E-Commerce Best Practices: Shopify vs Custom Development

The e-commerce platform decision matters more than you think

Choose the wrong platform and you're either paying for features you don't need or hitting limitations you can't overcome. Both cost money.

We've built e-commerce on Shopify, custom Next.js with Stripe, WooCommerce, and various other platforms. The right choice depends on specific business requirements, not industry trends or personal preferences.

When Shopify is the obvious answer

Shopify dominates for good reasons. For most e-commerce businesses, it's genuinely the best choice.

Shopify makes sense when:

You're selling physical products. Inventory management, shipping integrations, fulfilment workflows—Shopify has spent years perfecting these.

You need to launch quickly. Shopify stores can go live in days. Custom builds take weeks minimum.

You don't have technical resources. Non-technical teams can manage Shopify independently. Custom solutions require ongoing development support.

You want extensive app ecosystem. Need email marketing? Reviews? Upsells? There's a Shopify app for that. Quality varies, but availability is excellent.

Your product catalogue is straightforward. Standard SKUs with size/colour variants. Shopify handles this perfectly.

You're doing under £5M annually. At this scale, Shopify's transaction fees and platform costs are reasonable.

Real-world example:

We built a Shopify store for a UK outdoor gear retailer. 800 SKUs, multiple categories, variant products, international shipping. Live in 3 weeks, converting at 2.8% from day one.

Could we have built custom? Yes. Would it have taken 3 months and cost triple? Also yes. Shopify was objectively correct.

When custom development wins

Custom isn't better by default. It's better when your requirements don't fit standard platforms.

Custom makes sense when:

Complex business logic. Custom pricing rules, sophisticated product bundling, unique checkout flows—Shopify's flexibility has limits.

Digital products or subscriptions as primary business. Shopify handles these, but platforms purpose-built for digital/SaaS (like custom Next.js with Stripe) work better.

High transaction volume makes fees painful. At £5M+ revenue, Shopify's transaction fees (0.5-2% depending on plan) become expensive. Custom eliminates these.

Unique customer experience requirements. Shopify themes are flexible, but truly unique experiences require headless or custom builds.

Integration with complex existing systems. Custom builds integrate more naturally with bespoke ERP, POS, or inventory systems.

You have technical resources. Custom platforms require ongoing development. Without internal or contracted developers, they're unsustainable.

Real-world example:

We built a custom Next.js e-commerce platform for a B2B supplier with complex tiered pricing, approval workflows, and custom integrations with their ERP system. Shopify Plus could have handled pieces of this, but custom provided exact fit at lower long-term cost.

The headless commerce middle ground

Headless commerce separates frontend from backend. You get Shopify's backend with a custom frontend.

How it works:

Shopify (or another platform) manages products, inventory, orders, and checkout. Next.js (or similar) provides the customer-facing experience, pulling data via APIs.

Benefits:

Performance. Next.js frontend loads dramatically faster than standard Shopify themes.

Unique UX. Complete design freedom while retaining backend simplicity.

Multi-channel. Same backend powers website, mobile app, POS, etc.

Challenges:

Increased complexity. Two systems instead of one. More moving parts, more potential issues.

Higher cost. Custom frontend development plus Shopify subscription.

Developer dependency. Any frontend changes require development work.

When headless makes sense:

• •Brand experience is key differentiator
• •Performance requirements exceed what Shopify themes deliver
• •Multi-channel strategy (web, app, retail) from one backend
• •Budget exists for both custom development and platform fees

The checkout optimisation playbook

Platform choice matters. Checkout optimisation matters more.

Even a perfectly built store haemorrhages revenue with a bad checkout experience.

The brutal metrics:

Average checkout abandonment rate is 70%. For every 10 people who add to cart, 7 leave without buying.

Each additional form field reduces conversion 5-10%. Ask only what you absolutely need.

Loading delays of 1 second reduce conversion 7%. Checkout must be fast.

Checkout best practices:

Guest checkout is mandatory. Forcing account creation before purchase kills conversion. Let users buy first, create account after.

Progress indicators. Show users how many steps remain. Unknown length processes feel longer.

Autofill support. Ensure address and payment fields work with browser autofill. Manual entry on mobile is painful.

Multiple payment methods. Credit cards obviously, but also PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Different users have different preferences.

Trust signals at payment. SSL badges, security mentions, return policy links—reduce anxiety at the critical moment.

Error handling. Clear, specific error messages. "Card declined" is unhelpful. "Card declined - try different card or contact your bank" is better.

Mobile optimisation. Large tap targets, minimal typing, smooth flow. Test on real devices, not just browser DevTools.

The abandoned cart recovery system

70% abandon checkout. Some of those people can be recovered.

Email recovery:

Hour 1: "You left items in your cart. Complete your order now."

Hour 24: "Still thinking about it? Here's 10% off to complete your purchase."

Hour 72: "Your cart is about to expire. Last chance to claim your items."

SMS recovery:

For high-value carts (£100+), SMS has higher open rates than email. Send once, 3-4 hours after abandonment.

On-site recovery:

Exit-intent popups when users try to leave with items in cart. Offer help or incentive to stay.

Realistic recovery rates:

Well-executed cart recovery converts 8-15% of abandoned carts. On £500k annual revenue, that's £28k-53k recovered revenue.

The product page conversion elements

Checkout gets attention, but product pages are where purchase decisions happen.

Essential elements:

Clear product images. Multiple angles, zoom capability, lifestyle shots showing product in use.

Honest descriptions. Specific dimensions, materials, features. Ambiguity creates returns.

Prominent pricing. Don't make users hunt for the price. Show it clearly with any discounts highlighted.

Stock status. "In stock" builds confidence. "Only 3 left" creates urgency. "Out of stock with restock date" prevents abandonment.

