You can have an online shop built by WebDrift from €2,700 as a one-off project: the starter scope covers a platform shop with about 20 products set up, while special functions and ongoing provider charges need separate planning.
What matters is whether your team can reliably handle the orders that arrive. This guide helps you agree the scope, your own contribution and the conditions for launch before commissioning the work.
As of: 15 October 2026
Should you commission a shop or start on a platform yourself?
Commissioning a shop can be a useful next step when the catalogue is settled but you lack time or experience for design, configuration and handover. Setting up a platform shop yourself can be more appropriate for a small sales experiment.
First, examine a complete order: can a customer choose the product without asking questions, is its price fixed, and do you know how it will be delivered? A manufacturer selling bespoke work may need an effective enquiry form first. A service business that can only price its work after a conversation should avoid forcing customers into a fixed purchase journey.
| Route | Suits your situation when … | What remains your responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Set up a platform yourself | You want to test a small offer and learn the setup | Organising design, data, testing and operation |
| Commission a platform shop | Your offer is ready but setup and handover need support | Supplying content, making decisions and processing orders |
| Commission a custom shop project | Special processes or connected systems determine the sale | Defining requirements and internal operations carefully |
This is a decision aid, not a ranking. A smaller setup only saves work if the ordering process really is straightforward. Our comparison of Shopify, WooCommerce and a custom shop explores the technical choice in more depth.
Hundreds of variants, connections to stock management or an ERP system, meaning central business management software, fall outside the simple starter scope. So do customer-specific B2B pricing and marketplace connections. Platforms may still be suitable, but these requirements need a separate concept and quote.
What should the agreed deliverables include?
Online Shop Start includes a customised premium theme, meaning a design template, on Shopify or WooCommerce, and up to about 20 products set up by us. Also agree in writing what you will supply and how the finished setup will be checked.
Our current web design and development service includes the shop's basket, checkout and a short handover session. Checkout is the final ordering stage covering delivery details and payment. A content management system, or CMS, lets you manage products afterwards.
The following division of work helps make the quote concrete during the initial discussion. The suggested evidence provides a template for acceptance, rather than an additional blanket promise of services.
| Area | You supply or decide | WebDrift handles within the agreed scope | Useful acceptance evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalogue | Product list, descriptions, prices and variants | Structure and setup of about 20 products | Approved product list |
| Images | Usable photographs and product matching | Integration into the customised theme | Product page checked on a phone |
| Ordering | Delivery areas, shipping rules and payment provider accounts | Basket and checkout configuration | Recorded test journey |
| Legal texts | Texts intended for your business | Technical integration | Accessible, correctly assigned pages |
| Handover | The person responsible for operation | Short training and agreed access | Product change completed by your team |
The product count does not fully describe the setup work. A product with several sizes and finishes may require different images and stock records. Before the quote, establish how variants will be counted and maintained.
Plan everyday operation too: who will check incoming orders, answer questions and update delivery information? An agency can configure the technical purchase journey. Decisions about your catalogue remain with your business.
How does the project move from idea to handover?
We start with a free prototype without obligation. Once you accept the written quote, two paid phases follow; the completion date depends on the agreed scope and is fixed in the offer.
Use the prototype to assess the direction, such as the journey from a category to a product. Ask to see your most difficult product as well. A draft helps you decide, but does not replace the configured shop or its order tests.
You pay 50 per cent of the agreed total before phase 1, covering design and content. Use that phase to settle presentation, copy and product structure so technical implementation can follow approved decisions.
The remaining 50 per cent is due before phase 2, covering technical implementation. Each phase starts after its payment arrives. A different written payment schedule in your individual offer takes precedence.
For acceptance, we recommend a shared record: which product data is approved, which ordering journeys work and which faults must be resolved before launch? Coordinate feedback internally and name someone who can bring decisions together.
Once paid in full, the code, content and domain belong to you. Third-party components remain subject to their licences and platform terms. This does not transfer ownership of the platform software or promise that every platform shop can move unchanged to another provider.
