Sell Online With the Right E-commerce Solution

E-commerce Websites Without Unnecessary Complexity

If you want to sell products online, there are now more options than ever for creating an e-commerce website.

At Alacrify, we offer two approaches: we can help you create and launch a Shopify store, or for businesses with more specialist requirements, we can develop a custom e-commerce website using the Alacrify CMS.

For most new online shops, Shopify is the route we're likely to recommend.

It's an established e-commerce platform with the core technology required to manage products, orders and payments already in place. Rather than paying us to recreate functionality that already exists, your budget can be concentrated on getting your shop set up properly, adding your content and creating a website that represents your business.

Where Shopify doesn't provide the flexibility a project requires, we can talk to you about a custom solution.

Shopify Website Setup & Design

Shopify provides the e-commerce platform, but there's still plenty to do between opening a Shopify account and having a professional online shop that's ready for customers.

That's where Alacrify comes in.

We can help take a new Shopify store from its initial setup through to a finished website, configuring and adapting your chosen theme to create an online shop that reflects your business and branding.

Our Shopify setup service can include:

• Setting up and configuring your Shopify store
• Helping choose an appropriate Shopify theme
• Customising the theme around your branding
• Creating the main website structure and navigation
• Adding pages, text and imagery
• Uploading and organising products
• Migrating suitable content from an existing website
• Helping configure payment options
• Setting up delivery and other shop settings
• Connecting your existing or new domain name
• Testing the shop before launch
• Guidance and support throughout the process

Rather than handing you a Shopify account and leaving you to work everything out, we'll help you through the process from initial setup to launch.

Shopify E-commerce From £500 + VAT

Our standard charge for helping design, populate and set up a Shopify website starts from:

£500 + VAT

This is the cost of Alacrify's work and is separate from any charges made by Shopify.

You'll also need to pay Shopify's ongoing subscription and, depending on the design chosen, there may be a one-off or other charge for a premium Shopify theme. Free themes are also available and may be perfectly suitable for some projects.

Any additional Shopify apps or services you choose to use may have their own charges too.

We'll discuss what's required before starting so you have a clear idea of the likely costs.

Why We Often Recommend Shopify

We could build every online shop ourselves, but that isn't necessarily the best use of a client's budget.

For many small and medium-sized businesses, Shopify already provides the fundamental e-commerce tools required to sell online. It's designed specifically for e-commerce and provides an established platform for managing products, orders, customers and payments.

Using Shopify means we can concentrate on helping you with the areas where our experience adds the most value: design, structure, content, products, setup and getting the shop ready to launch.

It can also provide a considerably lower entry cost than commissioning a completely bespoke e-commerce system.

You still have Alacrify available to guide you through the setup and help turn the platform into a finished website for your business.

Moving an Existing Shop to Shopify

If you already sell online but your existing website is becoming difficult to manage or needs replacing, we can also help you move to Shopify.

Depending on your existing website and the amount of information involved, we can assist with migrating:

• Products and product information
• Product images
• Website pages and content
• Categories and collections
• Relevant existing website information

We'll first look at what you currently have and determine the most sensible way of moving it across.

A migration involving a small product catalogue will naturally be very different from one containing hundreds or thousands of products, so larger migrations would be quoted separately based on the work involved.

Your Domain, Payments & Getting Ready to Sell

There's more to launching an online shop than choosing how it looks.

We'll help with the practical setup too, including connecting your domain name, configuring the appropriate payment options and checking the main shop settings before launch.

If you're new to e-commerce, we'll explain what needs to be done and guide you through the different stages rather than expecting you to already understand how everything works.

Once the store is ready, we'll also show you how to manage the everyday parts of your Shopify website, such as products and orders.

The aim is to get you to the point where you're comfortable managing your new online shop yourself, while knowing you can still contact Alacrify when you need help.

Need Something More Bespoke?

Shopify is an excellent solution for many businesses, but it won't necessarily be the right choice for every project.

If your requirements go beyond what an off-the-shelf e-commerce platform can comfortably provide, Alacrify can develop a custom e-commerce solution around your business.

Our bespoke e-commerce websites are developed using the Alacrify Content Management System, giving us much greater control over how the website and its functionality work.

For online payment processing within our custom e-commerce projects, we typically integrate Stripe.

Custom e-commerce projects typically start from around £2,000–£3,000 + VAT, depending on the functionality required.

We'll only recommend this route where there's a genuine reason for developing something more bespoke.

Shopify or Custom E-commerce?

For most businesses approaching us about a new online shop, our starting point would be:

Can we achieve what you need with Shopify?

If the answer is yes, that's normally the solution we'll recommend.

It's likely to give you a lower initial development cost and an established platform specifically designed around selling online.

If your requirements involve specialist functionality, unusual workflows or something that Shopify can't reasonably accommodate, that's when we'll explore a custom website design and e-commerce solution.

You don't need to decide which route you need before contacting us. Tell us what you want your online shop to do and we'll help you work out the most appropriate approach.

Start Selling Online

Whether you're launching your first online shop, moving an existing e-commerce website to Shopify or have requirements that call for something more bespoke, Alacrify can help you get everything up and running.

Based in Dorchester, Dorset, we've been designing and developing websites since 1997 and can support you through the design, content, technical setup and launch of your e-commerce website.

Shopify setup and design from £500 + VAT
Plus Shopify subscription, theme and any applicable third-party costs.

Custom e-commerce websites from £2,000–£3,000 + VAT

Call us on 01305 595925 or email office@alacrify.co.uk to discuss your online shop.