Joining other platforms in the Online Store Builder competition is WooCommerce online store, as companies look for tech solutions to operate their businesses under the “New Normal.”
As we’ve illustrated in our previous articles, working with these mainstream companies come with expensive price tags. For many businesses in the MSMEs sector, they would have limited budgets to afford these high-end services.
ESSENTIALLY FREE – OR IS IT?
WordPress is an open-source and self-hosted content management system. As we discussed in our previous blog, this software is built with bank vault-like security for developers, familiar with coding.
So yes, the WooCommerce plugin is free to download and install at no extra cost.
But does building an online store stop there?
Starting from WordPress itself, there are 6 different plans you can choose from but only one of them is dedicated to eCommerce, at the biggest price tag.
According to their website, here are the different pricing packages that WordPress offers.
- Free – USD 0 (PHP 0)
For account creation and getting started on a basic webpage with little to no functionality on its own. - Personal – USD 3 (PHP 160) per month, billed yearly
For personal use by adding some personalization to your website with a custom domain, and access to email and live chat support. - Premium – USD 6.56 (PHP 333) per month, billed yearly
A popular choice for freelancers to build a unique site with advanced design tools, custom CSS, and Google Analytics support. - Business – USD 18.38 (PHP 933) per month, billed yearly
For small businesses with access to custom plugins & themes, 200 GB storage, and 24/7 live chat. - eCommerce – USD 33 (PHP 1,679) per month, billed yearly
Open your online store with a powerful, flexible platform designed to grow with you. - WordPress VIP – USD 1,700 (PHP 86,275) per month, billed yearly
Their enterprise solution (to perhaps compete with Shopify Plus in terms of price)
Yet those plans for online stores are still so expensive, in our opinion. Considering that there are similar, if not equal solutions for the fraction of the price and all the work is DONE-FOR-YOU. Keep on reading till the end, and we’ll share the secret with you.
LIMITATIONS OF WOOCOMMERCE
This plugin comes with a number of features that provide the function of an online store but to what extent? Can it offer your business a personalized branding and edge against competitors?
With that said, here are some eCommerce features that you would spend money on to improve your WooCommerce Online Store:
- Logo Design – creating a logo can either cost you nothing or a lot of money. For a business that wants to create a quality design, it would cost them between USD 300 (PHP 15,000) – USD 1300 (PHP 65,975). DIY software options would cost at least USD 10 (PHP 500) to USD 29 (PHP 1,470) per month.
- Payment Gateways – For the most part, WooCommerce Payments accept major debit and credit cards with a transaction fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per sale. To process other services like Paypal, you have to pay USD 79 (PHP 4,000) yearly to unlock its features but you still need to pay the same rate of commission per transaction.
- Shipping Gateways – you need to install separate plugins to fulfill orders when selling physical products online. WooCommerce offers a free trial for their shipping services, but integrating their services can cost an additional USD 29 (PHP 1,470) to USD 99 (PHP 5,000) per month. Unlike Prosperna’s Online Stores that’s integrated with Fleet.ph to all the global and local SE Asia shipping & logistic providers.
- Marketing & SEO – Bringing traffic to your online store requires your business to conduct email marketing, create SEO content on your website, social media campaigns, post online advertisements, offer discounts, coupons, and send notifications to your customers about their purchases, through a CRM. These are all considered added plugins in WooCommerce, costing between USD 29 (PHP 1,470) to USD 249 (PHP 12,630).
An online store builder at this price range should, at the very least, offer these services with their different packages for the convenience of their customers. This can be a drawback especially since not all businesses are experts in website development.
BASIC ESSENTIALS YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR
Your WooCommerce online store is essentially an eCommerce website, and there are basic elements that you need to run a functional website that are narrowed down to these three things:
- SSL Certificates – USD 59 (PHP 2,985) to USD 99.95 (PHP 5,000) per year
Accepting payments on a WooCommerce online store needs to be encrypted for security reasons. - Domain Name – USD 12 (PHP 600) up to Millions per year (but that’s not what you’re here for)
We wrote a whole article about the importance of domain names in eCommerce, and it’s pretty much the easy-to-remember way to access your online store. - Hosting Services – USD 5 – 25 (PHP 250 – 1,800) per month
WooCommerce is just a software package, to run your online store, you’ll need a server that is provided by a web hosting company.
