When starting a new online store, you’ll find many e-commerce platforms to help you achieve your goals. However, figuring out the cost of each option can be tricky.
One great tool for creating online stores is WooCommerce. It’s a free ecommerce plugin that’s perfect for both new and growing businesses. But remember, while the core WooCommerce plugin is free, you’ll often need additional plugins and features to run a full-fledged store, which can cost money. Don’t worry though—WooCommerce can still be more affordable than many other options.
In this article, I’ll explain how to set up, customize, and manage your WooCommerce store, helping you understand the true costs involved.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce, launched in 2011, is an open-source plugin for WordPress. It lets you create and manage an online store, from basic product pages to advanced features like cart recovery and email marketing. Because it’s open-source, you can customize it to fit your needs without the limitations of other platforms. Plus, it doesn’t restrict your sales volume, inventory size, or staff accounts, allowing your store to grow with your business.
Initial Costs of Setting Up a WooCommerce Store
- Domain Registration: A good domain name makes it easy for customers to find your store. Registering a domain usually costs between $10 to $100 per year, depending on the extension (.com, .net, .org, etc.) and the registrar. Ensure your domain is easy to remember and type, avoiding hyphens and numbers.
- Website Hosting: Your hosting provider affects your store’s performance and reliability. Prices for hosting vary based on traffic and storage needs. Basic shared hosting can cost $3 to $10 per month, but as your store grows, you might need more expensive options like cloud hosting or dedicated hosting, which can cost $50 to several hundred dollars per month. Look for hosts optimized for WordPress and WooCommerce, offering good performance, scalability, and 24/7 support.
- Site Security: Securing your WooCommerce store is crucial. Key security measures include SSL certificates, security plugins, and choosing a reliable hosting provider. SSL certificates encrypt data between your site and your customers, and can cost $10 to several hundred dollars annually, though many hosting providers include them in their packages. Security plugins like Jetpack, costing $70 to $199 per year, can also help protect your store.
- WordPress Themes: The theme you choose affects how your store looks and functions. While free themes like Astra and Neve are good for starters, premium themes offer more features and support, costing between $50 and $200. These themes provide better layouts, advanced product filtering, and enhanced support, helping you create a professional-looking store.
WooCommerce Store Customized With WP Bakery Builder or Visual Composer Builder
Building a successful WooCommerce store involves a combination of powerful tools, intuitive design, and efficient functionality. Among the essential tools for creating a standout e-commerce site are WP Bakery Builder and Visual Composer Builder. These page builders provide flexibility and ease of use, allowing store owners to customize their WooCommerce store without needing extensive coding knowledge.
WP Bakery Builder
WP Bakery Builder, formerly known as Visual Composer, is a popular drag-and-drop page builder plugin for WordPress. It allows users to create and customize website layouts with ease. Here are some key features:
- User-Friendly Interface: The intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to design pages, even for those with little to no coding experience.
- Pre-Designed Templates: WP Bakery offers a wide range of pre-designed templates that can be customized to fit your brand and style.
- Responsive Design: Ensures your WooCommerce store looks great on all devices, from desktops to mobile phones.
- Custom Elements: Includes a variety of custom elements such as sliders, buttons, and galleries that can be easily added to your pages.
- Third-Party Compatibility: Works seamlessly with many popular WordPress plugins, enhancing your site’s functionality.
Visual Composer Builder
Visual Composer Builder is another powerful page builder for WordPress, distinct from WP Bakery Builder despite their shared history. Visual Composer offers a unique set of features tailored to create a visually appealing and highly functional WooCommerce store:
- Front-End and Back-End Editors: Offers both front-end and back-end editing options, giving users flexibility in how they design and customize their pages.
- Content Elements: Provides a rich library of content elements such as text blocks, images, buttons, and more, which can be dragged and dropped into place.
- Design Options: Extensive design options, including custom CSS and JavaScript, allow for detailed customization of your store’s appearance.
- Compatibility: Works well with WooCommerce and other essential plugins, ensuring that your store operates smoothly.
