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Creating an online shop: platform selection, costs and mid-market projects
Building an online shop in a mid-sized company context rarely means an off-the-shelf solution: ERP connections, individual pricing logic, B2B portals with customer-specific catalogues and international fulfilment frequently require adapted solutions based on Shopware, WooCommerce, Magento or a custom-developed platform. This page clarifies the decision framework.
Platform selection is the most important early strategic decision: it determines adaptability, operating costs and vendor lock-in for years. Shopware is often the most sensible choice for German-speaking mid-market projects with B2B requirements; WooCommerce for smaller shops with limited budget; headless architectures for maximum frontend flexibility with stable commerce backend logic.
Total cost of an online shop includes development, licensing, hosting, payment provider, ERP integration, SEO and ongoing maintenance. Development costs are often only 30–40% of total cost over three years; operations and ongoing development make up the rest.
Platform comparison: Shopware, WooCommerce, Magento and headless
Shopware 6 (PHP/Vue.js) is well-positioned for German-speaking mid-market projects: strong B2B features, active agency ecosystem, GDPR-compliant default configuration, moderate licensing model. Weakness: performance at very high catalogue volume and enterprise scaling requires tuning.
WooCommerce (WordPress) is the lowest-cost option for simpler setups; the plugin ecosystem is vast but plugin quality and security standards vary significantly. For critical B2B processes and high availability requirements, WooCommerce alone is often insufficient.
Headless commerce – separated frontend (Next.js, Nuxt) with commerce API backend (Shopware, Magento, BigCommerce) – enables maximum UX control and performance but roughly doubles development and operational complexity. Justified from the traffic level and customisation need that warrants the overhead.
ERP integration, payment logic and go-live planning
ERP integration is the most critical technical decision for most mid-market shops: order data, stock levels, prices and customer data must flow bidirectionally and consistently between shop and ERP. Missing or faulty ERP integration is the most common source of post-launch support effort.
Payment integration: common PSPs (Stripe, PayPal, Klarna, Mollie) are well-documented and quickly integrated. For B2B shops with invoice purchase, credit checks and credit limit management, specialised B2B payment solutions are required.
Go-live planning with migration strategy: SEO-relevant URL structures from the old site should be redirected via 301; Google Search Console and GA4 must be configured before launch; load testing under real order volumes before peak operations (seasonal) is a critical quality gate.
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