WooCommerce is a highly popular open-source software that is used for E-Commerce stores. It is built on WordPress, and it is highly customizable. Technically, WooCommerce itself is completely free since it is open-source. Anyone can use WooCommerce and take advantage of the specific features that suit their requirements. However, even in this DIY situation, there are still costs to running a WooCommerce store. Let’s go through the breakdown of the major costs involved.
Costs of Hosting
One of the most important costs to consider is hosting. This is an essential cost since your website will have to be hosted somewhere. There is a variety of hosting providers to choose from that provide different features at specific price points. The cost will ultimately depend on the size of your website and the requirements that you have. Below are some of the most popular hosting options suited for WooCommerce stores.
BlueHost
One top hosting solution for WooCommerce stores is Bluehost. It starts from $6.95 a month to $31.99 a month for dedicated WooCommerce hosting that comes with customizations and added security. A storefront theme is included in the cost, and WooCommerce has included BlueHost as a recommended hosting service.
SiteGround
Another good hosting option to choose from is SiteGround. Their startup WooCommerce hosting is available from $14.99 a month, and their highest package is available for $39.99 a month. WooCommerce is recommending this hosting provider.
Woogo Stores
Woogo Stores, of course, includes hosting fees. All of our packages come with a sophisticated hosting solution that is tailor-made for your store. This means that you can be sure that your website will load fast for visitors and be engaging for them to navigate. Additionally, we include SSL for all plans, which can cost extra on standard hosting providers.
Premium Plugins
WooCommerce stands out because of the wide variety of available very high-quality plugins. Plugins pack incredible value, allowing for a lot of customization. However, these premium features do come with a cost that should be taken into account. The costs can vary depending on the specific plugin, but some can cost hundreds of dollars.
You can offset many of these plugin costs by opting for Woogo Stores. Indeed, we provide you with the best plugins (worth over $2000+) completely free of charge in all of our packages. Start your concierge service with WooCommerce straight away!
Costs of Professional Development
Since WooCommerce is open-source, you can make as many customizations as you need. They can quickly add up to your WooCommerce hosting costs, however. To make full use of the powerful customization available on WooCommerce, you must have an agency or a team of developers. Professional development can become very expensive, and they will depend on your website’s complexity. If you want a store with particular functional customization, you will usually need to pay a fair bit for all of these customizations coded in and for any general troubleshooting. A good software developer usually costs around $90-150 per hour depending on location, and they may not be so easily available for troubleshooting.
These enhancements can include product page features, enhanced checkout page, products showcase, custom navigation, and marketing. There are free add-ons and paid extensions. But, to really individualize your store, you will need to opt for certain customizations that will command a fee. The specific pricing depends on your own individual requirements.
Woogo Stores packages offer these customizations for an extra fee, and our friendly customer service team works with you to understand your requirements. This means you can maximize your store and get help whenever you need it. We will be there to provide a tailored service that enables your store to be as successful as possible. You are free to request these customizations at any point in time, and we will give you an accurate estimate of how much they will cost. The pricing will depend on the complexity and amount of work required to integrate those customizations properly.
How Much Does WooCommerce Cost in Comparison to Shopify
It is important to compare the costs of WooCommerce with the most popular competitor Shopify. Unlike WooCommerce, Shopify is not open source, and it has many paid packages available.
Shopify plans do not include domain costs. Additionally, Shopify basic costs $29 monthly alongside a charge of 2.9%+ 30 cents per transaction. It’s $79 a month for the Shopify plan and $299 a month for the advanced plan. Overall, this can seem pretty hefty in comparison to WooCommerce, which is relatively cheaper. You can eliminate the transaction costs by opting for Shopify payments, but it removes your ability to choose your payment gateway provider.
Woogo Stores offers the Start-Up Plan at only $59 a month, which gives you many features out of the box that Shopify doesn’t.
Cost of premium Shopify Addons
Like for WooCommerce, you must pay to get the best Apps in Shopify. You’ll need to pay a lot for some of them, which don’t come cheap monthly! Features such as product search, reward points, upselling, personalized products, and subscriptions require purchasing add-ons regardless of which Spotify pricing plan you are on.
Some of these essential paid add-ons can add a significant total to your monthly bill. Therefore, a standard Shopify store that is looking to grow may pay more than $500 on Shopify plan fees and add-on fees. In comparison, WooCommerce plugins tend to be far cheaper, and Woogo Stores provides a lot of value for each package.
Summary
Now you’re aware that although WooCommerce is “free”, there are costs involved in running in. As with everything in life, there is no such thing as a free lunch. In theory, you can run a WooCommerce store for a few hundred dollars per year, but if you want your store to stand out, there are other costs involved.
After having done extensive research and built many E-Commerce sites, we have concluded that WooCommerce offers the best value for money. It provides top-level features at a lower cost in comparison to major competitors such as Shopify. Woogo Stores gives you all of the top-level features of WooCommerce at a highly affordable price point, with the option to add further customizations.
