Building an eCommerce site can be an extremely profitable venture, but there is a lot of misinformation. For example, you can make an eCommerce site for free if you install WooCommerce, but that’s not true, and there is a cost for building one.
These costs often end up being the final nail in the coffin for many beginners who do not understand that building an online store is capital-intensive. In other words, you don’t realize you need a lot of money to run an online store.
Today, we will look at the true cost of opening an online store from scratch using WooCommerce.
What Is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is an eCommerce platform available in WordPress. It is currently the most popular way to build an online shop and accounts for 35% of all online shops. This popularity is due to a variety of factors.
The first would be that it was made specifically for WordPress, which is the most popular CMS. Thus, any site built with WordPress will most likely build its online store with WooCommerce.
Secondly, it is a really good eCommerce platform. It excels at allowing beginners to add inventory to a store, customizing the listings, setting up shipping, and much more. All of this while also having integration options for virtually any payment gateway.
Finally, perhaps the biggest point is that it is a free plugin. That’s right, WooCommerce is a free tool that you can use to build an online store, and therein lies the confusion. While the plugin is free and does not have transaction fees, there is a cost to using WooCommerce.
The True Cost of Building An with WooCommerce
This article will look at every instance where someone can spend money when using the WooCommerce plugin. We will be assuming the developer is starting from scratch and has no experience with web development.
As such, veteran developers can easily avoid some of these fees, but the average user will not.
Note: One thing I will not be discussing here is the cost outside of WooCommerce. For example, you will need to purchase products and have a place to store them, such as a warehouse or other facility. You’ll also need shipping materials, a label printer, and so forth.
1. Web Hosting
You will be using WordPress to build your online store, as such, it will need to be self-hosted, which means you need to find a web hosting company. A web host will rent you a server, or part of a server, where you can store your website.
Whenever a user connects to your website, they are actually connecting to that server. As such, the server your website is on determines the performance of the site and needs to be on 24/7 to ensure users can access the site at any time.
Luckily, web hosting is very affordable due to the high level of competition in the market. As a result, you’ll pay more for a cup of coffee than you will for a month of web hosting. However, it is worth pointing out that you will not be paying monthly.
Most web hosts operate on an annual billing cycle, with longer options available. Since most web hosts will offer you better rates when you first sign up, you are usually better off signing up for a longer contract to get a better discount.
That said, you run the risk of wasting money if you end up giving up or the store ends up failing.
Unfortunately, this is an unavoidable cost of using WordPress and WooCommerce.
2. Domain Registration
Many web hosts will often provide free domain registration when you sign up with them. And honestly, this will be what 99% of beginners choose to use, however, some users have probably spent some time picking out a name for their store.
And sadly, when they go to pick that as a domain name, they discover it has already been registered. While some users will just pick out another name, others will be set on getting their initial domain name, and that is still possible.
To do this, you need to look up that domain name on a site like ICANN. If the domain owner has not purchased privacy protection, then you should be able to spot their name to contact them.
As you might expect, you message the individual and ask if they are interested in selling their domain name. If they agree, then it’s time to negotiate with them. Many will be willing to part with a domain name for a few hundred dollars while others may want more.
I recommend choosing a different name for free and not trying to purchase a domain name from an individual.
3. SSL Certificate
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates are required for your site to operate in 2025. Search engines use it as a ranking factor, and web browsers will block your site if you do not have one. As such, you will need an SSL.
An SSL certificate is required because it encrypts sensitive data as it passes from the user to the site and vice versa. For example, on an eCommerce site, users will enter their name, address, credit card number, and more.
The SSL certificate ensures that others cannot see this information, which is vital for an eCommerce site.
There are multiple types of SSL certificates, but to keep it simple, let’s just focus on the free option from Let’s Encrypt and the paid options. Most web hosts will support Let’s Encrypt and help you set up your SSL certificate in minutes.
In fact, many web hosts will have it pre-installed for you.
For small stores, this level of protection is enough, however, you will eventually want to upgrade to paid options. They offer more advanced security options that help prevent fraudulent activity.
You can purchase SSL certificates from a variety of companies, as such the price can be very different, and there are different levels of SSL certificates. The price often starts at $50 per year, but can easily be over $500.
It’s also worth pointing out that paid SSL certificates usually include a site seal that you can place on your site to boost shopper confidence. Many online stores have these present during checkout so users know their data is safe.
4. Themes
When you begin to design a WordPress site for WooCommerce, the first thing you’ll need to do is pick a theme. A theme determines the way your website will look, and every single one can be customized to your liking in a variety of ways.
