E-Commerce Website Development
Last updated
Last updated
Our E-Commerce Website package (starting at $3,500) is perfect for businesses ready to sell products or services online. If you run a retail shop, sell handmade products, or have an online store idea, this package provides everything you need to start accepting orders through your website. We combine the robustness of WordPress with the power of WooCommerce (the leading e-commerce platform for WordPress) to build you a secure, easy-to-manage online store. The end result will be a user-friendly, scalable e-commerce site that not only looks professional but also makes shopping a breeze for your customers.
Everything in the Standard Website Package: You get all the features from our Standard WordPress site (custom design, up to 10 pages, mobile-responsive design, basic SEO setup, contact forms, etc.). Your online store won’t just be functional – it will also have the same high-quality design and informational pages that any great website needs.
Shopify Integration: We set up your store using Shopify (pricing is separate and can be found ), which adds a full suite of online store features to your WordPress site. Shopify will power your product catalog, shopping cart, and checkout. (If you’re not familiar with Shopify, don’t worry – it’s basically the tool that runs the store portion of your site.)
Product Catalog Setup (up to 10 products): We will create the initial product listings for you. This includes configuring up to 10 products with images, descriptions, prices, and any options (like sizes or colors). If you have more products, no problem – we can either add more as an add-on, or we can show you how to add them yourself. The product pages will be organized and easy for customers to browse.
Shopping Cart & Checkout: All the pages and functionality needed for online shopping are included – customers can add items to a cart, review their order, and checkout securely.
Payment Gateway Integration: We integrate secure payment options so you can accept credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and more. We commonly set up Stripe and/or PayPal as payment gateways, which will allow your customers to pay online safely. Funds from sales will go directly to your business accounts. (If you need other payment methods, just let us know – Shopify supports many gateways.)
Basic Tax & Shipping Setup: If you charge sales tax or need to add shipping costs, we’ll configure those rules in the system (for example, we can set your local sales tax rate for Alabama, and define shipping rates or integrate real-time shipping calculators if needed). This way, transactions on your site automatically include the correct tax and shipping calculations, saving you from manual adjustments.
Order Management Dashboard: We’ll make sure you know how to use the WordPress/Shopify dashboard to manage orders. You’ll be able to see new orders, mark them as fulfilled/shipped, and track inventory for your products. The system will also automatically send you email notifications when new orders come in.
Customer Accounts (Optional): If you want customers to be able to create accounts on your site (to save their info for next time or track orders), we can enable that. It’s optional – even without accounts, people can checkout as guests. We’ll configure it according to what fits your business model.
Security & SSL: We’ll assist in installing an SSL certificate (the “https://” padlock) to ensure all transactions are encrypted and secure. This is critical for e-commerce, and many hosts provide SSL for free nowadays. We’ll double-check that your checkout and forms are secure and that your site meets best practices for protecting customer data.
Training on Store Management: After launch, we include training to show you how to add new products, update stock, process orders, and handle day-to-day store operations via the website. We want you to feel comfortable running your online store.
Building an e-commerce site has a few extra steps compared to a standard website, but we’ll guide you through them all:
E-Commerce Discovery. Just like with a standard site, we begin with a discovery meeting. Here we’ll focus on your online store requirements. We’ll discuss what you’re selling, who your customers are, and any special needs (for example, do you sell digital downloads or physical products? Do you need any special product options or custom functionality?). We’ll also talk about your inventory size, shipping methods, etc. If you have an existing catalog (like a product list or spreadsheets of products), we’ll review that. This stage helps us plan the best structure for your store. We’ll also define the pages you need (shop page, product categories, etc.) and any content beyond the store (maybe an FAQ or return policy page).
Design & Prototype. We’ll design the overall look of your e-commerce site, ensuring it aligns with your branding. This includes the homepage and also how your product pages and shop pages will look. We want a clean, inviting design that makes it easy for customers to find products and trust your site. We might create a prototype of the shopping experience – for instance, showing what the cart and checkout will look like – so you can visualize the full user journey. As with the standard site, you’ll review the design and we’ll adjust based on your feedback.
Store Build & Integration. After design approval, we start building the site and setting up the WooCommerce store. This includes configuring all the e-commerce settings (products, taxes, payment gateways, shipping, emails, etc.) and adding the content for your regular pages. We’ll add your products into the system (up to the included number, typically 25 for the base package). We’ll also set up category organization if you have multiple product categories. During development, you’ll be able to preview how things are coming together. If selling online is new to you, we’ll keep you in the loop and explain how each element works (for example, how the order emails will look).
Testing (Products & Payments). E-commerce testing is crucial. We will test the entire purchase process from start to finish. This means we’ll simulate a customer browsing products, adding to cart, and checking out using a test payment (don’t worry, we won’t charge a real card – we use sandbox modes for Stripe/PayPal to ensure everything works). We verify that order emails are sent, inventory levels adjust, tax/shipping are calculated correctly, etc. We’ll also have you do a test order if possible, so you feel comfortable with the process and see exactly what a customer (and you, as the store owner) will experience. Any bugs or issues we find will be fixed before launch.
Client Review & Revisions. Once the site and store are built and tested on our end, we let you review the e-commerce site thoroughly. Click every product, go through a checkout (we can provide instructions to avoid actual charges). This is your chance to confirm things like product details, pricing, and shipping settings are all correct. If you have updates (maybe you thought of a new feature or noticed a small change needed), we’ll handle those revisions. We include a revision phase here to tweak any details so you’re 100% satisfied and confident in your new online store.
Launch & Post-Launch Support. Launching an e-commerce site involves a few extra precautions. We pick a low-traffic time to switch your site live, just to minimize any disruption. We double-check the SSL security on the live domain and do one more test transaction on the live site to ensure all is well. After launch, your store is officially open for business! 🎉
We provide post-launch monitoring – in the first week or two, we keep an eye on things to make sure orders are coming through smoothly. You also get a training session focused on store management (how to add products, process orders, etc., as mentioned in inclusions). And just like with standard sites, we offer 30 days of support to answer questions or fix any post-launch hiccups. Selling online can feel daunting at first, but we’ll be right by your side as you get started.
An e-commerce website typically takes about 6–8 weeks from start to finish. It’s a bit more involved than a standard site because of the product setup and additional testing. The exact timeline depends on how many products you have and how complex your store policies are. If you have all your product information and images ready to go, that helps speed things up. We’ll provide a project timeline with milestones (design completion, site build, testing, etc.) so you know what to expect each week. Our goal is to get your online store launched as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality or security. If you have a specific launch date in mind (say, you want the site live before a holiday or event), please let us know upfront and we’ll schedule accordingly.
For e-commerce projects, we typically use a three-part payment schedule due to the larger scope:
50% deposit at the start to kick off the project (this covers the planning, design, and initial development work).
25% second installment at an agreed milestone – usually after the main website & store build is completed, before final revisions and testing. At this point, a lot of the heavy lifting is done, and this payment helps cover the integration of all e-commerce components.
25% final payment at project completion, just before launch of the live store.
We’ll outline the exact milestones for payment in our agreement. Like the standard site, we accept various payment methods for your convenience. If a three-part schedule doesn’t suit you, we can be flexible (for example, some clients prefer 50/50 even on e-commerce projects; others might request 40/40/20 – we’re open to discussion). The key is to ensure we’re all clear on the expectations. Once the final payment is received, we’ll make your e-commerce site live and you can start taking orders immediately.