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Guide

Launching an online shop: step by step

The path from decision to live operation — in the order that has proven effective in small businesses, including the points where projects typically get stuck.

Request assessment ↗Online shop
Quote on request6 to 12 weeksAs of 2026
In short

An online shop is launched by first naming the bottleneck, then defining a small scope, and only then implementing. The implementation itself takes 6 to 12 weeks; a project is almost never delayed by technology, but by missing content, access, and decisions.

01 — Getting started

Where to begin

  1. Name the bottleneck

    Not the most interesting thing, but what takes the most time. A week of tracking what repeats delivers a more realistic list than any workshop.

  2. Define a small scope

    One process, one measurable goal. What works gets expanded — what doesn't costs little.

  3. Survey the starting situation

    What content, data, and access is available. For an online shop, this is the factor that most strongly influences effort and timeline.

  4. Decide who is responsible

    For the implementation and for operations afterward. Without this definition, every system becomes outdated.

  5. Only then request proposals

    With a clear scope, proposals become comparable. Without it, you get numbers that have nothing to do with each other.

02 — Process

The steps in detail

  1. Product range and workflows

    How many products, which variants, how shipping and returns currently work.

  2. Choose platform

    Based on product range size, integration needs, and who will maintain the shop later.

  3. Setup

    Shop, payments, shipping, integration, legal texts.

  4. Test orders

    We process test orders — including returns, cancellations, and payment failures.

03 — Participation

What we need from you

  • A contact person who can make decisions — not just forward them.
  • Access to the affected systems, in time and not on launch day.
  • Real examples from daily business — the messier, the more useful for testing.
  • Two to four hours for coordination, distributed over the project duration.
  • An answer to the question of what success means. Without it, nothing can be assessed afterward.

04 — Bottlenecks

What typically causes delays

  • Content and deliveries. By far the most common cause of delay. Text, images, price lists, access credentials — what's missing blocks progress.
  • Decisions. When it's unclear who approves, the project waits. A named contact person with decision-making authority noticeably shortens the timeline.
  • Access to third-party systems. Getting access to inventory management, phone systems, or CRM regularly takes longer than the integration itself.
  • Endless review rounds. Two correction rounds are normal, five are a sign that the goal wasn't clear at the start.

05 — Questions

Frequently asked questions

Does our shop need to be accessible?

Yes, very likely. Online shops in consumer business are explicitly listed in the Austrian Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (Accessibility Act), which has been in effect since June 28, 2025. The exemption for micro-enterprises applies to services, not to product sales. Violations can be penalized with administrative fines up to 80,000 euros.

What about returns?

The cancellation policy and the technical process for returns are part of the legally compliant basic setup. How you handle returns in practice remains your decision — we implement what you define.

How many products are still manageable without expensive additional systems?

Up to a few hundred products, the standard features of common platforms are perfectly sufficient. Only with several thousand products with complex variants is it worth looking at specialized inventory management.

How does VAT work for EU shipping?

Above the threshold, tax is paid in the destination country, usually through the One-Stop-Shop procedure. The store must calculate tax rates correctly for each country — this is set up during setup and isn't a detail you patch afterward.

What does ongoing operation cost?

Platform fees, payment providers, hosting and maintenance are ongoing costs, even before the first order comes in. How much that is in each case depends on the chosen platform and the product range — we calculate this transparently in the quote so there are no surprises.

Shopify, WooCommerce or something else?

Shopify if you want to start quickly and can live with the ongoing fees. WooCommerce if you already run WordPress and have someone who does updates. With complex inventory management, it's worth looking at specialized systems. There's no answer that's right for everyone.

Can we migrate from an existing shop?

Yes, with transfer of products, customers and order history. Redirects from the old product URLs are important — without them you lose the visibility of the previous pages.

06 — Next

Related pages

Online shop by region

Next step

Send us a few sentences about your project.

We read every inquiry ourselves and respond personally. No sales team, no callback form into the void.

Send inquiry ↗ office@pipeline-solutions.at OR +43 681 207 64 203