WordPress has thousands of themes that focus specifically on eCommerce, and since WooCommerce is so popular, nearly every theme is compatible with it. As such, you’ll have no issue finding a theme that matches your design aspirations.
With that said, themes come in two varieties, free and premium.
While it is completely possible to use a free theme to build your WooCommerce store, many users opt for the premium option when focusing on eCommerce. This is because premium themes are better optimized, have additional customization options, and offer higher levels of customer support.
On top of this, most premium themes will offer page templates or demo sites that you can customize. For the most part, you are free to just use the demo content, fill in your information, and make small tweaks to the design.
This makes them a strong choice for beginners because they save the user time and are easier to use. Premium theme prices vary on the theme and the plans they offer. Some themes may just have a single price you pay to use it, while others may have a subscription.
Generally speaking, you’ll probably spend around $50 on a premium theme each year.
5. Plugins
WooCommerce is far from the only plugin you will need to create your online store. For those unaware, plugins are like apps for a smartphone. You install one to add a specific feature to your site.
For example, if you want to create an eCommerce store, you install WooCommerce. Or if you want to hide your login area, you install WPS Hide. There is almost a plugin for anything in WordPress, and just like themes, they come in both free and premium options.
Once again, it is completely possible to use free plugins to build a site, but most sites usually use a balance of both.
So first, let’s take a moment and discuss the needs of an eCommerce site. Here are some of the plugins you will need:
Security
Security is a major concern for any website, but especially for eCommerce sites. Think about it, users are entering sensitive information that includes their name, telephone number, address, credit card information, and more.
That information needs to be guarded because if your site is compromised, users will lose trust and avoid your store.
WordPress is home to a lot of great security plugins, and many of them work well enough with the free version. These plugins will help protect your data with a firewall, allow you to block specific users or entire regions, and much more.
Anti-Spam
Spam is another major concern that can cripple an online store. For example, most sites will probably install a plugin that allows users to leave product reviews. Unfortunately, without proper protection, you will get a lot of bot reviews.
As a result, users may see them and think your site is not legit. For this reason, most sites will utilize a plugin to prevent as much spam as possible. These plugins will typically add some kind of CAPTCHA to your site to verify they are human.
Once again, WordPress has a great selection of anti-spam plugins that you can use for free or at a premium.
SEO
When someone performs a search on Google or any other search engine, you want your store to appear in the searches. That requires optimizing your site to rank highly in the search results, which is known as search engine optimization (SEO).
Ranking highly is a very difficult task as you are directly competing with every other site for a keyword. As such, you are going to need to install an SEO plugin that can help optimize your content.
As you might imagine, WordPress has no shortage of amazing SEO plugins that can help you optimize your store to rank highly on Google. They provide recommendations, detailed analytics, and more.
Page Builder
While you can freely build pages using the Gutenberg editor, many users prefer using a dedicated page builder plugin. These allow you to build pages using a drag-and-drop interface that is often more robust than what WordPress offers.
While most page builders provide a free version, they are often limited. For this reason, many sites will purchase premium options. Also, keep in mind that many premium themes will sometimes include access to a page builder.
Page builders are a dime a dozen in WordPress, so you have a lot of great options.
WooCommerce Add-Ons
While WooCommerce itself is free to use, it is worth dedicating a section about its add-ons. These are additional features you can add to your WooCommerce store for a price. However, some add-ons are free to use.
For example, let’s say that for the holiday season, you want to include gift-wrapping options. It’s a great way to make more money on every sale, but there’s one problem, WooCommerce does not have this function.
Instead, you’ll need to purchase the Products Add-on for WooCommerce for $79 to add it.
Naturally, there are a ton of add-ons for WooCommerce that you can install, so it depends on what kind of options you want to offer customers.
Other WooCommerce add-ons to consider using include:
- Product Reviews
- Tax Calculator
- Social Logins
- Google Analytics Integration
How Much Will I Pay?
It depends entirely on how many premium plugins you use. Most eCommerce stores will purchase multiple add-ons for WooCommerce to add more features in combination with other plugins you’ll need to run a WordPress website.
Plugin prices vary wildly. Some plugins may only be $20 while others may set you back hundreds. Some may be one-time purchases, while others may be annual subscriptions. There is no way to put a hard number on this.
However, plugins are often the main cost associated with building a WooCommerce site, especially for beginners.
6. Transaction Fees (Payment Gateways)
WooCommerce is compatible with nearly every payment gateway. For those unaware, when users go to checkout, they will choose a payment method like PayPal, Stripe, and so on. Each of these methods is an individual payment gateway.
