- Type – free Joomla component for creating online stores.
- Video tutorial.
- List of all video tutorials (Joomla shop on VirtueMart).
- Approximate cost of a «free» online store.
VirtueMart is a free component for creating online stores on Joomla. It allows you to build online stores of varying complexity. It supports multilingual and multi-currency functionality, includes a fully featured shopping cart, customer account area, product sorting and search, email notifications, and much more. A store can have as few as 1-2 products or as many as 2319653 products (09.08.2025).
Although VirtueMart and Joomla are free, in most cases you will still need money for the development of your online store.
In addition to the video tutorial, the article contains approximate cost estimates for a «free» online store.
Video tutorial
- VirtueMart templates examples – 00:03:04.
- Where to get servers, Joomla and extensions – 00:06:58.
- Installing a local server (XAMPP) – 00:08:49.
- How to properly log out of Joomla and shut down the local server – 00:10:59, 00:23:50.
- Installing Joomla – 00:11:42.
- Installing VirtueMart – 00:14:42.
- Installing the Tienda template – 00:15:02.
- Initial configuration of Joomla – 00:16:01.
- Renaming «.htaccess» – 00:16:11.
- Initial configuration of VirtueMart – 00:17:55.
- VirtueMart thumbnail error on XAMPP – 00:19:15.
- Safe path VirtueMart error – 00:20:43.
- Installing Akeeba Backup and creating a backup – 00:22:01.
Better watch video with «1080p HD» quality. This and other video reviews and tutorials can be found on my YouTube channel.
Links from the video:
- Joomla 4 video tutorials.
- Example of an online store with 1-2 products.
- Example of an online store with 2319653.
- Demo site of the Tienda template.
- Demo site of the Procar template.
- Demo site of the VP Neoteric template.
- Demo site of the VP Smart template.
- Demo site of the VP Merchant template.
- Download the XAMPP local server.
- Download Joomla.
- Download VirtueMart.
- Buy/download Tienda.
- «Joomla Global Configuration tutorial».
- Joomla’s built-in extensions video tutorials.
The previously recorded video tutorials for Joomla 4 are almost completely relevant for the current version of Joomla 5.3. The information and video tutorial from this article remain relevant for Joomla 4 as well. At least this is true on August 9, 2025.
Video tutorial recording date – August 9, 2025. Software from video tutorial – Joomla 5.3.2, VirtueMart 4.4.10.11120, Tienda 2.6.0, Akeeba Backup Core 10.0.5, XAMPP 8.2.12.
List of all video tutorials (Joomla shop on VirtueMart)
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla shop (part 1)
- VirtueMart templates examples – 00:03:04.
- Where to get servers, Joomla and extensions – 00:06:58.
- Installing a local server (XAMPP) – 00:08:49.
- How to properly log out of Joomla and shut down the local server – 00:10:59, 00:23:50.
- Installing Joomla – 00:11:42.
- Installing VirtueMart – 00:14:42.
- Installing the Tienda template – 00:15:02.
- Initial configuration of Joomla – 00:16:01.
- Renaming «.htaccess» – 00:16:11.
- Initial configuration of VirtueMart – 00:17:55.
- VirtueMart thumbnail error on XAMPP – 00:19:15.
- Safe path VirtueMart error – 00:20:43.
- Installing Akeeba Backup and creating a backup – 00:22:01.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla shopping (part 2)
- Starting the local server and logging into the Joomla admin – 00:01:31.
- Template settings – 00:02:19.
- Categories – 00:06:44.
- Categories sorting – 00:10:50.
- Category menu items – 00:11:42.
- VirtueMart products – 00:13:53.
- Product URL – 00:17:12.
- Product availability settings – 00:18:23.
- Hide category description – 00:23:38.
- Manufacturers – 00:25:27.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla store (part 3)
- Joomla update – 00:01:15.
- Custom fields purpose – 00:02:42.
- Field type String («Size») – 00:06:24.
- Сustom fields positions – 00:08:46.
- Field type Image («Color») – 00:09:34.
- Field type Textarea («Note») – 00:11:34.
- Field type Related Products – 00:13:31.
- Field type Custom Group – 00:14:20.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla online store (part 4)
- Inventory – 00:01:4
- Tax & Calculation Rule – 00:05:34.
- Review & Rating – 00:07:40, 00:09:40.
- User registration – 00:08:16.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Webshop in Joomla (part 5)
- Manual update of Akeeba Backup – 00:01:27.
- Determining Joomla and PHP version – 00:02:37.
- Orders – 00:03:55.
- Sales Report – 00:06:21.
- Shopper – 00:06:40.
- Shopper Groups – 00:07:24.
- VIP discount (Tax & Calculation Rule) – 00:00:00.
- Coupons – 00:10:44.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla eshop (part 6)
- Mail settings – 00:01:20.
- Shop – 00:04:14.
- Media Files – 00:08:02.
- Shipping Methods – 00:09:00.
- Payment Methods – 00:13:23.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. E-commerce Joomla (part 7)
- Shop – 00:02:22.
- Orders – 00:04:56.
- Shopfront – 00:06:11.
- Templates – 00:07:5
- Pricing – 00:10:38.
- Checkout – 00:11:24.
