eCommerce website firm? Get it in writing first.
A good firm puts the scope, the price, the sign-offs and who owns what in writing before work starts. DIGITALON confirms the package, the price and the payment stages in writing first; this page lists what any agreement should cover, whichever firm you hire.
Misunderstandings start where writing stops.
Store projects can stumble on small assumptions rather than big decisions: that product loading was included, that the domain was in the owner's name, that a third round of design changes was free, that someone would fix the checkout after launch. Each of these is easy to settle in writing before the work starts and hard to settle afterwards.
Before we start, DIGITALON confirms in writing the package and its features, anything quoted on top, the price with GST, the payment stages and the timing. The design is signed off before the build, you hold the administrator login and own the finished store, and support after launch is your choice. The guide below is the checklist we would use ourselves.
That it was all included.
Assumptions are where projects go wrong.
- Products loaded for us
- Accounts in our name
- Fixes after launch
Who does what, and who owns it.
Settled before the first invoice.
- Scope and exclusions
- Sign-offs and timing
- Ownership and support
What an eCommerce firm should put in writing.
Use this checklist with any firm, including us. Each item is a common source of misunderstanding when it is left unsaid.
Scope: pages, features and products
The agreement should list the pages, the features and who loads the products: how many, with which details, from whose spreadsheet. A store's scope is more than its page count, and product loading is the part that is often assumed.
Sign-offs and rounds of changes
Write down what you approve and when: the design before the build, then the store before launch, and how many rounds of changes each stage includes. Changes after a sign-off should be quoted before they are made.
Timing and what it depends on
A date means little without its conditions. The agreement should say when the store is due and what it depends on, usually your content, product data, feedback and payment accounts arriving on time.
Ownership, accounts and licences
You should own the finished store, its design and its data, and hold the administrator login. The agreement should name whose account the domain and payment provider sit in, and list each licence, who pays for it and when it renews.
Handover and training
The agreement should say what you receive at launch: the administrator login, any training and notes on anything built specially for you. Standard and Premium include one-to-one training on your own store.
Support after launch, and parting ways
Say who fixes problems after launch, how quickly and at what cost, whether through a maintenance plan or on request. And because businesses change, the agreement should make it clear that you can take the store to another host or developer.
Packages with the terms in writing.
Each package is a fixed, one-off price for a written scope. The quote also lists anything extra, the payment stages and the timing, before work starts.
Basic
A simple online shop with everything it takes to sell properly.
$4,990One-off build price
- 6 pages: home, about, contact, shop, cart and checkout
- Mobile optimisation
- Card and PayPal payments
- Flat-rate or free shipping
- WordFence firewall and SSL certificate
- Links to your social media
- Nightly backups
Standard
A professional store for a real catalogue, with accounts and automation.
$5,990One-off build price
- 10 website pages
- Everything in Basic, plus
- Search engine optimisation (SEO)
- Customer accounts and order history
- Product filters and categories
- PDF invoices and packing slips
- Wish list and discount coupons
- Advanced shipping rules
- Google Analytics
- 1:1 website training
Premium
For stores pushing on sales: more ways to pay, find and follow an order.
$7,990One-off build price
- 20 website pages
- Everything in Standard, plus
- AI search optimisation (GEO)
- Mega menu
- Apple Pay, Google Pay and Afterpay
- Shipping cost calculator and order tracking
- Live product search and product compare
- Blog
- Your CRM integrated
Hosting, your domain, your payment provider’s transaction fees and ongoing maintenance are separate. The page counts are website pages, not a product limit: catalogue size, product imports, migrations and custom integrations are agreed and quoted before work starts. Compare every inclusion and the optional features on eCommerce pricing, or see website design packages if you do not need a shop.
Your store, your hosting, your login.
Every DIGITALON store is a custom WordPress and WooCommerce build. WooCommerce is free and open source, takes no commission on your sales and runs on hosting you choose, with the administrator login yours from day one.
The shop and the pages that bring shoppers to it live in one WordPress site, edited the same way. You can run it yourself, or hand the updates to the team that built it.
