Which is best to build an eCommerce website, a theme or coding?

[Hyakas_9]

Hi All,

I am planning to build a website where products are Bamboo and wooden kitchenware. I am curious to know when i build a website to sell online (eCommerce website) . Which one is better: using a ready-made theme or using a customized website with coding? for coding which coding language is best for security and features. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

 

[Shopclicks]

Which one is better: using a ready-made theme or using a customized website with coding?

If you're asking this question, I suspect you'll be scared off by the price of a bespoke website build.

All you need is Wordpress, a fast theme, Woocommerce and some stock. There are plenty of ways to keep a Wordpress site secure.

 

[antropy]

Which one is better: using a ready-made theme or using a customized website with coding?

Depends if you can code or not? But really if you're asking this question you're probably better off paying someone to build it for you and this is the main service we offer:

OpenCart Website Development

Sit back and relax, you can leave it to us to get your brand new ecommerce store up and running. With Antropy's help, setting up your OpenCart store is easy and cost-effective.

www.antropy.co.uk

Paul.

 

[fantheflames]

Hi @Hyakas_9 - welcome to UKBF! There's plenty of people on here, including myself, that can give you advice on this. Just as an example, I've worked with a client that was selling kitchens. The setup for them was WordPress, WooCommerce, and a theme that was designed for e-commerce. They also wanted to highlight their gallery, so they wanted a quality slider to feature their different images. If you don't have the experience coding, most themes and builders are easy enough to learn if you have the time.

 

[goivvy]

Get yourself a domain name and go with a ready made theme. You might want to minimize software related costs and invest all you have in marketing and promotion until you get a steady revenue stream.

 

[Kinjal Patel]

We had an ecommerce website that we built using magento (through a developer). We were able to do all the customisation that we needed but if I have to do it again then I will use a readymade theme without a doubt. Magento websites are costly to maintain and any customisation is time consuming. So I would suggest to go with a readymade theme.

 

[Will.Lu]

what products or services do you serve?

 

[fisicx]

what products or services do you serve?

I am planning to build a website where products are Bamboo and wooden kitchenware.

 

[boxlot]

Use Opencart and ready made template.

 

[Chris McCarron]

I agree that a theme is the way to go. Shopify is the easiest to use and has loads of integrations with marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.

What the means is that you can manage everything in the backend of your Shopify site.

 

[Viv1984]

We have used, magento - cost us too much for dev work. Opencart 8 years ago - got hacked. Shopify - works and customisable enough with enough developers around

 

[YasmeenLondon]

Hi All,

I am planning to build a website where products are Bamboo and wooden kitchenware. I am curious to know when i build a website to sell online (eCommerce website) . Which one is better: using a ready-made theme or using a customized website with coding? for coding which coding language is best for security and features. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

The success of your business is not dependent on whether your website is custom-coded or uses a template/theme, therefore I think the technical aspects of your website should be way down your list of priorities.

Personally, I would choose whatever option allows me to start selling ASAP, and the one that gives me the least headaches managing it going forward, i.e. WordPress or Shopify.

I prefer WordPress but that's just a personal preference, both frameworks are very powerful and allow you to validate your business concept at a fraction of the cost of a bespoke website. Once your needs outgrow WordPress/ Shopify, then can you invest in a bespoke solution.

 

[DontAsk]

Use Opencart and ready made template.

Or just use the built in theme. No need for any extras. Your site will look like a lot of other OC sites but it's the content that's important.

I would stick with OC3, avoid OC4 for at least another year.

 

[antropy]

We have used, magento - cost us too much for dev work.

True.

Opencart 8 years ago - got hacked.

OpenCart is very secure so you probably used a weak password.

Shopify - works and customisable enough with enough developers around

Perhaps customisable enough for you but it's not very customisable.

Paul.

