E-commerce MVP: Custom Build vs. Shopify vs. WooCommerce

The platform decision is the most expensive choice you'll make in e-commerce. Pick wrong and you'll rebuild in 18 months. Pick right and you'll scale without the migration nightmare.

Most founders default to Shopify because it's the safe choice. Sometimes that's correct. Often it's not. The decision depends on three factors: how custom your business model is, whether you need platform control, and your realistic growth trajectory. Generic advice like "Shopify is great for beginners" doesn't help you make this call.

This guide provides a decision framework based on building e-commerce products across all three approaches. We'll cover when each makes sense, when each fails, and how to know which category your product falls into.

The Three Paths: What You're Actually Choosing

Before comparing features, understand what each path really means for your business.

Shopify is a hosted platform. You don't own the infrastructure, you don't control the checkout, and you're limited to their app ecosystem for extensions. You pay monthly fees plus transaction fees, and you accept their constraints. In exchange, you get a battle-tested system that handles scaling, security, and compliance without engineering effort.

WooCommerce is open-source software that turns WordPress into an e-commerce store. You own the code and can modify anything, but you're responsible for hosting, security, performance, and updates. You have unlimited flexibility but also unlimited ways to break things.

Custom build means building e-commerce from scratch using a modern stack. With Next.js, Convex, and Stripe, you own everything. You design the data model, build the checkout flow, and control every pixel. You can do things impossible on platforms. You also build and maintain everything platforms give you for free.

Each choice has hidden costs that don't appear until you're committed.

The Decision Framework: Three Questions

Question 1: How Custom Is Your Business Model?

Standard retail selling products at fixed prices fits platforms perfectly. The further you deviate from standard retail, the more friction you'll encounter.

Platform-friendly models:

• Traditional retail: Fixed prices, standard cart, simple shipping
• Basic subscriptions: Monthly boxes, replenishment products
• Digital products: Downloads, courses, single-purchase access
• Simple marketplace: Basic multi-vendor with standard commission

Models that strain platforms:

• Complex pricing: Bulk pricing tiers, contract pricing, quote-based sales
• Custom products: Built-to-order items, dynamic configuration
• Hybrid models: Subscriptions with add-ons, credits systems, usage-based
• B2B with approvals: Purchase orders, approval workflows, credit limits

Models that break platforms:

• Two-sided marketplaces: Custom matching, escrow, dispute resolution
• Dynamic inventory: Real-time availability from multiple sources
• Custom checkout: Multi-step forms, conditional fields, complex validation
• Regulated products: Age verification workflows, compliance documentation

If your model requires significant workarounds on platforms, you'll spend more time fighting the platform than building your product. That's when custom builds start making financial sense.

Question 2: How Much Platform Control Do You Need?

Platform control means different things to different businesses.

Checkout control is the most common need. Shopify's checkout is famously locked down. You can customize colors and add scripts, but you can't fundamentally change the flow. Need a custom step? Need to collect specific information? Need to implement a unique upsell mechanism? You're working around the platform, not with it.

Data control matters for analytics-heavy businesses. Platforms give you their analytics, but accessing raw data for custom analysis requires APIs, exports, and workarounds. If data science drives your business decisions, platform data limitations become significant friction.

Integration control matters when your e-commerce is part of a larger system. Connecting Shopify to custom inventory management, custom fulfillment, or custom CRM requires middleware, webhooks, and ongoing maintenance. The integrations work, but they're never as clean as building everything together.

Performance control matters at scale. Platforms handle optimization for you, which is great until you need specific performance characteristics they don't prioritize.

If you're fighting for control constantly, you're paying platform costs without platform benefits.

Question 3: What's Your Realistic Growth Trajectory?

Growth trajectory affects the economics dramatically.

$0-100K ARR: Platform costs are insignificant. Shopify's $79-299/month plus 2% transaction fees is nothing compared to the engineering time saved. Even WooCommerce's "free" software costs more in hosting and maintenance than Shopify's fees.

$100K-1M ARR: Platform costs become noticeable. On Shopify, 2% of a million dollars is $20,000 annually. That buys significant engineering time. But it still doesn't buy a full custom rebuild—unless you're already at platform limits.

$1M+ ARR: Platform costs are now a line item worth optimizing. At $5M in revenue, you're paying Shopify $100,000+ in transaction fees alone. Custom infrastructure at that scale might cost $50,000 annually in engineering and hosting.

