Small Business Ecommerce Websites
Deciding to sell your products online can seem like quite a challenge with so many different options available.
Many ‘hosted’ (or subscription based) ecommerce solutions advertised online can seem very good value, but often these have very limited functionality and, one you start to customise to your own requirements, the cost can start to increase rapidly.
We specialise in ‘self-hosted’ ecommerce websites using OpenCart, PrestaShop or WooCommerce.
Ecommerce Website Prices
Guide prices for building you a bespoke self-hosted ecommerce website.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. WooCommerce works well for business websites with lots of additional content in addition to your web shop pages e.g. a blog or lots of information pages.
From £1,600
OpenCart
OpenCart is a standalone open-source shopping cart system. In our experience OpenCart is a good value solution where you want a customised web shop with non-standard functionality. This is due to the lower cost of extensions.
From £2,200
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is standalone open source e-commerce platform. PrestaShop is a good solution for high traffic ecommerce sites with lots of products. It also offers good shipping functionality, and if you sell your products outside the UK.
From £2,800
Prices listed are for a basic design and functionality. If requirements are more detailed this will be reflected in the price.
Guide prices do not include hosting and ongoing maintenance.
Hosted vs Self-hosted
An important decision you need to make is whether to choose an ecommerce solution that is hosted or self-hosted.
A hosted service means that you pay a monthly subscription (and transaction fees) to use an ecommerce platform that is maintained by a third party provider. If your requirements are very simple this can be a good solution, but as you are effectively leasing your web shop, if you want a lot of customisation or your requirements change over time then this can become a problem.
A self-hosted solution is one where you pay for the website to be designed, built and maintained by a web design agency and the website is installed on a hosting provider of your choice. You have much greater control over your website and can chose to move it to another web hosting provider, or have it maintained by another web design agency.
Web Shop Features
Every ecommerce website we build is different, but common features include:
Bespoke Layout
We work with you to design a layout for your web shop that will work best for the type of products that you sell.
User-friendly Navigation
How visitors navigate your website is hugely important. We will design a navigation system that works best.
Shipping Options
Setting up shipping rates can be complicated, especially if you intend to use a number of different shipping services or deliver outside the UK. We have extensive experience working with a wide range of shipping requirements.
Payment Providers
The open-source ecommerce platforms we work with offer payments via PayPal as standard, but all support a wide range of 3rd party payment provider integrations. We will work with you to chose the best option.
Strong Security
It’s important that your web shop is secure. Not just to prevent malicious damage to your website, but more importantly to protect any information you hold about your customers. All the ecommerce websites we build come with strong security features.
Custom Features
Over the years we have implemented pretty much every web shop feature you can think of. If there is specific functionality that you have seen on other websites that you would like we can almost certainly include it.
For more information about what’s included in our web design service see our web design page.
Get in touch!
If you are interested in our services, or you have some questions, please get in touch. We do not charge for an initial review of your requirements or a quotation.
Phone:
0333 344 1210(press number to dial on mobile)
or use the form below and we will get back to you within 24 hours.
Rest assured that your data is safe with us. We will not pass your details to any third party. For further information see our Privacy Policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer web hosting and domain registration?
Yes. We use a top rated UK web hosting company offering competively priced web hosting. We can also register any domain on your behalf. While we can more easily build and maintain your website if we handle the hosting for you, if you prefer to stay with your existing web hosting provider for your new or upgraded website that is also fine.
What support do you offer for ecommerce websites?
When we build your new website any small changes you require in the first month are free of charge. After that any changes you require are chargeable at our standard rates. However, we strongly recommend one of our Website Maintenance Plans where we look after your website throughout the year, including making small changes when needed.
Do you only use OpenCart, PrestaShop and WooCommerce?
Currently, yes. It can take many years to become expert in building websites using specific platforms. We have found these to be suitable for the wide range of requirements typical for most small to medium sized businesses, and being open-source with large developer communities, this can greatly reduce the cost of building a bespoke ecommerce website.