Online store · Shopify or custom · Rock Hill, Charlotte, remote
Shopify setup and customization, or a custom build when the catalog needs it. Catalog, checkout, tax and shipping configured correctly; the email flows that produce repeat orders; tracking that shows revenue by product and channel; and a launch plan. From $8,500 for up to 40 products, four to six weeks, everything in your name.
What is included
Most stores launch with a theme and a catalog and stop there. The items in the second row are where the revenue comes from, and they are included.
Packages
Fixed prices, set in a one-page scope after one call. Most local businesses launching a store fit the middle option.
Option 1
From $1,800 · existing store · 2 weeks
For: a business that already has a Shopify, Square or Wix store that gets visitors and few orders, and does not want to start over.
Outcome: the revenue layer most stores skipped, installed on the store you have: email flows, reviews, purchase tracking, and the checkout and product-page fixes with the best return.
Cap: one store, one sales channel. Redesign or replatforming moves the project to Option 2.
Option 2
From $8,500 · up to 40 products · 4 to 6 weeks
For: a shop, spa, studio or small brand launching its first real store, or moving off Etsy or a marketplace to its own storefront.
Outcome: a store that takes orders correctly from day one, with tax, shipping and payments configured, and the email flows and tracking that turn first orders into repeat customers by month three.
Cap: 40 products and 6 content pages. Additional products $120 per 10; additional pages $350 each. Catalogs over 200 products are scoped separately with a bulk import.
Option 3
From $14,000 · scoped by feature · 6 to 10 weeks
For: products configured in ways Shopify variants cannot express, business customers with negotiated price lists, or a store that is one part of a larger application or a content-heavy site.
Outcome: an ordering flow built around how you actually sell, with the same payments, tax, tracking and email layer as a Shopify store, and a written architecture your next developer can read.
Cap and price set per feature in the scope. The Prepwell app's grocery ordering is a build of this kind.
Payment terms: 25% at kickoff, 25% when you approve the design, 50% at launch, by check or bank transfer; Custom store projects are paid against milestones. Care plans bill monthly after the included period and end with 30 days' notice. The Shopify account, domain, content and any custom code are yours on final payment.
Shopify or custom
Shopify handles payments, tax, fraud, PCI compliance and hosting for a monthly fee that is far cheaper than building and maintaining those pieces yourself. For a small business, that is the right trade almost every time, and I will say so even though a custom build would bill more.
A custom build makes sense in three cases: the product is configurable in ways Shopify variants cannot express, you sell to businesses with negotiated price lists, or the store is one part of a larger application. The Prepwell app's grocery ordering is that third case: a full ordering flow with payments and third-party integrations that no platform template covers. If your store is that kind of problem, I have built one.
In production
Beauty, skincare and wellness store for a Rock Hill esthetician with a loyal in-person clientele. Store and catalog, tracking on purchases and booking clicks, then search campaigns at $2 a day on the terms local customers type. First sale to recurring revenue in six months. The same marketing drives in-store bookings and purchases worth more than double the online sales, which is the point: for a local business, the store and the storefront should share one set of numbers.
Process
What you sell, to whom, at what margin, and how orders get fulfilled. Collection structure and product data template agreed. Fixed quote.
Theme or custom build, catalog loaded, checkout configured, policies written. Working store on a private link by the end of week three.
Email flows, reviews, tracking, feeds. You place test orders through every payment method and shipping option before anything is public.
Domain live, launch plan executed, written guide delivered. Revenue review at 90 days with the next two or three fixes.
Questions
Shopify for almost every small business. It handles payments, tax, shipping, fraud and PCI compliance for a monthly fee that is cheaper than building and maintaining those yourself. A custom build only makes sense when the catalog or pricing logic does not fit Shopify's model, for example configurable products, B2B price lists or a store that is one part of a larger application.
Shopify's Basic plan plus payment processing, an email tool once your list grows past the free tier, and any apps you choose. For most small stores that is well under $100 a month before processing fees. These are in your name and stated in the scope, not hidden in mine.
Yes, and that is usually where the value is for a local business. The store, the booking system and the marketing share one set of tracking, so a campaign that drives in-store appointments and one that drives online orders are measured side by side. Refined with Caroline is a spa doing exactly that.
You run it; it is built so you can. Adding products, changing prices and fulfilling orders are yours from day one, with a written guide. Ongoing marketing, email and campaign management is available as a separate monthly engagement.
Usually not. Most underperforming stores are missing the revenue layer, not the storefront: no email flows, no reviews, no tracking, a checkout that leaks. A store audit and fix engagement is scoped separately and often costs a fraction of a rebuild.
Describe the problem in a few lines. You get a reply within one business day, a clear read on fit, and a written scope within two business days if it makes sense to proceed.