You already run WordPress
If your content and blog already live there and drive traffic, keeping the store on the same install avoids splitting the site across two systems and two domains.
Delhi NCR
WooCommerce development in Delhi and what it really costs to run.
WooCommerce has no monthly platform fee, which is why it gets recommended. The cost moves to hosting, maintenance and someone who owns it.
Overview
When WooCommerce is the right call
WooCommerce suits businesses already running WordPress, selling a modest catalogue, and with someone able to maintain it. You avoid Shopify's platform and app fees and you take on hosting, security, updates and performance. For a brand with nobody to maintain it, that trade is usually a bad one.
You want no platform fee
No monthly subscription and no per-transaction platform cut beyond the gateway's own charge. Over years this is real money, provided you actually run the store well.
You need unusual product logic
Complex variations, made-to-order configurations, B2B pricing tiers or bulk rules. WooCommerce is more flexible here than hosted platforms, because you can write code rather than search for an app.
Someone will maintain it
This is the deciding condition and the one usually skipped. Core, plugin and theme updates, security patches, backups and performance are yours. An unmaintained WooCommerce store is the most commonly compromised type of site we are called about.
Indian payments and GST still need work
Razorpay, Cashfree or PayU integrated, GSTIN capture, HSN codes and the CGST, SGST and IGST split by delivery state. None of this is automatic and all of it is painful to retrofit.
Hosting matched to a store
Shared hosting that is adequate for a brochure site struggles with a store, because cart and checkout pages cannot be cached the way content pages can. Undersized hosting is why many WooCommerce stores feel slow.
What to avoid
Where WooCommerce stores go wrong
| Problem | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Nobody applying updates | The most common route to a compromised store |
| Cheap shared hosting | Slow checkout, lost orders at peak |
| Thirty plugins for basic features | Conflicts, weight and a wide attack surface |
| Nulled premium plugins | Backdoors, and they are common in this market |
| No staging environment | Updates tested on a live store taking orders |
| GST invoicing bolted on later | Manual corrections every month |
| Page builder used for product pages | Slow pages and content you cannot migrate |
Detail
What to ask before you hire
| Ask them | A good answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the code and files? | You do, unconditionally, in the contract | Ownership depends on staying with them |
| Can I open three sites you built? | Live URLs you can check yourself | Screenshots and a portfolio PDF |
| Who maintains it after launch? | A named arrangement agreed up front | Nobody has thought about it |
| What is explicitly not included? | A written list with change pricing | Everything is included, which means nothing is defined |
The maintenance question matters most on custom stacks, because unmaintained bespoke code ages faster and more dangerously than a platform.
Comparison
WooCommerce or Shopify
| WooCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | None | Monthly, plus apps |
| Hosting | Yours to buy and manage | Included |
| Security and updates | Yours | Handled |
| Flexibility | Very high, you can write code | Bounded by the platform |
| Time to launch | Longer | Shorter |
| Best when | You have someone to maintain it | You do not |
The honest deciding question is not features, it is who is responsible in month twelve. See Shopify development for the other side of this.
FAQ
Common questions
Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
On licence fees, yes, because there are none. On total cost it depends: you buy hosting, and you either pay for maintenance or absorb the risk of not doing it. For a business with a developer, WooCommerce is genuinely cheaper over years. For one without, it usually is not.
Does WooCommerce handle GST?
Not natively in a form most Indian accountants accept. GSTIN capture, HSN codes and the correct tax split by delivery state come from plugins or custom work, and it should be built before launch rather than retrofitted.
Why is my WooCommerce store slow?
Usually hosting sized for a brochure site, plugin weight, and uncompressed product images. Cart and checkout cannot be cached like content pages, so a store puts far more load on the server than the same host handled before.
How many plugins is too many?
Past fifteen it is worth an audit and past thirty something has gone wrong. On a store it matters more than on a content site, because each plugin can touch checkout, and checkout is where your revenue is.
Are nulled plugins safe?
No, and they are widespread here. Nulled code frequently carries backdoors, and on a store that means payment and customer data. The saving is trivial against the cost of a compromise.
Can you move us from WooCommerce to Shopify or back?
Yes, in both directions. What needs care is product URL redirects so search rankings survive, order and customer history, and retesting payment and shipping rules after the move.
Who maintains the store after launch?
Someone must, and it should be agreed before launch rather than discovered afterwards. We either run it or hand over the process documented. What does not work is assuming it will happen.
Next step
Tell us what you need.
Send us what you are trying to fix and we will tell you what it takes, what it costs, and whether we are the right people for it. If we are not, we will say so.