Web design8 min
How much does a website cost for a small business?
What US small businesses pay for a website in 2026, by who builds it, with sources; the monthly and yearly costs after launch, and how to compare quotes.
Ecommerce website design built to sell on a phone
Fast product pages, a checkout that shows shipping before asking for anything, and categories people search for. We build your store on Shopify or WooCommerce, and you pay once it's open.
“Sand” Stoneware Bowls, Set of 4 | Elm Hollow
elm hollowhandmade ceramics
1Home › Tableware › Bowls
Handmade
“Sand” stoneware bowls, set of 4
4.9·G86 reviews
Wheel-thrown in our Asheville studio. Dishwasher and microwave safe.
Color: Sand
In stock·Free shipping in 2-3 days
−1+Add to cartAdded to cart
Free 30-day returnsHandmade in Asheville
Add to cartAdded to cart
elm hollowhandmade ceramics
1Home › Tableware › Bowls
Handmade
“Sand” stoneware bowls, set of 4
4.9·G86 reviews
Wheel-thrown in our Asheville studio. Dishwasher and microwave safe.
Color: Sand
In stock·Free shipping in 2-3 days
−1+Add to cartAdded to cart
Free 30-day returnsHandmade in Asheville
Add to cartAdded to cart
Orders · Elm HollownowNew order #10482 × “Sand” stoneware bowls, set of 4. Free shipping to Portland, ships tomorrow.
People visit your store and leave without buying
These are the usual places small stores lose the sale.
- Product pages take seconds to load on a phone, and buyers give up.
- Checkout asks for an account and ten fields before it shows the shipping cost.
- Categories are a grid of photos with no text, so Google doesn't rank them.
- Your store only sells when ads are running, because nobody finds it any other way.
What a store built to sell looks like
How we get there
We start with how people search for your products and organize the store around it: categories that match those searches, product pages that answer buying questions and filters that help.
We build it fast on a phone, with a short checkout and the payment and shipping options your customers expect, and ready for ecommerce SEO and Google Shopping ads from the first day.
Product pages that open right away
Light images and lean code so product pages load fast on a phone, even with lots of photos.
Core Web Vitals
A checkout people finish on a phone
Guest checkout, shipping shown in the cart and only the fields you need.
Ready for Google from day one
Categories with copy, product data Google can show and a clean feed for Shopping.
Product structured data and Merchant Center feed
How we build your online store
Four steps, with a fixed price and a date signed before we start.
Catalog and searches
How customers search for your products and how your catalog should be organized.
Plan and fixed quote
Platform, structure, how many products we load, the price and the opening date, agreed before we start.
Design and build
The store designed for phones, products loaded, payments, shipping and sales tax set up, all on a private copy you can review.
Opening and tracking
The store goes live, old addresses redirected if there's a previous store, and sales tracked from the first order.
What our ecommerce website design includes
The platform, how many products we load and the integrations go in your proposal.
- Categories people search for
- Product pages that answer buying questions
- Payments, shipping and sales tax
- Ready for SEO and Shopping
- Every order counted
We show you where buyers leave your store
We open your store on a phone, time the product pages, go through checkout and compare your categories with how people search. You'll know what to fix first.
- What we found
- The plan, page by page
- The fixed quote
- What we wouldn't do
Carles builds your site, and he's the one who reviews it in the audit. Òscar makes sure Google understands it. Who we are
audit · maplehollowcandles.com
sample document
1 · What we found
On a phone, buyers only see shipping at the last step, after creating an account, and most leave there.
2 · The plan, page by page
- Guest checkout, shipping shown in the cart
- Candles by scent, size and room
- Product pages with burn time and care
- Old store addresses redirected
3 · Fixed quote
- Price
- fixed, in your proposal
- Payment
- once the store is live
- Opening
- signed date
- Until then
- $0
You pay nothing until it's done
How it works, with an exampleQuestions about ecommerce website design
What owners ask before building or moving a store. If yours isn't here, put it in the audit form.
How much does an ecommerce website cost?
An agency-built store starts at from $20,000 in the US, according to Elementor. A store takes more work than a service website (catalog, payments, shipping), so its price depends mostly on how many products we load and whether there's an old store to move. The platform and payment fees you pay directly. You get a fixed price after the audit and pay it once the store is open.
Should I use Shopify or WooCommerce?
Shopify is simpler to run; WooCommerce gives more control and lives on WordPress. Both work for small stores. We recommend one based on your catalog and how you want to manage it.
Do you load the products?
Yes, the number set in your proposal. For larger catalogs we set up an import from your spreadsheet or your supplier's file.
How long does it take to build an online store?
The date goes in your proposal and depends on the catalog and the integrations. A small store usually takes about as long as a website, around 6 weeks, and the clock pauses while we wait on your product photos or details.
Can I move my existing store?
Yes. We move products and customers where the platform allows and redirect old addresses, so you keep what Google already knows about your store.
We design and build online stores for small businesses: category and product pages that load fast, a checkout that works on a phone and a structure built to show up on Google and in Shopping ads. The platform, the fixed price and the opening date go in your proposal.
More detail: Ecommerce websites
Every abandoned cart from an ad is a click you already paid for
Baymard Institute puts the average cart abandonment rate at 70.22% across 50 studies, and in its survey of US online shoppers the top reason is extra costs like shipping, taxes and fees that show up late. Slow delivery, not trusting the site with a card and forced account creation come next (its benchmark). Most of that is fixable in the store.
In the free audit we go through your store on a phone and tell you where buyers drop off, or how we'd plan the new one.
Shopify website design or WooCommerce
Shopify is simple to run and takes care of hosting and payments; WooCommerce gives more control and runs on WordPress, which we also use for our websites. Both work well for a small store. What matters more is how the catalog is organized and how fast it loads. We recommend one in your proposal, with the reasons.
Moving your store without losing sales
If you already sell online, the new store keeps what works: products, customers and order history move where the platform allows, and every old product and category address leads to its new page. That's how you keep the visits Google already sends you.
We plan the move the same way as a website redesign that protects your rankings: a list of the pages that bring visits, a redirect for each one and a check after opening.
What's included, point by point
Categories people search for
Categories and filters organized around how people search for your products.
store architecture
Product pages that answer buying questions
Sizes, materials, shipping and returns answered on the page, with photos that load fast.
product and category templates
Payments, shipping and sales tax
Payment methods, shipping rates and tax settings ready for where you sell.
Shopify Payments, Stripe or PayPal
Ready for SEO and Shopping
Product data, sitemap and a product feed ready for Merchant Center.
Product schema and feed
Every order counted
Orders and revenue tracked from the first day, so you know which channel sells.
GA4 ecommerce events
When an online store with us makes sense, and when it doesn't
Makes sense if
- You sell products online, or want to start.
- Your catalog is defined and manageable.
- You want the store in your name and a fixed price.
Not a fit if
- You need a marketplace or custom software.
- Your catalog has tens of thousands of products with complex integrations.
- You need the store live within a week.
More on selling online
What rounds out your store
Guides on websites
The next buyer already has something in the cart. Let's make sure they get to the end.
Tell us about your store in 2 minutes and we'll send you where buyers drop off and a fixed quote, paid once it's live.
Review my store for free