Ecommerce website development that doesn't lose orders
Ecommerce website development comes down to three things that have to work without you watching them: payments, shipping and stock. Looks matter. But a good-looking shop that charges the wrong shipping or sells a product you don't have costs you customers.
I'm Panagiotis Karampetsos, a developer in Heraklion, Crete. I build online shops on WooCommerce and custom shops on Next.js, and connect them to what the shop already uses: Viva Wallet, PayPal, ACS, Box Now.
WooCommerce or a custom shop?
The question that decides it: how special your needs are, and who will run the shop day to day.
| Criterion | WordPress shop (WooCommerce) | Custom shop (Next.js) |
|---|---|---|
| Fits when | You have a standard catalogue and want to run it with familiar tools | You have special rules for shipping, prices or subscriptions, or you want speed without compromises |
| Admin | The WordPress admin, which many people already know | An admin built around the way you work |
| Extensions | A plugin for almost everything. Every plugin is one more thing to update | Each feature is written for you, with no plugins clashing |
| Speed | Good when set up properly, worse with many plugins | Fast by design |
| Starting cost | Lower | Higher |
I don't have a favourite. If WooCommerce covers what you need, I'll tell you to go with it and keep the money for photos and ads.
Shops I've built
Mariwn's: a custom skincare shop
Mariwn's sells skincare across Greece and to 40+ countries (source: Mariwn's FAQ). It has been live since May 2026:
- A Next.js storefront on Medusa.
- Card payments through Viva Wallet, and PayPal.
- Shipping with ACS or Box Now inside Greece, and to Cyprus and abroad.
- Free shipping with a different threshold per zone: over €100 in Greece, over €150 to Cyprus and abroad (source: Mariwn's FAQ).
- Order and shipping emails through Brevo.
What I learned in practice, and why I test everything with a real charge before a shop opens:
- Box Now rejects the parcel if the mobile number isn't in one exact format. The customer sees nothing. The parcel just isn't created. The shop has to fix the format before it sends the order.
- The ACS API answers "OK" even when something went wrong. The error hides inside the response. If you don't check for it, you think a voucher was issued when it wasn't.
- The built-in browser of some apps can send the order completion twice. The result is a "ghost" €0 order next to the real one. It has to be recognised and cancelled, or the owner goes looking for a parcel that doesn't exist.
None of this shows in a demo. All of it shows in the first week a shop is open.
Subscriptions and online payments: MorfoFit
MorfoFitis a training platform with a monthly subscription. Payment through Viva Wallet, renewals and refunds the system handles on its own, and videos only members can watch. It isn't a classic shop, but it has the hardest part of one: money that comes in every month without anyone chasing it. Its iOS and Android app is on the app development page.
A WooCommerce shop in production
I also maintain a live WooCommerce cosmetics shop. The work there is different: nothing may break in a plugin update, and the products' SEO fields change through a bulk import, not one by one by hand.
All projects are in the portfolio.
What ecommerce website development includes
- Payments
Viva Wallet, PayPal or whatever your bank works with. Tested with a real charge before the shop opens - Shipping
ACS, Box Now, ELTA or the courier you use, with rates per zone and a free-shipping threshold - Stock
A product that runs out can't be sold. Variants (colour, size) keep their own stock - Invoices
For shops in Greece, a connection to the invoicing system that sends to myDATA, if you need one (see myDATA API integration). Which system is a decision for you and your accountant - Emails
Order confirmation, shipping and delivery emails, in your language and from your own domain - SEO
Category and product pages with unique titles, Product structured data and a sitemap - Analytics
Google Analytics 4 with purchases and revenue, so you know where orders come from - Admin
An admin for products, prices, offers and discount codes
What an online shop costs, and what pushes the price up
An online shop starts at €4,500 before VAT (€5,580 with 24% VAT). The final price depends on the points below, and anyone who quotes you before asking them will leave something out. These push the cost up:
- How many products and variants. Twenty products with no sizes and three hundred with colour and size are different jobs.
- Who uploads the products. If you have a file ready with codes, prices and photos, you save time and money.
- How many shipping methods and countries. Each courier is a separate connection with its own quirks.
- Connections to other systems. ERP, warehouse, invoicing.
- Languages. A shop in two languages needs every product written twice.
Tell me what you sell and how many products you have, and I send you a price range by email. Every price is before VAT, with the total written next to it. If you only need a simpler site, see web design in Greece; a landing page starts at €800.
Ecommerce development in Heraklion, across Greece and remotely
I'm based in Heraklion. If you're in the city, we meet before we start. If not, we work remotely, with written milestones and a live preview from the first week.
For my other services (websites, SEO, AI systems) see all services.
FAQ
How much does ecommerce website development cost?
An online shop starts at €4,500 before VAT (€5,580 with 24% VAT). The final price depends on the number of products and variants, the shipping methods, any connection to an ERP or invoicing system, and the languages. A WooCommerce shop with a standard catalogue costs less than a custom one with special rules. Send me two lines and I reply with a price range by email, before VAT, with the total written next to it.
WooCommerce or a custom shop: which should I choose?
WooCommerce if you have a standard catalogue and want an admin many people already know. Custom if you have special rules for shipping, prices or subscriptions, or if speed comes first. In our first conversation I tell you which one fits and why.
Does the shop connect to Viva Wallet, PayPal, ACS and Box Now?
Yes. Mariwn's runs on Viva Wallet, PayPal, ACS and Box Now in production. Every connection is tested with a real order before the shop opens.
What about invoices and myDATA in Greece?
Every sale in Greece needs a document that reaches myDATA. The shop can connect to the invoicing system you choose with your accountant, so the document is issued without typing. We settle this before launch, not after. Which system and which rules apply to your business is your accountant's call, not mine.
Can you fix the shop I already have instead of building a new one?
Often that's the right move. I start with an audit: where orders get lost, what is slow, what breaks on mobile. If the current shop holds up, we fix it. If not, I tell you why and what moving would cost.
Who owns the shop after handover?
You do. The domain, the payment and courier accounts and the code are in your name from the start. If you want to work with someone else tomorrow, you take everything with you.
Tell me about your shop.
Tell me what you sell, how many products you have and whether you already sell somewhere. Two or three lines are enough. I reply myself, within a day.
Or write directly to me@pkarampetsos.com