Launching an Online Store: The Complete Pre-Launch Checklist
Payments, shipping, taxes, policies and product pages all need to work on the first day. Use this checklist to launch your store with confidence.
3 min read · Evergreen guideSelf-Hosted vs Hosted Store Platforms: How to Choose Your E-commerce Foundation
Self-hosted platforms like WooCommerce give you control. Hosted platforms like Shopify handle the technical work for a monthly fee. Here’s how to decide.
Key takeaways
- Hosted platforms trade monthly fees for less technical responsibility.
- Self-hosted platforms give full ownership and flexibility, but need hosting, updates and security care.
- Compare the total cost over several years, including apps, plugins and transaction fees.
- Choose based on your team’s skills, catalogue complexity and growth plans, not on the platform’s popularity.
Two approaches
Hosted (software-as-a-service) platforms such as Shopify run your store on their servers. You pay a subscription, and they handle hosting, security, updates and uptime.
Self-hosted platforms such as WooCommerce, which runs on WordPress, are installed on hosting you control. The software is often free, but you or your agency are responsible for hosting, updates, backups and security.
Where hosted platforms shine
- Quick to start, with little technical knowledge needed.
- Hosting, security patches and scaling are handled for you.
- Large app ecosystems for common features.
- Predictable platform behaviour and support from the provider.
The trade-offs are recurring subscription costs, paid apps that add up, possible transaction fees depending on the payment gateway, and limits on how far you can customise checkout and data.
Where self-hosted platforms shine
- You own your code, data and hosting.
- Deep customisation of design, checkout, pricing rules and integrations.
- Content and commerce live in one system, which is useful for content-led brands.
- No platform commission on sales, beyond your payment gateway’s fees.
The trade-offs are responsibility for updates, security, backups and performance, plus the need for reliable hosting and someone who can maintain the site.
Compare the total cost of ownership
For a hosted platform, add up the subscription, paid apps, theme, any transaction fees and setup. For a self-hosted store, add up hosting, premium plugins, theme, setup and ongoing maintenance. Either can be cheaper depending on your catalogue and the features you need.
Questions that decide it
- Who will manage the store day to day, and how comfortable are they with technology?
- Do you need unusual features like B2B pricing, complex product options or deep integration with your accounting or ERP system?
- How important is owning and moving your data and code?
- Is your marketing content-heavy, such as blogs and guides, or product-led?
- What budget do you have for ongoing maintenance?
A practical rule of thumb
If you want to launch quickly with minimal technical involvement and a standard catalogue, a hosted platform is a sensible start. If you need flexibility, have content-led marketing, want to avoid platform commissions, or have a partner to maintain the site, self-hosted is often the stronger long-term base.
Whichever you choose, invest equally in product content, photography, shipping and customer service. Those matter more to customers than the platform underneath.
We build on both. Compare what is included in our E-commerce Store packages, or add maintenance for a self-hosted store.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move from one platform to another later?
Yes. Products, customers and orders can be migrated, and old URLs redirected. It takes careful planning, so choosing well at the start saves effort.
Is a self-hosted store less secure?
Not inherently. It is as secure as its hosting, updates and maintenance routine. Neglected self-hosted stores are at risk. Well-maintained ones are not.
