8 FAQs About WooCommerce Hosting
Alexandra Anderson
Contributing Expert
WooCommerce is a WordPress eCommerce plugin that helps turn a website into a fully functional online store. It’s one of the most popular eCommerce solutions for WordPress users.
Although WooCommerce is an excellent choice for creating an online store, not all WooCommerce or WordPress hosting plans are created equal.
1. What Is WooCommerce Hosting?
WooCommerce hosting is a type of web hosting that’s specifically designed for websites that use the WooCommerce plugin, an extension that turns your WordPress website into an online store.
WooCommerce hosting plans usually come with preinstalled WordPress, WooCommerce, and a number of other eCommerce-related features to support online store owners.
Just as WordPress hosting is available in shared, VPS, cloud, or dedicated server hosting flavors, WooCommerce hosting plans are not limited to a single hosting type.
Shared hosting plans are often the cheapest, but growing stores may need more resources, stronger performance, and advanced features than shared hosting can provide.
No matter what you’re selling, a WooCommerce hosting provider delivers the crucial technical infrastructure within a high-speed data center, enabling entrepreneurs to offer goods and services online through various software applications.
2. What Are the Pros and Cons of WooCommerce?
There’s a lot to love about WooCommerce, but before you decide if it’s the right solution for you, you need to weigh the pros and cons:
Pros:
- It’s free because it’s open source
- It works with WordPress sites
- You can customize it to your liking
- It’s used by many people, so there are a ton of online help forums and tutorials
Cons:
- Paid plugins, themes, and hosting can make it expensive
- There isn’t an official customer support channel
- There’s a learning curve if you’ve never used WordPress
The downsides to WooCommerce are pretty standard across other open-source plugins, so don’t let them discourage you too much!
3. How Much Does WooCommerce Hosting Cost?
As you might expect, the price of your WooCommerce hosting plan depends on a number of factors — mainly the type of server you choose. A major enterprise using a dedicated server for WooCommerce will pay a boatload more than a small business owner using a shared WooCommerce hosting plan.
WooCommerce hosting pricing varies based on the type of hosting, included features, and level of support. Entry-level plans can work well for smaller stores, while larger businesses may need VPS, cloud, or dedicated resources.
4. What’s The Difference Between WordPress Hosting and WooCommerce Hosting?
WooCommerce hosting is a type of WordPress hosting, but not all WordPress hosting plans are optimized specifically for WooCommerce stores.
Both WordPress and WooCommerce are free and open-source software; however, WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress while WordPress is a blogging platform or content management system (CMS). This means WooCommerce is an extension of WordPress and needs WordPress to work.
WooCommerce is an eCommerce platform while WordPress is a general-purpose CMS. This means WooCommerce is designed specifically for online stores while WordPress can be used for a wide variety of websites, including online stores.
While you can use WooCommerce with any WordPress theme, there are specialized WooCommerce templates crafted specifically for online stores.
These themes are often designed to optimize conversion rates and include valuable features for online store owners, such as shopping cart layouts and payment gateway options.
5. Do You Need Hosting for WooCommerce?
Yes, you need hosting for WooCommerce because WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, and a WordPress website needs a web host. While WooCommerce is a free and open-source plugin, it is not a self-hosted platform like Shopify. You need a WordPress hosting plan to use WooCommerce.
We evaluate the best WooCommerce hosting plans based on price, setup time, ease of use, and the eCommerce-specific perks each service offers.
The best WooCommerce host for you depends on your store’s size, traffic, budget, and technical needs. Smaller stores can often start on shared hosting, while growing businesses may benefit from VPS, cloud, or managed WooCommerce hosting.
6. How Do We Rate the Best WooCommerce Hosting Providers?
When determining the best WooCommerce hosting provider options, we look at:
- WordPress support: Is WordPress preinstalled? What about WooCommerce and other plugins (e.g., TurboCache)? Are WordPress software updates the responsibility of the customer or the hosting provider?
- Price: Pricing should be evaluated in the context of performance, support, and included ecommerce features. Shared plans are usually the most affordable, while VPS, cloud, and dedicated solutions cost more as resources and management levels increase.
- Security: Is TLS/SSL encryption a given? What about DDoS protection, automatic backups, or malware scanning?
- Email and marketing perks: How will the hosting provider support your WooCommerce store’s growth? Unlimited email hosting, a free domain name registration, and Google Ad credits are all examples of competitive marketing perks.
- Premium support: Online store owners are typically not developers by trade. I like to see 24/7 customer support available via live chat, phone, email, and/or support ticket when referring readers to a web hosting company.
Managed WooCommerce hosting typically costs more, but the added convenience, support, and store optimization can make it worthwhile for many online businesses.
7. What Features Does a WooCommerce Hosting Provider Offer?
WooCommerce hosting is a type of WordPress hosting designed to support online stores. The best providers typically include:
- Hosting essentials: Although not specific to WooCommerce, most companies marketing WooCommerce hosting plans will offer a free domain, ample or unlimited disk space, and unlimited email hosting.
- Preinstalled eCommerce software: WordPress and WooCommerce, plus other popular scripts and apps available via single-click installation (e.g., shopping carts or inventory management)
- eCommerce security standards: Free SSL certificate, web application firewall (WAF), and routine backups for disaster recovery
- Performance features: content delivery network (CDN) and caching plugins to maximize site speed and deliver an optimal experience for your customers
Look for a managed WordPress hosting or managed WooCommerce hosting plan if you’re not comfortable handling plugin maintenance.
8. Which WooCommerce Hosting Company Is Best For You?
Choosing a web host is a personal decision; your budget, your customer support needs, and your preferred software and applications are unique to your project.
The best WooCommerce hosting plan is the one that fits your store’s performance needs, budget, and growth goals.
Shared hosting plans are often the cheapest, but they don’t offer certain high-end features such as a dedicated IP address or automated backups.
If you’re selling digital goods, such as downloadable software products or music files, you’ll need more than what a shared server can offer in terms of bandwidth and file storage limits.
A virtual private server (VPS) could be your next step up from shared hosting; however, if you’re expecting heavy traffic to your website on a daily basis — especially during peak sales periods — you may need to upgrade to a dedicated server for optimal performance of your eCommerce store.
Scroll up to compare the best WooCommerce hosting providers and choose the right plan for your online store.