But revenue trajectory isn't the only factor. Feature velocity matters too. If you're iterating rapidly on your product, platform constraints slow you down. If you're running a stable operation optimizing for conversions, platforms let you focus on marketing instead of engineering.

When Shopify Wins

Shopify wins when speed to market matters more than uniqueness.

Strong indicators for Shopify:

• You're testing market demand before committing to a niche
• Your product is the differentiator, not the buying experience
• You have limited engineering resources or budget
• You need to launch in weeks, not months
• Your model fits standard retail patterns
• You're in a category with proven Shopify apps for your needs

What Shopify does well:

• Checkout optimization: They've A/B tested checkout more than you ever will
• Payment processing: Shopify Payments is competitive and integrated
• Hosting and security: You'll never think about servers
• Theme ecosystem: Professional themes cost $200-400, not $20,000
• App ecosystem: Thousands of solutions for common problems
• Customer support: They have teams for your problems

The real Shopify tax isn't the monthly fee—it's accepting their constraints. If those constraints don't conflict with your business model, the tax is worth paying.

When WooCommerce Makes Sense

WooCommerce occupies an awkward middle ground. It's more flexible than Shopify but more complex than modern custom solutions.

Strong indicators for WooCommerce:

• You have existing WordPress infrastructure
• Your team has WordPress expertise
• You need more customization than Shopify but less than full custom
• You're in a niche with excellent WooCommerce plugins
• Content marketing is core to your strategy
• Budget is extremely limited and you can manage hosting

The hidden WooCommerce cost is maintenance. Every plugin needs updates. Every WordPress update might break something. You're running a small DevOps operation whether you planned to or not.

For most modern e-commerce MVPs, we recommend either going full platform (Shopify) or full custom. The middle ground rarely delivers the best of both worlds—it often delivers the worst.

When Custom E-commerce Wins

Custom e-commerce wins when your business model is your competitive advantage.

Strong indicators for custom build:

• Your buying experience IS the product (custom configurators, complex workflows)
• You're building a two-sided marketplace with unique mechanics
• You need deep integration with custom systems (inventory, fulfillment, CRM)
• You're in a regulated space requiring specific compliance workflows
• You need real-time features platforms can't support
• Long-term platform fees exceed custom development costs

The custom build isn't just about flexibility—it's about building exactly what your business needs without fighting platform constraints. When your business model is genuinely different, this matters.

The Custom E-commerce Stack We Use

When we build custom e-commerce, we use a stack designed for speed and scalability.

Frontend: Next.js - Next.js handles the storefront with server-side rendering for SEO, static generation for product pages, and dynamic features for cart and checkout. The performance is exceptional, and the developer experience is modern.

Backend: Convex - Convex handles data storage, real-time updates, and business logic. Shopping carts update instantly across devices. Inventory reflects in real-time. The type safety from TypeScript end-to-end eliminates entire categories of bugs.

Payments: Stripe - Stripe handles payment processing, subscriptions, and tax calculation. Their API is excellent, their documentation is thorough, and their compliance (PCI DSS) means you're not handling raw card data.

Infrastructure: Vercel - Vercel hosts the Next.js frontend with global CDN, automatic scaling, and zero-config deployments. For most e-commerce MVPs, you'll never think about infrastructure.

This stack delivers custom e-commerce that performs better than platforms while maintaining development velocity. The initial investment is higher, but the ongoing flexibility is unlimited.

Key Takeaways

The platform vs. custom decision isn't about which technology is "better." It's about which approach fits your specific business model, resources, and trajectory.

• Choose Shopify when you're testing a market with a standard retail model and need to launch fast. Accept the constraints in exchange for speed and simplicity.
• Consider WooCommerce if you have WordPress expertise and need more flexibility than Shopify without a full custom build. Be prepared for ongoing maintenance.
• Build custom when your business model is your competitive advantage and platform constraints would limit what makes you unique. Invest upfront for long-term control.

The worst choice is the middle ground that doesn't quite work—spending custom-level effort to work around platform limitations while still paying platform fees and accepting platform constraints.

Choosing the right e-commerce foundation is one of the highest-leverage decisions you'll make. At NextBuild, we help founders evaluate these tradeoffs and build the right solution for their specific business model.