Ecommerce web design

Ecommerce web design that fits your store, not a template

Most online stores are a template with the colors changed. That works until your business does something the template was not built for. We build custom stores from scratch, in Shopify or Stripe, to match exactly what you sell and how you sell it.

We are based in Folsom and build for businesses across the Sacramento region and remote clients nationwide. There are two good ways to build a store, and they cost very different amounts to run. We tell you which one you need before you spend a dollar, then build a free working preview so you can see it first.

Get my free store previewSee how pricing works
  • Custom Shopify and Stripe builds
  • You run the store, you own the code
  • Loads in under 2 seconds
  • Free preview before you pay
  • Sacramento region and nationwide
Platforms
Shopify for catalogs, Stripe for lean stores
Who runs it
You do, after we train you
What you own
The code, the design, and the accounts
Support
Included in your care plan
Serving
Sacramento region and remote nationwide

Start here

What is ecommerce web design?

Ecommerce web design is the work of designing and building a website that can take payments and sell products or services online. A good ecommerce site does much more than look nice. It loads fast, works one-handed on a phone, guides people cleanly from product to purchase, and follows your real rules for shipping, pickup, and who is allowed to buy.

The part most people underestimate is that last stretch: the checkout. A store can have beautiful product photos and still lose most of its sales in the final three clicks, because the form is slow, the shipping options are confusing, or the site asks for a shipping address on something that can only be picked up. Ecommerce design is really about removing every reason a ready buyer might change their mind.

What separates a store that sells from one that just exists

  • SpeedA store that takes five seconds to load loses buyers at every step. Fast pages are the single biggest lever on ecommerce sales.
  • A checkout built for phonesMost people will buy from you one-handed on a phone. If checkout is awkward there, the rest of the site does not matter.
  • Product pages that answer questionsClear photos, honest descriptions, sizing, shipping, and returns, so nobody has to email you before they buy.
  • Trust signalsSecure payment, real contact information, and reviews where you have them. People do not enter a card on a site that feels shaky.
  • Rules that match your businessLocal-only delivery, pickup, eligibility limits, or bookings. The checkout should follow how you actually operate.

Our approach

Two ways to build a store. Most shops only sell one.

Walk into almost any web design company and the answer is the same: Shopify. Sometimes that is right. Sometimes it saddles a tiny store with a monthly bill it never needed. Here is how we decide, and it comes down to how much store you actually need.

Which build fits your business

Shopify buildStripe build
Best forReal catalogs: many products, variants, and regular ordersOne product, or a few, that rarely change
Product countDozens to thousandsOne to a handful
Monthly platform feeShopify charges its own subscription, about $39 a monthNone. Stripe takes a cut per sale and nothing else
Who manages productsYou, in the Shopify dashboard we train you onUsually us, on your care plan, since it rarely changes
Inventory trackingBuilt in and automaticNot needed at this scale
Good exampleA cookie business with sets, custom orders, and classesA lab selling a single $749 test with eligibility rules

Card processing costs about the same either way, roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents per sale. The real difference is the monthly subscription, which Stripe does not charge. Platform prices change, so we confirm current rates when we quote.

The landscape

Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, or custom?

If you have researched this at all, you have hit a wall of platform names. Here is an honest, plain-language comparison, including the trade-off each one asks you to accept. There is no single best platform. There is a best one for your store.

Common ways to build an online store

PlatformBest forThe trade-off
ShopifyReal catalogs that need reliable inventory and ordersA monthly subscription, and a theme that limits speed and design unless it is built headless
WooCommerceWordPress users who want controlNo platform fee, but you manage hosting, plugins, and security, and it slows down as plugins pile up
Wix or SquarespaceVery simple stores built by the ownerEasy to start, hard to scale, slower pages, and you are renting the platform forever
BigCommerceLarger catalogs with complex rulesPowerful but more than most small businesses need, with a matching price
Stripe checkoutOne product or a few that rarely changeNot a full catalog tool, so it is the wrong pick once you have real inventory
Custom headless buildBusinesses that outgrew a template or need it fastMore to build upfront, which is why it should be matched to real need, not sold to everyone

We build the last three: custom headless Shopify, custom Stripe, and full custom front ends. We do not resell Wix or Squarespace, because the whole point of hiring a developer is to not be stuck inside a builder.

