WooCommerce is a plug-in that can turn WordPress sites into ecommerce shops. It’s free, which makes it preferable when comparing WooCommerce versus Shopify or OpenCart versus WordPress WooCommerce. Plus, it’s hard to beat when it comes to flexibility and scalability, making it the best option for business owners who want to have an online platform under their full control.
Still, to get your website to perform as a full-fledged ecommerce shop that lets customers browse, add to cart, and buy with WooCommerce, you’ll have to pay for additional tools, plug-ins, and services. For example, if you don’t know a lot about coding and web development, you may want to hire WooCommerce developers to build your site for you. Depending on the size of your site, you can expect to spend anywhere from $100 to more than $1,000 per year, which can still be very cost-effective.
Is WooCommerce Completely Free?
WooCommerce and WordPress are both free, open-source software, but using them isn’t completely devoid of costs. You have to pay for hosting, a domain, themes, shipping, payment processing services, security, maintenance, and any other additional functionalities—though some of these are free, too.
WooCommerce Fees You Need to Know
Here are some additional costs that you may have to pay to build an online shop on WooCommerce:
Hosting and Domain
WooCommerce is a plug-in, which means that you’ll need a WordPress site to use it, and that requires a web host. There are various hosting services, and many of them are even recommended by WooCommerce, such as BlueHost. You can get one for as low as $3 per month.
After setting up your hosting platform, you must also register your domain, which is your website’s name or URL, and this typically costs between $10 and $20 a year.
Themes
There are thousands of free themes for WooCommerce on WordPress. The Storefront theme, for example, costs nothing, but it provides you only with the basic functions you’d expect from an ecommerce shop. That said, free themes typically have fewer features, and may not do a fantastic job in making your site stand out.
Paid themes, which can cost up to $100, can boost your store’s appearance and performance. Plus, these themes come with more support, experience less downtime, and are always updated, making them more convenient to maintain.
Shipping and Payments
Shipping and payments are two necessary extensions to run your ecommerce shop. With WooCommerce, you have options for both that are almost free. WooCommerce Shipping is a free extension that connects to USPS, allowing you to print shipping labels right from your dashboard. WooCommerce Payments has no set-up charge or monthly fees–you only have to pay a small fee per transaction.
If you want a bit more functionality in your shipping and payments services, such as calculations based on package size and weight or PayPal integration, you may have to pay additional fees, depending on the extension.
Extensions and Plug-Ins
You can make the most out of your ecommerce shop by installing other non-essential extensions and plug-ins for sales, marketing, and design. For example, you may want a plug-in for email marketing, abandoned cart recovery, ads, SEO, multi-language capabilities, points, rewards, subscriptions, or custom product tabs. These extensions can be free or can cost hundreds of dollars per year.
Security
Most web hosts are already secure, but it helps to add an extra layer of security to your site when handling sensitive customer information. Many start with an SSL certificate, which encrypts the data between your website and your customer’s browser. Most hosting services already provide this for free, but it’s also available on various other platforms.
Aside from an SSL certificate, you should also consider installing anti-malware tools, which you may also get from your web host for a small fee.
Developers
If you want an ecommerce shop that truly stands out and provides the best customer experience, a developer from Guru can help make that happen. This developer can make your site look great, equip it with intuitive tools, and keep it secure. WooCommerce developers may charge anywhere from $10 to $250 per hour for their work.
How Much Should I Expect to Pay for a WooCommerce Site?
Depending on how you want your store to look and function, you can expect to pay as low as $250 to upwards of $5,000 for your WooCommerce site. To ensure that you’re getting the best value for your money, hire a WooCommerce developer from Guru to help build your website and guide you through the best options to fit your needs.
