How much does a project cost?

Every project is scoped to your needs. Landing pages start around $500 and full websites around $1,500, while web apps are quoted after a discovery call. We always give a clear, fixed estimate before we start.

How long does a typical build take?

A landing page can ship in 1–2 weeks. Full websites usually take 4–8 weeks, and web apps vary with scope.

What technologies do you use?

We build on modern, reliable stacks — typically React/Next.js, TypeScript, and headless CMS or commerce platforms — deployed on fast edge infrastructure like Vercel.

Do you offer ongoing support?

Yes. We offer maintenance and support plans to keep your product fast, secure, and continuously improving after launch.

Can you work with our existing team?

Absolutely. We integrate with in-house teams or work fully independently — whatever gets your product shipped best.

E-commerce Website Development: Shopify, Headless, or Custom Build?

Every e-commerce project starts with the same fork in the road: rent a platform, or build your own? Pick wrong in either direction and you'll pay for it — either in monthly fees and platform limits, or in development costs you didn't need.

Here's the honest decision framework we walk clients through, including the option agencies don't always mention because it pays them less.

The four ways to build a store in 2026

1. Hosted platform (Shopify, and friends)

Shopify runs the checkout, hosting, security, and PCI compliance for you.

Best for: stores under ~500 products with standard needs, teams without developers, launching fast.
Costs: from $39/month plus transaction fees; themes and apps add up.
The catch: design and checkout customization hit walls, and app subscriptions quietly stack into hundreds per month. You're renting, not owning.

2. WooCommerce (WordPress)

The self-hosted middle ground — free software, paid everything else.

Best for: content-heavy stores already invested in WordPress, tight initial budgets.
Costs: hosting, plugins, and ongoing maintenance; cheap to start, needs regular care.
The catch: performance and security are your problem. A neglected WooCommerce store gets slow and hackable. (More on the WordPress trade-offs in Next.js vs. WordPress.)

3. Headless commerce (the modern sweet spot)

A custom front-end (typically Next.js) with a commerce engine like Shopify behind it. You get Shopify's bulletproof checkout and inventory, with a completely custom, extremely fast storefront.

Best for: brands where design and speed drive conversion, stores that outgrew their theme, businesses serious about SEO.
Costs: $5,000–$30,000 to build, plus platform fees.
The catch: you need a development partner. This isn't DIY territory.

4. Fully custom

Your own catalog, cart, and checkout, built from scratch.

Best for: genuinely unusual business models — configurators, B2B pricing matrices, marketplaces, subscription logic that platforms can't express.
Costs: $15,000 and up, realistically.
The catch: you're also buying ongoing responsibility for payments, fraud, and compliance. Most stores should not do this — and it's worth being suspicious of anyone who recommends it without a specific reason your model demands it.

The decision in three questions

1. Is your selling model standard? Products, variants, cart, checkout — if yes, Shopify or headless Shopify. Custom checkout logic is where platforms break down.

2. Does design/speed meaningfully drive your conversion? Selling on brand and experience (fashion, D2C, premium goods) → headless pays for itself. Selling on price and availability → a well-configured hosted theme is fine.

3. What's your realistic monthly volume? Under $10k/month: keep costs minimal, hosted platform. Over $50k/month: a 0.5% conversion improvement funds a headless build — speed and UX stop being nice-to-haves.

Why speed matters more in e-commerce than anywhere else

The data is brutal and consistent: every extra second of load time cuts conversions by roughly 7%, and half of mobile shoppers abandon sites that take over 3 seconds. On a store doing $30k/month, a one-second improvement is worth roughly $25k/year.

Test your current store with our free speed test — product and category pages, not just the homepage. Slow product pages are where carts go to die. If you're not ready for a rebuild, these performance fixes apply to stores too.

What an e-commerce build actually includes

Quotes vary wildly because scope hides in the details. A complete build covers:

Product catalog architecture (collections, variants, filters, search)
Cart and checkout flow (the highest-stakes UX on the site)
Payment and tax configuration (Stripe/Shopify Payments, regional tax)
Shipping logic and order notification emails
Product page SEO: schema markup so your products show price and stock directly in Google results
Analytics with e-commerce events (view → add to cart → purchase funnel)
Content migration and 301 redirects if you're moving platforms

If a quote doesn't mention redirects and product schema, the quote is incomplete. Use our cost calculator to build a realistic budget range before you take calls.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an e-commerce website cost? Template-based Shopify setups run $1,000–$5,000. Custom-designed stores $5,000–$15,000. Headless or complex builds $15,000–$50,000+. Volume and complexity — not product count — drive the number.

How long does an e-commerce site take to build? A themed Shopify store: 2–4 weeks. Custom or headless: 6–12 weeks, with checkout testing and data migration consuming more of that than design.

Can I migrate from Shopify/WooCommerce without losing Google rankings? Yes — with URL mapping, 301 redirects, and preserved product content. Platform migrations follow the same SEO checklist as any redesign; skipping it is how stores lose their traffic.

Is headless commerce overkill for a small store? Usually, yes. Under roughly $10k/month in revenue, put the money into products and marketing. Headless earns its cost when traffic is high enough that speed and conversion-rate gains compound.

Weighing platforms for a new store — or stuck on one that's holding you back? Start a conversation with Avvio. We'll tell you honestly if a $39/month Shopify theme is all you need.