Buy me! wpShopGermany – the Professional German Shop Plugin for WordPress

Creating online shops based on WordPress becomes more and more popular. The reasons are the general popularity of WordPress itself and the vast range of really good plugins in this area. Today we'll present you a German shop plugin for WordPress, which has some big advantages over other well-known solutions. wpShopGermany is, as the name indicates, made in Germany, something that can't be said often enough if you want to operate a legally compliant shop in the EU - a market with a great number of legal constraints - and protect yourself from cease and desist letters. You don't have to agonize over new restrictions anymore as the maennchen1 developers will take care of it and provide you with continuous updates.

wpShopGermany - What You Need to Know

wpShopGermany is a light WordPress plugin that extends your website by an online shop. And where's the beef? Well, the word "premium" already indicates that it's not for free; however, license prices are moderate and reasonable in any case. A plugin license keeps your online shop always legally compliant and gives you the freedom to take care of the really important things. The wpShopGermany plugin has been around since May 2010. It was initially designed as plugin for ebooks and similar products, but voices grew louder calling for more possibilities to sell more products with more options and various payment and shipping methods. Today, you can create perfect piece goods online shops. This plugin also perfectly fits the needs of small online shops, which sell, for example, ebooks or software downloads. wpShopGermany works with any theme, so there's no need to install a special theme.

This Is wpShopGermany - Features

The wpShopGermany developers attach great importance to customer satisfaction and, therefore, let them participate in the development process in form of a unique wish list where people can enter wishes for new features. Usually, you'll get a quick reply on proposals that can be realized. It should be mentioned that wpShopGermany offers a 14-day free trial. This allows you to put the plugin to the acid test and see if it fits your needs. There are no restrictions of any kind. You can enjoy the full functionality, build up your online shop during the trial and then simply activate it with a license key.

The wpShopGermany Demo Shop

If you want to get an impression of how a shop could look like, take a look at the demo shop. Unfortunately, it's not possible to see and test the backend (=admin area). But you can access the frontend and see how the shop looks and behaves with the default theme (Twenty Fourteen). Here's a short insight into the possible product types: [caption id="attachment_89688" align="alignnone" width="550"] A standard product in wpShopGermany[/caption] [caption id="attachment_89689" align="alignnone" width="550"] Different variations of one product[/caption] [caption id="attachment_89686" align="alignnone" width="550"] A download item in wpShopGermany[/caption] [caption id="attachment_89687" align="alignnone" width="550"] You can also sell vouchers[/caption] Of course, customers can sign up. You'll get an usable form without having to make any adjustment to the CSS. The necessary information is clearly marked. [caption id="attachment_89672" align="alignnone" width="550"] The registration for new customers[/caption]

wpShopGermany - Ordering Process

The ordering process is essential for the success or failure of an online shop. Therefore, we'll now have a closer look at this process. Is it customer-friendly and what about misclicking? I'll test the ordering process with a download item, which I'll add to the cart via click. [caption id="attachment_89684" align="alignnone" width="550"] The wpShopGermany cart with a download item[/caption] I'm now proceeding to checkout where I have to register (you can see the form in the above screenshot). After clicking on "Continue" I'm getting to the shipment and payment details. That's what I call a clear structure. [caption id="attachment_89681" align="alignnone" width="550"] Selecting the shipment and payment details[/caption] If I choose to pay via Paypal, the shop charges a fee of €5.95. This is due to the default settings of the demo shop, Roger Rehnelt from maennchen1 tells me. Generally, you can adjust the fee for each payment module on an absolute or a percentage basis. You can also set if the payment process should start immediately or after clicking on the logo. The order summary is well structured and customer-friendly. [caption id="attachment_89685" align="alignnone" width="550"] My order summary[/caption] If you click on "Place order" without having accepted the terms and conditions (AGB), it will provoke an error. The error message and the check button could be more highlighted, though. [caption id="attachment_89673" align="alignnone" width="550"] The error message resulting from a non-accepted AGB[/caption] After accepting the AGB, you'll get to the next page - even though it's not the page I would have expected. As I wanted to pay via Paypal, I thought I would be forwarded to the Paypal website in order to finish the payment process. Instead, I got here: [caption id="attachment_89676" align="alignnone" width="550"] After clicking on the logo, customers are forwarded to the Paypal site[/caption] Only now you get to the payment site where you can execute and finish the payment. As already mentioned, you can define this process differently. Some shop owners will go for the logo-clicking option to visualize the ultimacy of what they're about to do. Others, however, will configure their shop without having to click to start the payment process. Shortly thereafter I'm getting the order confirmation and invoice from the test shop. Both seem legally correct and quite appealing. [caption id="attachment_89678" align="alignnone" width="550"] The email generated by the test shop including the invoice[/caption]

Conclucion - Ordering Process

The ordering process is really customer-friendly. The small flaws we found in our test are all due to the default configuration of the test shop and could have been easily adjusted. Maennchen1 has already incorporated some of our improvement suggestions into their demo shop.