 

[Szymon]

Hi,

It is a tricky question to answer as it depends on where are your primary/first sell channel . If you want to focus on selling on the internet, I will say to get a nice domain, set up an email so you are using one in the domain and then set up a nice website and store. The website has numerous possibilities, but I would look into Shopify/Opencart for the store as setting up the custom website(e.g. WordPress, Magento or similar) might be too costly.

If you want to start selling at the Farmers Market, I would invest in a proper website and wait with a store.

 

[PickandMix.com]

If you're just starting out, perhaps start with something easy-to-use like Shopify and once you're up and running, you will have a clearer idea of what you need your website to do. From there you can approach a bespoke website build and hopefully you will have enough analytics data to work out which pages need optimising.

That's what we did when we started and it was great because most functionality from our original website was ditched as users weren't interacting with it. We then went down the route of a bespoke website build to optimise the functionality once we knew what was working for us.

Bespoke builds can be pricey so I would recommend getting something small setup first and then invest heavily in the website once you have solid idea of what you need it to do.

Good luck!

 

[sdob]

I wouldn't care for a custom theme to start off with. But something of the shelf, learn how to sell. Once you're selling, you can look at improving.

These improvements can be in your theme, but are equally or more importantly in your product content, images, descriptions, reviews etc.

At some point you'll come across CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) - when you hit this territory I would look at the theme again.

 

[DoolallyTap]

My website is from EKM. In my pinion the templates are more professional than others, the system works well, is easy to use and not expensive.

 

[fisicx]

My website is from EKM. In my pinion the templates are more professional than others, the system works well, is easy to use and not expensive.

Surely that all depends on your definition of professional. In any case, templates can normally be customised on any e-commerce platform. Which means you can make them look as professional as you want.

 

[Swanksy]

Hi All,

I am planning to build a website where products are Bamboo and wooden kitchenware. I am curious to know when i build a website to sell online (eCommerce website) . Which one is better: using a ready-made theme or using a customized website with coding? for coding which coding language is best for security and features. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

It all depends on how complex the site is and how deep your knowledge is. In the past I’ve owned a beauty product website and paid for custom site developed in python, a few thousand pounds worth. All the content, design and product images etc done by myself.

The website I’ve just launched… Wordpress and woocommerce done with a developer from Pakistan. Less that £300. Again, artwork, photography and content by myself and enhancements ongoing.

 

[jeremielondon]

I believe Shopify is the best because scalable, easy to use and good user experience.

 

[fisicx]

I believe Shopify is the best because scalable, easy to use and good user experience.

Depends on your business. But I'd also argue that most eCommerce platforms are scalable, easy to use and good user experience. And most of them are a lot cheaper than Shopify.

 

[fisicx]

The website I’ve just launched… Wordpress and woocommerce done with a developer from Pakistan. Less that £300. Again, artwork, photography and content by myself and enhancements ongoing.

What did you get for £300 if you provided all the content? Wordpress and woo and many decent themes are free or cost next to nothing.

 

[jeremielondon]

Depends on your business. But I'd also argue that most eCommerce platforms are scalable, easy to use and good user experience. And most of them are a lot cheaper than Shopify.

True, most of the platform are cheaper than Shopify, but when you start, i recommand to invest a bit, £20 per month for the peace of mind. Which will then allow you to focus into business development instead of wasting time in tweaking plugins, updates, payment system etc...

 

[Swanksy]

What did you get for £300 if you provided all the content? Wordpress and woo and many decent themes are free or cost next to nothing.

Layout, design to my spec shipping, connection to ebay and SumUp, bug fixes and the most valuable thing of all… my time, as I work full time and the site is for my sideline.

 

[fisicx]

True, most of the platform are cheaper than Shopify, but when you start, i recommand to invest a bit, £20 per month for the peace of mind. Which will then allow you to focus into business development instead of wasting time in tweaking plugins, updates, payment system etc...

None of which is complicated. The set up processes are now so simple you can be up and running in an hour. Or you pay someone to do it for you for less than you pay each year for shopify. And with far more flexibility than you get with shopify.

If it works for you then that’s great but it’s by far the best solution for a standard e-commerce site.