The reason most local shops only offer Shopify themes is that a theme is fast to ship and easy to repeat. It is a fine product. It is just not the only answer, and it is the wrong answer for a store that is either very small or genuinely complicated. We build from your business first and pick the platform second.

Path one

Custom Shopify builds for real catalogs

When you have a lot of products, or products that change often, you need a real store engine behind the site. That is what Shopify is good at, so we let it do that job in the background.

We build these as headless stores. Shopify runs the products, inventory, and payments behind the scenes, while the part your customers see is hand-built in Next.js. You get Shopify's reliable store engine without being stuck inside a Shopify theme, so the site is faster and can look and work however your business needs. This is the difference between a store that merely runs on Shopify and one that is built around your business and happens to use Shopify for the heavy lifting.

You run the store, not us

This is the part that matters most and the part most people worry about. You should not have to email your web designer every time you add a product or change a price. So we do not build it that way.

  • We build the store and load your first productsThe catalog, the categories, the checkout, and the design are done and tested before launch.
  • We show you the ropes of the dashboardWe walk you through the Shopify admin so you can add products, update prices, manage stock, and read your orders without needing us.
  • You run the day-to-dayFrom launch on, the store is yours to manage. Adding a product is a five-minute job you do yourself, not an invoice.
  • We stay on call through your care planWhen you hit something you are unsure about, you ask us. Answering those questions is part of the care plan that comes with every site, so you are never stuck.

Shopify in practice

Rose & Sugar: one brand, four ways to buy

Rose & Sugar, Folsom

A cookie business a standard theme could not hold

Rose & Sugar is a custom cookie business in Folsom run by Megan. On paper it sells cookies. In practice it runs four different kinds of sale at once, which is exactly the situation a plain Shopify theme handles badly.

The challenge

There are signature cookie sets you order off the shelf. There are fully custom orders that need a conversation before anyone can set a price. There are decorating classes held in different towns on different dates. And there is a digital recipe download that should arrive the second someone pays.

On top of that, California cottage food law means the cookies cannot be legally shipped. Every path to checkout had to guide people toward pickup or local delivery instead of asking for a shipping address.

What we built

  • Four buying paths on one siteReady-to-order sets, a custom order request, class bookings by date and town, and an instant digital download. Each behaves the way that product needs to.
  • A headless Shopify engineShopify tracks products, orders, and payments in the background while the storefront is built for speed and for the brand.
  • Pickup-first checkoutThe flow is built around cottage food rules, so no one reaches the last step and learns their order cannot ship.
  • A dashboard Megan runs herselfShe adds seasonal sets and manages orders from the Shopify admin we trained her on, and asks us when she wants to do something new.

The goal was not a prettier cookie store. It was to stop forcing a real business to squeeze itself into software built for a simpler one.

Visit roseandsugar.com

Path two

Custom Stripe builds for lean stores

If you sell one product, or only a few that rarely change, a full Shopify store is more than you need. You would be paying a monthly subscription to manage a catalog you do not have.

For these, we build checkout directly with Stripe. Stripe handles the payment securely and takes its cut per sale, with no monthly platform fee on top. For a small store, that quietly saves you around $468 a year compared with keeping Shopify running. It is the same money, just not spent on software you would barely touch.

Building it this way also means the buying flow is completely ours to shape. That matters when the sale is not a simple add-to-cart, which is more common than you would think.

When the sale needs rules before the payment

  • Screening before checkoutWhen not every visitor should be allowed to buy, the qualifying questions go before the payment step, not in an email afterward.
  • High-value single productsFor an expensive product, the page has to earn trust and answer questions before the buyer ever reaches Stripe.
  • Physical kits and fulfillmentAn order is not always done at checkout. If something ships out and comes back, the flow accounts for that.
  • Deposits, bookings, and one-off paymentsSometimes you are collecting a deposit or a single custom payment, not selling a product off a shelf. Stripe handles that cleanly.

Stripe in practice

Yenos Analytical: selling one product the careful way

Yenos Analytical, El Dorado Hills

One $749 product, and not everyone should buy it

Yenos Analytical, founded by Dr. Anastassia Kanavarioti, sells a single laboratory test directly to consumers for $749. We are a web design company, so we will stay in our lane: we make no claims about the science. What we can talk about is why this was hard to sell online.

