Selling online sounds appealing. Customers can buy while you sleep, you can reach people beyond your town, and the shop never closes. But an eCommerce website is a different beast from a standard business site, and it isn’t the right move for everyone.
Here’s an honest look at when an online shop is worth it, when it isn’t, and what’s involved in running one.
What an online shop adds to a normal website
A standard business website tells people who you are, what you do and how to contact you. An online shop goes further. It needs:
- Product pages with photos, descriptions, prices and options like sizes or colours
- A cart and checkout
- Payment processing
- Shipping rates or click and collect options
- Stock management, so you don’t sell what you don’t have
- Order emails for you and your customers
- Policies covering returns, refunds, delivery and privacy
All of that has to be set up, tested and kept up to date. That’s why a shop costs more to build than a brochure-style site.
When an eCommerce website makes sense
An online shop tends to work well when:
- You sell physical products that are easy to post or pick up
- Your products have set prices, rather than being quoted job by job
- Customers already ask whether they can buy from you online
- You sell at markets or in a shopfront and want to reach people between visits
- You have the time, or the staff, to pack orders and answer customer emails
A local maker, a boutique or a specialty food business can often do well with a shop running alongside their physical one.
When an online shop isn’t worth it
This is the part people don’t always hear. For some businesses, an online shop adds cost and work without much return.
- You sell services, not products. Tradies, health practitioners and consultants usually need bookings or enquiries, not a cart.
- Every job is quoted. If prices depend on the job, a clear enquiry form will serve you better.
- You only have a handful of products. A simple product page with an order form might be enough to start.
- You’re already selling well on a marketplace. It can make sense to keep that going and link to it until your sales justify your own shop.
- You don’t have time to manage it. A shop with out-of-date stock or slow replies does more harm than having no shop at all.
There’s nothing wrong with starting simple. A good standard website can be planned so a shop can be added later, when you’re ready.
Questions to ask yourself first
Before you commit to a shop, sit down with a cuppa and answer these honestly:
- How many products would I list at launch, and how often do they change?
- Who will add new products, update prices and mark things as sold out?
- How will orders get to customers: post, courier, local delivery or pick-up?
- Who will pack orders, and how quickly can we send them?
- How will I handle returns, refunds and damaged items?
- Do customers in my area actually want to buy this online, or do they prefer to see it first?
If you can answer most of these without too much head-scratching, you’re probably ready. If several of them make you wince, a simpler site with an enquiry form might be the better first step.
What it costs
At Inversit, custom WordPress websites start from $1,595 + GST, and eCommerce websites start from $2,950 + GST. The difference reflects the extra setup: products, payments, shipping, testing and the extra pages a shop needs.
“From” is the honest word there. The final price depends on how many products you have, how many variations each one has, and how shipping works for you. You’ll get a clear written quote before any work starts, and our website pricing guide explains what affects the cost.
There are ongoing costs to think about too. Payment providers usually charge a fee on each transaction, and a shop needs reliable hosting with regular updates and backups. Our article comparing cheap and managed hosting explains why that matters even more for a shop than for most sites.
Getting the shop right
Product photos
Customers can’t pick up your products, so photos do the selling. Clear, consistent, well-lit photos make a shop look trustworthy. Our product and brand photography means your shop can show real photos of your actual products instead of supplier images.
Shipping that makes sense
Shipping is where many small shops come unstuck. Charge too little and you lose money on every order. Charge too much and people leave at the checkout. It’s worth working out your packaging, weights and courier costs before the shop is built, so the settings match how you actually send things. For local customers, a pick-up option can be a nice touch.
Security and trust
Every site we build includes an SSL certificate and security foundations, which matter even more when people are entering payment and address details. You’ll also need a Privacy Policy and clear terms of sale. The business.gov.au website has practical information for Australian businesses, including selling online.
Someone to look after it
Shops need more ongoing care than a brochure site: plugin updates, payment settings, shipping changes and the odd customer who can’t check out. It helps to have one local team who built it and can keep it running, rather than chasing separate suppliers when something goes wrong.
Not sure if an online shop is right for you?
Book a free consultation and we’ll talk through what you sell, how you sell it and whether an eCommerce website is worth it for you right now. If it isn’t, we’ll say so. Get in touch or call 02 6610 9202.
