WooCommerce turns WordPress into a complete e-commerce platform. Shopping cart, checkout, payment processing, inventory management, shipping calculations. Everything you need to sell products online, built on technology you can manage yourself.
WooCommerce is a plugin that adds e-commerce functionality to WordPress. It’s the most popular e-commerce platform on the web, powering 28% of all online stores.
It’s not a separate platform. WooCommerce runs on WordPress. You get all the content management features of WordPress PLUS a complete online store.
Free plugin, paid ecosystem. The core WooCommerce plugin is free. You’ll pay for hosting, payment gateway fees, and optional extensions (shipping plugins, bookings, subscriptions).
WooCommerce makes sense when you want full control over your online store:
You own everything
Your store, your products, your customer data, your design. Shopify controls their platform. You control WordPress and WooCommerce.
No monthly platform fees
Shopify charges €29-€299/month for the platform. WooCommerce is free software. You pay for hosting (€20-€100/month), which is cheaper.
Unlimited customization
Need custom product options? Unique checkout flow? Special pricing rules? WooCommerce can do it. Shopify has limits.
Huge plugin ecosystem
Thousands of WooCommerce extensions. Need subscriptions? There’s a plugin. Multi-currency? Plugin. Advanced shipping? Plugin.
SEO control
Full control over URLs, meta tags, structured data, and content. Better for SEO than Shopify (which forces you into their URL structure).
WooCommerce development: €10,000 + €3,000 = €13,000+
Timeline: 6-10 weeks depending on complexity
| Feature | WooCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Fees | €0/month | €29-€299/month |
| Hosting | You arrange (€50-€100/month) | Included |
| Ownership | You own everything | Shopify owns platform |
| Customization | Unlimited | Limited to Shopify's structure |
| Setup Complexity | More complex | Simpler |
| Transaction Fees | Payment gateway only | 0.5-2% + gateway fees (unless using Shopify Payments) |
| SEO Control | Full control | Limited control |
| Development Cost | €13K+ | €5K-€8K (less setup needed) |
| Best For | Control, customization | Simplicity, ease of use |
Bottom line: WooCommerce is more powerful and cheaper long-term, but requires more technical involvement. Shopify is easier but more expensive and less flexible.
Stripe
Most popular. 1.5% + €0.25 per transaction (EU). Supports credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay.
PayPal
Widely trusted. 2.9% + €0.35 per transaction. Customers can pay with PayPal balance or cards.
Bank transfer
Free, but manual. Customer pays via bank transfer, you manually confirm payment.
We’ll integrate whichever payment gateway makes sense for your business and location.
Flat rate shipping
Charge the same shipping cost for all orders. Simple.
Free shipping
Offer free shipping (absorb cost yourself or build it into product prices).
Calculated shipping
Real-time rates from carriers (DHL, UPS, PostNL). Requires shipping plugin.
Table rate shipping
Complex rules (charge based on weight, location, cart total). Requires plugin.
Local pickup
Let customers pick up orders in-person. No shipping charges.
We’ll set up whatever shipping logic makes sense for your products and customers.
Adding products:
Name, description, price, images, stock quantity, variations (sizes/colors). Takes 5-10 minutes per product once you’re familiar.
Processing orders:
Orders come in, you see them in WordPress admin. Mark as processing, shipped, or completed. Print packing slips. Manage refunds.
Inventory:
WooCommerce tracks stock automatically. Low stock warnings. Out-of-stock products hide automatically.
Reports:
Sales by day/month/year. Top products. Customer data. Revenue reports. Basic analytics built-in.
Customers:
See customer list, order history, contact info. Segment by purchase behavior. Export data.
Common questions about WooCommerce, running an online store, and how it compares to Shopify.
It’s harder than Shopify but easier than building custom e-commerce from scratch. If you can use WordPress, you can use WooCommerce. Training takes 2-3 hours.
Your store stays online, but:
E-commerce sites NEED maintenance. It’s not optional like a basic website.
Yes, easily. WooCommerce stores run with 50,000+ products. Performance depends on hosting quality, not WooCommerce itself.
No. Adding products, processing orders, and managing inventory is all point-and-click. You’ll need a developer for design changes or new features.
Yes. We can migrate products, customers, and order history. It’s a significant project (4-6 weeks), but migration tools exist.
Worth it? Only if you have specific reasons: need more customization, want lower long-term costs, or want full ownership.
WooCommerce handles tax calculations. We’ll configure tax rates for your location(s). For complex tax situations (selling across EU with VAT), there are tax plugins that automate compliance.