 

[jeremielondon]

None of which is complicated. The set up processes are now so simple you can be up and running in an hour. Or you pay someone to do it for you for less than you pay each year for shopify. And with far more flexibility than you get with shopify.

If it works for you then that’s great but it’s by far the best solution for a standard e-commerce site.

it works beautifully for me with Shopify, very reliable and stable for the peace of Mind. Much better than all the hack you could try to do with wordpress and the time you ll spend to set it up.

Anyway, i won't convince you since it is obvious you are trying to sale your services and not really trying to put yourself in the shoes of a beginner.
Best,

 

[fisicx]

it works beautifully for me with Shopify, very reliable and stable for the peace of Mind. Much better than all the hack you could try to do with wordpress and the time you ll spend to set it up.

Like I said, if it works for you then that's great. But it's not the best. They just have very good marketing.

 

[greyster]

Hi All,

I am planning to build a website where products are Bamboo and wooden kitchenware. I am curious to know when i build a website to sell online (eCommerce website) . Which one is better: using a ready-made theme or using a customized website with coding? for coding which coding language is best for security and features. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

For my bamboo and wooden kitchenware website, I faced the same dilemma. I opted for a customized website using coding because it offers better security and flexibility. For coding, I recommend using PHP with a secure framework like Laravel or Symfony for robust security and features. While ready-made themes can be quicker and more cost-effective, custom solutions allow for tailored functionality and enhanced protection.

 

[DontAsk]

I opted for a customized website using coding because it offers better security

That is not a given, and rather depends on the skills of the coder.

 

[fisicx]

I opted for a customized website using coding because it offers better security and flexibility.

Not really sure that’s true. Pretty much all current platforms have decent security and flexibility. One could argue they are more flexible as developers world wide contribute themes, extensions and plugins. Far more than you would with a custom build. And security can be compromised in seconds even on a custom build if the hacker is determined enough.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

I opted for a customized website using coding

Can you clarify what you mean by this?

To have a bespoke e-commerce website written from scratch would cost tens of thousands of pounds!

You also seem confused by themes and the platform.

To write an ecommerce system from scratch makes no sense as there are so many options out there already!

 

[fantheflames]

You might want to consider starting with a ready-made theme, as it's quicker and more cost-effective to start with. WooCommerce is excellent!

If you’re new to coding, a theme will let you focus on setting up and running your business without getting bogged down by technical details. Once you’ve established your online presence and have a steady revenue stream, you can always invest in a custom-coded site to meet specific needs.

This way you can focus more on marketing your website. A ready-made theme will some tweaks will be much easier and cost-effective to set-up in most cases, that way you can spend more time and money into marketing your business.

 

[EddyW]

6 months ago, I built my self-hosted online store selling digital products with SucShop. I quit Wix and Shopify, because I may need to do some customization in the future. I don’t want to use WooCommerce or Prestashop, as they are too big and too slow.

 

[EddyW]

6 months ago, I built my self-hosted online store selling digital products with SucShop. I quit Wix and Shopify, because I may need to do some customization in the future. I don’t want to use WooCommerce or Prestashop, as they are too big and too slow.

My summary of 30+ solutions for building an online store

1 SaaS Platforms:
Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace Commerce, Wix eCommerce, Weebly/Square Online, Shift4Shop, Volusion, Ecwid by Lightspeed, Sellfy, Selz, Shopline, Shoplazza

2 Self-Hosted Platforms (need entry level code ability or using ChatGPT, hahaha....):
WooCommerce, OpenCart, Magento, PrestaShop, SucShop (lightweight), Shopware, Sylius, nopCommerce, Bagisto, Spree Commerce, Medusa.js, Reaction Commerce, Saleor, Odoo eCommerce, Drupal Commerce, VirtueMart, CS-Cart

3 Headless Commerce Solutions (Only for professional developers):
CommerceTools, Elastic Path, Fabric, Vue Storefront, Medusa.js, Saleor, Spree Commerce