Social proof. Reviews, ratings, "X people bought this" counters. Humans follow crowds.

Shipping information. Free shipping threshold? Estimated delivery date? Show this on product page, not just checkout.

Size/fit guides for apparel. Reduces returns and hesitation.

Advanced elements:

Related products/upsells. "Frequently bought together" and "You may also like" done well increase average order value.

Live chat availability. For considered purchases, ability to ask questions removes barriers.

Video demonstrations. Particularly effective for complex products or where seeing movement/scale helps.

The inventory and fulfilment reality

Beautiful store is useless if you can't fulfil orders efficiently.

Inventory management essentials:

Real-time stock tracking. Overselling creates customer service nightmares.

Low stock alerts. Proactive reordering prevents stockouts.

Multi-location support. If you have warehouse and retail locations, inventory should reflect both.

SKU organisation. Logical SKU system from day one. Fixing this later is painful.

Fulfilment considerations:

In-house vs. 3PL (Third-Party Logistics). In-house gives control, 3PL gives scale. Choose based on volume and complexity.

Shipping carrier integrations. Automatic label generation, rate calculation, tracking updates. Manual shipping is unsustainable at scale.

Returns management. Clear policy, easy process. Returns are inevitable—handle them gracefully.

The payment processing decision

Payment processing seems boring until you calculate the costs.

Shopify Payments vs. third-party:

Shopify Payments: No transaction fees (huge saving), competitive card rates, integrated experience.

Third-party (Stripe, PayPal, etc.): More flexibility, potentially better rates at high volume, but Shopify charges 0.5-2% transaction fee on top of payment processing fees.

For most Shopify stores, Shopify Payments is cheaper. Run the calculation with your specific numbers.

For custom builds:

Stripe is the standard. Excellent developer experience, comprehensive feature set, reasonable pricing (1.4% + 20p for UK cards).

The international expansion considerations

Selling internationally is easier than ever but requires planning.

Multi-currency support. Show prices in local currency. Conversion at checkout feels deceptive.

Shipping cost transparency. International shipping is expensive. Show accurate costs to prevent checkout abandonment.

Local payment methods. iDEAL in Netherlands, Klarna in Nordics, etc. Stripe supports most.

Tax and duty handling. Decide whether to collect VAT/duties at checkout or let customers pay on delivery. Upfront is better customer experience but more complexity.

Language considerations. If you're selling seriously in a market, translate your store. Google Translate is not enough.

The performance and SEO requirements

E-commerce SEO is competitive. Performance and technical SEO are differentiators.

Performance targets:

• •LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Under 2.5s
• •FID (First Input Delay): Under 100ms
• •CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Under 0.1

These aren't suggestions—Google uses them for ranking.

SEO essentials:

Unique product descriptions. Manufacturer descriptions are duplicate content. Write your own.

Image alt text. Describe products for both SEO and accessibility.

Schema markup. Product schema shows prices and reviews in search results.

URL structure. Descriptive URLs (/mens-waterproof-hiking-boots not /product-12345).

Site speed. Covered above, but worth repeating: faster sites rank better.

The analytics and optimisation framework

Launch isn't finished. It's when learning begins.

Essential tracking:

Google Analytics 4. Traffic sources, user behaviour, conversion paths.

Enhanced ecommerce tracking. Product impressions, add-to-cart, checkout steps, purchases. Shows where friction exists.

Heatmapping (Hotjar/Clarity). Visual understanding of what users click, how far they scroll.

A/B testing. Test checkout variations, product page layouts, pricing displays. Data beats opinions.

Key metrics to monitor:

• •Conversion rate (visitors to customers)
• •Average order value
• •Cart abandonment rate
• •Customer lifetime value
• •Return rate
• •Traffic source performance

Review weekly. Optimise monthly. Compound improvements over time.

The realistic costs breakdown

E-commerce costs vary enormously. Here's what to actually expect:

Shopify store setup:

• •Basic theme customisation: £2,000-5,000
• •Custom theme development: £8,000-20,000
• •Shopify Plus with custom build: £25,000-60,000+

Custom e-commerce platform:

• •Simple store (< 100 products): £20,000-40,000
• •Medium complexity (100-1000 products): £40,000-80,000
• •Complex B2B or marketplace: £80,000-150,000+

Ongoing costs:

• •Shopify: £29-2000/month (plan dependent)
• •Apps: £50-300/month average
• •Payment processing: 1.4-2.9% + fees per transaction
• •Hosting (custom): £50-200/month
• •Maintenance: £500-2000/month

When to hire e-commerce experts

Some scenarios need professional help:

Complex integrations. ERP, POS, warehouse management systems—integration matters more than platform.

Custom functionality. Product configurators, subscription boxes, marketplace features—build this right or suffer long-term.

Migration from existing platform. Moving stores without losing SEO or customer data requires expertise.

Scale challenges. Performance issues at high traffic, inventory management complexity—experienced developers solve these efficiently.

Conversion optimisation. If your store gets traffic but doesn't convert, specialists identify and fix specific issues.

The bottom line

E-commerce platform choice depends on business requirements, not trends.

Shopify works brilliantly for straightforward product sales. Custom development works when business logic demands it. Headless bridges the gap when brand experience matters.

But platform is only foundation. Checkout optimisation, product presentation, performance, and ongoing testing drive actual results.

Choose the right platform for your needs. Then execute relentlessly on conversion fundamentals.

That's how e-commerce businesses actually grow.

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Need help with your e-commerce project?

LogicLeap builds high-converting e-commerce experiences—whether that's custom Next.js development, Shopify customisation, or checkout optimisation on existing stores.

[Explore our BUILD services](/services#build) or [get in touch](/contact) to discuss your e-commerce needs.