Web shop development in Vienna: an online shop with Shopify or WooCommerce, ready to sell

Shopify or WooCommerce: which system suits me?

Both systems are proven. The decision depends less on the technology than on your range, budget and day-to-day routine:

• Shopify: hosted, quick to launch, with maintenance and security handled by the provider. In return there are monthly fees and, depending on the plan and payment method, transaction fees, and some extensions cost extra. Good for small to medium ranges that need to go online quickly and without in-house technical know-how.
• WooCommerce (WordPress): flexible, on your own hosting, with no platform fee per sale and full control over data and features. In return, hosting, updates and security need looking after. Good if you want content, blog and shop in one system or have special requirements, such as tiered prices, B2B features or interfaces.

Typical questions that help us decide: How many products and variants do you have? Do you sell to consumers, businesses or both? Do you need several languages or currencies? Who will look after the shop later? Providers’ current fees change, so we calculate them in detail for your situation in our conversation. You will find a more detailed comparison in the article Online shop with Shopify or WooCommerce.

What does a web shop cost in Vienna?

All prices are “from” prices, excl. 20 % VAT.

The final price depends on the number of products and variants, the quality of the data for import, the number of payment and shipping methods, the interfaces you want (for example merchandise management) and languages. Ongoing third-party costs are not included in the price: the Shopify plan or hosting, domain, payment provider fees and paid extensions. We state these in advance so that you know the total annual cost. Photos and videos can be booked separately, see below. You will find the overall overview under pricing.

How long does it take to build a web shop?

This depends mainly on how quickly product data, images and texts are available. As a rough guide: a small shop with standard features is often ready to launch within a few weeks, while a larger shop with interfaces and several languages usually takes considerably longer. We state the realistic schedule in the quote.

The biggest delays rarely occur on our side, but at these points:

• Product data is incomplete or in an inconsistent format
• Product images are missing or still have to be photographed
• Legal texts such as terms and conditions and withdrawal information have not yet been reviewed
• Payment providers require an identity and company check, which can take a few days

If you have a launch date, such as a season or promotion, tell us in the initial consultation. We then plan backwards from that date.

What do I need to provide for the shop?

The better the preparation, the faster and cheaper the shop will be. We need from you:

• Product data: name, description, price, variants (size, colour), weight, article number, ideally as a spreadsheet (Excel or CSV)
• Images: existing product photos or a photo shoot with us
• Company details: registered company name, address, VAT number (UID), trade licence, contact details for the legal notice
• Shipping and payment: desired shipping methods, shipping costs, countries of delivery and payment methods
• Legal texts: your own terms and conditions, if you have them, otherwise a draft by a legal adviser or a legal-text service
• Logo and colours: if you have them, otherwise we develop them with our graphic design

If your data is not yet clean, we help with preparing it. This is effort that we show openly in the quote.

How do products, categories and filters get into the shop?

For more than a handful of products, we import the data via CSV or an interface instead of typing it in one by one. This saves time and prevents typing errors. We then check samples and variants.

For categories and filters, the structure should be built the way your customers search, not the way your warehouse sorts things. Together with you, we define main categories, subcategories and filters (for example price, size, brand, material). Fewer, clear levels are usually better than many nested ones. Every category gets its own page with an introductory text, which is also an SEO landing page.

For a range with a very large number of variants, tiered prices or customer price lists (common in B2B), WooCommerce or a higher Shopify plan may make sense. We clarify this when choosing the system.

Which payment methods and shipping options are possible?

Depending on the system and payment provider, the following are among the options: credit card, PayPal, Klarna, EPS bank transfer, Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as purchase on invoice. Which methods are actually available depends on the chosen system, the payment provider and its review of your business. Every payment method has fees that you should factor in. For Austrian customers, EPS is usually worthwhile because it is familiar.

For shipping, we set up shipping zones, shipping costs (flat-rate, by weight or free above a certain order value) and shipping methods. Connecting to providers such as Austrian Post or DHL is common, by extension depending on the system. On request, there is in-store collection, which is often attractive for Viennese retailers with a physical shop.

