Guides
Create an Online Shop: Step by Step to Your Own Shop
To create an online shop that succeeds, your product range, shop system, legal set-up and marketing need to fit together from the start. The technology is quick to set up these days; planning is what determines success. In this guide, we show you step by step what matters, drawing on practical know-how from over 20 years of e-commerce.
Key points at a glance
- Check demand, competition and margin before you invest.
- Choose your shop system based on your product range and plans: WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Shopify.
- Offer the payment methods your customers expect in each country.
- Sort out legal texts, the right of withdrawal, VAT (OSS) and accessibility before launch.
- Plan your marketing from the start: SEO, Google Shopping, social media and AI visibility.
Contents
- Is your own online shop worth it?
- How do I check whether my product stands a chance?
- Where do I get my products from?
- Which shop system suits me?
- Which payment methods do I need?
- How do I organise shipping and returns?
- What are my legal obligations?
- How do I get visitors to my shop?
- How do I measure my shop’s success?
1. Is your own online shop worth it?
Your own online shop is worth it if you want to build your own brand and your own customer relationships in the long term. On marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay you reach many buyers quickly, but you pay fees and the customer data does not belong to you. Your own shop gives you full control over prices, design, data and marketing.
In practice, a combination often works best: your own shop is the centre, while marketplaces provide additional reach.
2. How do I check whether my product stands a chance?
Before launching, check three things: demand, competition and margin. A product that nobody searches for, or that leaves no profit margin, will not succeed even with the best shop.
- Demand: How often do people search for your product? Free tools include Google Trends and the Google Ads Keyword Planner.
- Competition: Who already sells the product, at what prices and with what service? Where can you stand out?
- Margin: Factor in all costs: purchasing, shipping, payment fees, returns, marketing and shop costs.
- Niche: Specialised product ranges find it easier than generalists to become visible on Google and in AI search engines.
3. Where do I get my products from?
There are four common sourcing models: your own production, wholesale, dropshipping and print-on-demand. Which one fits depends on your capital, storage space and the level of control you want.
| Model | How it works | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Own production | You make the products yourself. | Brands with unique products |
| Wholesale | You buy stock and store it yourself or with a service provider. | Retailers with capital and storage space |
| Dropshipping | The supplier ships directly to your customers; you hold no stock. | Starting with little capital, but lower margins |
| Print-on-demand | Products are only printed and shipped once an order is placed. | Textiles, posters, merchandise |
You can find reputable suppliers through trade fairs, industry associations and B2B platforms. Always order samples before you start working together.
4. Which shop system suits me?
For most retailers today, three systems are worth considering: WooCommerce, PrestaShop and Shopify. They differ mainly in how much control you want and how much of the technical side you want to handle yourself.
| WooCommerce | PrestaShop | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Extension for WordPress | Standalone open-source system | Cloud solution (SaaS) |
| Costs | No licence fee; costs for hosting and extensions | No licence fee; costs for hosting and modules | Monthly subscription plus transaction and app costs |
| Hosting | Own hosting required | Own hosting required | Included |
| Flexibility | Very high | High | Medium, extendable via apps |
| Technical effort | Medium | Medium to high | Low |
| Ideal for | Shop and content marketing in one system | Large product ranges and international sales | A quick start without technical effort |
What matters is not just the launch but also growth: make sure your system offers multilingual support, interfaces to inventory management and marketplaces, and good SEO features.
5. Which payment methods do I need?
Offer the payment methods your customers expect in each country. If their preferred payment method is missing, some customers will abandon the purchase.
- Widely used internationally: PayPal, credit card, Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Pay by invoice and instalments: for example via Klarna, especially popular in Germany and Austria
- Country-specific: for example iDEAL in the Netherlands or Bancontact in Belgium
- Bank transfer: as an addition, especially for business customers
Payment service providers such as Stripe, Mollie or PayPal bundle many payment methods into a single integration and handle the strong customer authentication that is mandatory for online payments in the EU.
6. How do I organise shipping and returns?
Shipping is part of the shopping experience: customers expect clear costs, fast delivery and easy returns.
- Compare carriers and use shipping software that creates labels automatically.
- Send automatic tracking emails so customers can see where their order is at any time.
- A free shipping threshold often increases the average order value.
- Plan for returns: clear return conditions build trust.
