Start an online shop with the groundwork done.
Starting an online shop takes more than a website: payment and postage accounts, GST settings and your own policies all need to be ready on opening day. DIGITALON builds WooCommerce shops on the Sunshine Coast and works through that set-up with you.
Opening day needs more than pages.
Much of the work of starting an online shop happens outside the website. A payment provider has to verify the business before it pays out, the domain needs registering in the right name, postage has to be priced from real parcels, and the store's GST settings depend on whether the business is registered. None of it is difficult, but each step has its own wait, so it pays to start early.
We build the shop on WordPress and WooCommerce and tell you early which accounts and details we need from you, in the order they matter. We connect your accounts to the store, set the tax and shipping rules to match them, then place real test orders before anyone else can buy.
A clear list of jobs.
The set-up tasks that sit outside the website, in the order they matter.
- Business details and an ABN
- Payment and postage accounts
- Policies in your own words
Work on its first day.
Every account connected and every total right before the first customer arrives.
- Payouts to your bank account
- GST set to match the business
- A real test order, refunded
What to set up before the shop opens.
Six jobs that sit outside the website, roughly in the order they matter, and all worth starting before the build.
Business details shoppers can check
Your trading name, ABN, contact details and returns address belong on the shop's contact and policy pages and on its invoices. A .com.au address needs an Australian presence, such as an ABN. Questions about structure or registrations belong with your accountant.
A domain and a business email
Choose the address customers will type and the email address they will see on every order message. Register the domain in the business's name; we point it at the store's hosting and agree any change to your email settings with you first.
A payment account in your name
Stripe and PayPal accounts belong to the business: you verify the business and the people behind it, add the bank account for payouts, and we connect both to the store. Premium adds Apple Pay, Google Pay and Afterpay.
GST settings that match the business
If the business is registered for GST, prices include it and invoices show it; if not, the store charges none. Your accountant or the ATO can tell you whether and when to register, and the store's tax settings follow that answer.
Postage priced from real parcels
Weigh and measure a few typical orders, then choose flat-rate or free shipping, which every package includes, or rules by weight, location and cart value with Standard. An Australia Post, Sendle or courier business account gives you the rates.
A real order before opening
Before launch we put real orders through every payment method on a phone and a computer, check the order emails and the payment in your provider's account, then refund them. The shop opens once those orders arrive where they should.
Start the shop on the package that fits.
One-off build prices with GST included. Every package connects the payment accounts you open and sets up shipping; the higher packages add more ways to pay and more detailed postage rules.
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.
Questions about starting an online shop.
Packages, GST, ABNs, payment and postage accounts, domains, testing, products, timing, search and hosting.
Ask us about your storeWhich set-up jobs does each package take care of?
Every package connects your Stripe and PayPal accounts, sets up flat-rate or free shipping and installs the SSL certificate, firewall and nightly backups. Standard adds shipping rules by weight, location and cart value, PDF invoices, customer accounts and Google Analytics. Premium adds Apple Pay, Google Pay, Afterpay, a shipping calculator and order tracking. Compare them on eCommerce pricing.
Are the package prices GST-inclusive, and must our shop charge GST?
Our prices include GST: $4,990 for Basic, $5,990 for Standard and $7,990 for Premium, paid once. Whether your shop charges GST depends on whether your business is registered for it, which your accountant or the ATO can confirm. If it is, prices include GST and invoices show it; if not, the store is set to charge none.
Do we need an ABN before the shop opens?
It is the usual starting point. A .com.au address needs an Australian presence such as an ABN, payment providers ask for the business's details before they pay out, and shoppers look for who they are buying from. Whether you also need a registered business name or a company is a question for your accountant.
Which payment and postage accounts should a new shop open?
A Stripe account for Visa, Mastercard and American Express and a PayPal business account, both in the business's name; we connect them in every package. Premium adds Afterpay, which needs its own merchant account. For postage, an Australia Post, Sendle or courier business account gives you rates; live rates shown in the cart are a quoted add-on.
Can the shop use a domain name we already own?
Yes. The domain stays registered in your name and we point it at the store's hosting when the shop goes live. If your email runs on the same domain, we check its settings with you first so mail keeps arriving. A new name is worth registering early, before it is printed on packaging or social profiles.
Can we test the shop privately before it goes public?
Yes. Until launch the shop is kept out of public view, on a private copy or behind WooCommerce's coming soon setting, so you can browse it and place test orders. Before opening we run real orders through every payment method on a phone and a computer, then refund them, and the shop goes live once they arrive as they should.
Will you add our first products for us?
That is agreed when we scope the build. A small launch range can be loaded from your spreadsheet and photos; a large catalogue, or products moved from another platform, is quoted as an import before work starts. After launch you can add products yourself, with one-to-one training in Standard and Premium.
What can hold up the opening date?
Usually the jobs outside the build. A basic shop takes about two to three weeks, but payment provider checks, product photos and descriptions, policy wording and access to the domain all have their own timing. Starting them early lets those jobs run alongside the build rather than after it.
Which search set-up comes with a new shop?
Search engine optimisation starts with Standard: keyword and category research and on-page work for the shop's pages, plus Google Analytics. Premium adds AI search optimisation (GEO). A new shop still takes time to be found, and no one can promise a position or an AI citation; ongoing work is in our SEO packages.
Where will the shop be hosted, and who arranges it?
Wherever you choose. Our managed WordPress hosting runs on Australian servers, and its Advanced plan is built for small online stores; we set it up before launch. Updates afterwards come with our maintenance packages, or you can run them yourself with the administrator login, which is yours.
Start the shop with a plan.
Tell us what you plan to sell and when you would like to open. Our team at Wurtulla on the Sunshine Coast will tell you which accounts and details we need, recommend a package and give you a written quote. Nothing starts until you agree.
