Both platforms are excellent choices for UK small businesses, and the right one depends on your specific needs. Shopify is our recommendation for most small businesses starting out — it’s hosted (meaning no server management), has a lower technical barrier, includes built-in UK payment options, and offers a clean monthly fee structure. WooCommerce (built on WordPress) is better suited if you already have a WordPress website, want more flexibility and control, prefer not to pay monthly platform fees, or need complex custom functionality. During your free discovery call, we’ll review your products, budget, technical comfort, and growth plans to recommend the right platform for your specific situation — there’s genuinely no one-size-fits-all answer.

The timeline depends on the complexity of your project and how quickly you can provide content, product information, and feedback. For our Launch Store package (up to 50 products, standard setup), most stores go live within 2–3 weeks of project kick-off. Our Scale Store package typically takes 4–6 weeks, and our Dominate Market package can take 6–10 weeks for bespoke builds. The most common cause of delays is waiting on client-provided assets like product photography, descriptions, or logo files — so we include a detailed content checklist during onboarding to keep things moving. We’ll always give you a specific timeline estimate with clear milestones before work begins.