E-commerce web design Brisbane for
stores you own outright.
Custom online stores built from scratch — Stripe checkout, a product dashboard you manage yourself, and no monthly platform fees. From $2,500, no Shopify subscription ever.
Why It Matters
The platform tax is real
Most small online stores in Australia run on Shopify or a template builder. It's quick to start — and then the costs and constraints never stop.
Fees that never end
Shopify starts at ~$42/month, then apps add $50–$200/month more. Five years in, you've paid thousands and still don't own anything.
Same theme as everyone
Template stores look like template stores. When your shop looks like ten thousand others, your brand does the same.
Locked in
Your store, your products, your customer data — all living on someone else's platform, on their terms, at their prices.
Store Packages
Pay once. Own it. Sell forever.
Every store is designed from scratch for your brand and built on the same stack used by serious online retailers — then handed over with the keys.
Starter Store
$2,500–$4,000
For makers, boutiques, and businesses selling a focused range. Up to ~20 products, ready for review in 1–2 weeks.
- Custom storefront designed for your brand
- Stripe checkout — cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay
- Product dashboard (Sanity CMS) you run yourself
- Cart, shipping rules, promo codes
- SEO foundations — product schema, titles, sitemap
- Analytics, Search Console, SSL included
Full Store
$4,000–$6,500
For larger catalogues and stores with custom requirements. Ready for review in 2–4 weeks. Everything in Starter Store, plus:
- Large catalogue with categories and variants
- Migration from Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace
- Custom features — enquiry-to-buy, custom orders, bundles
- URL redirects so existing Google rankings carry over
- Email notifications for orders and enquiries
- Full technical SEO setup and Google indexing
The maths vs Shopify: a $42–$56/month subscription plus typical app fees runs $1,100–$3,000+ per year, every year. A custom store costs more up front, then your only ongoing cost is hosting from $29/month and Stripe's standard processing fee per sale. Most stores break even inside two years — and you own the asset.
What's Included
In every store we build
The same commerce stack trusted by major retailers — Stripe for payments, a proper CMS for your catalogue — wrapped in a design that's yours alone.
Stripe checkout
Cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Money straight to your bank. Prices verified server-side so carts can't be tampered with.
A dashboard you run
Add products, change prices, update photos, manage categories — publish and it's live. No developer needed.
Custom design
No theme, no template. Your store is designed around your products and your brand, from a blank page.
Shipping & promo rules
Flat-rate or free-over-threshold shipping, AU/NZ zones, and promo codes — configured for how you actually sell.
SEO-ready products
Product schema markup, clean URLs, fast load times, and a sitemap — so your products can show up in Google Shopping and search.
Mobile-first
Most shopping happens on a phone. Browsing, cart, and checkout are designed for thumbs first.
Fast hosting
Served from Vercel's global CDN with SSL included. No bloated store-builder code slowing you down.
You own everything
The code, the design, the content, the customer relationship. No platform can raise the rent on you.
Proof, Not Promises
We run a store on this exact stack
Printie is an online store we built and operate ourselves — handmade 3D-printed toys and gifts, sold Australia-wide. Same storefront, same Stripe checkout, same self-service product dashboard we'd build for you. We're not selling a stack we wouldn't use.
Printie — online store
Custom storefront · Sanity CMS · Stripe checkout · AU/NZ shipping
Our Process
From brief to first sale in four steps
You'll see a working preview — including a test checkout — before anything goes live.
Brief
What you sell, who buys it, how you ship, and what makes your products worth buying. One focused conversation, not a 20-page questionnaire.
Design and build
We design your storefront from scratch, load your first products, and wire up Stripe. You review a working store — browse, cart, test checkout — and request changes.
Launch
We connect your domain, switch Stripe to live payments, set up analytics, and submit your products to Google. You take your first real order.
Run it yourself
We hand over the dashboard and show you how to manage the catalogue. Add hosting and maintenance from $29/month, or pair with SEO to grow traffic.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Still not sure about something? Ask us directly — straight answers, no sales pitch.
How much does an e-commerce website cost in Brisbane?
Arclight Digital builds custom online stores from $2,500 for a starter store (up to around 20 products, Stripe checkout, and a CMS you manage yourself) and $4,000–$6,500 for a full store with a larger catalogue and custom features. Brisbane agencies typically charge $8,000–$30,000+ for custom e-commerce builds.
Why build a custom store instead of using Shopify?
Shopify charges $42–$56+ AUD per month forever, plus transaction fees and app fees that commonly add $50–$200/month. A custom store has no platform subscription — you pay for the build once, then only Stripe's standard payment processing fee per sale. You also get a design built for your brand rather than a theme thousands of other stores use, and you own everything outright.
Can I manage products myself without a developer?
Yes. Every store we build includes a content management system (Sanity CMS) with a clean dashboard where you add products, change prices, update photos and descriptions, and manage categories yourself. Publish a change and it's live in seconds — no developer required for day-to-day catalogue work.
How do payments work on a custom online store?
Checkout runs on Stripe, the same payment platform used by major Australian retailers. Customers pay by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, and money lands in your bank account. Stripe charges a standard processing fee per transaction (about 1.7% + 30c for Australian cards) — there are no other platform or transaction fees.
Can you move my existing Shopify store to a custom website?
Yes. We migrate your products, images, and content into a custom store, set up Stripe checkout, and redirect your old URLs so you keep your Google rankings. Most migrations pay for themselves within 1–3 years of cancelled Shopify subscription and app fees.
How long does an e-commerce website take to build?
A starter store is typically ready for review in 1–2 weeks from an approved brief, and a full store in 2–4 weeks. You'll see a working preview — including a test checkout — before anything goes live.
Explore more services
Ready to sell online without the platform tax?
Tell us what you sell and we'll put together a quote within 24 hours. No obligation, no pressure.