DukaPress has great support, smart implementation of shopping cart functionality on top of WordPress, and it’s free. It also has a very easy to use interface and options. If you’re tired of big shopping cart plugins that have 100s of screens and options and just want something smart and simple to start selling, you might like DukaPress.
Installation
DukaPress is available from WordPress.org, so installation is as easy as any other plugin. And like every other shopping cart plugin, there are some initial configuration tasks that need to be done. They’re covered in the support and documentation of the plugin.
Technical Support & Documentation
The developer is actively involved in supporting DukaPress’ users. Support is provided on WordPress.org forums and you can also get support by leaving a comment on the plugin’s blog.
The plugin’s documentation is pretty great. It consists of many pages covering things such as initial setup, payment options, and more.
How It Integrates with WordPress
It uses WordPress shortcodes to embed its screens (like the checkout and thank you screens) on pages and posts.
Products are treated like custom post types, which is good — and it makes product management easier. Products share the same categories as WordPress posts, which is not so good. They should’ve used custom taxonomies instead.
Product Variation Management
Creating product variations in DukaPress is easy. On the “Add Product” screen, you have a widget called “DukaPress Product options”. You simply add the variations you want in there. For each variation, you can specify a name and a price only.
Shipping and Tax Management
In DukaPress, shipping is determined storewide. It’s not per product category or per individual product. You have 6 shipping methods to choose from: free, flat rate, flat limit rate, weight flat rate, weight class and per item. Details can be found here. If you want more flexibility with the shipping options, you can buy a DukaPress add-on for $20.
Tax management in DukaPress is so basic, though, it’s almost useless. You can specify a storewide tax rate — that’s it.
Admin User-Interface Design
DukaPress admin interface looks simple and clean. It makes good use of WordPress styles, so it looks native to WordPress. I wish DukaPress didn’t make more than one top level menu though.
The settings page also utilizes layout and interface behaviors that are not native to WordPress. It’s not a big deal, though.
Accepted Payment Methods
With DukaPress you can accept the following forms of payment: PayPal Express, Authorize.Net, WorldPay, AlertPay, Bank transfer in advance, Cash at store, and Mobile payment.
Selling Digital Downloads
Selling digital products with DukaPress is possible, but it’s not really intended to be used for digital products. Securing digital downloads requires adjusting your web server settings and stuff.
Offering Discount Coupon Codes
DukaPress allows you to add multiple discount codes. The discount is a percentage — not a fixed amount. And it applies to the order as a whole. There are no per-product discount codes.
Sidebar Widgets
DukaPress comes with some useful sidebar widgets.
- DukaPress Checkout — displays a link to the checkout page
- Mini DukaPress Shopping Cart — displays the minimal shopping cart
- DukaPress Shopping Cart — displays the DukaPress shopping cart
- Product Display — allows you to display your products
- DukaPress Search — let’s your visitors search your online store
Themes and Styles
The creators of DukaPress have not neglected the “themes” aspect of their shopping cart. There are some good looking themes available for the plugin. You can take a look at this page for some examples. And you can also search DukaPress.org for more.
The HTML of DukaPress includes CSS classes that allow you to style it. If you’d rather have a more user-friendly way of styling the frontend, you can purchase DukaPress Styles, which is a premium add-on for $19.
Affiliates Management
DukaPress has no built-in way for managing affiliates and has no integration with any 3rd party tools to help with that.
Multi-Language Support
DukaPress is available in multiple languages, such as Chinese, German, French, Spanish, and Russian, and it is possible to translate it to any language you want.
Who’s Using It
DukaPress is a popular plugin among WordPress users. It has a high rating on WordPress.org and people seem to love it. But most of those using it are small shops that don’t look like they’re making any sales, to be honest. You can take a look at the showcase here.
Money Matters
DukaPress is open-source and free. The developers make money by selling premium add-ons such as: Simple Slideshow, Shipping Pro, and DukaPress Styles…You can get the details on each add-on here. These add-ons are very affordable.
The developers also offer DukaPress customization services.
Thanks for the review!