Nowadays, in the highly competitive e-commerce (or ecommerce/eCommerce) industry, reliable selling systems are the key to success. E-commerce software development is thriving thanks to the rising need for software solutions to satisfy customer expectations. New, sublime features and great user experience are provided by commerce software development, so many organizations decide to utilize it.
No wonder the e-commerce industry needs to develop, as the market is projected to reach $4,719 bn in 2025. Having a robust e-commerce system is a huge advantage for companies that want to keep a competitive advantage. In this article, based on Neontri’s experience in e-commerce solutions, we’ll discuss the e-commerce software development process and different options.
What is e-commerce software development?
E-commerce software development creates applications for online shopping. Each application involves a few key elements, such as management systems for products, orders, and customers. Online shopping also needs proper shipping setup, payment integration, and many other options to fulfill the entire customer journey. These elements include:
- Inventory management software and product management systems make it possible to track stock in real-time across warehouses.
- Order management systems and customer relationship management (CRM) systems allow for tracking the order lifecycle, from placement to delivery, and handling customer support.
- Shipping automation streamlines the process of sending goods to the customer.
- Payment integration and tax handling ensure customers have multiple payment options and pay proper taxes depending on requirements.
These are the core elements of e-commerce, and they work together to ensure all steps in the order lifecycle are met.
Since the pandemic, e-commerce has been blooming, especially when we look at food shopping. Food e-commerce is one of the biggest markets, with global revenues of $680.1 billion in 2024. The growth of this specific sector can be observed until now, when more and more providers have decided to expand their services from only food delivery to grocery shopping.
In the case of Uber Eats, the platform offers adding products from another store when placing an order and even package deliveries within one food-focused app. Customers expect reliable and fast delivery, and to keep them returning to the platform, more and more providers have decided to add subscriptions, which guarantee priority of service and lower costs.
E-commerce software development process
Each software development process involves several stages necessary to create a successful application. E-commerce is a broad industry that can include beauty, food, entertainment, fashion, etc., and every market has its own challenges. That’s why proper analysis of the market, competition, customers, and clearly defined requirements are the core for further development.
- Identify business goals and challenges
Whether you’re a new company or want to expand your services, you need to consider the business goals and challenges of the development process. This process involves the proper identification of the objectives for your online store. In e-commerce, one of the main goals may be expanding to new markets or reaching more customers. The challenges for these goals are usually performance issues and legal requirements.
Expert insight: If you’re new to e-commerce, don’t hesitate to use expert advice on the key stage of defining your business objectives. This will help you prevent any unnecessary costs or delays.
- Define requirements
Depending on the e-commerce market of your organization, you need to know what your store is going to offer. The choice is tremendous: clothes, food, services? Each industry has its own system needs that must be addressed. For example, e-commerce like Spotify doesn’t need a system for physical deliveries as they can grant access to streaming online. Food e-commerce, on the other hand, would need a reliable shipping system to deliver perishables to the client as soon as possible. What all e-commerce projects have in common is proper security and user-friendly checkout.
- Find the right solution
Once you know the goals and requirements for your e-commerce, you can look for the best solution for you. You can choose from ready-made e-commerce websites that are easy and fast to set up but have specific limitations, for example, in secure payment gateways or available currencies. If you need a long-term platform to address complex needs, such as customized tax handling or stringent legal requirements, custom software solutions are a better option.
At Neontri, we have experience in bringing e-commerce development services to a new level by implementing third-party solutions, like integrating omnichannel payment solutions, and also creating customized software for retail. Our experts can help you find the best option for your business based on their rich experience in e-commerce and retail.
- Platform setup and development process
When your business can rely on ready-made solutions, you can start by selecting the best platform for your e-commerce. Such platforms must align with your business goals and requirements, so it’s best to go over the key providers and find the most suitable one. The most popular e-commerce platforms are WooCommerce, Shopify, Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento), and Salesforce Commerce. Then, with the platform’s documentation or expert help, you can take care of the platform setup to reach your customers.