The challenge

Almost nothing about this fits a normal store. There is one product, so a full catalog platform makes no sense. The price is high enough that nobody buys on impulse. And the most important part: not everyone is supposed to buy it. The test has eligibility conditions, and letting the wrong person pay $749 for something they should not order is a real failure, not a small one.

What we built

  • A Stripe checkout, no Shopify subscriptionOne product did not need a catalog engine or a monthly platform fee. Stripe handles the payment cleanly and nothing more.
  • Eligibility screening before paymentThe qualifying questions sit in front of checkout. Someone who does not meet the criteria finds out before entering a card, not after.
  • A page built to explain, not to pushFor a purchase like this, the job of the copy is to inform clearly and let the reader decide. That shaped the whole page.
  • A clean handoff to resultsResults are delivered through a separate secure portal. The site's job is to get the customer there without confusion.

A one-product store sounds simple. Doing it responsibly, with the right person reaching checkout and the wrong person stopped early, is the hard part, and it is the part we built.

Visit yenosanalytical.com

Every store

What comes with every store we build

Whichever path fits you, the foundations are the same. These are not upgrades. A store without them loses sales.

Checkout that works on a phone

Most people will buy from you one-handed on a phone. The whole flow is built and tested for that first.

Loads in under 2 seconds

A slow store loses buyers at every step. Ours are hand-built in Next.js and deployed on Vercel for speed.

Product and store SEO

Product pages, categories, and schema built so your items can show up in search, not just sit behind a login.

Secure payments

Payments run through Shopify or Stripe, both trusted processors, with SSL and security handled for you.

Pickup, delivery, and shipping rules

The checkout follows your real rules, including local-only cases like cottage food where shipping is not allowed.

Training and a care plan

We show you how to run your store, and your care plan keeps it fast, safe, updated, and supported after launch.

Who we build for

Ecommerce stores we build most

Different products sell in different ways. A bakery, a supplement brand, and a furniture maker each need the checkout to behave differently. Here is how the build changes by what you sell.

Food and bakery

Bakeries, makers, and cottage food

Custom orders, pickup and local delivery, and cottage food rules that keep shipping off the table. Often a mix of ready-made and made-to-order, which a plain theme handles poorly.

Health and supplements

Supplements, wellness, and single-product brands

Often one hero product that needs a page built to explain and build trust, sometimes with eligibility rules before checkout. A frequent fit for a lean Stripe build.

Retail and apparel

Shops, apparel, and product catalogs

Real inventory with sizes, colors, and variants. This is classic Shopify territory, built headless so the store is fast and on-brand.

Makers and crafts

Furniture, art, and handmade goods

Fewer, higher-value items where photography and shipping cost matter, and where a custom quote request often sits beside the buy button.

Services and bookings

Classes, events, and appointments

Selling a time or a seat rather than a thing on a shelf, with availability and location handled inside your own site instead of a third-party page.

B2B

Wholesale and B2B ordering

Account-based pricing, reorders, and larger quantities, where the store is a tool for existing customers as much as a shopfront for new ones.

Pricing

How much does ecommerce web design cost?

Ecommerce projects are quoted individually, because a one-product Stripe store and a full headless Shopify catalog are very different amounts of work. But you should not have to guess at what drives the number, so here it is in the open.

What drives the build cost

  • How many products you have, and how many variants each one needs
  • Whether the sale is a simple add-to-cart or a custom flow with rules and screening
  • How much copywriting and product setup you need from us versus handle yourself
  • Any connections to other tools, like shipping, inventory, or a CRM
  • Whether we are building fresh or moving an existing store across

What it costs to run, after launch

Ongoing ecommerce costs, explained

CostRoughly how muchWho it goes to
Card processingAbout 2.9% plus 30 cents per saleYour payment processor (Shopify Payments or Stripe)
Platform subscriptionAbout $39 a month on Shopify, or nothing on a Stripe buildShopify, on a Shopify build only
Your care planPart of your monthly plan with usEDC, for hosting, updates, security, and support
Domain nameAbout $15 to $20 a yearYour registrar, in your name

Platform and processing rates change, so we confirm current numbers when we quote. Your exact build price comes with your free preview, before you have paid anything.

