The website development side of my newsagency software company has developed websites for many retail businesses. It is a tech. partner for Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce.
While each platform serves a different need, Shopify is the widest used in the small business retail space by far. Magento is good for complex requirements, but maintenance of a Memento website will require a developer. Shopify can be maintained, modified and enhanced without web developer skills.
WooCommerce will require a developer for site maintenance. It also does not have as rich a support network as Shopify.
In our experience, small business retailers can achieve better, more cost effective, commercial outcomes with a Shopify website than a WooCommerce website.
I mention this today because in my experience local web developers are more likely to recommend the WooCommerce platform. I think they do this because it is better for them commercially in that web development is often their prime source of income. A Shopify website will not drive repeat business for them from a customer whereas a WooCommerce website is more likely to.
A newsagent I spoke to recently told me they were paying $9,000 for a WooCommerce website. That same site from my company would have cost $5,000, or even $2,500 if they contracted for it as a newsXpress member because of a half price deal at the time.
My point is shop around, ask a ton of questions. Be sure to understand on-going maintenance costs. If they say you can maintain the site yourself, ask them to show you how to change the look and feel, how to add a new web page, how to change categories. Being shown how to do this will, for most newsagents show them that a WooCommerce website platform is not the right fit for them.
I don’t have a vested stake in this in that the web team in my company is skilled in Magento, Woo and Shopify as well as the even more complex and technical native web development. That team has a full room of booked business already.
There are many Shopify website developers out there you should consider before a WooCommerce developer.
A challenge in this website space is that often it is a friend, or friend of a friend, or family member involved. They may have the best of intentions in recommending WooCommerce. For the reasons outlined already, WooCommerce is not a platform I recommend for retail newsagency website development.
Be careful. Do your research. Get all commitments in writing. If you are not sure, delay your decision.
If you have some software development skills, then Woo could be perfect for you to create your website yourself.
I paid $7,000 for a wordpress website. It was okay but it cost me another $1,000 a few months later when I wanted to make what I thought were minor changes. It was the third bill from them to create a new department that caused me to get other advice. I was using a Sydney website company and it turned out they were not doing the work. It was an expensive lesson to learn.