Expert insight: Now, it’s possible to find a hybrid platform that offers native features and also allows for using fully customized solutions.
When your business needs a customized platform with advanced technologies, you need to prepare for the development process. It can be covered by an in-house team or through outsourcing. Yet, you don’t need to worry about proper setup, adding multiple plug-ins and third-party solutions. The development team will take care of it for you and will make sure that all requirements for e-commerce businesses are satisfied. This process takes longer than creating online stores on a dedicated platform but offers flexibility a ready-made solution will never have.
Expert insight: In the long run, e-commerce websites like WooCommerce may not be able to offer the performance you need when your company grows. In such cases, moving to another platform won’t be affordable anymore.
- Testing
Before you launch your online store, you need to make sure everything works fine. When you use a ready-made platform, you can take care of testing on your own by using a sandbox or testing environment. You can also rely on platform support to help you go through the process. Still, this is a necessary step.
If you use custom software, the testing is covered in the development process. Software testing helps ensure the reliability of the feature. This way, you know the platform is tested for any bugs and other issues that discourage customers from finalizing the purchase. The process covers bugs, web design issues, checkout flow, and many more.
Expert insight: Testing is a key element for success. Bugs, checkout issues, and poor design impact the customer experience. Beta testing with real users is the best way to find unanticipated problems.
- Launch and maintenance
When the online store is configured, tested, and ready, it’s time for its launch. When you use an e-commerce platform, you don’t need to worry about maintenance, as the provider takes care of any system updates for you. As a result, the time to market with a ready-made platform is much shorter than compared to custom software development.
If you decide to build your own e-commerce platform with customized features and dedicated web and mobile apps, you need to ensure proper maintenance to keep the system updated and secure. This is especially important with the changing cybersecurity environment and unique legal requirements across regions and markets.
Ready-made e-commerce software development options
There are many providers offering ready-made open-source e-commerce platforms that can satisfy basic company requirements. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of this option:
| Pros | Cons |
| Faster time to market, meaning your business can launch quickly | Limited options for adding new languages, currencies, or tax handling |
| Affordable subscription-based pricing | Multi-layered payment structure when you add up subscriptions, plugins, and online transaction fees |
| Built-in security features, hosting, and updates | Relying on built-in security measures is not enough for some organizations |
| Third-party integrations | Vendor lock-in – migrating to another platform with better features can be complicated |
| Access to support and documentation for guidance | Limited control over scalability and performance |
Custom e-commerce software development
If satisfying complex client needs, performance, and scalability are your core requirements, you should consider custom e-commerce solutions. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of custom development for e-commerce:
| Pros | Cons |
| Full customization of features | Longer development time for new features |
| Control over scalability and performance, including optimization options | Need for a skilled team of developers with expertise |
| Long-term cost efficiency with no recurring and changing cost of subscription or licensing | High upfront cost for the development process |
| Choosing the optimal tech stack with no limits to third-party integrations | Need for QA testing and maintenance |
You should take a look at both the pros and cons of developing e-commerce software solutions and make a decision on which is the best based on the core of your needs and goals.
Successful e-commerce software development
To succeed in e-commerce website development, you need to create a well-grounded plan to meet retail business needs and requirements. Once you know what you aim for, you can move on to a solution that would be suitable for your online business.
Here’s a breakdown of different development approaches:
| Area | Ready-made e-commerce platforms | Custom e-commerce software solutions |
| Cost | Low initial cost with recurring expenses | High initial cost with lower recurring expenses |
| Customization | Limited | Fully customizable |
| Time-to-market | Short | Long |
| Scalability | Limited | High |
| Technical experience | Low | High |
| Security | Delivered by provider | Full control |
| Ownership | Vendor lock-in | Full control |
If you choose custom solutions, you need a skilled development team with technical resources consisting of the following members:
- Project manager: a person who is responsible for overseeing the development process.
- Designer: a person who creates intuitive interfaces.
- Software developers: programmers who take care of the backend, frontend, and integrations.
- Testers: engineers who detect bugs and test usability and performance.
