It’s not unusual to create one yourself, if you’re self-employed and just starting out in eCommerce. And then after a year or more, once you've got decent traction and a strong customer-base, to invest in having a custom eCommerce website developed.
Depending on your level of technical skills, you may attempt this yourself. Or you might want a partner website development agency, with a specialism in eCommerce, to build one for you.
Custom vs. Off-the-shelf: What’s the Difference?
Before diving into the step by step guide for this, let’s look at what it means to have a custom eCommerce website developed?
A custom website is customised, or created from scratch, instead of being similar to what hundreds of other online stores could be using. This means it’s one-of-a-kind, with features and functionality that is unique to what you need. Unique to the needs of your customers, web visitors and products. Although you can get close to what you need, it's the same difference between off-the-shelf clothing (such as a suit) and one that has been uniquely tailor made.
Now let’s look at the steps you need to take to get a customised website developed.