Selling Online: A Beginner's Guide to E-commerce Platforms in Ireland

Plenty of small Irish businesses still can't take a sale online, while the big retailers sell to their customers every day. Often the reason is simple: setting up an online shop looks overwhelming. This guide breaks down the main options, so you can see which suits your business.

What do you need to sell online?

You need a platform that gives you a shop: product pages, a basket, checkout and payments. Platforms come in two types:

• Self-hosted: you install the software on your own web hosting. You have full control, but you're responsible for updates and security.
• Hosted (cloud-based): you pay a monthly subscription and the platform handles hosting, security and updates.

The main e-commerce platforms compared

Prices change often, so I've linked each platform's official pricing page rather than listing figures that go out of date. Remember to factor in transaction and payment-processing fees on each sale, not just the monthly plan.

WooCommerce

A free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a shop. It's very popular because it's flexible and there's a plugin for almost anything.

• Good for: businesses that already have WordPress, or need something unusual. It has a lot of plugins available to extend functionality.
• Watch out for: it's self-hosted, so you pay for hosting and someone needs to keep WordPress, the plugins and the server updated and secure. An out-of-date WooCommerce shop is a target for hackers, so budget for WordPress maintenance.
• Cost: the plugin is free; hosting, paid extensions and maintenance are not.

Shopify

A hosted platform built purely for selling, online and in person through its point-of-sale app.

• Good for: shops with lots of products, stock to manage and regular orders
• Watch out for: designing a whole website in Shopify can be fiddly, and many extra features come from paid apps that add up each month
• Cost: monthly plans, plus payment fees per sale (Shopify pricing)

Squarespace

A website builder with built-in commerce and attractive templates.

• Good for: boutiques, clothing, restaurants and smaller product ranges where looks matter
• Watch out for: templates suit some businesses better than others, and the lower plans charge an extra transaction fee on sales
• Cost: monthly plans with hosting included (Squarespace pricing)

Wix

A drag-and-drop website builder that also offers e-commerce.

• Good for: getting a simple shop online quickly, with a large app marketplace
• Watch out for: it's a website builder first and a shop second, and it's easy to end up with a site that looks like everyone else's
• Cost: you need one of the business plans to take payments (Wix plans)

Ecwid

A shopping cart you can embed into almost any existing website.

• Good for: adding a shop to a website that's already working well, without rebuilding it
• Watch out for: its stand-alone site option is limited, so it works best embedded in a proper website
• Cost: a free starter plan, with paid plans for more products and features (Ecwid pricing)

How to choose the right platform

Start by writing down what your business actually needs the shop to do. Then check each platform against these questions:

1. Features: can it do everything on your list, without workarounds?
2. Ease of use: how easy is it for you to add products and change prices?
3. Total cost: the monthly plan, plus transaction fees, payment fees and any paid apps
4. Growth: will it still suit you when you have three times as many products or orders?
5. Support: when something goes wrong, who do you call?

An example: a flower shop

Say you run a flower shop. The basics are straightforward: display bouquets, take payment, sell gift vouchers and track stock.

Then come the details that catch people out:

• Can you limit delivery to certain postcodes or towns?
• Can customers choose a delivery date and time slot?
• Can you pause orders over Christmas or when you're fully booked?

Some platforms handle these out of the box, some need a paid app, and some can't do them well at all. Check before you commit, because moving platforms later is painful. This is where it's worth talking to someone who has set up shops on several of them.

A mix of the two

You don't have to build your whole website on a shop platform. A popular option is a fast, custom coded website with a Shopify or Ecwid shop embedded in it. You get your own design and good SEO, while the platform handles products and payments securely. I cover this in more detail in custom coded websites vs page builders.

Once your shop is live

1. Make it easy to buy

A clear, fast, mobile-friendly shop sells more. Run through my website UX checklist and fix anything that gets in the way of checkout.

2. Get found on Google

Give every product a proper title, description and photos, and write category pages that describe what you sell. Add your products to your Google Business Profile too, so local customers see them on Search and Maps.

3. Use social media to drive sales

Use Facebook and Instagram to show off products and send people to your shop. Check whether your platform connects to Meta's shopping features, so you can tag products in your posts.

4. Advertise where it counts

For local retailers, Facebook and Instagram ads can be very cost-effective. Combine them with Google Ads for people already searching for what you sell.

5. Measure what's working

Use analytics to see where your visitors come from, which products sell and where people drop out of the checkout. Then fix the weakest step first.

Need help getting started?

Every platform has its trade-offs, and the right one depends on what you sell and how you work. I set up and design shops on Shopify, Squarespace, WooCommerce and custom sites. See my e-commerce website design service, or get in touch for a free consultation.