This is the core team, however it can be expanded with a business analyst who is responsible for aligning features with business goals.
To ensure the process runs smoothly, you need a reliable in-house or outsourced team of developers. At Neontri, we can provide you with both options, including experts in e-commerce solutions.
There are a few ways for the development process to go smoothly:
- First, the development should be done iteratively using agile methodologies. Agile practices are a way to make quick changes and improve features.
- Second, the development must take into account security and compliance, such as GDPR for privacy or PCI DSS for payment processing.
- Third, the process should include future options for scalability, optimization, and integration.
- Last but not least, testing should be done throughout the whole development process to ensure the store can launch safely.
The launch is not the end of the journey, as the platform can use analytics and user feedback to optimize the shopping experience. With time, the store can implement new payment methods or online commerce trends to drive growth.
Neontri, your reliable vendor for e-commerce software development
In e-commerce, the key to success is finding the right solution for your business model. Whether you decide on ready-made platforms or custom software solutions, having a reliable vendor is a must. At Neontri, we have experts with over 10 years of experience in third-party integrations for e-commerce and you can rely on their expertise to find the best providers to drive business growth for your store. We also provide ongoing support for all our projects for small, medium-sized businesses and enterprises.
Our team has developed an omnichannel payment solution for Decathlon that, in the first week after launch, processed transactions amounting to one million euros. Our web developers can create dedicated software to implement in ready-made platforms for enterprises, such as Adobe Commerce, to help your store reach more customers. If you need an e-commerce platform or a mobile app made from scratch, you can use our expertise to build a successful store with an outsourced team of skilled developers.
If you think an in-house team is a better option for your needs, our Total Talent Management offers recruitment services. We will help you find the right talent for your organization based on a portfolio with over 40,000 checked, experienced specialists. Contact us to get a solution that fits your requirements and budget.
Final thoughts
The e-commerce market is booming, and to succeed with your business, you need a clear plan with goals and requirements. The e-commerce platform you choose should align with your goals, so you should consider all the pros and cons of possible solutions. Looking at the current pace of development, you should follow e-commerce market trends that increase customer engagement and loyalty, and boost revenue.
When setting up an e-commerce store, you should consider long-term goals. This is especially helpful when selecting the development option for your store. In the mobile-first world, you should also add an online store on mobile devices and other sales channels, like social media, to reach more customers.
FAQ
How long does it take to develop custom e-commerce software for enterprises?
To create the basic features of an e-commerce website, the development process with backend, frontend, and integrations would take at least 12 weeks. Enterprises need more complex solutions, so this time would be longer, at least 24 weeks. This is only the development phase, but you need to remember that planning, design, and testing will also take another few weeks. Adding up all development steps, it would take 4-6 months for a basic custom solution, 6-12 months for a solution of medium complexity and integrations, and more than 12 months for an enterprise-level solution with highly complex features.
Does custom e-commerce software support omnichannel operations?
Custom e-commerce software can support omnichannel operations. The custom nature of software enables the integration of complex features, such as omnichannel operations. Thanks to scalable architecture and centralized data management, it’s possible to implement omnichannel operations into a custom-developed online store.
What is the cost of developing an Adobe Commerce-based e-commerce store?
Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) offers two licensing types. First, Adobe Commerce costs about $22,000-$40,000 per year, while second, Adobe Commerce Cloud starts from $40,000 per year. To the licensing cost, you need to add the cost of custom features, third-party extensions, theme, and backend customization. Moreover, there are also hosting costs, payment integration, and processing costs. So, to sum it up, the estimated cost would be up to $50,000 for a small business, $120,000 for a medium business, and over $120,000 to even $300,000 for enterprises.
Is Adobe Commerce suitable for complex e-commerce software development projects?
Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) is a great option for complex e-commerce projects. The platform offers scalability, great features with personalization options, including AI-powered product recommendations, customization through modularity, and the possibility to add custom features. The platform also has omnichannel support for online stores, apps for mobile devices, marketplaces, and physical stores. It can easily integrate with different systems, such as ERP, CRM, Payment Gateways, and Logistics.
