Best website builder for online store? Look past launch day.
The best website builder for an online store is the one whose fees, lock-in and ownership terms still suit you years after launch. DIGITALON, a Sunshine Coast team that only builds on WooCommerce, sets out what each kind of platform costs you and leaves you owning.
Every store keeps costing after launch.
Choosing the best website builder for an online store is a decision you keep paying for. Shopify, Wix and Squarespace are hosted builders: the software and hosting come bundled in a monthly plan that runs as long as the store trades. WooCommerce’s core is free and open source and takes no commission, but the store still needs hosting, a domain and upkeep. Neither is free to run: they charge in different ways and leave you owning different things.
What you own decides how freely you can change course later. A hosted store runs on its provider's platform, while a WooCommerce store's files and database sit on hosting you choose, under your administrator login. DIGITALON builds on WooCommerce only, so weigh our view with that in mind. The six questions below work for any platform, and the last one covers when a subscription is the better deal.
Subscribe and start selling.
The provider runs the software and the hosting, so platform updates are never your job.
- A monthly plan while the store trades
- Paid apps billed on top of the plan
- Theme and apps stay behind if you move
Own it, choose the suppliers.
The core software is free and open source; you choose the hosting, the extensions and who keeps the store updated.
- No platform fee or sales commission
- Data in your own store database
- Hosting and upkeep to budget for
Six questions to ask before you commit.
Put them to every eCommerce platform on your shortlist, including WooCommerce. The answers show what a store will cost each year, what you will own and what leaving would take.
What keeps billing after launch?
A hosted plan keeps billing while the store is open, and paid apps can add charges of their own. WooCommerce has no platform fee: besides payment fees, its running costs are hosting, your domain, renewals for any paid extensions, and maintenance if you hand that over.
Who takes a share of each sale?
Every platform passes card payments through a payment provider, which charges for each transaction. WooCommerce adds no commission of its own, while Shopify adds a transaction fee unless you use its own payment system, so your choice of provider can change what each sale costs.
What does a new feature cost?
On a hosted builder, a feature your plan lacks is added with an app or a higher plan. On WooCommerce it is added with an extension, free or paid, or custom work quoted before it starts. Our quote lists the extensions your scope needs and any renewal costs.
Where does the store's data live?
A hosted store keeps its products, customers and orders on the provider's platform, reached through your account. A WooCommerce store keeps them in its own database on hosting you choose, and the whole store, files and database, can be copied to another host with the data intact.
What would it take to leave?
Ask what stays behind if you go. A hosted store's theme and app features only work on that platform, so a move rebuilds them. A WooCommerce store can change host, maintenance provider or developer with everything intact; only a change of platform means rebuilding the storefront.
When is a subscription the better deal?
When the range is small, the shop is a sideline, or you want hosting, security and updates handled inside one plan. Set up yourself, a hosted store has no build price and no software for you to update. We only build on WooCommerce, and will say so when a hosted builder suits you better.
One-off prices for a store you own.
Each package is a one-off price, not a subscription, and leaves you holding a custom WooCommerce store, its data and the administrator login. The costs that continue after launch are noted under the cards.
Basic
A simple online shop with everything it takes to sell properly.
$4,990One-off build price
- 6 pages: home, about, contact, shop, cart and checkout
- Mobile optimisation
- Card and PayPal payments
- Flat-rate or free shipping
- WordFence firewall and SSL certificate
- Links to your social media
- Nightly backups
Standard
A professional store for a real catalogue, with accounts and automation.
$5,990One-off build price
- 10 website pages
- Everything in Basic, plus
- Search engine optimisation (SEO)
- Customer accounts and order history
- Product filters and categories
- PDF invoices and packing slips
- Wish list and discount coupons
- Advanced shipping rules
- Google Analytics
- 1:1 website training
Premium
For stores pushing on sales: more ways to pay, find and follow an order.
$7,990One-off build price
- 20 website pages
- Everything in Standard, plus
- AI search optimisation (GEO)
- Mega menu
- Apple Pay, Google Pay and Afterpay
- Shipping cost calculator and order tracking
- Live product search and product compare
- Blog
- Your CRM integrated
Hosting, your domain, your payment provider’s transaction fees and ongoing maintenance are separate. The page counts are website pages, not a product limit: catalogue size, product imports, migrations and custom integrations are agreed and quoted before work starts. Compare every inclusion and the optional features on eCommerce pricing, or see website design packages if you do not need a shop.
Your store, your hosting, your login.
Every DIGITALON store is a custom WordPress and WooCommerce build. WooCommerce is free and open source, takes no commission on your sales and runs on hosting you choose, with the administrator login yours from day one.
The shop and the pages that bring shoppers to it live in one WordPress site, edited the same way. You can run it yourself, or hand the updates to the team that built it.
No platform commission
Your payment provider charges its transaction fee. WooCommerce itself takes no percentage of your sales and has no monthly platform fee.
Hosting you choose
Keep your own host, or use our managed WordPress hosting, sized for the catalogue and the traffic you expect.
Care after launch
Our maintenance packages cover plugin and WooCommerce updates, backups, security checks and support.
One Australian team
The people who scope, design and build the store are the people who answer your questions, from Wurtulla on the Sunshine Coast.
From brief to first order.
A basic store usually takes two to three weeks. Extra features and integrations add time, and we tell you how much before we begin.
