobbyists: If you’re a hobbyist selling crafts, art, or other unique items online, CT Commerce Lite offers a straightforward solution without overwhelming you with unnecessary complexity.
• Perfect for Small Businesses: Small businesses can benefit from CT Commerce Lite’s core functionality, with the option to expand as needed using both free and premium add-ons. This scalability ensures that your eCommerce solution grows with your business.
Conclusion
CT Commerce Lite is more than just a lightweight eCommerce plugin—it’s a scalable platform designed to grow with your business. By taking advantage of the extensive range of free and paid add-ons, you can customize your store to meet your specific needs, enhance the shopping experience for your customers, and ultimately drive more sales. Whether you’re a hobbyist, a small business owner, or operating on a shared server, CT Commerce Lite provides the perfect balance of simplicity, performance, and flexibility.
If you wish to checkout demo please click here
Start exploring the free add-ons available on WordPress.org, check out the additional add-ons on GitHub, and consider investing in the premium add-ons to unlock even more potential for your eCommerce store.
