In a survey by SimpleTexting, 78% of consumers reported that checking, sending, and replying to text messages is the primary activity they complete on their smartphones throughout their day.
That presents a great opportunity for brands to engage with consumers via text marketing, or SMS marketing.
Many brands are finding success with this part of their mobile marketing strategy. In that same survey by SimpleTexting, 62% of consumers stated that they’ve subscribed to receive SMS marketing from at least one company within the last year.
Now that you understand the benefits of SMS marketing, you may want to leverage it for your business. The good news is, if you run a WordPress site, adding this functionality is easy thanks to WordPress SMS plugins.
To help you decide which WordPress text message plugin to integrate with your site, we've compiled this handy list of 15 of our favorite WordPress SMS plugins.
Why use a WordPress text message plugin?
If you're curious about how using a WordPress SMS plugin can help your business grow better, we have an answer. Here are some of the main reasons businesses utilize these plugins:
- To create and manage SMS messages in one dashboard
- To expand reach to the international customer base
- To track the performance of SMS marketing efforts
- To complete targeted messaging
- To integrate with many gateways
- To complete A/B testing
- To provide customers with updates on their order
- To remind customers if they left something behind in their shopping cart
- To keep track of sign up form submissions easily
Best WordPress SMS Plugins
- WP SMS - Messaging and SMS Notification
- Drip
- Joy of Text
- WP SMS: Texting
- SMS Order Alert Notifications
- Texty
- BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce
- CartBoss — SMS Abandoned Cart Recovery
- WordPress SMS Marketing
- Gravity Forms & Twilio
- Formidable Forms & Twilio
- Twilio SMS Notifications
- SMS for WooCommerce
- Textedly
- Amelia
If a WordPress text message plugin is what you seek, you'll be happy to learn that there are a few on the market. While variety is great (and who doesn't love choices?), narrowing down the right one for your business can be tricky. That's where we come in. We did the legwork so you can find the best WordPress SMS plugin for your website. Here are 15 of the best we found.
1. WP SMS — Messaging and SMS Notification
WP SMS is a popular option because it integrates with more than 250 gateways. It's also updated routinely and is available in nine languages. With the addition of this WordPress SMS plugin, you'll gain the ability to send SMS notifications to users, subscribers, and even WooCommerce customers.
What we like: This plugin has various features that make it worthwhile. The messages you send with WP SMS can provide customers with updates on their orders (if you're an ecommerce business) and inform them of new blog posts or products. You'll also capture users' phone numbers when they subscribe. The best part? The base option of this WordPress SMS plugin is free.
2. Drip
If you have an ecommerce business, you should consider Drip as the ultimate WordPress text message plugin. This plugin is free, highly intuitive, and easy to use. With the help of Drip, you can sort through audience lists for targeted messaging, complete A/B testing, and seamlessly integrate it with social.
What we like: Drip’s visual builder allows you to design and personalize your text messages. You can even add images!
3. Joy of Text
Joy of Text (or JOT) is — you guessed it — another popular WordPress SMS plugin option. Thanks to JOT, you can easily send SMS and text-to-voice messages directly to an individual subscriber or group. Yes, it's that simple.
What we like: One of our favorite features is the option to send an SMS text message automatically to those who are newly subscribed. You may personalize this message to introduce customers to your brand voice.
4. WP SMS: Texting
This plugin is a similar yet slightly different offering than the first we mentioned. If you want to integrate Twilio with WordPress, you can't miss this option. There's also the option to level up to receive premium add-ons that integrate with WooCommerce and Event Espresso.
What we like: Because WP SMS: Texting lets you send messages to international phone numbers, it could be an ideal option if you have a large international customer base.
5. SMS Order Alert Notifications
If you're running an ecommerce business and have received too many emails to keep up with from excited customers asking where their order is, consider adding this plugin to your site. This WooCommerce add-on will alert both the admin and the customer after placing an order. The best part? The SMS can be customized at a moment's notice using the admin panel.
What we like: With the help of this plugin, you can send customers updates on their order status — and recapture their attention with abandoned cart reminders.
