Guide · 5 min read
Shopify or a normal website?
If you sell something, it’s easy to assume you need an online shop. Often you do, but sometimes a normal website with a booking form or a payment link does the job for far less.
By John Bell, freelance web and graphic designer in Birmingham ·
The quick way to decide
| If you… | You probably need |
|---|---|
| Sell physical products to the public and post them out | Shopify |
| Sell more than about 10 products, or have sizes and colours | Shopify |
| Sell services, appointments or one-off projects | A normal website |
| Want people to call, book or ask for a quote | A normal website |
| Sell a handful of products or vouchers | A normal website with payment links (start here, move to Shopify later) |
| Sell to trade customers on account | A trade website with registration, or a Shopify B2B set-up |
What Shopify is good at
- Product pages, stock, sizes and colours, all easy to manage yourself
- Secure checkout, card payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Delivery rates, discount codes, gift cards and order emails
- An app on your phone to see and fulfil orders
The trade-off is cost: Shopify charges a monthly fee (from around £25 on its Basic plan; check their current prices) plus card fees on each sale, and paid apps can add up.
What a normal website is good at
- Explaining what you do and why people should choose you
- Getting enquiries: calls, quote requests, bookings and WhatsApp messages
- Showing your work, reviews and prices
- Low running costs, often just hosting from £10 a month
What each costs with me
| From | Then each month | |
|---|---|---|
| Small website | £500 | Hosting from £10 |
| Medium website | £900 | Hosting from £10 |
| Small Shopify shop | £1,800 | Shopify’s fee and card fees |
| Shop refresh (existing Shopify) | £950 | No change |
Bigger stores with hundreds of products often have their own developer. For those, I design every page for the developer to build (from £900).
Start small, grow later
Many businesses start with a normal website and a few payment links, then move to Shopify once orders pick up. Your domain, branding and Google rankings come with you, so nothing is wasted.