wpShopGermany - A Short Insight into the Backend

The first impression: The backend is clean, clear, and well structured. Help is provided whenever needed. [caption id="attachment_89670" align="alignnone" width="550"] The beautifully clean backend. You'll quickly get your bearings.[/caption] Adding a new product is not a big deal as this area is also elaborate and clear. [caption id="attachment_89677" align="alignnone" width="550"] Here you can add a new product in no time.[/caption] If you missed out something in the form, you'll get a message with a link that brings you right back to the missing part. [caption id="attachment_89674" align="alignnone" width="550"] The configuration of the wpShopGermany plugin backend.[/caption] When you click and work through all single points, you'll quickly notice that this plugin has one big disadvantage over its English counterpart. The whole (!) interface is in German, which complicates the understanding for non-German speakers. In this point, a plugin like wooCommerce is easier to use. But in my opinion, wpShopGermany has the cleaner and clearer structure.

This Is wpShopGermany - Plugin Features

Nothing is more important for a shop plugin than its features. After all, you want to know if the plugin fits your needs. So, let's have a look at all the possibilities wpShopGermany opens up for you.

The Payment Methods

The payment methods cover not only German standard payments like prepayment, on account, or cash on delivery but also Paypal, sofortüberweisung.de, and clickandbuy. Even own payment methods can be freely defined.

• Prepayment
• On account
• Cash on delivery
• Paypal
• sofortüberweisung.de
• clickandbuy
• Skrill/moneybookers

The WordPress Widget for the Important and Legally Essential Pages

The WordPress widget displays the relevant pages for the German market in the theme's sidebar and keeps them in the focus of your customers, which is pretty comfortable. [caption id="attachment_89690" align="alignnone" width="342"] The sidebar widget[/caption] The standard text can be individually adjusted, for example, for download products.

Product Variations

Products can be considerably configured. This allows you to offer different variations of one product. This includes, for example, different sizes, colors, textures, or configurations. You can also add additional options for the product.

Update Reminder

To minimize security risks, wpShopGermany checks independently if it's up to date and informs the operator via backend about updates. So, you won't run the risk of using an old plugin.

Add Products via WordPress Shortcode

Shortcodes are generated for each product to add them to any WordPress site or blog post. So, there are no limits to specific shop sites.

It Is Multilingual

The module qtranslate translates all texts in wpShopGermany into any language (if you have the specific language file). It's available for free at WordPress.org; however, it hasn't been developed further for two years now. According to Roger Rehnelt from maennchen1, they're currently checking if it would make sense to cooperate with WPML.

Coupons

The plugin allows shop operators to create and distribute coupons for marketing reasons to customers.

SSL Encryption

The shop communication should always be encrypted with SSL. We recommend the WordPress Https plugin for this purpose. It works without any problems with wpShopGermany.

Additional Premium Functions

Module Produktartikel (Product Article) - €20 One-off Payment

This module assigns each product a unique URL as it's created as a custom post type. Hence, the product can be found via the WordPress search function. If you use this module, your products will be treated as WordPress articles. Here's the German FAQ/help page.

Module Rechnungen (Invoice) - €39 One-off Payment

Very useful! This module allows you to create invoices as PDF file and send them via email. This tool has its own FAQ/help page.

Module Lieferschein (Delivery Note) - €15 One-off Payment

Allows you to create adjustable delivery notes as PDF file. Functions:

• Create delivery notes as PDF file
• Provide logos and letterheads
• Choose text layout in the delivery note
• Product selection in the delivery note
• Provide a notice in the delivery note
• Optional status change
• Provide customers information in the delivery note via email
• Number range for delivery notes with definable formatting
• Optional URL message ($_REQUEST['typ'] == "deliverynote")

Go to the module's documentation>

Module GutscheinProdukt (Voucher) - €20 One-off Payment

Offer your customers gift vouchers as a product. This module allows you to create a product (or several) that can be sold as a voucher. The internal coupon function of wpShopGermany creates a code that can be added to the PDF during the selling process. Here's the help page of this module.

Module DownloadPlus - €19 One-off Payment

This plugin allows you to put a watermark on the PDF you sell. This prevents you from unauthorized reproduction. In addition, the module personalizes complex PDFs (also with multiple pages) with information from the order. You can, for example, sell tickets with instant printing. This module also has a help page.

Module Statistik (Statistics) - €15 One-off Payment

Keep track of all sales and orders. This tool generates complex reports via bar chart and additional table. See your today's turnover or perhaps the turnover from the last business year, compare this month to the last, what time of day generated the most turnover, which are the best-selling products, what payment method prefer your customers, etc. The wpShopGermany Statistik module gives answers to all of these questions. And it comes with another useful feature: The easy integration into the comprehensive statistical analysis solution Piwik.

Module InternetKasse (Internet Checkout) - €20 One-off Payment

This module requires an appropriate account to add the following payment methods: credit card, Maestro, and debit. After receiving the payment it automatically approves the order (similarly to Paypal, Skrill, and sofortüberweisung.de). The module provides an unlimited 14-day trial. Here's the help page.

