E-Commerce Store Setup on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce for businesses launching or rebuilding online stores. The right E-Commerce Store Setup choice depends on catalog complexity, customer type, and growth stage. Below is the platform decision tree, what every store setup includes, and the 3-week launch timeline.
Which platform is right for your store?
The right e-commerce platform depends on three factors: catalog complexity, custom logic requirements, and revenue stage. Picking wrong means either paying for capability you don't need or hitting limits that force a painful re-platform 18 months in.
Shopify — best for SMB stores under 100 SKUs with standard fulfillment
Fast launch (2–4 weeks), low maintenance burden, excellent app ecosystem, reliable infrastructure. Monthly cost $39–$399 depending on plan. The right choice for: solo founders launching a brand, established businesses adding e-commerce as a secondary channel, businesses with standard B2C fulfillment. Limitations: custom checkout requires Shopify Plus ($2,300+/month), complex pricing logic (B2B tiers, customer-group pricing) hits walls, large catalogs (10,000+ SKUs) get expensive.
WooCommerce — best for WordPress-centric businesses needing custom logic
Hosted on your own infrastructure, free plugin (paid plugins for extended features), full code access, unlimited customization. Setup more involved than Shopify (3–6 weeks typical). The right choice for: businesses with existing WordPress sites, content-heavy stores where blog/SEO is primary traffic driver, B2B with custom pricing rules, businesses that need to avoid SaaS fee creep.
Custom Laravel build — best for catalogs over $5M revenue with unique logic
Full control, no platform fees, infinite customization. Higher upfront cost ($15,000–$60,000+) but no recurring platform fees. The right choice for: B2B catalogs with complex pricing matrices, product configurators (e.g. custom orders with options), businesses with $5M+ revenue who can amortize the build cost, businesses already running Laravel for other systems.
What setup includes
- Platform configuration (account, domain, SSL, infrastructure)
- Theme installation or custom design
- Product catalog migration (we'll migrate up to 200 products in standard packages, more by quote)
- Payment gateway setup (Stripe, PayPal, Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna/Affirm if applicable)
- Shipping zone configuration with real-time carrier rates (FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL)
- Tax setup (US sales tax via TaxJar or Avalara, international VAT if applicable)
- Email integration (Klaviyo for marketing flows, transactional emails configured)
- Analytics + tracking (Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Meta Pixel + CAPI, TikTok Pixel)
- Schema markup for product rich results in Google search
- Mobile-first responsive design with Core Web Vitals passing
Pricing
- Starter ($2,499 one-time) — Shopify or WooCommerce setup, up to 25 products, standard theme customization, 2–3 week launch
- Growth ($4,999 one-time) — Up to 100 products, custom design, advanced shipping/tax configuration, Klaviyo setup, 4–6 week launch
- Enterprise (custom quote, typically $9,000–$60,000+) — B2B configurations, custom builds, complex catalogs, custom logic
Request Free E-Commerce Audit →
Picking the right platform: Shopify vs. WooCommerce vs. BigCommerce
The platform decision affects everything downstream: cost structure, design flexibility, integration options, performance, ongoing maintenance burden. The wrong platform pick costs you 2-4x more in year-2 migration costs than picking right the first time.
Shopify (best for most B2C businesses)
Strengths: fastest setup, lowest maintenance burden, best ecosystem of apps and themes, strongest payments integration, best mobile checkout. Pricing: $29-2,000+/month depending on plan + app fees. Weaknesses: locked into Shopify's ecosystem, theme customization limited compared to WordPress, transaction fees if you use external payment processors. Best fit: B2C, simple-to-moderate catalog complexity, $0-3M annual revenue.
WooCommerce (best for content-heavy businesses)
Strengths: full WordPress integration (content + commerce on one platform), unlimited customization, no monthly platform fees (just hosting + plugins), full code ownership. Pricing: $20-200/month hosting + $300-1,500 one-time plugin costs. Weaknesses: more maintenance burden (updates, security, backups), performance optimization required, payment integration more involved. Best fit: businesses with substantial content marketing, blogs, or non-commerce content alongside store.
BigCommerce (best for fast-growing mid-market)
Strengths: built-in advanced features (B2B, multi-store, headless), no transaction fees on any payment provider, scales to 7-figure revenue without platform changes. Pricing: $39-400+/month. Weaknesses: smaller app ecosystem than Shopify, fewer theme options, less brand recognition with developers. Best fit: fast-growing brands expecting to cross $1M revenue in year 1-2.
When custom e-commerce makes more sense
If you're outgrowing all three platforms — complex B2B workflows, configurators, marketplace operations, or annual revenue above $5M — see our custom e-commerce development service for Laravel-based builds.
What's in every store setup we deliver
1. Theme installation + customization
We install a paid premium theme matching your brand (free themes have limited customization and look generic). Customize the theme to match your brand identity — colors, typography, hero sections, product display layouts. Pairs with our brand identity kit service if you don't have a brand kit yet.
2. Product catalog setup
Up to 50 products in the base package — title, description, images, variants, SKUs, inventory levels, pricing. Bulk import via CSV for larger catalogs (additional charge per 100 products beyond 50). Product photography review — we tell you whether your existing photos work or recommend reshooting.
3. Payments + tax + shipping
Payment gateway setup (Stripe, PayPal, Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay). Tax calculation via TaxJar or platform-native automation. Shipping integration with real-time carrier rates (USPS, FedEx, UPS) or flat-rate / free-shipping rules.
4. Checkout optimization
Single-page checkout where possible, guest checkout enabled, address autocomplete, mobile-optimized payment forms, abandoned cart recovery setup, post-purchase upsells. Most stores we audit have 30-45% cart abandonment that's recoverable with proper checkout work.
5. Marketing integrations
- Email + SMS via Klaviyo (our preferred for e-commerce) — see our email marketing service for the full flow build
- Google Analytics 4 + Tag Manager + Conversion API for Meta + Google Ads conversions
- Product feed setup for Google Shopping + Meta dynamic product ads — see Google Ads and Meta ads services
- Review collection integration (Judge.me, Yotpo, or platform-native) — see our reputation management service
- Live chat / chatbot integration — see our AI chatbot service
6. Content + SEO
Homepage, About, Contact, Shipping, Returns, FAQ, Privacy, Terms pages. Product page SEO templates (title structure, meta descriptions, schema markup). Image alt text. Blog setup if relevant. Pairs with our content writing service for ongoing blog production.
What happens in week 1, 2, 3
Week 1: Setup foundation
- Platform account setup or migration
- Domain configuration + DNS
- Theme installation + initial customization
- Brand colors, fonts, hero imagery
Week 2: Catalog + commerce
- Product import + categorization
- Variants + inventory levels
- Pricing + collections / category structure
- Payment + tax + shipping setup
Week 3: Integration + launch prep
- Email + Analytics + Ad pixel integrations
- Checkout testing across devices
- Abandoned cart + welcome flows
- Pre-launch QA
- Soft launch + monitoring
Pricing
Starter package $2,499 — Shopify or WooCommerce setup, up to 50 products, standard theme customization. Standard package $4,499 — adds advanced theme customization, marketing integrations, custom checkout configuration, post-purchase flows. Premium package $7,999 — adds custom-coded sections, multi-currency / multi-language setup, B2B features.
Request a free e-commerce audit — we'll review your current store (if any), identify the top 5 conversion blockers, and send back a written 30-day improvement plan within 72 hours.