The build

How a store gets built

You are busy running a business. Here is how much of your time this takes and when.

  1. Step 1

    We figure out which build you need

    You tell us what you sell and how often it changes. We recommend Shopify or Stripe honestly, and explain why, before any money changes hands.

  2. Step 2

    Free store preview

    We build a working preview of your store on a live link you can open on your phone. You have paid nothing at this point. If it is not right, we part ways and you keep the feedback.

  3. Step 3

    The full build

    Product setup, checkout, custom flows, copy, and any integrations. You watch progress on a staging link the whole way, not just at the end.

  4. Step 4

    Training and launch

    We walk you through your dashboard, deploy the store, connect your domain, and set up analytics so you can see your sales from day one.

Buyer's guide

How to choose an ecommerce web design company

Whether or not you hire us, these are the questions worth asking any ecommerce web designer before you sign anything. The answers tell you a lot.

  1. Do you own the store when it is finished?You should own the code, the design, and the Shopify or Stripe accounts. If the answer is fuzzy, ask what happens when you want to leave.
  2. Will I be able to run it myself?Adding a product should be a five-minute job you do, not an invoice. Ask whether they train you on the dashboard.
  3. What platform will you use, and why that one?If the answer is always the same platform regardless of your business, they are selling what they have, not what you need.
  4. What will it actually cost to run each month?Get processing fees, any platform subscription, and their support fee all named. Surprises here are common.
  5. How fast will it load?Store speed drives sales directly. Ask for a real answer, not a shrug.
  6. Can I see it before I fully commit?Some shops will build a real preview first. Most will show you a slide deck. One tells you far more than the other.

Already selling online?

Moving an existing store without losing what works

If you already have a store that is slow, dated, or hard to manage, you do not have to start from zero. We audit your current store and search rankings first, move your products and content across, and set up redirects so the pages you already rank for keep their place. Rebuilding without that step is how stores lose their search traffic overnight, so we plan it in from the start.

Local ecommerce

Ecommerce web design in Sacramento and El Dorado County

We are based in Folsom and build stores for businesses across the Sacramento region, as well as remote clients who need something more custom than a template.

Most ecommerce work offered around Sacramento means installing a Shopify theme and changing the colors. That is a fine service, and for some stores it is genuinely enough. But it is the only thing most local shops sell, so it is the answer you get whether or not it fits your business.

We start from your business instead of from a platform. Sometimes that leads to a headless Shopify catalog. Sometimes it leads to a lean Stripe store with no monthly platform fee. Either way, you own the result and you are not renting a template forever. Being local also means we can meet in person, which still matters when you are handing someone the keys to how you take money.

Not sure which path fits your store?

Tell us what you sell and how often it changes. We will tell you honestly whether you need a Shopify catalog or a lean Stripe store, quote it, and build a free working preview so you can see it before you decide anything.

Get an honest answer and a free preview

No pitch, no deposit. Just a straight recommendation and a real store to look at.

Get my free store previewSee pricing
Q+ACommon questions

Ecommerce web design: common questions

Straight answers to common questions about ecommerce web design and development.

What is ecommerce web design?

Ecommerce web design is designing and building a website that can take payments and sell products or services online. A good ecommerce site loads fast, works one-handed on a phone, guides people cleanly from product to purchase, and follows your real rules for shipping, pickup, and who is allowed to buy. The checkout is where most stores quietly lose sales, so that is where good design earns its keep.

Should I use Shopify or Stripe for my store?

It comes down to how many products you sell and how often they change. If you have a real catalog with many products, variants, and regular orders, Shopify is worth its monthly fee because it handles all of that for you. If you sell one product or just a few that rarely change, a Stripe store does the job without a monthly subscription, which saves you around $468 a year. We tell you which one fits before you spend anything.

How much does ecommerce web design cost?

Ecommerce projects are quoted individually, because a one-product Stripe store and a full headless Shopify catalog are very different amounts of work. The build price depends on how many products you have, whether the checkout needs custom rules, how much product setup and copy you need from us, and any connections to other tools. You get an exact number with your free preview, before you pay anything, and our standard packages and monthly care are published on the pricing page.