No platform commission
Your payment provider charges its transaction fee. WooCommerce itself takes no percentage of your sales and has no monthly platform fee.
Hosting you choose
Keep your own host, or use our managed WordPress hosting, sized for the catalogue and the traffic you expect.
Care after launch
Our maintenance packages cover plugin and WooCommerce updates, backups, security checks and support.
One Australian team
The people who scope, design and build the store are the people who answer your questions, from Wurtulla on the Sunshine Coast.
From brief to first order.
A basic store usually takes two to three weeks. Extra features and integrations add time, and we tell you how much before we begin.
Scope and price
We agree the pages, catalogue, features and search work, then confirm the package, any extras and the payment stages in writing.
Design
You see the design and sign it off before the build starts, while changing a layout is still quick.
Build and test
Products, payments, shipping and tax are set up in WooCommerce, then tested with real orders on a phone and a desktop.
Launch and hand over
We go live and hand over your administrator login. Standard and Premium include one-to-one training on your own store.
Online stores we have built.
These are stores and online sales sites our team designed and built. They show completed work, not a promise of the same result for every business.
Beauty & skincareNatural Skincare Shop
FurnitureOffice Furniture Shop
Made to orderCustom Vinyl Lettering
Books & consultingLegal Consulting & Author
Retreats & coursesHoffman Process Australia
CoursesOnline English TeachingThe client view.
I was very impressed as they were very responsive and helpful as I was a newbie. Good communication with Sabrina who took the time to explain all the process and gave some tips.
eCommerce website firm questions.
Price, GST, the written quote, ownership, delays, SEO and support.
Ask us about your storeWhat does an eCommerce website firm like DIGITALON charge?
A fixed one-off price for each package: $4,990 for Basic, $5,990 for Standard or $7,990 for Premium. Anything outside the package, such as a large import or an integration, is quoted in writing before work starts.
Compare the packages on eCommerce pricing.
Does the written quote show GST separately?
The package prices include GST, and the tax invoice shows the GST amount. The quote also notes what other providers charge separately, such as hosting, your domain and payment provider fees.
What will your written quote include?
The package and its features, anything quoted on top, the price including GST, the payment stages and the timing we agree. If you need something specific spelled out, such as how many products we load for you, ask and we add it before you accept.
Who owns the store's design and content?
You do: the finished store, its design, its content and its data are yours, and you hold the administrator login. WordPress and WooCommerce are open source, and the licences your package needs are included in the price.
Should the agreement cover what happens if the project stalls?
Yes. It should say what happens if content or feedback arrives late and how the schedule moves as a result. With us, the timing depends on what you supply, and we tell you as soon as something is holding the build up.
Do you need access to our accounts during the build?
Some, yes: your domain's settings to point it at the store, and your payment provider to connect it. Both stay in your name; we use the access for the build and launch, and you can change the passwords afterwards.
Which package should the agreement be based on?
The one that matches the store you need at launch, written out feature by feature so nothing is assumed: Basic for a simple shop, Standard for a growing catalogue with filters, accounts and SEO, and Premium for more ways to pay, live search and GEO.
How long does it take to agree the scope and start?
Usually a short exchange: you tell us what you sell and how you ship, we recommend a package and send the written quote. Once it is accepted, a basic store usually takes two to three weeks to launch.
Should SEO be written into the agreement?
Yes, so you know what is included. With us, Standard includes keyword and category research and on-page SEO, Premium adds AI search optimisation (GEO), and ongoing SEO after launch is a separate service. No agreement should promise a ranking.
What should the agreement say about support after launch?
Who to contact, what is covered and what it costs. With DIGITALON, support after launch is optional: our maintenance packages cover updates, backups, security checks and support, and on-demand help is there if you prefer to pay as you go.
Let's put your store in writing.
Tell us what you sell, how you ship and when you would like to launch. We will recommend a package and send a written quote with the scope, anything extra, the price including GST, the payment stages and the timing, from our team at Wurtulla on the Sunshine Coast.