WooCommerce Plugin Extensions
Operating a WooCommerce store often requires additional functionality to meet specific business needs. Extensions allow you to customize your store without adding unnecessary bloat. Here’s a look at the benefits of using WooCommerce plugins and some essential extensions:
Why Use WooCommerce Extensions?
- Customization: Tailor your store to meet specific business requirements without unnecessary features.
- Enhanced Capabilities: Add advanced capabilities, streamline processes, and improve user experience.
- Flexibility: Start with basic features and add only what you need, when you need it.
- Free and Premium Options: Access both free and premium plugins to suit your store’s needs and budget.
Must-Have WooCommerce Plugins
- Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce: Set shipping methods based on conditions like weight, dimensions, and product categories. The pro version offers advanced features for $49/year.
- Mailchimp for WooCommerce: Sync customer data and automate marketing emails. The free version is useful, with the pro version available for $49/year.
- PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce: Create customized PDF invoices and packing slips. The pro version, offering advanced customization, is available for $43/year.
- Related Products – Product Recommendations for WooCommerce: Customize related products displayed on your product page. The pro version costs $89/year.
- WooCommerce Shipping & Tax: Purchase discounted USPS and DHL shipping labels directly from the WooCommerce dashboard. This plugin is free.
- Yoast WooCommerce SEO: Add structured data to your products to improve search ranking and visibility. This premium plugin is $79/year.
- Google Product Feed for WooCommerce: Generate a real-time product feed for Google Merchant Center, ensuring up-to-date product data. This premium plugin is $79/year.
Payment Gateways
Payment gateways are the bridges connecting your store to payment networks, enabling customers to shop using their preferred methods. WooCommerce supports various payment gateways, including WooPayments, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Stripe, Square, and Authorize.net.
When selecting credit card payment gateways, consider transaction fees, supported payment methods, security features, and WooCommerce integration. Transaction fees vary by gateway and transaction type, ranging from a flat fee to a percentage of the sale. Some gateways charge extra for cross-border transactions or currency conversions.
- PayPal is a trusted payment gateway with free and premium options for WooCommerce integration. The free PayPal Checkout plugin allows PayPal and credit card payments, while the premium PayPal Pro plugin enables a checkout on your website. Transaction fees range from 2.9% + $0.30 to 4.4% + $0.30 per transaction, depending on the country and transaction type.
- Google Pay and Apple Pay make it easy for shoppers to quickly approve payments from their phones or web browsers using stored credit card information. These methods offer added security benefits for users, typically including two-factor authentication (2FA) or biometric verification. You can set up Google Pay and Apple Pay for your users with WooPayments and other payment gateways.
- Stripe is a popular payment gateway with developer-friendly APIs and robust security features. It offers a free WooCommerce plugin for accepting credit card payments directly from your store. Transaction fees are similar to PayPal, at around 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge
In addition to transaction fees, some payment gateways may charge monthly or annual fees for premium features or dedicated support. For example, the WooCommerce Payments plugin by Automattic offers competitive transaction fees but requires a monthly subscription for advanced features and priority support.
Consider your target audience and common payment methods in your market. Offering multiple options, like credit cards, digital wallets, and local methods, can improve customer convenience and reduce cart abandonment. Regularly review your payment gateway setup for any changes in fees, features, or security requirements.
Ongoing Expenses for Maintaining Your Store
Once your WooCommerce store is up and running, it’s essential to account for ongoing expenses to ensure its continued success and growth. These often-overlooked costs include:
- Website Hosting: Hosting remains a fundamental ongoing expense for maintaining your WooCommerce store. Small to mid-size businesses should expect to pay $40-$200 per month for quality hosting. Larger enterprise clients with more complex needs may spend as much as $1,500 per month. Hosting costs depend on the level of service and the amount of traffic your store receives.
- Themes and Plugins: Enhancing your store’s functionality and appearance involves ongoing investments in themes and plugins. These can be one-time purchases or annual subscriptions for updates and support. Regularly review your plugin selection to ensure you’re getting the best value for your investment.