What are the ongoing costs of running an online store?

Three or four things, and we are upfront about all of them. Card processing, roughly 2.9% plus 30 cents per sale on either platform. Shopify's own subscription, about $39 a month, if you are on a Shopify build, or nothing extra on a Stripe build. Your care plan with us, which covers hosting, updates, security, and support. And your domain, about $15 to $20 a year. Platform and processing rates change, so we confirm current numbers when we quote.

Which ecommerce platform is best?

There is no single best platform, only the best one for your store. Shopify is strong for real catalogs. A custom Stripe checkout is better for one product or a few. WooCommerce gives control but asks you to manage hosting and plugins. Wix and Squarespace are easy to start but hard to scale and slower. We build custom headless Shopify, custom Stripe, and full custom front ends, and we pick based on your business rather than defaulting to one answer.

Do I have to manage the store myself, or do you?

For a Shopify catalog, you run the day-to-day. We build the store, load your first products, and train you on the Shopify dashboard so adding a product or changing a price takes five minutes and no invoice. When you are unsure about something, you ask us, and answering those questions is part of your care plan. For a small Stripe store that rarely changes, we usually just handle updates for you on the care plan.

Do I own my store?

Yes. You own the code and the design, and your Shopify or Stripe account is in your name, not ours. There is nothing held back. If you ever move on, you keep the store and the accounts and take them with you.

What is a headless Shopify store, and why does it matter?

Headless means Shopify runs the products, inventory, and payments in the background, while the part customers see is built from scratch instead of using a Shopify theme. You get Shopify's reliable store engine without a theme limiting your speed or design. In plain terms, the store is faster and can look and work exactly how your business needs, while still being easy for you to manage.

Can you build a store that sells products, bookings, and downloads together?

Yes. That mix is exactly why we build custom rather than using a stock theme. We have built a single site that sells ready-made products, takes custom order requests, books classes by date and location, and delivers a digital download instantly. Each path behaves the way that product needs to, on one store.

Can you handle a store where not everyone should be allowed to buy?

Yes. When a purchase has eligibility rules, we put the qualifying questions before checkout rather than after. The right buyer moves smoothly to payment, and someone who does not qualify finds out before they have entered a card. That is far better for everyone than a refund and an apology later.

Can you rebuild my existing store without losing my products or rankings?

Usually, yes. We audit your current store and search rankings first, move your products and content across, and set up redirects so the pages you already rank for keep their place. Rebuilding without that step is how stores lose their search traffic overnight, so we plan it in from the start.

How long does it take to build an online store?

It depends on the size of the catalog and how custom the checkout is. A lean Stripe store moves quickly. A full headless Shopify catalog with custom flows takes longer. Either way, your free preview is ready within a few business days, so you see real work in the first week and get a firm schedule before you commit.

Do you build stores for businesses outside Sacramento?

Yes. Local stores are a big part of what we do, but ecommerce is one of the areas where location matters least. Several of our store builds serve customers nationwide. If the project is a good fit, we are happy to work remotely.

Is my online store secure?

Yes. Payments run through Shopify or Stripe, both major, trusted processors, so sensitive card details are handled by them, not stored on your site. Every store ships with SSL encryption, and security monitoring and updates are part of your care plan.

Keep exploring

Related services

Multi-page websitesA full site with a page for every service and area, for businesses that need to rank as well as sell.Website redesignsRebuild a slow or dated store without losing the products and rankings you already have.Web apps and admin dashboardsCustom tools, portals, and internal systems when a store alone is not enough.Hosting and maintenanceThe care plan that keeps your store fast, secure, updated, and supported after launch.

Service areas

Ecommerce help, close to home

Sacramento, CAEcommerce and custom web design across the greater Sacramento market.Folsom, CAOur home base. Web design and online stores for Folsom businesses.El Dorado Hills, CAWeb design, payments, and custom builds for El Dorado Hills businesses.

Ecommerce web design

See your store before you spend a dollar

Tell us what you sell. We will recommend Shopify or Stripe, quote it, and build a free working preview of your store on a live link. If it is not right, you owe us nothing.

Get my free store previewSee our work

Ecommerce web design for Sacramento, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Roseville, and El Dorado County, plus remote clients nationwide.