ONLINE SHOP · MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION

A shop that’s easy to find and where you can shop with ease.

In an online shop, every second and every extra click has a direct impact on sales. We build an online shop that loads quickly, is easy to find via search engines and AI-powered search results — and one where customers can reach the checkout without getting lost along the way.

SHORT VERSION

If you’re only going to read this.

Here is the full offer in four points: what it costs, when the shop is open, what you get and what you don’t get. The rest of the page explains the reasoning behind these four points, and the final point is one that few sellers mention of their own accord.

PRICE

From €2,900 and €69 per month

The set-up fee covers development; the monthly fee covers the server, updates and support. There is no binding contract period and no separate maintenance invoice. The payment processor — Paytrail or a similar service that handles online banking and card payments — will invoice you directly for its own commission.

TIME

Work begins on the same day; the shop will be up and running in 4–5 weeks

You’ll see your own shop go live within eight working days. The shop won’t be published until test purchases have been successfully completed using every payment method.

AVAILABLE

My own shop, till and a hundred products all in one place

No pre-built shop templates or dozens of add-ons created by others. Payment methods, delivery options and collection points are all integrated and tested. Product information is in a machine-readable format, ensuring your shop also appears in Google product searches.

YOU MUST NOT

Product descriptions, images and no integrations

You provide the product descriptions and images. Uploading over a hundred products, product feeds from another system, and accounting and stock management integrations are priced separately. We’ll let you know the price before we start.

BEFORE YOU ORDER ANYTHING

Four things you should know about online shops

Even if you have someone else build your online shop.

01

Slowness is a direct deal-breaker for an online shop

On standard business websites, slow loading times are a nuisance. In an online shop, it costs you: every second drives customers away, and the impact is greatest on mobile devices. That’s why speed isn’t just a technical detail in an online shop – it’s part of your profit margin.

02

Product information must be in a machine-readable format

Price, availability, reviews and delivery times are part of machine-readable product data (structured data), not just the product description. Otherwise, the shop won’t appear in Google’s product search results, and the AI won’t be able to answer the question ‘where can I get this in Finland?’.

03

The extra-spiral design looks worse in the shop than it does on the website

In a WooCommerce shop (WordPress’s e-commerce component), every feature tempts you to install a new plugin – in other words, a ready-made add-on from another developer: delivery methods, discounts, reviews, filters. You can easily end up with 40 of them, and every update poses a risk to your checkout. We code the features into the shop ourselves.

04

It’s the checkout that seals the deal, not the homepage

Most abandoned shopping journeys end at the checkout: mandatory registration, unexpected delivery charges or a missing payment method. It’s best to design the checkout first and the homepage only afterwards.

WOOCOMMERCE OR SOMETHING ELSE

Platform comparisons are usually written by the platform itself.

When you’re looking for the best online shop platform, the vast majority of the top results are content produced by the platform provider or payment processor themselves. That doesn’t make them misleading, but they don’t tell you when it’s worth choosing something else. Here’s the missing piece.

01

A ready-made platform is better if you sell small quantities of simple products

If you have around ten products, no variations and the shop is a side business, a ready-made platform with a monthly fee is cheaper and quicker. In that case, setting up your own shop is an expensive solution to a problem you don’t have. We’ll tell you this over the phone, and we won’t pressure you into buying a shop.

02

WooCommerce is a good choice when the shop is part of the website

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, so your shop, content and search engine visibility are all in one place and managed from a single dashboard. If you already have a WordPress site or plan to create content, this is usually the deciding factor.

03

Ownership is decided when choosing a platform, not later

With a ready-made platform, the shop is essentially on a lease: the design, data and features are subject to the platform’s terms, and moving away from it is a project in its own right. A WooCommerce shop consists of files and a database that belong to you. It costs more initially but less when changes need to be made.

04

The price of the platform is not the retail price

WooCommerce is free, but a free platform does not mean a free shop. Costs arise from the design, plugins, hosting and labour. It is precisely the accumulation of plugins that turns a shop started on a shoestring into an expensive one within three years.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Same platform. Different shop.

 
BASTINET
STANDARD IMPLEMENTATION
Design and code
Created for this shop
A ready-made e-commerce platform with add-ons
Plugins created by others
Just payment processing and delivery
30–50
Product information
Ready for machine reading
A separate search engine plugin
Checkout
Designed first
The default template as it is
Mobile speed
Tested prior to publication
It is noted in retrospect
Risk of updates
A few sections to be updated
Every update could crash the till
If the supplier changes
The shop runs without us
It doesn’t work at all without add-ons

In the online shop, that final line-up is more expensive than on a standard website. If the checkout system crashes, sales come to a halt in an instant.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE MONTHLY FEE

Shop, server and support — all included in the price.

No separate maintenance bill and no surprises about who is responsible when the payment provider updates its own system.