- Sort & Search – 00:13:10.
- SEO – 00:16:11.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla ecommerce extension (part 8)
- Shopper Fields – 00:01:16.
- Order Statuses – 00:08:02.
- Currencies – 00:08:46.
- Countries – 00:10:30.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla shopping cart extension (part 9)
- Tools – 00:01:16.
- «Shopping Cart» module – 00:03:54.
- «Products» module – 00:06:29.
- «Category» module – 00:08:2
- «Search Product» module – 00:09:06.
- «Currency Selector» module – 00:10:36.
- Adding a module position to the template – 00:11:17.
- Setting currencies for the «Currency Selector» module – 00:12:18.
- Setting the VirtueMart currency rate – 00:14:01.
- «Manufacturers» module – 00:15:41.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla ecommerce plugin (part 10)
- Joomla update – 00:01:36.
- Account Maintenance – 00:03:00.
- Category Layout – 00:05:17.
- Displays vendor contact – 00:06:36.
- Displays vendor details – 00:07:20.
- Displays vendors – 00:08:07.
- FE Manage Products – 00:08:38.
- List Orders – 00:10:12.
- Manufacturer Default Layout – 00:11:45.
- Manufacturer Details Layout – 00:12:29.
- Order Done – 00:13:01.
- Product Details Layout – 00:15:05.
- Shopping Cart – 00:16:46.
- View vendor TOS – 00:18:51.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla ecommerce website (part 11)
- Installing SP Page Builder Pro – 00:02:37.
- Creating home page – 00:02:57.
- Frontend and backend editor – 00:04:04.
- Slider – 00:05:2
- Block «New products» – 00:10:22.
- Block «Summer collection» – 00:13:48.
- Block «4 products» – 00:16:28.
- Block «Winter collection» – 00:24:11.
- Block «Top products» – 00:25:55.
- Home page mobile version – 00:28:21.
VirtueMart 4 video tutorial. Joomla shopping cart extension (part 12)
- «Payment and Shipping» page – 00:02:15.
- Page Image and Title – 00:04:00.
- Breadcrumb module – 00:05:17.
- «Contact» page – 00:07:19.
- Adding custom CSS – 00:17:55.
- Overriding language constants – 00:19:38.
Approximate cost of a «free» online store
The cost of developing an online store greatly depends on the project: the number of products, the complexity/uniqueness of the design, functionality, and so on. Below, I will provide examples of expenses related only to the «technical» components that directly pertain to the «software» part.
Issues such as marketing, logistics, content creation, site promotion, and many other aspects necessary for the operation of an online store as a full-fledged business will not be covered here. However, these can often account for a much larger portion of the costs.
Design. There is the option to create a website design based on a ready-made template, or to develop a custom design. Let’s consider the cost of a template for VirtueMart. There are free templates available for VirtueMart, but in my opinion, they are very «basic». I would not recommend using them for a real project. It’s better to focus on paid options, such as Tienda ($29) (see image below), or VP Neoteric ($79), and others.
Functionality. VirtueMart comes with quite a lot of features by default that an «ordinary» Joomla shop might need. However, I often add the following extensions:
- Product filter – Custom Filters (approximately $41).
- One-page checkout – VP One Page Checkout ($69).
- Wishlist, product comparison, quick product view – Essentials for VirtueMart ($69).
But you can save money. For example, you can purchase a «package» that includes several templates, including VP Neoteric (see image below), as well as extensions like VP One Page Checkout, Essentials for VirtueMart, and several other useful extensions. This package costs $199.
You may also need to purchase several payment and shipping plugins. This can cost an additional $200 or more.
There are many other things as well, for example, product import/export – RO CSVI (approximately $92), or «quick order» (one-click ordering) – around $70, and so on.
You can find more extensions for VirtueMart in the official extensions store.
Hosting and domain. The cost of hosting for small Joomla shop can start at approximately $6 per month and around $22 per year for a domain.
Work. If you do it yourself, it’s free. If you hire someone, the price can start from $170 (or even less) and go up to thousands of dollars. It all depends on the project and the contractor. My starting price for online store development is $194. Usually, the development cost includes the template and extensions. So, if I already have them, it costs the client almost nothing. Conversely, if everything needs to be purchased, the work cost can increase significantly.
Summary. If you take the minimum and develop the site on your own, the cost may consist of the template, hosting, and domain (per year) – about $133.
Even if you choose a free template, hosting for $72 (per year), and a domain for $22 (per year), an online store using free software will still cost from $94. Of course, you could try free hosting and a free domain. Then the price would be $0. But I wouldn’t recommend this, because free hosting and free templates come with many limitations. A free domain should be used only for learning and testing purposes.
In the next video tutorial, we will continue creating an online store on VirtueMart and Joomla. If you have any questions, write them in the comments
| Article author – Aleksej Khoroshevskij |
|---|
 Ph.D., lecturer at Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, web developer, and SEO specialist with over 15 years of experience. Expert in website creation using Joomla and WebSite X5. Author of scientific publications, video courses, and educational content on web development and SEO. Runs a blog and a YouTube channel, sharing knowledge and practical experience. Provides services in website development, customization, maintenance, and promotion. Learn more about the author… Publications and work: |
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