Module AboProdukte (Subscription Products) - €35 One-off Payment

AboProdukte allows you to sell products for a predefined time. After this time has elapsed, it calls external scripts that can execute certain functions. The customer would then be requested to buy an extension for the subscription. This function requires CronJobs and also provides a help page.

The Interfaces

wpShopgermany comes with a lot of tools for the import/export and the migration of business-related data. What needs to be highlighted in particular is that users with technical experience can create their own interface and fall back to a vast pool of existing open interfaces.

Interfaces for Payment Providers

[caption id="attachment_89679" align="alignnone" width="550"] The extensive interfaces for payment providers.[/caption] A good online shop should provide enough payment options, so that customers can select the one which is most convenient for them. It's always better to have more than just Paypal and prepayment. Who knows how many customers reconsider their order just because their preferred payment method is missing? I did it a couple of times. You can integrate the following payment providers: Paypal, Sofortüberweisung.de (direct transfer methods for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, UK, Netherlands, and Italy), Clickandbuy, BillSafe (payment on account), Skrill (Payment via Skrill/moneybookers), Sparkassen Internetkasse (Payment via credit card, Maestro, and debit), Micropayment™ (Payment transaction via micropayment™ GmbH (credit card, online transfer, debit, cell phone)), GiroCheckout by GiroSolution AG (giropay, credit card, debit), and IW Systeme Securepay (Mastercard, VISA).

Marketing Interfaces

Marketing interfaces are extremely important - no matter how good the online shop may be, what counts is to get enough visits and generate revenue. wpShopGermany supports you with interfaces for some email newsletter providers. You can use, for example, the captive newsletter plugin wpNewsletterGermany. You could beef about the lack of an interface for the most popular newsletter provider Mailchimp, but don't worry - it still works. Mailchimp can export CVS and that's where wpShopGermany comes into play as it can import CVS. It's not the luxury and comfortable solution you may have always dreamed of, but it works. [caption id="attachment_89675" align="alignnone" width="550"] The available marketing interfaces[/caption]

Legal Interface Area

[caption id="attachment_89680" align="alignnone" width="550"] The available interfaces for the legal site[/caption] Protected Shops prevents you from legal issues by using comprehensive legal packages and automatically updating legal texts. New laws and restrictions will be immediately applied to the shop - without any delay. Assumption of liability is guaranteed through the Protected Shops GmbH or a law firm specialized on cyber law. Händlerbund provides security packages consisting of legal texts for general terms and conditions, cancellation policy, battery regulation, etc. These texts, however, won't be automatically updated.

This Is wpShopGermany - Version Comparison

Let's compare the features of the single versions and find out which fits best your needs. Click on the image below to open the full screenshot. [caption id="attachment_89683" align="alignnone" width="550"] The features of the single wpShopGermany versions. Click for a full screenshot.[/caption]

License Prices

License keys are available from €25 to €149, depending on the version. [caption id="attachment_89671" align="alignnone" width="550"] License key prices range from €25 to €149.[/caption]

Conclusion: Go for It!

If you compare the versions, it becomes quickly clear that the cheapest version should be used only for download items. You may think that buying the middle pro version would solve the problem and you could sell anything with it. That's not wrong, for sure; however, there's a catch: Sent emails have a very unpleasant branding that can't be easily removed. If I buy a plugin for €45, I would expect it not to have any branding. Maybe this could be solved by making the license a bit more expensive but leaving the branding off. The ordering process is excellent. Error messages should be clearly labeled as such, though. The backend, which is the plugin's administration, is outstanding, well structured and clean. Help is offered in form of a help button next to each field that has to be filled out. After clicking on it, you'll see a short text with instructions. Adding products - the most important function - is a breeze. You couldn't make it better. The basic version of wpShopGermany is pretty cheap. If you're happy with the basic functions, you can create a shop that's legally compliant with little money and in no time. If this is not enough for you and you need all functions, you can spend up to €330. Not too much if you consider that this the basis for your online business. A small shop in the middle of nowhere costs more monthly rent than a one-off payment for wpShopGermany. Competitive products like wooCommerce make do with less money, but you'll have to wade through the official WordPress plugin store to find all plugins you need. And there's no guarantee that the plugins are compatible. wpShopGermany, in contrast, offers everything from one source. And in terms of legal compliance in Germany it's probably better to rely on a company that's subject to the same law and which has a completely different interest in the accuracy of a product than any international diversified provider from somewhere else. To cut a long story short, we fully recommend wpShopGermany to all online shop operators being subject to the German law jungle.

Important wpShopGermany Links

• Plugin homepage
• Feature wish list
• Available interfaces
• Test shop
• Buy licenses
• System requirements (important)
• Help page for Produktartikel module
• Help page for Rechnungen module
• Help page for Lieferschein module
• Help page for GutscheinProdukt module
• Help page for DownloadPlus module
• Help page for Statistik module
• Help page for InternetKasse module
• Help page for AboProdukte module
• Comprehensive documentation

Additional Resources

• WordPress plugin: qTranslate (WordPress.org)
• Plugin homepage: qTranslate
• Protected shops: Homepage
• Protected shops: Possible security packages (PDF)
• Händlerbund: Homepage

(ahe/dpe)