Starting a WooCommerce online store is one of the best ways for people to make money online. In fact, stats show that total global eCommerce sales are projected to reach $4.9 trillion with no signs of that number slowing down.
While jumping on the eCommerce bandwagon is a smart way to boost your business, especially during turbulent times, it’s important to remember that you’ll have to front some costs to run your store.
This post will offer an overview of how much a WooCommerce store costs, including:
- How much it costs to run a website
- Cost of paid WooCommerce plugins
- Costs for shipping and payment gateways
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How much does it cost to run a website?
If you’re looking to run an eCommerce store, you’ll have to invest in setting up a WordPress website.
The first step in starting a WordPress website is to select a hosting plan from a reputable hosting company like HostGator.
As a quick review, web hosting is a paid service where website owners rent space on a server to store their files. It’s part of the cost of any website. In other words, web hosting makes it possible for you to own a website without having to invest in an expensive, complex, independent server.
Hosting your website through a web hosting company is affordable, and comes with several benefits including:
- File storage
- The ability to handle a high volume of traffic
- Backup
- SSL certificate for security
- Domain name rental
- And more!
There are several different web hosting options available for new website owners. However, the best fit for most new WooCommerce store owners is a WordPress hosting plan.
HostGator’s WordPress hosting plans cost anywhere from $5.95/month to $9.95/month, and the plan you select will depend on your needs. Here’s an overview of the features of the different WordPress hosting plans:
- Starter Plan. The Starter Plan is $5.95 and comes with one WordPress site, the ability to handle 100K visitors per month, 1 GB in backups, a free SSL certificate, and a free domain.
- Standard Plan. The Standard Plan is the plan we recommend for most WordPress users. It’s $7.95/month and comes with 2 sites. This plan can handle up to 200K visitors per month, has 2GB of backups, and also comes with a free SSL certificate and domain.
- Business Plan. The Business Plan is $9.95/month and comes with 3 sites. It can handle 500K visits per month, has 3 GB of backups, and also comes with a free SSL certificate and domain.
Again, we recommend most new WooCommerce store owners start with the Standard Plan. The Standard Plan provides an additional website if you want to scale your brand and it provides more than enough storage to start your eCommerce store. Learn more about HostGator’s WordPress hosting here.
Remember, hosting plans are varied and there are several options that fit different needs, so feel free to browse HostGator’s shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting plans as well.
Is WooCommerce Free?
Many WordPress owners wonder whether or not WooCommerce is free. On the most basic level, WooCommerce is a free, open-source platform.
In other words, it’s free for anyone to sign up for a WooCommerce site and start a basic eCommerce store.
However, as with WordPress, there are several different WooCommerce plugins that will provide excellent functionality and help you grow your eCommerce store. Some of these plugins are free, and others you have to pay for to use.
What you end up paying will depend on what you want your website to do. Here are some of the most popular paid WooCommerce plugins that are worth checking out.
1. WooCommerce Multi-Currency
If you plan on accepting payments across the globe, then you need this plugin. This plugin makes it possible to display your prices in various currencies. Prices for this plugin start at $79.
2. WooSlider Products Slideshow
This plugin allows you to include various product pictures in the form of a slider. This way, you can show off your online collection without having to take up too much space on your home page. Prices start at $29/year.
3. WooCommerce Wishlists
Stats show that 88% of customers research products before buying. Offering a wishlist is an excellent way to help customers in their research and make it easy for customers to find the products they like when they come back to your site.
An added bonus of this plugin is users can share their wishlists, encouraging even more people to visit your site. Prices start at $79/year.
Explore more WooCommerce wishlist plugins.
4. WooCommerce Print Invoices & Packing Lists
Do you need a tool that helps you generate invoices and packing lists? If so, take the time to look into this plugin. It allows you to print invoices and packing slips and helps you keep track of them. Prices start at $79/year.
5. Dynamic Pricing
Customers these days want stellar customer service, and one way to provide that is to offer discounts to your most loyal customers. This plugin lets you customize your prices. Prices start at $129/year.
While there are costs associated with paid plugins, it makes sense to pay a small fee to get the site functionality you desire. For a more detailed look into the WooCommerce plugins available to you, check out the WooCommerce marketplace.
How much does it cost to ship products and accept payments on your eCommerce store?
Other important costs WooCommerce store owners must consider are the cost associated with shipping and with accepting payments.
Shipping plugins on WooCommerce
A good place to start if you’re going to ship products is WooCommerce Shipping. It’s free to install and to use the plugin. Additionally, you save up to 90% on USPS label rates and 67% on DHL rates.
There are several other shipping plugin options, and it’s worth it to do your research to see what plugin fits your needs the best.
Check out more shipping plugins for WooCommerce.
Payment gateway plugins on WooCommerce
As far as payment gateways are concerned, you have several options, including WooCommerce Payments, PayPal, Stripe, Square, Amazon Payments, and more. Each payment plugin provides different benefits and has different fees associated with using the respective gateway.
It’s worth it to look into all popular WooCommerce payment plugins. As you do your research, remember the easier you make it for customers to pay, the more sales you will make. Consider a payment gateway that allows for convenient mobile payments and accepts various payment types.
Get started with your WooCommerce store today!
If you’ve been toying around with the idea of starting a WooCommerce store, there is no better time than now. The eCommerce world is growing rapidly and more and more consumers are motivated to buy products online.
The first step in getting started is picking a WordPress web hosting plan. HostGator offers three different affordable WordPress web hosting plans that will support your WooCommerce store. Check out the WordPress hosting plans from HostGator today.
Ashley R. Cummings is a professional freelance writer specializing in SaaS, tech, and advertising/marketing. In a previous life, she was a Russian teacher at Brigham Young University, a corporate trainer, and a grad student—all at the same time. When she’s not writing, you can find her traveling the world with her 2 kids and husband, reading poetry or taking a deep dive into the fabulous world of comedy. Connect with her on Twitter at @ashleyrcummings.