What does it cost to have an online shop built?
Online Shop Start begins at €2,700 as a one-off project; optional monthly care costs €149. A useful total requires separate figures for setup, your own contribution and provider charges.
The following example expressly assumes that your written quote is exactly the entry price and that you then choose twelve months of care. It is not a total-cost forecast for every shop.
| Item | Illustrative calculation |
|---|---|
| One-off build at the entry price | €2,700 |
| Optional twelve months of care: 12 × €149 | €1,788 |
| Total for these WebDrift services | €4,488 |
| Platform, payment processing and additional provider services | Add separately |
Without care, the second row falls away. Care can be cancelled monthly and covers maintenance, security, updates, support, SEO basics and small edits. Hosting and basic security for the first year are included in the one-off package. This hosting provision does not replace separately charged platform subscriptions or payment fees.
From year two, hosting runs through optional care. Without care, we arrange hosting in your own provider account and hand over access; you then pay that provider directly. We do not offer a hosting-only package. Record the cost allocation for your chosen platform in the quote to avoid counting a charge twice.
Shopify's billing documentation distinguishes recurring, usage-based and one-off charges. Put the provider prices that apply to your selection into a separate cost sheet. We do not assume changing subscription prices or transaction rates here.
Extra product setup, missing image matching, multiple languages or special shipping rules can increase the project work. Bespoke pricing logic and integrations need separate costing. Larger or custom shops are quoted according to the work required; the starter price is not their upper limit.
What should you check before launching a shop in Germany?
Check the actual customer journey and the rules that apply to your sales. The following legal points concern sales to consumers in Germany; they do not automatically apply to every ordering process restricted to business customers.
Under section 312j(3) of Germany's Civil Code, the BGB, the button for a consumer contract involving payment must clearly carry the wording “zahlungspflichtig bestellen” or an equally unambiguous formulation. Resolve unclear wording before approval. Paragraph 1 also requires clear information about delivery restrictions and accepted payment methods by the start of the ordering process.
For Germany's Accessibility Strengthening Act, the BFSG, assess scope and exemption separately. Section 1(3)(5) BFSG covers consumer e-commerce services. For services within scope, section 14 BFSG sets accessibility duties and requirements for accessible information about the service.
Section 3(3) BFSG exempts micro-enterprises providing services from paragraph 1. Under section 2(17) BFSG, these employ fewer than ten people and have annual turnover of no more than €2 million or an annual balance sheet total of no more than €2 million. Being an SME alone does not establish the exemption.
Our guide to accessible websites under the BFSG explains practical checks and the broader framework. This checklist combines legal applicability with our recommended technical launch checks:
- Catalogue, variants and available quantities match your approval.
- Product selection, basket and checkout work on a smartphone.
- Delivery restrictions, payment methods and order button have been checked.
- BFSG scope and any micro-enterprise exemption have been documented.
- Product selection and ordering have also been tried with a keyboard; error messages are understandable.
- Payment tests and order notifications have been checked in a suitable test environment.
- Test orders have been cleared and payment methods are ready for live operation.
- Access, product editing and responsibilities after handover are clear.
The WooCommerce order-testing documentation provides the basis. WooCommerce also notes that tests can trigger order emails and that test orders should be deleted afterwards. A saved test record makes unresolved faults visible before the launch decision.
Conclusion: how do you get a suitable shop quote?
First describe your catalogue, ordering journey and the work your team will handle. Compare quotes against the same delivery list and add ongoing provider charges. Online Shop Start can suit a manageable first catalogue; complex processes need their own concept. Share your product examples and open questions through Start a project.
Sources for further reading
The linked German legislation supports the legal statements. Shopify and WooCommerce document billing or order testing; our recommendations for responsibilities and acceptance build on that foundation. Package scope and process follow the current WebDrift offer, with WebDrift amounts taken from our own price list.
