What an e-commerce developer does
An e-commerce developer builds online stores that actually sell — and the selling machinery is the hard part. Beyond the storefront, the job covers payments, shipping rate calculation, sales tax, inventory, order management, and the checkout flow where money changes hands and small mistakes cost real sales. The deliverable is a working store on a platform that fits your products, with all of that plumbing configured and tested.
That plumbing is what separates an e-commerce developer from someone who just makes a store look nice. A specialist on a specific platform — for a hosted store, a Shopify developer — may be the right hire for a straightforward shop, while a broader e-commerce developer handles custom checkout logic, complex catalogs, or a build that spans systems. If you’re choosing a platform, our Shopify vs WooCommerce comparison is a useful start.
What it costs
Independent e-commerce developers typically charge $2,000–$20,000 per project. A store on a hosted platform with standard checkout sits near the bottom; a custom build with complex catalogs, custom checkout logic, and system integrations sits at the top. Three things move the price:
- Platform and customization — a configured hosted store is far cheaper than a custom or headless build.
- Catalog and logic — many products, variants, bundles, subscriptions, or B2B pricing rules add real work.
- Integrations — connecting inventory, accounting, shipping, or a warehouse system multiplies the scope.
See the full breakdown in our e-commerce developer cost guide.
How to evaluate one
Ask for stores that process real orders at your scale and shop them end to end, including checkout on your phone. Anyone can style a product page; the credential is a checkout that reliably takes money. Then steer the conversation to the unglamorous parts — how they’ll handle shipping rates, sales tax, and a payment that fails mid-checkout. A pro talks fluently about these; someone focused only on the visuals will leave you to discover the gaps after launch.
Because the store handles money and customer data, treat scope and ownership seriously. Confirm the merchant and payment accounts are in your name, get a statement of work that names the platform, integrations, and who owns what, and use milestone payments on a larger build. Our guide to comparing quotes that aren’t comparable helps you read competing bids.
What to prepare before you start
Know your operational reality before design begins: how you’ll ship, where you sell (which determines your tax obligations), your payment processor, and whether inventory lives in another system. These decisions shape the whole build, and changing them late is expensive. If tax across regions is involved, confirm with an accountant what you’re required to collect — that’s a compliance question, not a design one.
Have your product data and photos ready, since catalog entry is the biggest content lift and stalls projects when it’s not prepared. And plan for after launch: stores need maintenance, platforms and payment rules change, and a busy store benefits from a developer on a retainer for fixes and seasonal changes. Confirm that arrangement before you launch, not during your first sale.
Questions to ask before you hire
- Which platform do you recommend for my products and volume, and why that one?
- How will you handle payments, shipping rates, and sales tax — natively or with which tools?
- Have you built stores that process real orders at my scale, and can I see them?
- What happens to my store during a traffic spike or a failed payment mid-checkout?
- Who owns the store, the payment accounts, and the data after launch?
Red flags
- All the attention on how the store looks and none on checkout, shipping, or tax.
- No live stores actually processing orders, only design mockups.
- Vague about payment processing and who holds the merchant account.
- No plan for what happens when a payment fails or traffic spikes during a sale.