Creating an Ecommerce Website? Seven Decisions to Make Before You Pick a Single Template

Keiko's first online store lasted eleven days.

She makes ceramic mugs in a studio outside Asheville. Speckled glazes, thumb rests, handles that actually fit a hand. One rainy weekend she picked a pretty template, uploaded twenty photos and launched.

Then the questions arrived. How much was shipping to Alaska? Why did a mug arrive in four pieces? Could someone order a set of six in matching glazes? Was the "Ocean" glaze the one from the photo, or the newer batch? She had no answers built into the store, so she spent her evenings emailing apologies instead of throwing pots. On day eleven she switched the store off.

Her mistake was common: she started creating an ecommerce website by choosing how it would look, before deciding how it would work. The second time, she sat down with a notebook first. These are the decisions in that notebook.

Before creating an ecommerce website, know your products, parcels and people

Decision 1: What exactly are you selling, and how many?

It sounds obvious. It is not. Write down:

• How many products you will start with, and how many you might have in a year.
• Whether products come in variants: sizes, colours, glazes, bundles.
• Whether items are one-of-a-kind (like handmade pieces) or repeatable stock.
• Whether you will sell anything digital, like gift cards or workshops.

Keiko realised many of her mugs were genuinely unique, which meant every listing needed its own photos, and stock had to be exactly one. That shaped everything that came after.

Decision 2: How will products get to customers?

Shipping is where many small stores quietly lose money or customers. Before you build anything, decide:

• Where you will ship: local only, nationwide, international?
• How you will charge: flat rate, by weight, free over a certain order total?
• How you will pack fragile or awkward items, and what that adds in cost and time.
• Whether local pickup makes sense.

Keiko settled on nationwide shipping only to start, a flat rate per order, free shipping over a set amount, and proper double-boxing. No more mugs in four pieces.

Decision 3: Who is your customer, and what do they worry about?

Picture the person buying. Keiko's buyers were mostly gift shoppers and people who love handmade things. Their worries: Will it arrive safely? Is it dishwasher safe? Will it look like the photo? Can I get it before a birthday?

Every worry you write down becomes something your store must answer: on product pages, in shipping info, in an FAQ. This list does more for your sales than any colour scheme.

Decision 4: Which platform should you use to build an ecommerce website?

There are broadly two routes:

1. Hosted store platforms. You pay a monthly subscription, and the platform handles hosting, security and checkout. Usually the quickest, most reliable path for small and medium shops.
2. Self-hosted or custom builds. More control and flexibility, but more responsibility for hosting, updates and security. Often worth it for unusual needs, larger catalogues or deep integrations.

The right choice depends on your decisions so far. A small handmade shop with simple shipping rarely needs anything exotic. A business with complex product options, wholesale pricing or custom integrations might.

One tip Keiko learned: whichever route you take, make sure you own your domain and can export your product and customer data. Your store should never be held hostage.

Decision 5: What has to connect to what?

Online stores rarely live alone. List the other tools in your business:

• Payments and payouts.
• Email marketing.
• Accounting and tax.
• Shipping labels and tracking.
• Social media shops or marketplaces you also sell on.
• In-person sales at markets, if you want stock to stay in sync.

Keiko sold at craft fairs too. Deciding up front that her online and in-person stock needed to match saved her from selling the same one-of-a-kind mug twice.

Decision 6: Who will build and run it?

You have three realistic options:

• Do it yourself with a template. Cheapest in cash, most expensive in time, and fine if you enjoy it.
• Hire a freelancer. Varies widely in quality. Ask what is included after launch.
• Work with a design team that handles design, setup, testing and support.

Also decide who will add new products, update photos and answer customer emails once the store is live. That is often you, so make sure the store is easy for you to manage, not just for a developer.

Decision 7: What does success look like in six months?

This is the decision most people skip. Write down what you want: a certain number of orders a week, a mailing list of a certain size, a share of sales coming from online rather than markets. Even rough goals help you decide what to build first and what can wait.

Keiko's goal was modest: enough online orders to cover the quiet months between craft fairs. That made it easy to say no to features she did not need yet.

Then, and only then, the design

With her notebook full, creating an ecommerce website the second time felt completely different. The design followed the decisions instead of the other way round. Product pages answered gift shoppers' worries. Shipping was clear from the first page. Stock stayed in sync with her market table.

The new store has now been open far longer than eleven days. Keiko still gets emails, but most of them say thank you. If you would like help turning your own notebook into a store, see what our web design services include.

Bring us your notebook

Whether your decisions are fully made or still scribbles, Web Design Studios can help you turn them into an online store that works from day one: the right platform, clear product pages, sensible shipping, connected tools and a design your customers will enjoy.

👉 Choose the store-building service that matches your plans →

Decide first. Design second. Sell for a long time after.