ShopsWired vs WordPress
WordPress software is free, but a running site has three bills: hosting, premium themes and plugins, and someone to keep it all updated. ShopsWired is a fully managed alternative for business websites. Pages, menus, SEO, an inbox and a store are built in, and the upkeep is our job.
What a business website costs per month
| Option | Typical monthly cost | What you still look after |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress.com Business / Commerce | $40 / $70 billed monthly ($25 / $45 billed yearly) | Your plugins, theme and content |
| Managed WordPress hosting (entry tier) | Roughly $30–$35 for one site | Your plugins, theme and content |
| Freelancer care plan | Commonly $50–$150, hosting often extra | Extra work, often billed hourly |
| ShopsWired Starter | $29 ($1/mo for your first 3 months) | Your content. Hosting, SSL, caching, page builder, SEO and inbox are included |
Side by side
| WordPress (self-hosted) | ShopsWired | |
|---|---|---|
| Page builder | Block editor, or a page-builder plugin | Drag-and-drop layout builder, built in |
| SEO basics | Usually an SEO plugin | Built in: titles, canonicals, structured data, sitemap |
| Contact & enquiries | Form plugin plus email setup | Built-in inbox; forms plugin available |
| Blog | Core strength | Via a plugin |
| Online store | WooCommerce plus extensions | Built in, with 0% transaction fees |
| Hosting, SSL, caching | Your host | Included |
| Core & security updates | You or a care plan | Handled for you |
| Custom code | PHP themes and plugins | JavaScript plugins and Liquid themes, hosted (plugins on Pro+) |
Not ready to leave WordPress?
Keep your WordPress site and run your store on its own subdomain, such as shop.yourdomain.com, linked from your existing menu. You get a fully managed store today and can move the rest of the site whenever you like.
Where WordPress is still the better fit
- A publishing-first site. A large blog or magazine with many authors and editorial workflows is what WordPress was built for.
- A specific plugin you depend on. WordPress's plugin directory is enormous. Check that ShopsWired has an equivalent, or plan to build one on Pro.
- A bare root domain. ShopsWired custom domains use a subdomain such as www.example.com. Root domains aren't supported yet.
- Multilingual sites. WordPress has mature translation plugins. ShopsWired has no built-in translation tools yet.
- Custom code on the entry plan. Starter installs and configures plugins and lets you edit your theme fully. Writing your own plugins starts on Pro.
A website you never have to patch.
Starter is $29/mo, and your first 3 months are $1/mo.
Sources
- WordPress.com pricing (checked November 2026)
- InstaWP's Kinsta vs. WP Engine comparison: managed hosting entry tiers
- FatLab's WordPress care plan pricing guide