Good if you're a developer but avoid like the plague if you're not

Without doubt a good eCommerce plugin for WordPress, however you should only use this if you’re a web developer and are prepared to PAY for add-ons and/ or support. It’s not enthusiast-friendly at all.

From a developer’s point of view, it’s also lacking in some areas. The way it’s been coded means that some things cannot be changed without edits to the core plugin files (thus making it a nightmare when it comes to upgrading). It also interferes with the best (and most common) WordPress form plugin which was around long before JS was; Gravity Forms. Unfortunately I reported the issue to JigoShop but they don’t seem interested in addressing (or even acknowledging) the issue.

Support really is non-existent unless you pay for it, and to be quite honest I’m totally against the way they are profiting from our beautiful community – WP is opensource and has a huge range of free plugins submitted “by the community, for the community”. People have continually contributed plugins, themes, and support within wp.org (for free) over the years, and that’s what makes WordPress great.

As a developer myself I understand that it’s nice to be rewarded for your hard work when contributing – nobody likes to work for free. This is why I often make donations to plugin authors if I find their addition useful.

I also have no problem paying a nominal fee for a premium plugin (Gravity Forms, for instance), nor for premium plugin add-ons. The same goes for offering “premium-support” (chargeable); I’ve nothing against it, however FREE support is absolutely non-existent from JigoShop. The only time they’re willing to help is if they feel they can sell you something (and sometimes in a dirty/sneaky way. I’m onto you, JigoShop!).

JigoShop look to profit from absolutely everything they can with their plugin; it’s quite ridiculous really, given their plugin is far from perfect. It’s a long way off being a “complete product” in my opinion.

The thing that has outraged me the most however, is the fact that they insist all support requests are posted on their forums rather than on the WP.org support forums. The problem with this is that it allows them to do with the posts/ threads as they see fit. What I (and others) have noticed on several occasions, is that when knowledgeable end-users take the time to post solutions on their forums, for free, JigoShop then move those threads/ answers so that only “premium-support subscribers” can see them.

This means JigoShop are profiting FROM US end-users offering support for THEIR PLUGIN, on THEIR FORUMS.

Initially I was going to use JigoShop for all client builds, however in my opinion we need less rogues like this in the WordPress community and therefore I shall no longer be using it, nor recommending it to others.

JigoShop’s approach has therefore influenced my rating of this plugin in huge way.

I’m now off to check out WooCommerce, which essentially is the same plugin under a different name, managed by different people.
JigoShop are a small Web Development company based in Peterborough, UK, whereas Woo are a very well-established and respected company in the WordPress community, and have been around for a long time.

Fingers crossed Woo they have a better approach than what JigoShop do.

My advice is that you save yourself some time, frustration, money, and help the WP community by following in my footsteps.