What is WooCommerce hosting and do I need it?

WooCommerce and WordPress explained briefly

WooCommerce is a plugin that adds shopping cart, product listing and checkout features to a WordPress website, effectively turning it into an online store. Because it runs on top of WordPress, WooCommerce hosting is essentially WordPress hosting that is also well suited to the extra demands of running a store.

Why WooCommerce sites need more thought than a basic site

A basic WordPress blog mostly serves pages to visitors who are reading content. A WooCommerce store adds product database queries, cart sessions and payment processing, all of which use more server resources than simple page views.

This does not mean WooCommerce needs an entirely separate type of hosting, but it does mean the hosting plan should have enough capacity for that extra activity, particularly as your store grows.

What to look for in hosting for WooCommerce

A few practical points help when choosing or evaluating hosting for a WooCommerce store.

• Enough server resources for your expected number of products and orders
• SSL support for secure customer checkout
• Support that can help if a WooCommerce-specific issue comes up
• The option to upgrade easily as your store's traffic increases

Choosing the right plan level

For a new WooCommerce store with a small catalogue, the Starter plan at $5 a month may be enough to begin with. As order volume grows, the Business plan at $13 a month is generally recommended for sites with more regular activity, and the Pro plan at $24 a month suits stores needing more headroom. Businesses expecting rapid growth can also look at VPS hosting for more dedicated resources.

Setting up or moving a WooCommerce store

If you already run a WooCommerce store elsewhere, free migration help is available to move it without losing products, orders or customer data. If you are setting one up for the first time, the support team can help you pick a suitable plan through /contact.