Ecommerce website development: a store written from scratch, owned by you
Ecommerce website development is writing an online store, with product management and checkout, so a business can sell on its own domain. ALTAI Digital does not build on a ready-made package or theme; the store is written from scratch in Next.js. The payment provider, marketplaces, couriers and accounting links are chosen in a discovery call. The domain, hosting and source code are registered in your name. The timeline depends on the scope and is confirmed in discovery.
Ecommerce website development is writing an online store, with product management and checkout, so a business can sell on its own domain. ALTAI Digital writes the store from scratch in Next.js. The product page, basket and checkout steps are coded around the way your business sells. The sections below describe what the work covers, which links can be made and the order in which it runs.
The starting point is a discovery call. It covers what you sell, how you manage your products and how an order is handled at present. Three things are chosen on that call: the scope, the payment provider and the systems the store will connect to. None of them is assumed in advance. One business sells only from its own site. Another also sells on marketplaces. The scope changes with that difference.
Four jobs run behind a store: managing products, taking payment, moving the order and invoicing. In the build, these jobs are connected to the store. Payment can go through Stripe or your bank's payment gateway. Stock and orders can be matched with marketplaces. A shipment can be registered with a courier, and the buyer can follow it with the tracking number. Order details pass to your invoicing software; the invoice is issued from your account. Order and stock data can also pass to accounting software or an ERP (enterprise resource planning software). Which of these is built depends on the scope.
The work does not end when the store goes live. The store is linked to Google Search Console, and to Google Business Profile too if you have a physical shop or pickup point. A first-month report covers visibility in search results (Search Console). The domain, hosting and source code are in your name, so the business itself owns the store. Order notifications on WhatsApp and automatic answers to product and delivery questions are optional layers. They are a separate decision and can be added after the store is built. ALTAI Digital works from Rotterdam and Istanbul.
What goes wrong today
- 01
The payment provider is an afterthought
The store is designed first and payment is considered last. Yet the payment flow shapes the basket and the checkout. For that reason the provider is chosen in the discovery call, before any code is written.
- 02
Stock is counted separately in every channel
If the same product is sold on your site and on a marketplace, two stock counts exist. One is updated by hand and the other falls behind. A main source of stock is chosen, and the direction of transfer and a conflict rule are written down.
- 03
Shipments and tracking numbers are keyed in by hand
After an order arrives, someone registers the parcel and passes the tracking number to the buyer. This takes time, and a hand-typed number can be mistyped. With a courier that has an API, the shipment record can be opened automatically. With one that does not, a bridge such as an export file is used.
- 04
Invoice details are keyed in by hand after the order
Each order has its own invoice, and the work piles up as orders grow. When an order completes, the order details pass to your invoicing software and the invoice is issued from your account. Ask your accountant which invoice you need to issue.
- 05
Nobody is sure who owns the store
Who holds the domain, the hosting and the source code is a question to answer at the start. With ALTAI Digital all three are in your name. Even if the store later moves to another team, the store's source code and the domain stay yours.
Scope of the build
A store written from scratch in Next.js
The store is not built on a ready-made package or a theme. It is written from scratch in Next.js. The product page, basket and checkout steps are coded around the way your business sells. The domain, hosting and source code are in your name, and the source code stays with you.
Product management
A management screen is written for adding, editing and withdrawing products. Product details and prices are managed from it; stock comes from whichever source is chosen as the main one. The screen takes its shape in discovery, from the way you manage your products now.
Checkout and payment provider
Payment can go through Stripe or your bank's payment gateway. Which provider is connected is chosen in the discovery call, before the checkout is written.
Marketplace link
Stock and orders can be matched with marketplaces. A main source of stock is chosen, and the direction of transfer and a conflict rule are written down. Which marketplaces are connected is agreed in discovery.
Courier link
With a courier that has an API, the shipment record can be opened automatically. With one that does not, a bridge such as an export file is used. The buyer can follow the parcel with the tracking number. Which couriers are connected is agreed in discovery.
Invoicing
When an order completes, the order details pass to your invoicing software and the invoice is issued from your account. Ask your accountant which invoice you need to issue. Which software is used is discussed in discovery.
Accounting and ERP transfer
Order and stock data can pass to your accounting software or ERP, which stays where it is. A failed transfer is put on a waiting list, you are told, and it is retried; every transfer is logged.
How the build runs
- 01
Discovery call
We talk through what you sell and how an order is handled at present. The scope, the payment provider and the systems to connect are chosen on this call..
- 02
Writing the store and product management
The store is written from scratch in Next.js. The product page, basket and checkout steps are coded, and the screen you will use to manage products is prepared.
- 03
Setting up payment and links
The chosen payment provider is connected. The marketplace, courier, invoicing and accounting links agreed in discovery are set up, and every transfer is logged.
- 04
Launch and Google links
The store goes live. The store is linked to Google Search Console, and to Google Business Profile too if you have a physical shop or pickup point. The domain and hosting are in your name.
- 05
First-month measurement report
A measurement report is prepared for the first month after launch. It records how visible the store is in search results (Search Console). The next decision is taken from that report.
Products used in this build
Web and mobile development
Code written from scratch: web with Next.js, mobile with React Native and Swift; the repository is yours from day one.
Integrations
Your existing systems get connected; data is not carried by hand and not kept in two places.
WhatsApp Business integration
Notifications, order tracking and customer conversations gather in the business account; the history stays with the company.
Terms used on this page
- Ecommerce website development
- Ecommerce website development is the writing of the store, product management and checkout that let a business sell on its own domain.
- Payment gateway
- A payment gateway is the service, offered by a bank or a payment provider, that takes card payments on a website.
- Stock matching
- Stock matching is a data transfer under a written rule that keeps one product's stock count close across the site and marketplaces.
- Source code
- Source code is the set of software files that describes how the store works and stays with the business after the build.
- First-month measurement report
- A first-month measurement report is the document that records search visibility (Search Console) during the first month after the store goes live.
ecommerce website developmentFrequently asked questions
The store is written from scratch in Next.js. It is not built on a ready-made package or a theme. Product management and the checkout are written around the way your business sells. The domain, hosting and source code are in your name.
Stripe or your bank's payment gateway can be connected. Which provider is connected is chosen in the discovery call.
Yes, it is one of the links that can be made in the build. Stock and orders can be matched with marketplaces. Which marketplaces are connected is agreed in discovery. A failed transfer is put on a waiting list, you are told, and it is retried.
With a courier that has an API, the shipment record can be opened automatically; otherwise an export file or similar bridge is used. Order details pass to your invoicing software; the invoice is issued from your account, and your accountant can confirm which invoice you need. Which couriers are connected is chosen in discovery.
You do. The domain, hosting and source code are registered in your name. If the store later moves to another team, the store's source code and the domain stay with you.
It depends on the scope. The number of payment providers, marketplaces, couriers and invoicing or accounting links decides the timeline. The timeline is given in the discovery call, once the scope is clear.
No. Your existing accounting software and ERP stay where they are. Which data goes in which direction is bound to a written rule at the start.
Yes, but it is a separate decision. ALTAI Digital also offers a solution that answers product and delivery questions and automates orders and returns. It is not a condition of the store build. An order notification on WhatsApp, using an approved template, can be added as well.
The process first, the proposal after
In a short discovery call we map the process together and tell you plainly whether it is worth automating. If it is not, we say that too.
30 minutes · no preparation needed