Each one also has its own cost associated with it. For example, when shoppers decide to pay with PayPal, you will incur a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee. This is the norm amongst most payment gateways and is just a cost of doing business.
It’s worth pointing out that WooCommerce has its own payment gateway called WooPayments. It has the same transaction fee as PayPal but has improved analytics for your store, as you can view all of the information directly from your WooCommerce dashboard.
When using WooCommerce, you are not limited to a single payment gateway. You are free to add as many as you want to give your customers as many options as possible.
The last thing you want is for a customer to hit checkout and realize they have a payment method that supports their region.
7. Shipping
When you make a sale, your job isn’t over yet. Instead, you need to make sure that the customer receives their product. WooCommerce has integration options for all major carriers in the US and several international options.
Each carrier has rates that you will need to look up, they typically depend on the size, weight, and travel distance. You will choose the shipping option for each product you sell and when a product is sold, you can print out the shipping label.
It’s worth pointing out that you will need to purchase your label printer, as well as shipping material, but that goes beyond the scope of this overview.
WooCommerce allows you to choose multiple shipping options as far as pricing goes.
First, you can choose to use a flat shipping rate. For example, no matter what product is purchased, the shipping charge will be $6.99 or whatever you choose the value to be. This is great for stores that sell similarly sized products, such as a bookstore.
The second option is a variable shipping cost. This means that based on the product the price will change to accommodate the size difference between products. This is the superior option for most stores to ensure customers pay the proper shipping costs.
Thirdly, and probably most popular with consumers is to offer free shipping. That said, it will only be free for the consumer. You will still be responsible for paying the carrier fees, which is why most stores require users to spend a minimum before it is free.
8. Marketing
Building an online store is only half of the battle because you will need to market your site to get customers. While marketing efforts have gotten significantly cheaper over the years, most stores will still dedicate a great deal of money to marketing.
First off, let’s discuss social media. Yes, it is entirely possible to market your store for free by using social media to your advantage, and I strongly recommend doing this, however, it isn’t always successful.
This is why most shops will hedge their bets by purchasing ad space on Google or Facebook.
This helps ensure that your store is seen by consumers who are interested in the products you are offering. Like most things we have discussed, advertising your store is not a fixed price. Instead, it fluctuates on a variety of factors.
While I will not cover every factor, one of the major ones is your industry. The more competitive an industry, the more expensive your ads may be on Google.
For example, the average cost of showing legal ads in 2023 was $9.31 while furniture was only $2.77.
Simply decide on a budget and purchase that amount of ads in Google, or any other platform you want.
There are other marketing avenues you may also want to consider. A popular option today is to partner up with an influencer to promote your brand. You pay them a fixed amount (requires negotiation) and they will promote your product to their audience.
Marketing should account for a lot of your expenses, but it also has a massive ROI, so it pays for itself.
So What’s the True Cost of WooCommerce?
We’ve discussed eight points where most stores are likely to spend money, but not all of them are required.
You will need Web hosting services that typically set you back $4 a month when starting. However, if you utilize the free domain registration most web hosts offer, as well as using a free SSL certificate, you can save a lot of money.
When it comes to themes and plugins, it is entirely possible to only use free options, and even avoid purchasing add-ons for WooCommerce, that said, it will show. Your store needs to look good and function properly.
As such, most stores will typically spend around $200 on a theme and plugins. This is usually the main cost of using WooCommerce.
Transaction fees are baked into your sale. This isn’t something you pay for directly, as it is paid from the sale itself. But trust me, those fees add up, so you’ll need to make sure you set prices to account for them.
Shipping costs are again something that the customer should pay for. Yet, there are cases where you might eat part of that cost, especially if you offer free shipping. Unfortunately, this is different for every store, so I can’t put a price on it.
Finally, marketing is something that every store does. There is no set amount you need to spend. Instead, most stores create a dedicated marketing budget every month to promote their products. Choose an amount that you can afford until you see returns.
With all of this said, most WooCommercse stores will cost around $300 to $500 to start. And that’s not including the merchandise you’re planning to sell.
The Cost of WooCommerce Is Worth the Return
All businesses have a cost associated with them, and WooCommerce stores are no different. If you manage to find success running an online store, the return on your investment will be massive., but it is not guaranteed.
There are thousands of eCommerce stores online today, and that means it gets harder every day for a new site to come out and take a piece of the pie. However, the longer you wait, the harder it gets.
Make sure you have enough capital to cover the costs of your business for at least 6 months. It can take a long time before your site starts bringing in enough traffic to cover the costs.
How much did your WooCommerce site cost? How much do you spend on marketing?