- Custom Development: While WooCommerce and versatile themes like Astra reduce the need for extensive custom development, there may still be instances where bespoke solutions are necessary to meet specific business requirements. Custom development can incur additional expenses but can also enhance your store’s functionality and competitiveness. Careful budgeting and consideration of alternative solutions are advisable to maximize cost-effectiveness.
- SEO and Marketing: Investing in SEO and marketing initiatives is crucial for driving traffic to your store and increasing sales. Whether through organic SEO strategies, paid advertising campaigns, or social media marketing, allocating resources to these ongoing efforts is essential for maintaining your store’s visibility and competitiveness in the online marketplace.
Comparing the Pricing of WooCommerce vs. Other Platforms
When choosing an e-commerce platform, several popular options exist, each with unique features, pricing structures, and target audiences. Here’s a comparison of WooCommerce with Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and Squarespace:
Shopify
- User-friendly interface and extensive app store
- Monthly fees include hosting, domain registration, and access to features and apps
- Transaction fees may apply, especially on lower-tier plans
- Annual costs range from $350 to over $2,300 for B2B features
BigCommerce
- Known for scalability and features
- Suitable for growing businesses and enterprise-level ventures
- Subscription-based pricing with high annual costs starting at $468
Magento
- Open-source platform with powerful customization options
- Suitable for developers and larger enterprises
- Free open-source edition and costly Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Commerce) at $22,000 per year
Squarespace
- Combines website building with e-commerce functionality
- Targets individuals and small businesses
- Subscription pricing with flexible options, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per year
WooCommerce
- Cost-effective with the core plugin being free
- Optional paid extensions and themes
- Flexible pricing based on functionalities needed
- Annual costs vary widely from a few hundred to thousands of dollars depending on the store size and requirements.
Value for Money
- WooCommerce offers exceptional value for money, providing access to a vast ecosystem of themes, plugins, and integrations, along with unparalleled customization options. Shopify and BigCommerce offer comprehensive support and a wide range of features but may incur additional expenses for premium themes, apps, and transaction fees.
- Magento provides unmatched customization but requires technical expertise, making it more suitable for larger businesses with substantial budgets. Squarespace offers simplicity and ease of use but may lack the scalability and customization options required for ambitious e-commerce ventures.
Flexibility and Scalability
- WooCommerce excels in flexibility, allowing users to choose their hosting provider, payment gateways, and plugins. Its open-source nature and extensive community support make it highly customizable and scalable. Shopify and BigCommerce offer scalable solutions with built-in features for online stores but may have limitations in customization compared to WooCommerce. Magento provides unparalleled customization options but requires technical expertise, making it less suitable for beginners or small businesses. Squarespace offers simplicity and ease of use but may lack the scalability and customization options needed for larger e-commerce ventures.
Long-Term Considerations of Enterprise-Level Pricing
WooCommerce is highly scalable, allowing businesses to start small and expand as needed. Enterprise-level businesses can cost anywhere from a few thousand to over ten thousand dollars a year, with some costs, like developer fees, being one-time expenses. This flexibility gives WooCommerce an advantage over subscription-based enterprise tiers, such as Shopify Plus and Adobe Commerce. Squarespace offers an enterprise-level plan with custom pricing, likely competitive with other enterprise-tier plans.
Key Takeaways for Launching a WooCommerce Store
WooCommerce offers significant advantages in terms of functionality and pricing compared to its competitors. Here are some final recommendations for your e-commerce journey:
- Document the features you need to compare different providers accurately.
- Consider short-term and long-term functionality to avoid surprises as you grow.
- Select a WordPress theme optimized for WooCommerce and invest in premium features.
- Choose a hosting company designed for WooCommerce that can scale with your business.
- Incorporate search engines, social media, and email marketing into your business plan and technology roadmap.
Consider Pressable’s managed WordPress hosting plans, crafted to help you build, launch, and scale your WooCommerce store successfully.
