Online store development for your task and budget

Where to start with online store development

Before you start, it is worth answering a few questions: what you sell and to whom, how many products there will be at launch, where prices and stock come from, who processes orders and how the store will get buyers after the launch. The platform, catalog structure and budget depend on these answers, so you do not pay for features you do not need at the first stage.

Who needs their own online store

Your own store is needed when orders via messages, phone, social media or marketplaces are no longer enough for the business. For manufacturers and offline stores it provides an online storefront and round-the-clock orders, for social media sellers – a separate sales channel with prices and terms in one place, for existing stores – a platform that does not hold back growth.

Three paths to your own store

• Turnkey development – when your product range, accounting and processes matter: online store development from $500.
• A ready-made base for your niche – when you want to start faster in a typical niche: ready-made solutions for an online store from $800.
• Migration – when the store already works, but the platform limits growth: migration to Horoshop from $450.

What a website for selling products must be able to do

A buyer goes from search to payment: categories and filters, a product page with price and availability, a cart, checkout, payment and delivery. A mobile version, web analytics and a technical foundation for SEO are needed from day one.

The set of features depends on the niche. A clothing store, a building materials catalog and a digital goods store have different attributes, filters and order scenarios.

A team works on the store: a project manager, a designer, a content editor, a webmaster, an SEO specialist and an online marketer. That is why the design, catalog, technical setup and ad preparation are aligned with each other from day one.

What the cost of online store development depends on

The estimate is affected by the size and structure of the catalog, the way it is filled (manually or by import), the depth of design changes, integrations with a CRM, 1C / BAS and fiscalization services, data transfer from the old website and the scope of SEO preparation. That is why a simple launch with a small catalog and a store with accounting and a complex structure cost different amounts.

Building from scratch or migrating

A new business needs a catalog, a platform and design. For an existing store it is more important to keep its data and search traffic: move the products, check page URLs, set up 301 redirects and monitor indexing after the migration.

After the launch

Orders are brought in by traffic sources: organic search, Google Shopping, Facebook and Instagram ads. Some SEO decisions (catalog structure, page URLs, category names) are best made before the launch – more on the page SEO at the store launch stage.