Getting a webshop built: the checklist suppliers don't always mention

A webshop quote that looks good can contain hidden costs and limitations that only become visible after delivery — not necessarily through bad intent, but because suppliers and clients often talk past each other about what a "complete" webshop actually includes.

What belongs in a webshop as standard?

Ask your supplier explicitly about: SSL certificate and HTTPS, mobile-friendly responsive design, GDPR-compliant cookie banner and privacy policy, connection with at least one payment provider, product pages with SEO fields, inventory management, order confirmation emails, and a returns process. If any of these are "later" or missing from the quote, ask why.

Hosting and management: the recurring costs

Many quotes are one-off. The recurring costs — hosting, domain, SSL renewal, plugin licences, security updates — only become visible later. Always ask for total annual ownership costs, not just the build price.

Speed and technical debt

A cheap webshop built on a heavy template can become dramatically slow with a product catalogue of 500+ items. Ask how the webshop performs at scale: load time at 200 simultaneous visitors, page size, and whether Core Web Vitals have been measured.

Ownership of code and data

You want to own your own code, database, and customer base. Make sure the agreement explicitly states this. Locked-in platforms you cannot export or migrate are a risk that grows as your business scales.

What Qovre delivers as standard

For every webshop we build, the above points are standard parts of the delivery. You sign for a complete system, not a bare foundation.