Online Store Website Design
Before ordering an e-commerce website, there's one question that determines almost everything else, including the price: will your customers pay on the website, or just select products on the website and complete the order via WhatsApp? These two answers result in two very different types of websites.
What usually holds online stores back
Most small shops are already selling on marketplaces or through chat. The problem is not the lack of a place to sell. Buyers who want to see all products at once have to scroll through dozens of posts, then ask "ready?" one by one. A catalog organized by category, with photos, prices, and variants, cuts off half of those conversations before they start.
The second problem is dependence on a single channel. On marketplaces, fees, store appearance, and who sees your products are determined by others. Having your own website rarely replaces marketplaces, but it gives you one address that you own to put on packaging, greeting cards, ads, and social media bios, and it remains yours if the platform's rules change.
The third issue is that a full checkout sounds like a mandatory need, but there's daily work behind it. Stock on the website must always match what's in the warehouse, shipping costs must be calculated, payments must be matched, and all of that requires a database and someone to manage it. For shops that still receive only a dozen orders per day, the flow of selecting on the website and then confirming on WhatsApp is often faster to implement and cheaper to maintain.
What it can look like for online stores
KAWA Coffee is an example of a coffee roastery website in our portfolio. It contains several pages: a coffee catalog with detailed product pages, the story of the coffee bean's journey from the garden to the cup, a map of partner gardens, and a journal. What's most relevant to an online store is the catalog pattern and product pages: each product has its own address that can be sent to buyers via chat and found in search.
What you get
The content that is usually needed for an online store with orders via WhatsApp:
- Catalog by category with product photos, prices, variants such as size, color, or flavor, and stock information
- One page per product with its own address, so it can be sent via chat and found on Google
- Message button on each product that opens WhatsApp with the product name and variant already filled in
- Shipping information: city of origin, courier used, and estimated delivery time
- Payment methods and return policies, written clearly before buyers ask
- Link to your store on the marketplace for buyers who are more comfortable paying there
For a full checkout, the list is added: shopping cart, online payment via payment gateway such as Midtrans or Xendit, automatic stock reduction, and admin panel to process orders.
What we do not recommend at the beginning: building a full checkout before you know how many orders actually come in through the website. Start with a catalog, see the numbers for a few months, then upgrade if necessary. What has been paid is considered as a discount when upgrading the package.
Pricing for a online store website
Online store with a catalog and ordering via WhatsApp is included in the Business package, Rp 5.000.000: a product catalog that we directly arrange on the website, product photos on CDN so that they remain fast to open, blog, and AI chatbot for the first year. Domain .com, hosting, and SSL for the first year are already included, and the work takes 1 to 2 weeks. This package does not use a shopping cart and online payment, so there is no server or database that you need to maintain.
If buyers must be able to pay directly on the website, that falls under Enterprise, starting from Rp 15.000.000 for the application foundation with a database and two Basic Level features of your choice, such as a payment gateway and admin panel. A complete e-commerce with a shopping cart and checkout includes Advanced Level features that are calculated separately, and hosting and database in this package use an account in your name that is directly billed by the provider. The complete comparison is available on the package page.
If you are still weighing between your own website and a marketplace, we have written the calculation of Shopee and Tokopedia's cuts per order in the article example of online store website vs marketplace.
Questions we often get from online stores
- You're already selling on a marketplace. Do you still need an online store website?
Not necessarily. If almost all of your buyers come from marketplace searches and you're satisfied with that, a website isn't mandatory. A website is useful when you want a single address for packaging, bio, and ads, want old buyers to be able to order directly without platform fees, or want your store to be found on Google by its own name.
- My product prices and stock often change. How do I update them?
In the Business package, the catalog is set up directly on the website without an admin panel, so changes are done through requests. During the one-month support period, that's included; afterwards, it's considered additional work, and we'll provide an estimate first. If your products change every day and you want to change them yourself anytime, that's a sign you need an admin panel, which is available in the Enterprise package.
- Can I use payment gateways like Midtrans or Xendit?
Yes, in the Enterprise package, as one of the Basic Level features. The payment gateway account is registered under your business's name, so buyer payments go directly to your account, not through us. Registration usually requires identity and business documents, so prepare them in advance.
- Can shipping costs be calculated automatically?
Yes, but that's a connection to a third-party service and is included in the Enterprise package calculation. In stores with orders via WhatsApp, the most commonly used method is simpler: write down the courier and estimated tariff per region on the shipping page, and the exact shipping cost is confirmed when the buyer chats.
- What's the price of the online store website design service?
Online store with catalog and ordering via WhatsApp starting from Rp 5.000.000 (Business package), already includes .com domain, hosting, and SSL for the first year, with a completion time of 1 to 2 weeks since we receive the complete materials. If the buyer must pay directly on the website, it falls under Enterprise starting from Rp 15.000.000; complete cart and checkout are calculated separately, and the schedule is determined in the proposal. The material that takes the longest to gather is almost always product photos and price lists per variant.
Next step
Compare what each package includes side by side, or first read what to prepare before you order.
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