Shop and checkout: The design is tailored to your shop and coded specifically for it. The checkout process is designed first, not last.
Payment methods: Finnish online banks, cards and payment by invoice via a payment service provider. The contract with the service provider will be in your name.
Delivery options: Collection points, home delivery and in-store collection. Prices based on weight or order total.
Machine-readable product data: Price, availability and delivery time in a machine-readable format, so that the shop also appears in Google product searches and AI-generated results.
Server in Finland: A server tailored to your shop’s needs, located in a data centre in Helsinki, with backups and a domain name included in the monthly fee.
The person you’ll speak to: If there’s a problem at checkout, you’ll be helped by the very same person who built the shop. No ticketing system.

BEFORE THE SHOP OPENS

You’ll have your own shop up and running in eight working days.

You don’t look at a picture of what the shop might look like. You’re given a link which you open on your phone: you browse the products, add them to your basket and proceed to the checkout. Any changes are made directly to the shop, not to a separate image file.

A real shop, not just a slideshow. The demo is a fully functional WooCommerce shop with its own web address. The same shop will be launched in due course, so you’re not evaluating a draft but the final product.
Checkout first, design second. The purchase journey from the product page to the thank-you page is built first. It is the most important part of the shop, and that is why it is also the first thing you see.
Testable on a mobile phone. As the majority of purchases are made on a mobile phone, the demo is tested on a mobile phone. If anything goes wrong there, it is fixed before the layout is discussed.
Test purchases prior to launch: Each payment method and delivery option is tested using a genuine order. The shop will only go live once these tests have been successfully completed.

This is what the finished shop looks like once published: Ballerina and Exercise — open it on your mobile and take the product to the checkout.

HOW IT’S DONE

Work begins on the same day.

We’re not having a meeting to discuss when to hold the kick-off meeting.

0 MIN

An order comes in

Add this directly to your to-do list. You’ll receive confirmation straight away and we’ll ring you back the same day.

SAMA PV

Let’s go through what you’re selling

The number of products, variations, delivery methods and payment methods. These factors determine whether it is a basic shop or a more extensive project.

8 PV

Checkout first

We’ll build the checkout flow from the product page to the thank-you page and test it on a mobile phone. Only then will we design the rest of the layout.

12 PV

Products

Products, images and prices for the shop. If there are a lot of products, they will be imported from a file — this is an additional service to be agreed separately.

Weeks 4–5

Test purchases and publication

Every payment method and delivery option is tested using a real order before launch. The shop is only opened once the test purchases have gone through successfully.

WHEN THE SHOP IS OPEN

The shop won’t be ready in time for the opening.

A website is finished when it goes live. An online shop is not: that is when the part where money changes hands begins – and where mistakes can be costly. This is something that most quotes fail to address at all.

Week 1

The first proper orders

The first orders reveal issues that test purchases do not: an unusual address format, a missing delivery country, or a customer ordering two different sizes of the same product. These are corrected as and when they arise.

CONTINUOUS

The checkout process is tracked

The till is the only part of the shop where any malfunction is directly reflected in turnover. Monitoring its functionality is included in the monthly fee, as is the maintenance of payment methods when the payment service provider updates its own system.

UPDATE

WooCommerce is being updated, but your shop won’t break

Updates are guaranteed in any case. As the functionality has been coded into the shop itself rather than relying on thirty add-ons, there are few parts that need updating and, consequently, few places where things can go wrong.

LATER

Only add items once you know what you need

Loyalty schemes, product filters and integrations should be developed once sufficient sales data has been collected — not at launch based on guesswork. That way, you’ll know which ones will actually pay for themselves.

PORTFOLIO

This is what the finished shop looks like.

E-commerce isn’t just about a single product; there are as many different scenarios as there are sellers. These three are at opposite ends of the spectrum: the first sells to consumers, the second only to registered business customers at its own prices, and the third sells products that do not exist until they are ordered.

Homepage of the ‘Ballerina and Exercise’ online shop: four product images side by side and a promotional headline.
Ballerina and Exercise: An online shop for dance and gymnastics clothing. Performance outfits, club orders and a loyalty scheme, all in one shop. A retail shop where the same product is available in a range of sizes and colours.
Elokuvakirjasto.fi online shop homepage: product categories on the left and a list of top films on the right.
Elokuvakirjasto.fi: DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K films for libraries and educational institutions, complete with screening rights. A shop for business customers where prices are only visible after logging in, and customers can view their own prices.
Sunglobe.net’s homepage: a dark blue feature image showing water bottles, a mug and a notebook, all printed with the logo.
Sunglobe: Corporate gifts, promotional products and promotional textiles featuring your company’s own logo. Products are ordered with custom printing, so the shop must ask for the logo and the area to be printed before the checkout — the product does not exist until it is ordered.

HOW MUCH DOES AN ONLINE SHOP ACTUALLY COST?

Development is just one of four stages.

