The verdict in three sentences
WooCommerce is the fast, economical choice to start, but it stacks plugins that weigh down the site and make mobile money payment fragile. Custom-built costs more upfront but integrates the mobile money checkout natively and gains ~40 % performance. The right choice depends on volume: WooCommerce under 30 orders/month, custom beyond.
WooCommerce: fast and economical
WooCommerce is a free WordPress extension that turns a site into a store. Its cost lies in development, theme and required plugins — notably for mobile money payment, which is absent natively.
| WooCommerce item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Development + theme | 600,000 - 1,200,000 FCFA | One-off |
| Mobile money payment plugin | 50,000 FCFA | Often third-party |
| Extra plugins (SEO, cache) | 80,000 FCFA | One-off or annual |
| WordPress hosting | 25,000 FCFA/month | Recurring |
| Maintenance (plugin updates) | 60,000 FCFA/month | Higher than custom |
| Delivery time | 2 to 3 weeks | Fast |
The upside: you're online fast and cheap. The limit: each plugin is a point of failure, and the mobile money checkout goes through a third-party redirect that costs conversion.
Custom-built: performance and native payment
Custom-built (Next.js + unified payment module) costs more but eliminates plugin dependency. The mobile money funnel is coded into the store, with no fragile redirect.
| Criterion | WooCommerce | Custom-built |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | 600,000 - 1.2 M FCFA | 2,000,000 - 4,000,000 FCFA |
| Mobile money checkout | Third-party plugin | Natively integrated |
| Performance (Lighthouse) | 60-75 | > 95 |
| Speed on 3G | Average | 40 % faster |
| Monthly maintenance | 60,000 FCFA | 50,000 FCFA |
| Update-break risk | High (plugins) | Low |
| Delivery | 2-3 weeks | 4-8 weeks |
The custom premium (~1.4 M FCFA) is repaid through better conversion: a native checkout 40 % faster on 3G reduces cart abandonment, often by several percentage points — which, on meaningful revenue, recovers the gap in under a year.
Mini case study
Grace runs an accessories store in Accra. She's torn between WooCommerce (1,000,000 FCFA) and custom-built (2,500,000 FCFA). With 80 orders/month at a 15,000 FCFA basket, she does 1,200,000 FCFA in monthly revenue. Her WooCommerce checkout (plugin) shows 68 % abandonment; the native custom funnel drops it to 58 %. Those 10 recovered points represent ~120,000 FCFA of extra sales per month, i.e. 1,440,000 FCFA/year — the 1,500,000 FCFA gap is amortised in ~13 months, then it's pure gain.
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FAQ
Is WooCommerce a bad choice?
No, it's an excellent starting point under 30 orders/month or on a tight budget. It becomes limiting when volume rises and payment plugins undermine conversion.
Why does WooCommerce maintenance cost more?
Because you must track updates for WordPress, the theme and every plugin, with conflict risk at each update. Custom-built has fewer external dependencies, so a smaller break surface.
Is custom-built really 40 % more performant?
On 3G, yes: no plugin overhead, optimised Next.js code, WebP/AVIF images. That translates to Lighthouse > 95 versus 60-75 for a plugin-heavy WooCommerce.
Can you migrate from WooCommerce to custom later?
Yes. Many stores start on WooCommerce then migrate to custom when volume justifies it, preserving products and URLs with 301 redirects.
How long to deliver each option?
Budget 2 to 3 weeks for WooCommerce and 4 to 8 weeks for custom-built, depending on catalogue and feature complexity.
Let's talk about your project. We'll analyse your volume and average basket to decide between WooCommerce and custom, with the numbers to back it. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