Before launch, we test the entire journey with test orders: basket, payment, confirmation email, shipping label, invoice.

Which legal points apply to web shops in Austria?

We implement the technical requirements. The legal review of your texts is carried out by a legal adviser. These points typically belong to a web shop:

• Legal notice and information requirements: company details under the E-Commerce Act (E-Commerce-Gesetz) and the Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung)
• Terms and conditions: general terms and conditions (AGB), easy to find and available before the contract is concluded
• Withdrawal and right of withdrawal (Rücktrittsrecht): in distance selling, consumers generally have a 14-day right of withdrawal, with instructions and a model form. There are exceptions for certain goods.
• Button solution (Button-Lösung): the order button must clearly indicate that the order involves an obligation to pay, for example “order with obligation to pay” or “buy”
• Price information: prices for consumers including VAT, transparent shipping costs and, for certain goods, the unit price (for example per kilogram or litre)
• Data protection: privacy policy, cookie banner with genuine consent for tracking, data processing agreements with service providers
• VAT on EU sales: special rules (OSS) apply when selling to private customers in other EU countries. Please clarify this with your tax adviser.
• Packaging: anyone who ships goods in packaging has obligations in Austria under the Packaging Ordinance (Verpackungsverordnung), including licensing. Please seek advice on this.

This is practical guidance and does not replace legal advice. Our part: we integrate pages, checkboxes, button labels, price display (incl. VAT, unit price) and cookie banner so that the requirements are implemented technically.

How will my shop be found on Google?

A shop gets found when its product and category pages are well built. We lay the foundations from the start:

• Product pages: your own texts instead of manufacturer texts, clear headings, variants, delivery time, reviews if available
• Structured data: Product schema with price, availability and reviews, so that search engines and AI systems understand your products
• Category pages: with an introduction and the questions buyers really ask
• Google Merchant Center and product feed: a prerequisite for your products to be able to appear in Google Shopping, for free and in ads
• Loading time: compressed images, lean extensions, good Core Web Vitals scores

Once the shop is running, Google Ads with Shopping ads can bring visitors to products in a targeted way. You pay the ad budget directly to Google. We give no guarantees for rankings or revenue, but a clean foundation makes both measurably easier to plan. You can read more about images and SEO in the article Product photography for online shops.

Do I need professional product photos and videos?

In most cases, yes, because in an online shop the customer cannot pick up the product. Images replace a look at the shelf. Consistent photos with the same lighting, angle and background make a shop trustworthy and reduce queries and often also returns.

We offer both in the same look as your shop: product photography (white-background cut-outs, lifestyle, details) and short product videos for the product page, social media and ads. For shops with many items, we plan the shoot as a series so that the price per image stays low. You can read more about how the two work together in the article Product photography and SEO.

How do I get more orders from my shop?

Visitors buy when the path to the order is short, clear and trustworthy. We pay attention to:

• Checkout: few steps, guest checkout possible, common payment methods, total costs visible early
• Trust: delivery time, returns, contact and payment methods visible, genuine images
• Mobile: a large share of orders often comes from smartphones, which is why we design for mobile first
• Abandoned baskets: reminder emails to customers who have given their consent can win orders back
• Measurement: tracking with consent, so that you can see where visitors drop off

We do not promise specific increases in revenue, but these points are the most common levers.

Which mistakes often happen, and what happens after launch?

Common mistakes:

• System chosen on gut feeling, without considering follow-on costs and growth
• Manufacturer texts and images used without adaptation, which build little trust and bring no ranking
• Legal texts copied from the internet and never reviewed
• Too many extensions, which make the shop slow and insecure
• No tracking, so nobody knows what works
• No plan for updates, backups and support after launch

After launch: a shop needs care. With shop care from €79 per month (excl. VAT), we take care of updates, security, backups, small changes and checks of the most important functions. For larger tasks such as new categories or campaigns, we prepare a separate quote. If you are not yet sure, first use the website check to see where your existing site stands, or take a look at our references.