Scope and price
We agree the pages, catalogue, features and search work, then confirm the package, any extras and the payment stages in writing.
Design
You see the design and sign it off before the build starts, while changing a layout is still quick.
Build and test
Products, payments, shipping and tax are set up in WooCommerce, then tested with real orders on a phone and a desktop.
Launch and hand over
We go live and hand over your administrator login. Standard and Premium include one-to-one training on your own store.
Online stores we have built.
These are stores and online sales sites our team designed and built. They show completed work, not a promise of the same result for every business.
Beauty & skincareNatural Skincare Shop
FurnitureOffice Furniture Shop
Made to orderCustom Vinyl Lettering
Books & consultingLegal Consulting & Author
Retreats & coursesHoffman Process Australia
CoursesOnline English TeachingThe client view.
I was very impressed as they were very responsive and helpful as I was a newbie. Good communication with Sabrina who took the time to explain all the process and gave some tips.
Fees, lock-in and ownership questions.
Running costs, your store data, changing platform or provider, and what stays yours after launch.
Ask us about your storeIs WooCommerce really free?
The software is free; running a store on it is not. WooCommerce’s core is free and open source, with no monthly platform fee and no commission on your sales. The costs sit around it instead: hosting and a domain, your payment provider's transaction fees, yearly licences for some paid extensions, and keeping the store updated, whether that takes your own time or a maintenance plan.
Having the store designed and built is a separate, one-off cost, and our quotes list the ongoing costs apart from that price so you can see both.
Does the one-off build price already include GST?
Yes. Our build prices of $4,990 for Basic, $5,990 for Standard and $7,990 for Premium are in Australian dollars with GST included, and your invoice itemises the GST. The deposit and payment stages are set out in your written quote.
Which package should we choose to avoid paying for add-ons later?
The one that already includes what the store will need in its first few years. Standard, at $5,990, adds SEO, customer accounts, product filters, wish lists, coupons and advanced shipping rules to Basic; Premium, at $7,990, adds AI search optimisation (GEO), Apple Pay, Google Pay and Afterpay, live product search, product compare, order tracking and CRM integration. Basic, at $4,990, suits a simple shop with card and PayPal payments.
Anything outside your package can be quoted when you need it, so there is no reason to buy features you may never use. The full list of inclusions is on our eCommerce pricing page.
Who owns the customer and order records in a WooCommerce store?
You do. Products, customers and orders sit in the store's own database on the hosting you choose, and the administrator login we hand over at launch gives you full access to them. They stay yours if you later change host, maintenance provider or developer.
Want them kept in Australia? Our managed WordPress hosting uses Australian servers.
When a store leaves a hosted builder, what moves and what is rebuilt?
The records move and the storefront is rebuilt. Products, categories, customers and order history can be carried across to WooCommerce, while the design and anything that relied on the old platform's apps is rebuilt or replaced. Addresses that already rank are kept or redirected, and the old store stays live until the new one has been tested.
Nothing about a move is assumed to be in a package: we review the current store first, then quote the migration on its own.
How long does a move take, and when can we cancel the old plan?
Keep the old plan until the new store is live. A new basic store usually takes two to three weeks, while a migration's timing is set when we assess and quote it, because the records to carry across and the features to rebuild differ from store to store. Until the new store has been tested, the old one stays live, so customers can keep ordering throughout the build.
Are we tied to one payment provider or courier?
No. Every package connects Stripe and PayPal to your own accounts, which covers Visa, Mastercard and American Express, and Premium also brings Apple Pay, Google Pay and Afterpay. WooCommerce takes no commission whichever provider you use, and connecting another provider later is quoted work.
Couriers are your choice too. Flat-rate or free shipping comes with every package, advanced shipping rules with Standard, and a shipping cost calculator and order tracking with Premium; live rates from Australia Post, Sendle or other couriers are connected as a quoted add-on.
Does the SEO work stay with the store if we change host or developer?
Yes. Page titles, descriptions, category structure and content are part of your WordPress site, so they move with it to a new host and stay put when someone else maintains it. The keyword and category research and on-page SEO in Standard and Premium, and the AI search optimisation (GEO) added at Premium, become part of the site you own.
Search work after launch is a separate service, through our SEO packages or anyone you choose, and rankings or AI citations cannot be promised on any platform.
Do we have to use DIGITALON’s hosting or maintenance after launch?
No. You can keep your own host or use our managed WordPress hosting, and you can update the store yourself or hand that to our maintenance packages. Because it is standard WordPress and WooCommerce under your login, another developer can take it over later.
If you plan to run it yourself, the one-to-one training in Standard and Premium is done on your own store.
Which running costs rise as the store grows?
Payment provider fees rise with sales on every platform, because they are charged per transaction. On a hosted builder, growth can also mean a higher plan or more paid apps. On WooCommerce there is no platform commission and no charge per product; a larger catalogue or busier sale periods can call for bigger hosting, and new features are extensions or quoted work.
Planning a large or fast-growing range? See choosing a platform by catalogue size.
Let's price your store over the years.
Tell us what you sell and, if you already trade online, what your current plan and apps cost each month. DIGITALON’s in-house team at Wurtulla on the Sunshine Coast, building stores for businesses across Australia, will quote the one-off build and list the ongoing costs apart from it, so you can compare like for like.
