Hosting basics
WooCommerce vs a website builder for your online store
Should your shop run on WooCommerce or a website builder's store? Setup time, fees, features, upkeep and growth compared, with a simple way to decide.
By Mr. Ahmed · 20+ years in tech
Published · 8 min read
The short answer
- 01A website builder store gets you selling fastest: products, payments and checkout in one editor, with little to maintain.
- 02WooCommerce takes longer to set up but can do almost anything through plugins: subscriptions, bookings, B2B pricing, large catalogs.
- 03Pick the builder for a small catalog and simple selling. Pick WooCommerce if you need a specific feature or expect the store to grow into something custom.
- 04Either way, a store needs daily backups, which on Hostinger means the Business plan or higher.
The two ways to build a store
A website builder store is part of an all-in-one editor. You drag sections onto pages, add products, connect a payment provider and publish. Hosting, security and updates are the builder's problem. Hostinger's Website Builder, Wix and Squarespace all work this way.
WooCommerce is a free plugin that turns WordPress into a shop. You choose a theme, add plugins for what you need, and run it on your own hosting. It's far more flexible, and you (or your host) look after updates, speed and backups.
If you're still deciding between WordPress and the builder for a normal site, Website Builder or WordPress covers that. This guide is about selling.
Side by side
| Website builder store | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first sale | An afternoon to a couple of days | A few days to a couple of weeks |
| Skill needed | None beyond using an editor | Comfort with WordPress, themes and plugins |
| Design freedom | Within the builder's templates | Almost unlimited |
| Features | The core: products, checkout, inventory, discounts | Anything a plugin exists for |
| Maintenance | Handled by the builder | Updates, caching and backups (less on managed hosting) |
| Ongoing costs | Builder plan, plus payment fees | Hosting, paid plugins you add, plus payment fees |
| Moving away later | Hard: content doesn't export cleanly | Easy: take it to any WordPress host |
Choose a website builder store if…
- You're selling a modest number of products and want to start this week.
- Nobody on your team wants to update plugins or think about the technical side.
- Standard features are enough: product pages, checkout, stock, discount codes, abandoned-cart reminders.
- You'd rather have one bill and one dashboard.
Choose WooCommerce if…
- You need something specific: subscriptions, bookings, product configurators, wholesale pricing, or an integration with your accounting or warehouse software.
- You expect a large catalog or lots of variants.
- Content marketing matters, and you want the store and a serious blog in one WordPress site.
- You want to own the site outright and be able to move host whenever you like.
What it costs on Hostinger
On Hostinger both routes need the Business tier to sell properly. The Website Builder store is only on Business Builder, and WooCommerce belongs on Business WordPress because of daily backups and the object cache. Both are $3.49/mo on 48-month intro pricing before the coupon, so the platform choice doesn't change the hosting bill.
Payment providers such as Stripe and PayPal charge their own per-transaction fees on either platform. With WooCommerce, budget for any paid plugins you add as well.
| Need | Hostinger plan | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Builder store, small catalog | Business Builder | The store is only on Business |
| WooCommerce store | Business WordPress | Daily backups, NVMe storage, object cache |
| Busy store, promotions, traffic spikes | Cloud Startup | Dedicated CPU and RAM keep checkout fast |
Things every store needs, whichever you pick
- SSL on every page. Payment providers require it; it's free on Hostinger. Here's how to turn it on.
- Daily backups. Orders arrive every day, so a weekly backup can lose a week of them.
- Strong logins and updates. Stores are attractive targets. Website security basics has the checklist.
- Clear policies. Shipping, returns, privacy and terms pages, which payment providers often check.
- Headroom for sale days. If checkout slows down during promotions, look at when to upgrade.
Next steps
For the full Hostinger store recommendation, see the best plan for an online store. If you're going the WooCommerce route, managed WordPress vs regular hosting explains what the WordPress plans take off your plate, and Premium vs Business vs Cloud Startup shows exactly what each tier adds.
SaveMores is an independent Hostinger referral site. If you buy through a link here we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. That's why a coupon button appears on this page, and it's why I also say where Hostinger is the wrong choice. The disclosure page and how we test explain the rest.
Questions people ask
Is WooCommerce better than a website builder for ecommerce?
Neither is better for everyone. A builder store is faster and simpler for a small catalog. WooCommerce is more flexible and suits stores that need specific features or expect to grow.
Is WooCommerce free?
The plugin is free, but you pay for hosting, a domain, and any premium themes or plugins you add. Payment providers charge per-transaction fees on any platform.
Can I move from a website builder to WooCommerce later?
Yes, but it's usually a rebuild: products can often be exported as a spreadsheet, while pages and design must be recreated. If you expect to outgrow the builder, starting on WooCommerce saves that work.
Which Hostinger plan do I need for an online store?
Business, either Business Builder for the builder store or Business WordPress for WooCommerce. Move to Cloud Startup if the store gets busy enough that checkout slows down.
Which is easier for beginners, WooCommerce or a website builder?
A website builder. Everything is in one editor and the technical upkeep is handled for you. WooCommerce has a steeper learning curve but much more room to grow.
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