WordPress offers these services as added cost, and opting for a third-party service will be priced differently. This can be a hassle for businesses to manage a self-hosted website, compared to building an online store with managed hosting, so you don’t have to deal with all the technical stuff.
OTHER EXPENSES TO CONSIDER
If you think building a WooCommerce Online Store ends there, you may be wrong! There are other things you need to think about that doesn’t come for free, such as:
- Website Themes – USD 39 – 200 (PHP 1,979 – 10,150) per theme
Similar to your logo, you need a website theme that coincides with your branding, these include fonts, colors and other design elements. - Additional Functionality, Plugins & Extensions – around USD 25 (PHP 1,800) each
If you want to post videos, equip a chatbot in your website or any other feature that makes your online store special, you need to pay extra. - Developer Fees – USD 20 – 150 (PHP 1,000 – 7,700) per hour
At the end of the day, WordPress is designed for developers who know how to build websites from scratch and WooCommerce is no exception. So for things like creation, migration, customization and support, you need a developer’s expertise to help you with your website.
CONCLUSION
Here’s a breakdown of the costs involved in building a WooCommerce Online Store:
| MINIMUM | MAXIMUM | |
|---|---|---|
| Online Store Package | USD 18.38 (PHP 933) per month, billed yearly | USD 1,700 (PHP 86,275) per month, billed yearly |
| Logo Design | USD 10 (PHP 500) per month | USD 1300 (PHP 65,975) |
| Payment Gateways | USD 79 (PHP 4,000) yearly | USD 79 (PHP 4,000) yearly |
| Transaction Fees | 2.9% + 30¢ (PHP 15) | 2.9% + 30¢ (PHP 15) |
| Shipping Gateways | USD 29 (PHP 1,470) per month | USD 99 (PHP 5,000) per month |
| Marketing & SEO | USD 29 (PHP 1,470) per plugin | USD 249 (PHP 12,630) per plugin |
| SSL Certificate | USD 59 (PHP 2,985) per year | USD 99.95 (PHP 5,000) per year |
| Domain Name | USD 12 (PHP 600) per year | USD 12 (PHP 600) per year |
| Web Hosting | USD 5 (PHP 250) per month | USD 25 (PHP 1,800) per month |
| Themes | USD 39 (PHP 1,979) per theme | USD 200 (PHP 10,150) per theme |
| Additional Plugins | USD 25 (PHP 1,800) per plugin | USD 25 (PHP 1,800) per plugin |
| Developer Fees | USD 20 (PHP 1,000) per hour | USD 150 (PHP 7,700) per hour |
Depending on your plan, you would spend at least USD 325.38 (PHP 16,464.39) and 2.9% + 30¢ (PHP 15) per transaction, up to USD 3,938.95 (PHP 199,312.84) and 2.9% + 30¢ (PHP 15) per transaction on a WooCommerce Online Store upfront.
Despite being 100% fully customizable and more flexible, a WooCommerce online store is not a beginner-friendly option for businesses who are just looking to set up and sell right away.
Here’s the secret: We continue to educate and create awareness for businesses that there are solutions to every problem, including an Online Store Builder that’s within budget.
You can create an account in minutes and get started for as low as USD 25 (PHP 1,260) per month, which includes every feature you need to sell online:
- Online Store Builder
- Website Hosting
- SSL Certificate
- Shopping Cart
- Payment Gateway Integrations
- Shipping & Logistic Integrations
- Inventory Management
- Blog
- SEO
- Mobile Responsive
- Analytics
- Support
- NO Transaction Fees!
Sign up with Prosperna today and see how we can help you grow your business.
