WooCommerce Hosting Requirements
WooCommerce recommends WordPress 6.9 or newer, PHP 8.3 or newer, MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+, HTTPS, and a WordPress memory limit of at least 256 MB. Check your install under WooCommerce → Status. A small catalogue runs on shared hosting from ₹297 a month before GST; busy stores need a larger tier or a VPS.
For Indian store owners and developers checking whether a host can run WooCommerce reliably before importing products and taking orders.
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- Read time
- 2 min
- Sections
- 5
- Updated
- 14 Nov 2026
- Written by
- WebJi® team
Last editorial update: 15 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
What are WooCommerce's server requirements?
WooCommerce's own recommendations for version 10.8 and later are WordPress 6.9 or newer, PHP 8.3 or newer (tested up to 8.4), MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+, HTTPS, and a WordPress memory limit of at least 256 MB. Apache or Nginx is recommended, though any server that runs PHP and MySQL works.
| Component | Recommended | Legacy minimum (end-of-life) |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 6.9 or greater | — |
| PHP | 8.3 or greater (tested to 8.4) | 7.4+ |
| Database | MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+ | MySQL 5.6+ or MariaDB 10.4+ |
| HTTPS | Required | — |
| WordPress memory limit | 256 MB or more | — |
| Web server | Apache or Nginx recommended | Any server with PHP and MySQL |
WooCommerce notes that the legacy versions still work but have reached end of life and can expose the store to security problems. Treat the "recommended" column as the real requirement when choosing a host.
Which PHP extensions and settings does a WooCommerce store need?
Beyond the core stack, WooCommerce relies on cURL (or fsockopen) for payment and shipping integrations, Multibyte String (mbstring) for non-English stores, SOAP for some extensions, and pretty permalinks. Most good hosts enable these by default, but check before importing a catalogue.
- cURL: used by payment gateways such as Razorpay and PayPal and by shipping APIs to call out.
- mbstring: needed for Hindi, Tamil or any non-English product names and emails.
- SOAP: required by some extensions; harmless to have.
- Permalinks: mod_rewrite (Apache/LiteSpeed) or a try_files rule (Nginx) for clean product URLs.
- PHP limits for imports: raise
max_execution_time,post_max_sizeandmax_input_varsif large CSV imports or variable products fail.
If PHP runs out of memory during checkout, raise the WordPress memory limit to 256 MB; increasing the WordPress memory limit shows how.
How do you check whether your host meets the requirements?
Install WooCommerce and open WooCommerce → Status: the System Status report lists the WordPress, PHP and database versions, memory limit and missing extensions, and flags anything that falls short. It is the most reliable checklist for your specific install.
- Open WooCommerce → Status → System Status.
- Under Server environment, check PHP version, MySQL/MariaDB version, memory limit, cURL and mbstring.
- Fix every line marked in red, or ask the host to change it.
- Click Get system report and keep a copy; support teams ask for it.
On cPanel accounts you can usually change the PHP version yourself; see changing the PHP version in cPanel.
Why do HTTPS and a real cron job matter for a store?
HTTPS protects checkout and account pages and lets payment gateways return the customer safely, while a real server cron makes sure order emails, stock updates and scheduled sales actually run. Both are easy to miss on a new store.
Load the whole store, including checkout and My Account, over https://; a single http:// image on checkout triggers a browser warning and can break the payment return. WooCommerce queues emails, webhooks and scheduled tasks through Action Scheduler, which depends on WP-Cron; on low-traffic stores WP-Cron fires late. Once orders are daily, replace it with a server cron as described in disabling WP-Cron.
What size of hosting does a WooCommerce store need?
A small catalogue with a few orders a day runs on shared WordPress hosting; a busy store with large catalogues, many concurrent checkouts or sale-day spikes needs a quoted commerce tier or a VPS. Cart, checkout and account pages cannot be cached, so they decide how much server you need.
| Store profile | Starting point | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Small catalogue, a few orders a day | Entry shared — cPanel Hosting (LiteSpeed per WebJi®’s site copy) | ₹297 a month; annual not published (checkout confirms) |
| Store plus blog on one account | WordPress Unlimited | ₹400 a month |
| Busy store, festive-sale peaks | Quoted commerce tier | Quoted per catalogue and traffic |
| Custom stack, root access, heavy plugins | KVM VPS | From ₹499 a month |
Signs you have outgrown shared hosting: checkout slows at peak times even with caching, the host reports CPU or entry-process limits, or imports time out. The plan options are on WooCommerce hosting, and speeding up WooCommerce covers what to fix before upgrading.
What should you test before launching the store?
Before sending traffic, clear every warning in the System Status report, place a real low-value test order, and watch the error log for a day. These checks catch most problems while they are still cheap.
- System Status shows no red lines for PHP, database, memory or extensions.
- Every page, including checkout, loads on HTTPS with no mixed-content warning.
- A test order with your gateway (for example Razorpay or UPI) completes and returns to the thank-you page; see Razorpay setup for WooCommerce.
- The customer and admin order emails arrive.
- GST appears correctly on the invoice if you are registered; see GST invoices in WooCommerce.
- The PHP error log stays clean through one day of real traffic.
If the report names a limit you cannot change yourself, email support@webji.services with the system report attached; support answers 24/7 in Hindi and English with an average first reply under 60 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Which PHP version should a WooCommerce store use?
PHP 8.3 or newer, which WooCommerce recommends for version 10.8 and later and tests up to PHP 8.4. PHP 7.4 still runs WooCommerce but is end-of-life and no longer receives security fixes.
Is 128 MB of PHP memory enough for WooCommerce?
Not by WooCommerce's guidance, which asks for a WordPress memory limit of 256 MB or more. Stores with page builders, many extensions or variable products often need it, especially during checkout and imports.
Does WooCommerce work on Windows hosting?
It can run on any server with PHP and MySQL, but WooCommerce recommends Apache or Nginx, and most plugins are tested on Linux. A Linux plan is the simpler, cheaper and better-supported choice.
Can MariaDB be used instead of MySQL?
Yes. WooCommerce recommends MariaDB 10.6 or newer as an alternative to MySQL 8.0 or newer. The System Status report shows which one your host runs and its version.
Requirements from WooCommerce's Server Recommendations page (updated 25 May 2026); WebJi® prices from its WooCommerce hosting and VPS pages, confirmed at checkout · Reviewed by the WebJi® team, Jaipur, 15 November 2026.
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