WooCommerce vs a custom online store
A custom online store from Varsuite is £1,000 up front plus £150 a month fully managed, reaches a first preview within 72 hours, and removes the plugin stack you take on when you run WooCommerce yourself. WooCommerce remains a sound choice if you want to own and operate a WordPress store: the core software is free and the ecosystem is enormous. The real comparison is your time and plugin bills against a flat monthly fee.
Last reviewed: 2 August 2026
| WooCommerce | A custom Varsuite store | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | The plugin is free, but hosting, premium extensions, themes and developer time are all paid separately. | From £1,000 build plus £150/month managed (brochure sites from £500 plus £100/month). |
| Setup | You assemble WordPress, WooCommerce, a theme and a stack of extensions, or pay someone to. | Briefed, built and previewed within 72 hours; live once you approve it. |
| Maintenance | Core, theme, WooCommerce and every extension need updating, and updates can conflict. | Updates, backups, security and monitoring are handled for you. |
| Performance | Depends heavily on hosting and how many plugins the store carries. | Lean custom code, built for speed and monitored after launch. |
| Custom features | An extension exists for most things; each adds cost, weight and another thing to update. | Features are built into the store itself, to order. |
| Payments | Payment gateways bolt on via plugins; the gateway's card fees apply. | Gateway setup is handled for you; the gateway's card fees still apply, as with any store. |
| Ownership | You own and run the whole stack, and carry the responsibility for it. | You own the code; we run it and answer for it. |
What does running WooCommerce actually involve?
More than the word free suggests. A working WooCommerce store is WordPress plus WooCommerce plus a theme plus extensions for payments, shipping, tax, email and whatever else your shop needs. Each layer updates on its own schedule, and a store that takes real orders cannot shrug off a broken checkout the way a blog shrugs off a broken widget. Some owners run this stack happily for years, usually the technically confident ones who enjoy it. The question is whether you want to be your own platform team while also running a shop.
What does a custom managed store give you instead?
A custom Varsuite store replaces the plugin stack with code built for your shop and a team responsible for keeping it healthy: hosting, updates, backups, security and monitoring are all part of the monthly fee, and unlimited changes are included within fair use. Custom also means features no extension marketplace quite covers. The trade store we built for Plumin Online includes an AI shopping assistant that helps buyers find the right part, and it was briefed, built and delivered in 24 hours.
How do the true costs compare?
WooCommerce's costs arrive in pieces: hosting, premium extension renewals, theme licences and a developer's time when an update breaks something, plus your own hours. A Varsuite store is £1,000 up front plus £150 a month with the management included, and a £100 deposit secures the build with the balance due only when you approve the finished store. Depending on how many premium extensions and developer call-outs a WooCommerce store accumulates, the totals can end up closer than the free plugin suggests. The full breakdown is on our pricing page.
When is WooCommerce still the right call?
When you already have a WordPress site and the skills to look after it, when you genuinely want control of every layer of your stack, or when cash is tighter than time and you are willing to trade evenings for invoices. WooCommerce rewards owners who treat the store as a system they enjoy running. If that is you, it remains one of the most capable ways to sell online and you do not need us.
WooCommerce is right if you want full control of your own stack, have the technical confidence to maintain it, and your time is cheaper than a monthly fee. A custom Varsuite store is right if you want the shop to be someone else's responsibility: built to order from £1,000, previewed within 72 hours, then run, patched and improved for £150 a month while you get on with selling.
Can you migrate my existing WooCommerce store?
Yes. Products, categories, customers and order history can be brought across, and we set up redirects so your product URLs keep their search standing wherever possible.
Do I keep my payment provider?
Usually, yes. We set your gateway up in the new store, and the provider's card processing fees stay exactly as they are; those fees exist on every platform.
Are there transaction fees on a Varsuite store?
Varsuite's published pricing is the build price plus the monthly fee: from £1,000 plus £150 a month. Your payment provider charges its own card processing fees, as it would on WooCommerce or anywhere else.
Who owns the store if we part ways?
You do. The code and the content are yours, so the store can move to another host or team if you ever want it to. There is no platform lock-in.
Not sure which is right for you?
Tell us what you are building and we will give you a straight answer, and a plan, within 72 hours.