Building an online store: platforms, costs and where to start

Building an online store usually starts with a single decision: do you choose Shopify (a fast start from around 500 EUR), WooCommerce (flexibility from around 950 EUR), or a custom build (when off-the-shelf platforms are no longer enough)? The short answer: if you want to sell quickly with no technical headaches, go Shopify; if you want full control and ownership, choose WooCommerce; if you have specific business logic, a large catalogue or complex integrations, consider a custom build. Below we walk through each route in detail, with realistic prices for the Lithuanian market and the common mistakes that get expensive right after launch.

All prices in this article are illustrative (2026) and depend on scope, design and integrations — it is always worth calculating an exact budget for your specific project.

The main routes to an online store and their costs

Think of your e-commerce platform as the foundation of a house: everything else is built on top, so a choice made early determines not only the starting price but also how much growth will cost a year later. Let us look at the three main routes, from fastest to most flexible.

Shopify — a fast start (from around 500 EUR)

Shopify is a hosted platform: servers, security, updates and payment infrastructure are maintained by Shopify itself, and you pay a monthly subscription. That means a store can go live in days rather than weeks.

• Setup cost: around 500–1500 EUR if you only need theme customisation, product uploads and local integrations.
• Monthly subscription: roughly 30–110 EUR/month (depending on the plan).
• Pros: fast launch, stability, automatic updates, a great mobile version out of the box, simple administration without a developer.
• Cons: ongoing dependence on the platform, extra fees for third-party payments (if you do not use Shopify Payments — which is not always convenient in Lithuania), and limited freedom for deeper customisation.

Shopify is a strong fit when the priority is to start selling and validate an idea as quickly as possible. One caveat for Lithuania, though: not every local courier or bank collection solution has a ready-made official Shopify module, so some integrations have to be arranged through intermediaries or extra apps — worth checking before you commit to a plan.

WooCommerce — flexibility (from around 950 EUR)

WooCommerce is a free open-source plugin for WordPress. The software itself costs nothing, but you need your own hosting, a domain and usually a few paid plugins. In return you get almost unlimited flexibility and full ownership of your data and code.

• Setup cost: around 950–3000 EUR, depending on design and features.
• Recurring costs: hosting around 10–40 EUR/month, paid plugins around 100–400 EUR/year, plus maintenance.
• Pros: full control, a huge plugin ecosystem, easy content management (blog, SEO), and no monthly platform fee.
• Cons: you are responsible for security, updates and speed; you need at least minimal maintenance or a support agreement.

WooCommerce is the natural choice if you already plan content marketing and SEO and want the store to grow on your own terms over time. You can read more about WordPress builds in our web development section.

A custom build — when you need more

When your business logic does not fit standard platforms — for example, a complex product configurator, a large B2B catalogue with individual pricing, or deep integrations with production or warehouses — it is worth considering a custom build (for instance, based on modern frameworks like Next.js).

• Cost: typically from around 5000 EUR upwards, depending on scope.
• Pros: maximum speed, a unique experience, logic tailored precisely to your processes, and a strong technical SEO foundation.
• Cons: the largest upfront investment and a longer build time; it requires a reliable technical partner.

A platform is not a question of fashion but of fit: the best one is the platform that matches your catalogue size, process complexity and your team's technical skills.

A quick comparison

To make it clearer which route suits you, it helps to answer a few questions:

• How urgent is it? Need to launch within a week → Shopify. Can spend 4–8 weeks → WooCommerce or a custom build.
• How much control do you want? Want the code and data in your own hands → WooCommerce or a custom build. Happy for the platform to handle everything → Shopify.
• How complex is your catalogue? Up to a few hundred standard products → any platform. Thousands of items, variants, B2B pricing → WooCommerce or a custom build.
• What is your budget? Smallest start → Shopify. Mid-range with growth potential → WooCommerce. Largest, with unique logic → a custom build.

There is no single right answer — for most Lithuanian small-business stores starting out, the most practical balance of cost, flexibility and ownership is often WooCommerce, while for a quick idea test it is Shopify.