6. Texty
Next, Texty bills itself as a lightweight SMS notification plugin that integrates with WordPress. If you choose to use this with WooCommerce, you can also send alerts to customers at various stages of the fulfillment process.
What we like: This plugin supports several gateways, including Vontage, Plivo, Clickatell, and Twilio, so you have plenty of options.
7. BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce
BulkGate SMS is a cost-effective option for companies looking to add an SMS plugin to their site. You can dispatch order status notifications to buyers, send targeted marketing campaigns, and even enable two-way messaging to add a personal touch with your customers.
What we like: You don't have to pay anything for this plugin. Instead, you will pay for the SMS and Viber messages you send to your customers. You'll also never have to pay for undelivered Viber messages.
8. CartBoss — SMS Abandoned Cart Recovery
If your ecommerce business sees a lot of abandoned carts, it's time to take action by adding an open-source WordPress SMS plugin that will capture customers' attention and bring them back to your site to complete their purchases.
What we like: This plugin effectively integrates with a WooCommerce store on WordPress. It offers a collection of highly converting text messages, so you don't have to figure out any copywriting details. And did we mention that there's no A/B testing necessary?
9. WordPress SMS Marketing
This WordPress plugin simplifies sending text messages (up to 1600 characters). You'll also be able to set and maintain campaigns for ease of use. It's a high-resolution plugin that integrates with WooCommerce and will help you effectively manage bulk SMS marketing.
What we like: The regular license of this product is just $29. If you're looking to keep costs down, this could be the right choice for your website.
10. Gravity Forms & Twilio
If you have a Twilio account, you can integrate Gravity Forms in WordPress to send SMS notifications to your customers. One significant advantage of this integration is that it makes keeping track of form submissions a bit easier.
What we like: On the admin side, you'll receive an automatic notification via text whenever a site visitor purchases something or completes a form.
11. Formidable Forms & Twilio
Integrating Formidable forms into your website makes sense since you'll need a place to collect phone numbers. With the help of the Twilio SMS add-on, you can effectively do this with Formidable Forms. If you combine these two, you can receive texts via forms, text subscribers, and even create automated responses.
What we like: The combination of Formidable Forms and Twilio makes keeping track of the phone numbers submitted via your website simple.
12. Twilio SMS Notifications
As you know, ecommerce customers love receiving detailed updates regarding their order status. The Twilio SMS Notification plugin for WooCommerce is another option if you want to deliver on those. It will prompt customers to opt-in for SMS updates when checking out.
What we like: If you'd like to test out your text messages first to see how they look and read on a mobile device, this plugin provides the option to demo the messages first by delivering an example to you before you send them to the customer.
13. SMS for WooCommerce
This is another approachable, easy-to-use option for those who have a WordPress site and harness the power of the WooCommerce plugin. If that's you, adding SMS for WooCommerce into your plugin rotation will help you provide customers with the ability to add their phone number during checkout for messaging, offer order status updates via SMS, and even personalize those texts.
What we like: We love that the messages are customizable, and you can write them in your brand voice. There's also an option to limit the time range when the plugin will dispatch messages to ensure you don't bother customers past a specific time with a pesky message.
14. Textedly
Textedly offers a variety of features that website visitors will find invaluable. The plugin can inform customers of new posts, order confirmations, deals, and beyond. Admins also find Textedly to be an effective option because the platform makes it easy to send and transfer data into WordPress.
What we like: Thanks to Textedly, you can keep your customers in the loop in a simple, digestible manner. You can also set up Textedly to help specific groups, individuals, or even your whole email list.
15. Amelia
If your website offers customers the opportunity to book events or appointments, the Amelia WordPress SMS plugin might be what you need. You can choose when the messages send: immediately after the event is triggered, at the specified time after the event occurs, or during a specific time of the day you choose.
What we like: Because this plugin will help your customers ensure that they never miss another event or appointment, it will score significant points in helping delight them. And happy customers are customers that return.
Add a WordPress text message plugin to your site and see the difference SMS marketing can make.
SMS marketing is a relatively low-cost and low-lift investment that will help your business establish a more personal connection with customers and reach them where they're at. If you're ready to begin to develop your SMS marketing strategy, any of these WordPress text message plugins are an excellent place to start.