People often ask about the cost of an online shop, and the answer usually consists of a single figure. This is misleading, as running a shop involves costs from four different areas. Here they are all, including the one that nobody ever includes in their quote.

KERTA

Website development, from €2,900

Customised design and code, checkout process, payment and delivery options, a hundred products already in place and product data in a machine-readable format. A one-off payment, with no renewal invoices every few years.

MONTH

Maintenance: €69 per month

Server in Finland, domain name, email accounts, backups, updates and support. This also includes maintenance of payment methods when the payment processor changes its own system.

PROVISIO

The payment processor’s commission on each order

This does not go through us: the agreement is made directly between you and the payment service provider, who will invoice you directly. The price consists of a monthly fee and an order-based commission, and it depends on the service provider and your sales volume. We’ll go through the figures over the phone once we know how much you’re selling. A sample calculation for a shop with 50 orders, running alongside Shopify, can be found in the article ‘WooCommerce or Shopify: online shop costs calculated for Finland’.

MY WORK

Product information, orders and customer service

This is the most underrated package. You provide the product descriptions and images, and once the shop is up and running, someone will handle the orders, pack the parcels and answer any queries. The shop isn’t ready when it opens — that’s when it really begins.

If any of these four items are not mentioned in the offer, it does not mean they are not included. It simply means they will be included at a later stage.

PRICE

A one-off payment for development. No binding contract.

An online shop is an ongoing service, not a one-off project: payment providers change their systems, WooCommerce is updated and the product range evolves. A monthly fee keeps the shop running without the need for a separate renewal invoice every few years.

The payment provider’s own commissions and monthly fees are invoiced to you directly by the service provider — they do not go through us.

€69 per month
VAT 0% · STARTING FROM €2,900 · NO FIXED CONTRACT TERM

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently asked questions.

How many products can the shop hold?

The set-up fee includes 100 products and their variants. The technical limit isn’t reached until you’re dealing with thousands, so the key factor is how many products need to be entered manually. If the products can be imported from an existing system, the quantity isn’t a problem — we’ll tell you exactly how much it will cost straight away over the phone.

Who handles the payment processing?

The contract is drawn up directly between you and the payment processor, meaning the money goes into your account rather than via us. We’ll integrate the service into your shop and test it. The service provider will invoice you directly for their commissions and monthly fees.

Can the shop be integrated with the accounting or stock management systems?

Oh. Integrations with accounting software and stock management systems involve custom coding and are priced separately, as every system is different. We’ll let you know the price before we start.

What if I already have an online shop?

First, we’ll assess whether it’s better to update your current site or build a new one. Products, order history and customer data can be transferred; we’ll let you know in advance what the transfer involves and how much it will cost.

Is the shop multilingual?

The basic shop is in one language. A second language is an add-on, which also affects the maintenance of product information — each product must be translated. We’ll let you know the price and the amount of work involved before you make a decision.

Who owns the shop if we end our partnership?

You. The shop’s code, database, domain name and payment gateway agreement are in your name, and the shop operates without us. You’ll receive the files and login details, and there’s no need to rebuild anything. The notice period is three months, and there is no binding contract term.

What if sales grow rapidly?

The server is scaled to suit the shop’s needs and can be expanded as required. The technical limit on the number of products is only reached in the thousands, so growth is generally not a technical issue but a labour issue: who will process the orders and pack the parcels? It’s worth discussing this before it becomes an issue.

Why does the online shop cost more than the website?

The shop contains features that aren’t on the website: the checkout process, payment methods, delivery options, tax zones, stock information and order notifications. Each of these needs to be integrated and tested using a real order. Furthermore, an error in the shop directly costs money, so more time is spent on testing.

Is it possible to start small and expand later?

Oh, and it’s often worth it. A basic shop with a hundred products is usually enough for the first year, and expansions can be made once sales data reveals what’s actually needed. The structure won’t hold you back later on, as the functions are coded into the shop itself rather than pieced together from add-ons.

Will the shop appear on Google straight away?

Google can crawl the product pages and the machine-readable product data has been in place since launch, so the technical foundation is sound. Improving rankings for competitive product search terms is a different matter — it’s part of the visibility package and doesn’t happen overnight.

What is the shop like from a technical point of view? Information for the IT manager

WordPress and WooCommerce, latest versions, with a bespoke block theme written for them. Only two plugins: payment processing (e.g. Paytrail) and delivery methods. Other functionality — checkout flow, order notifications, structured product data (JSON-LD Product and Offer), cookie consent and analytics — is implemented using the theme’s own code. The server is located in Finland, running PHP 8.2, HTTPS, with daily backups and server-side caching. Integrations for accounting, stock management and product feeds are built using WooCommerce’s own API and are priced separately. The shop is not locked to us: it runs on a standard WordPress installation. If you need a more detailed description or a security assessment, please call us — we’ll go through it with your technical lead.