Essential integrations for Lithuania (payments, shipping, accounting, inventory)

An online store without local integrations is like a shop without a till. Here is what you actually need to connect for things to run smoothly:

1. Payments. Bank collection services (Paysera, Montonio, Kevin, Swedbank/SEB e-banking collections), card payments and, for international buyers, PayPal. It is worth calculating fees up front; for a quick orientation, our PayPal fee calculator helps.
2. Shipping. Courier and parcel-locker integrations — Omniva, LP Express, Venipak, DPD. Automatic label generation and tracking codes sent to the buyer save a lot of manual work.
3. Accounting. Generating invoices and passing them into your accounting system (e.g. Rivilė, Sąskaita.lt, Smart-Bill). This eliminates double data entry and errors.
4. Inventory. Stock synchronisation so you do not sell items you no longer have and your manager sees the real situation.

Most of these connections can be handled automatically — it is worth mapping the order, invoice and shipping flow before launch. There is more on this in our automation section.

The real annual cost of an online store

A common mistake is to look only at the one-off build price. In reality, an online store also has recurring costs. Below is an illustrative (2026) annual picture for a typical WooCommerce store:

• Domain: around 10–20 EUR/year.
• Hosting: around 120–480 EUR/year (quality, fast hosting pays for itself in conversions).
• Paid plugins / theme updates: around 100–400 EUR/year.
• Maintenance and security: around 300–1200 EUR/year (updates, backups, monitoring).
• Payment fees: a percentage of every sale (depends on the provider).

With Shopify, many of these items are bundled into the monthly subscription, so costs are more predictable but often higher in the long run. The key is to know your total cost of ownership (TCO) from the start, not just the headline figure.

Worked example (illustrative): say a typical WooCommerce store cost 1800 EUR for the one-off build. In the first year add a domain (~15 EUR), hosting (~240 EUR), plugins (~200 EUR) and maintenance (~600 EUR) — about 1055 EUR of recurring costs. So the first-year total is around 2855 EUR, and in later years only the recurring part remains. A comparable Shopify store without a maintenance fee may have a lower starting price, but a 70–110 EUR/month subscription adds ~840–1320 EUR per year — so over 2–3 years the numbers often even out or even flip. Treat all figures as illustrative and verify them against your own scope.

Common mistakes when launching an online store

The mistakes that cost sales tend to repeat themselves:

• Slow loading. Oversized images and heavy themes kill conversions, especially on mobile. Speed directly affects both sales and Google rankings.
• A complicated checkout. Too many steps or forced registration drives buyers away at the cart stage.
• A poor mobile experience. Most traffic comes from phones — if it is awkward there, you lose the majority.
• Forgotten legal requirements. Cookie consent, a privacy policy, return rules and public business details are mandatory, not optional.
• No marketing plan. A beautiful store with no traffic does not sell. More on that in the next section.

How an online store connects to email marketing and automation

Launching the store is only the beginning. Real profit often comes from repeat purchases and recovered carts, and here the indispensable tool is email marketing.

• Abandoned cart emails. An automatic reminder to a buyer who did not finish their order often recovers a share of lost sales.
• Welcome flow. A new subscriber or buyer automatically receives a series of emails with a discount or recommendations.
• Post-purchase. A review request, a cross-sell offer, loyalty nudges.

All of these flows can be connected to the store and left to run automatically. To gauge whether it pays off, our email marketing ROI calculator helps. And broader automation of orders, invoices and support is worth planning together with automation solutions.

How to budget your own project

The best way to move from a vague estimate to a concrete budget is to write down your needs: number of products, required integrations, number of languages and the level of design. Price ranges then become far clearer.

A practical step-by-step:

1. Define your goal. Validate an idea quickly (→ Shopify), grow long term with content (→ WooCommerce), or implement unique logic (→ a custom build).
2. List your must-have integrations. Payments, couriers, accounting, inventory — what is truly needed right now.
3. Account for recurring costs. Not just the start, but the annual upkeep.
4. Calculate your budget. The fastest way is to use our pricing configurator, which shows an indicative price based on your choices.

Want an exact quote and a recommendation on which platform fits your catalogue and budget? Estimate a preliminary price in the configurator or visit our web development section and let us talk — we will help you avoid costly mistakes before you ever go live.