Best site builder for online store? Start with your catalogue.
A small starter range and a large catalogue with variations need different things from a store. DIGITALON, a Sunshine Coast team, builds custom WooCommerce stores, each planned for the range you will have, not only the one you launch with.
The catalogue shapes the whole store.
Choosing the best site builder for an online store starts with the catalogue. Count the products you sell, the sizes, colours or other options each one comes in, and how often the range changes. A handful of products can be entered by hand and browsed in one place. Thousands of lines with variations need bulk imports, consistent product data and filters so shoppers can find what they want.
Growth is the other half of the choice. If the categories, attributes and product data are planned for the range you expect in a few years, adding products later is routine work rather than a rebuild. WooCommerce’s free core sets no product limit, so growth is handled by the hosting and the data rather than by changing platform. DIGITALON builds on WooCommerce only, and we plan the catalogue structure with you before any product is loaded.
Quick to load and run.
A handful of products with few options can be entered by hand and shown on one shop page.
- Products entered by hand
- Few or no variations
- Room to add lines later
Planned around the data.
Thousands of lines, variations and frequent changes depend on product data planned before anything is loaded.
- Bulk imports from supplier files
- Attributes that drive the filters
- Search and menus for a big range
How catalogue size changes the build.
Use these points to place your own range, now and in a few years. Each one says what that size of catalogue needs and where a package or quoted work covers it.
Count variations, not just products
Every size and colour combination is its own variation, with a separate stock count, so variations, not product numbers, decide how much data there is to manage. Plan them as WooCommerce attributes before loading, because restructuring a loaded range later is slow work.
A small starter range
A small range needs strong product pages more than navigation: shoppers can see everything on the shop page, so filters add little. Basic covers a shop like this. Product categories and filters come with Standard, the better start if you already expect the range to spread across several categories.
Filters that stay accurate
A filter for size, colour or brand only works when every product records that attribute the same way. We plan the attributes, their values and the categories with you before anything is loaded, and new lines entered the same way keep the filters accurate as the range grows.
Bulk imports for a large catalogue
A big range should arrive as a spreadsheet from your supplier or stock system, not be typed in. We agree who supplies the data and look at the file before quoting the import; tidy source data makes the first import faster and later bulk updates simpler.
When the range outgrows the menu
A menu that lists every category works at launch but gets crowded as categories multiply. Premium’s mega menu shows many categories in one dropdown, live product search suggests products while shoppers type, and product compare helps with similar lines; in a mid-sized range, Standard’s categories and filters usually cover it.
Judge platforms by your future range
Whatever platform you compare, test it against the range you expect, not the one you launch with: bulk import and export, how many options a product can carry, filters, and what the plan or hosting costs as the catalogue grows. Moving a large range later means a migration.
Choose by features, not product count.
Package choice follows how shoppers will find products in your range, not how many products it has. Filters and categories come with Standard; live product search, a mega menu and product compare with Premium.
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.
Catalogue size and growth questions.
Variations, imports, filters, growth, and what a bigger range changes in price, hosting and search.
Ask us about your storeWhich package fits the size and shape of our range?
The one that matches how shoppers will find your products. Basic suits a small, simple range browsed on one shop page. Standard brings product filters and categories, customer accounts and SEO, which a range with variations or several categories usually needs. Premium adds live product search, a mega menu and product compare for large catalogues, plus Apple Pay, Google Pay, Afterpay and AI search optimisation (GEO).
The 6, 10 and 20 figures are website pages, not a product allowance; the size of the range and any import are agreed before we quote.
How is a large catalogue priced, and is GST included?
As a package plus any quoted catalogue work. Basic is $4,990, Standard $5,990 and Premium $7,990, each a one-off price in Australian dollars that includes GST, itemised on your invoice. A large import, a complex catalogue or a connection to your stock system is quoted to scope once we have seen your data, before work starts.
Our eCommerce pricing page lists what each package includes.
Do we need every product loaded before the store launches?
No. A store can open with its core range and add the rest afterwards, as long as the categories and attributes were planned for the whole range. A basic store usually takes two to three weeks; a large import and the time needed to supply clean product data add to that, and the schedule is set with the scope and price.
Should sizes and colours be variations or separate products?
Usually variations. One product page then lists every combination, and each can carry its own price, stock and image, while shoppers simply pick their options. Separate products suit versions that need their own photos, description and search listing, such as different models. We settle this with you before anything is loaded.
Will we have to rebuild if the range grows from dozens of products to thousands?
Not if the store is planned for it. WooCommerce sets no product limit, so the same store keeps its design, platform and web addresses while the range grows. The work grows instead: bigger imports, more attribute data to keep consistent, hosting with more room, and features such as live product search or a mega menu, which come with Premium or can be quoted later.
For the running costs that rise with growth, see platform fees and ownership over the years.
Can our whole range move across from the platform we use now?
Usually, once we have assessed it. Your products, categories, customers and order history can come across, and the assessment checks how your current options map onto WooCommerce variations and attributes. Pages that already rank keep their addresses or are redirected to the new ones, and your current store keeps trading until the new one passes testing.
The migration is priced separately from the package once we know what has to move.
Does shipping get harder as the range becomes more varied?
It needs more rules, and the rules depend on product data. Weight-based rates only work when every product has an accurate weight, and bulky items may need a shipping class of their own. Every package can charge a flat rate or offer free shipping; from Standard, rules can price by weight, location or cart value; Premium adds a shipping cost calculator and order tracking; and live Australia Post, Sendle or courier rates are connected as a quoted add-on.
Payments stay the same whatever the range: Stripe and PayPal in every package, with Apple Pay, Google Pay and Afterpay at Premium.
Does a bigger catalogue need more SEO work?
Usually, because there are more category and product pages to research, title and describe. Keyword and category research with on-page SEO is part of Standard and Premium, and in a large range that research also shapes the category structure, which decides how products are grouped and found. Premium adds AI search optimisation (GEO).
Optimising new lines as they are added is a separate service through our SEO packages, and rankings or AI citations are never promised.
Can we add or export products in bulk ourselves?
Yes. The store and its data are yours, with the administrator login, and WooCommerce includes a product importer and exporter that work with CSV spreadsheets, so you can add new lines, update prices or export the whole catalogue without us. Standard and Premium also come with one-to-one training, given on your own store.
Large or untidy supplier files can still be handed to us as quoted work.
Does a larger catalogue need bigger hosting?
Usually, yes. More products mean a larger database and more images to store and serve, so hosting is sized for the catalogue and traffic you expect, then reviewed as the range grows. Our managed WordPress hosting plans can be changed as your needs change, with any price change confirmed first, and our maintenance packages keep WordPress, WooCommerce and plugins updated.
Let's size the store to your range.
Send us your product list or a supplier file, with a rough idea of how far you expect the range to grow. DIGITALON builds stores for businesses across Australia from Wurtulla on the Sunshine Coast, with one in-house team; we will recommend a package and quote any import before work starts.