- As volume grows, a fulfilment provider that handles storage, shipping and returns pays off.
7. What are my legal obligations?
Anyone selling online to consumers in the EU must meet information, withdrawal and data protection obligations, among others. The most important points at a glance:
- Provider identification (legal notice): name, address, contact details, registration number and VAT ID
- Privacy policy and cookie consent: in line with the GDPR. Tracking and marketing cookies only with consent.
- Terms and conditions and withdrawal information: consumers in the EU generally have a 14-day right of withdrawal (Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU).
- Price information: final prices including VAT and clear disclosure of shipping costs
- Order button: clearly labelled, for example “Order with obligation to pay”
- VAT in other EU countries: once your annual sales to private customers in other EU countries exceed EUR 10,000, the VAT of the destination country applies. Via the EU OSS scheme, you report this centrally in your own country.
- Accessibility: the European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) has applied since 28 June 2025. Many online shops must be accessible; micro-enterprises are partly exempt.
Important
This section is for guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Have your legal texts drawn up and kept up to date by a lawyer or a specialised legal text service.
8. How do I get visitors to my shop?
A new shop does not get visitors on its own. Combine fast channels for the launch with sustainable channels for growth.
- Google Shopping and Google Ads: products with image and price directly in search results, visible immediately
- SEO: optimised category and product pages bring in free visitors over the long term.
- AI & GEO: structured product data and helpful content ensure that ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity recommend your products.
- Social media: Instagram, Facebook and TikTok for brands with visual products
- Email marketing: automatic emails for abandoned baskets and repeat purchases
- Marketplaces and affiliate marketing: additional reach, usually paid per sale
9. How do I measure my shop’s success?
You measure your shop’s success with e-commerce tracking from day one, for example with Google Analytics 4. Only then can you see which channels really sell. In the EU this requires visitors’ consent, for example via a cookie banner with Google Consent Mode.
| Metric | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Conversion rate | How many visitors buy |
| Average order value | How much a customer spends per order |
| Basket abandonment rate | How many customers abandon the purchase before completing it |
| Customer acquisition cost | What a new customer costs you |
| ROAS | How much revenue each euro of advertising budget generates |
Pre-launch checklist
- All products set up with descriptions, images, prices and variants
- Payment methods tested in test mode and with a real order
- Shipping costs and delivery times entered for all target countries
- Legal texts, cookie banner and order button checked
- Shop tested on smartphone, tablet and desktop
- E-commerce tracking and Google Search Console set up
- Product feed for Google Merchant Center created
Frequently asked questions about online shops
What is dropshipping and is it worth it?
With dropshipping, the supplier ships the goods directly to your customers. You need no warehouse and little start-up capital. In return, margins are usually lower and you have less control over delivery times and quality. Dropshipping is mainly worthwhile for testing new products or as an addition to your own product range.
Do I have to pay VAT in other EU countries?
Yes, as soon as your sales to private customers in other EU countries exceed EUR 10,000 per year. The VAT of the destination country then applies. Using the OSS scheme, you report and pay it centrally in your own country. Your shop system should be able to calculate the tax rates for each country automatically. Have the details checked by your tax adviser.
Does my online shop have to be accessible?
The European Accessibility Act has applied in the EU since 28 June 2025. Since then, many online shops that sell to consumers must be accessible. Micro-enterprises are partly exempt. Check what applies to your business. Key points include sufficient contrast, alt texts for images and a checkout that can be operated entirely by keyboard.
Shopify or WooCommerce: which is cheaper?
That depends on your shop. Shopify has a monthly subscription, but hosting and maintenance are included. WooCommerce is free but needs its own hosting, maintenance and often paid extensions. Calculated over several years, the two are often closer to each other than you might think.
How many products should I start with?
Better a small, well-presented range than lots of half-finished product pages. Start with your strongest products, test what sells and then expand your range in a targeted way. Good photos, complete descriptions and genuine reviews sell more than a large selection without details.
Can I also sell internationally with my shop?
Yes. For this you need translated content, suitable payment methods and shipping rules for each country, as well as the correct VAT. Modern shop systems such as WooCommerce, PrestaShop and Shopify support multiple languages and currencies. Ideally, start with one or two neighbouring countries, gain experience and then expand step by step.
Would you rather not build your shop on your own?
We build your online shop with WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Shopify, including marketing.