In 2026 e-commerce is worth more than 175 billion euros in France, growing 12 to 15% a year. 78% of French consumers buy online regularly. Having no online shop means leaving money on the table, but building a profitable one takes a disciplined method. This guide walks you through it step by step.
Which platform should you choose for your online shop, given your budget and your goals?
Choosing your e-commerce platform is the single most important decision. To get going quickly on a small budget, Shopify is the most intuitive option (29 to 79€ a month, plus commission on sales). WooCommerce (WordPress) is free and flexible but needs hosting and some technical skill. For a premium positioning with bespoke features, zero commission and the best possible performance, a custom-built e-commerce site is the right call. One point people often underestimate: Shopify's commissions (0,5 to 2% depending on the plan) add up fast. On 100 000€ of annual revenue that is 500 to 2 000€ lost to fees. For shops turning over more than 50 000€ a year, a custom site or WooCommerce works out cheaper from year one.
E-commerce platforms compared, from a small business point of view:
| Criterion | Shopify | WooCommerce | Custom build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront budget | Low | Low | Medium to high |
| Commission on sales | Yes | No | No |
| Customisation | Limited | Good | Total |
| SEO performance | Adequate | Good | Optimal |
| Scalability | Medium | Good | Excellent |
How do you design the look and feel of an online shop that converts?
94% of first impressions of an e-commerce site come down to design. There are five golden rules: intuitive navigation with clear categories and sensible filters; mobile first, which is non-negotiable since more than 65% of purchases happen on a smartphone; professional quality product photos with zoom and multiple views; optimised loading times (every extra second cuts conversions by 7%); and visible trust signals (SSL security badges, customer reviews, a clear returns policy). Poor design can drive away as much as 90% of your visitors. Social proof is the number one trust factor in e-commerce: show at least 5 verified reviews on every product page and an order counter on your home page.
Define your project properly before writing a single line of code:
How do you set up payment and delivery to get the most conversions from your online shop?
To maximise conversions, offer several ways to pay: card through Stripe or PayPal (essential), Apple Pay and Google Pay for mobile purchases (30% less friction), instalment payments through Alma or Klarna (20 to 40% higher average basket), and bank transfer for larger orders. Delivery is the second buying criterion after price: offer free delivery above a threshold (from 50€, for example), give several options (standard, express, collection point) and quote realistic timescales. A handy way to set that free delivery threshold: work out your current average basket and set the threshold 15 to 20% above it. Customers then add an extra item to qualify for free delivery, which lifts your average basket without eroding your net margin.
Three things you must test before launch:
The 10-point checklist before you open your shop to the public:
This checklist heads off 90% of the reasons online shops stumble in their first few days. An incomplete shop at launch permanently loses the visitors who cannot find what they came for, and they rarely come back.
How do you get your online shop found and promoted to win your first customers?
An e-commerce site without SEO is a shop in an empty alley. The e-commerce SEO fundamentals: strategic keywords in page titles and product pages, readable URLs (/mens-running-shoes rather than /product?id=123), unique descriptions for every product (never a copy and paste from the supplier), optimised meta tags, and internal linking between categories and products. For the first three months, combine Google Ads (immediate traffic on queries with strong buying intent), social media (Instagram, TikTok, depending on your audience) and email marketing (newsletter plus abandoned basket reminders). Minimum acquisition budget: 500€ a month.
A content strategy for an online shop: start a blog with articles around the subjects your products touch. A natural cosmetics shop publishing two articles a week ("how to hydrate dry skin in winter", "5 natural ingredients for a glowing complexion") generates qualified SEO traffic of which 3 to 5% turn into buyers, often with a higher average basket than visitors from ads, because they arrived looking for a specific solution. SEO content is the most durable investment an online shop can make.
To audit a shop you already run, use our free SEO audit.
Frequently asked questions about building an online shop
How much does it cost to build an online shop?
Budgets run from 1 490 € for a ready-to-go shop to 5 000€ for a professional e-commerce site delivered in 7 to 10 days. At ConvertiLab our online shops start at 990€ and go live in under two weeks with SEO and payments built in. What you spend depends on the number of products, the features you want and how bespoke the design needs to be.
Do you need stock to sell online?
No. Dropshipping and print-on-demand let you sell without stock: you buy the product from the supplier only once the customer has ordered. The upside is that you carry no risk of unsold stock. The downside is thinner margins and less control over delivery times.
What is the biggest mistake to avoid when launching an online shop?
Neglecting mobile. More than 65% of purchases happen on a smartphone, so a site that is not responsive, or that loads slowly on mobile, loses more than half of its potential sales before it even starts. Always test your shop on both iPhone and Android before you launch.
How do you make your first sales quickly without a big budget?
The most effective tactic for the first 30 days is to sell to your own network first. Contact 50 people you know with a personal message, not a generic announcement. Offer them an exclusive launch price in exchange for an honest review. Those first sales give you customer reviews, photos of real people using your products, and your first revenue: the three things that make your shop credible to strangers. A real ConvertiLab example: a candle maker in Marseille launched her online shop with 32 products and a starting advertising budget of 0€. Week 1: 17 orders from her personal network (2 350€). Weeks 2 to 4: the photos and reviews from her circle generated 8 organic shares on Instagram. Month 1 result: 4 1490€ in revenue, 100% organic. She then reinvested 15% into Meta Ads to accelerate growth. !First e-commerce sales, personal network, customer reviews, real photos, organic reach and Meta Ads
