How to build an ecommerce website – steps and timeline

Step zero: choose how to build your ecommerce website

How you build an ecommerce website depends mostly on the platform underneath it. For small and mid-sized shops in Japan, three options come up again and again.

• BASE and similar free-to-start services: create an account, pick a template, add products and you can open. Good for a small range or for testing demand
• Shopify: a monthly subscription platform with flexible design, apps for extra features and strong support for multiple languages and selling abroad. A good fit when you want to grow your own brand's store
• WordPress + WooCommerce: adds a shop to a content-driven site. Very flexible, but you are responsible for hosting and keeping plugins up to date

Four questions usually decide it: how many products you sell, what you can spend each month, who will update the shop, and whether you plan to sell abroad or in more than one language. Write down what you expect to sell in year one and to whom – the right platform tends to become obvious.

What to decide before you build

The part people skip is the shop rules. Settle them before you touch the design, or you will be redoing settings the week before launch.

• Products and prices: what you sell, variants such as color and size, tax-inclusive prices, whether shipping is included
• Payments: credit cards, convenience store payment, bank transfer, buy now pay later
• Shipping: carrier, flat or regional rates, dispatch time, packaging
• Legal pages: the notice required under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions (seller name, address, contact, return policy) and a privacy policy
• Operations: who checks orders, answers questions and updates stock, and how often

Check the Consumer Affairs Agency's current guidance for the exact items the legal notice needs. For the bigger picture of starting a business online, see how to start an online shop.

The build process in six steps

With a platform and rules in place, the work follows a clear order. A quick check at the end of each step prevents rework.

• Account and domain: sign up on the platform, register your own domain and connect it
• Design: choose a theme, apply your logo, colors and fonts, and settle the home page layout
• Products: photos, descriptions, prices, stock and variants – start with 10 to 20 best sellers done well
• Payments and shipping: apply for payment services early (approval can take days), set rates, methods and order emails
• Required pages: legal notice, privacy policy, shipping and returns, FAQ, contact
• Test order and launch: place real orders on a phone and a computer, check payment, emails and stock, then go live

After launch, start tracking with GA4 and Search Console and keep improving product photos and copy. Launch day is the starting line for turning the shop into one that sells.

How long it takes – and what to do yourself

The timeline depends on the platform and the number of products. As a typical guide: a small BASE shop can open in a few days to two weeks; a Shopify store with a tailored design and a few dozen products usually takes one to two months; custom features or a heavily customized design can take three months or more.

• Easy to do yourself: product photos, first drafts of descriptions, shipping and return rules, account sign-ups, daily orders and stock
• Usually slower than expected: a design that really fits your brand, the home page structure, domain and DNS setup, detailed payment and shipping settings
• Worth handing off: mobile checkout usability, page speed, basic SEO, GA4 and ad tags, a Google Shopping connection

You know your products and customers best, so spending your time there and handing off the technical setup and design is usually the fastest route to launch. For budgets, see ecommerce website cost.

Where DIY online shops usually get stuck

If you build the shop yourself, these are the most common reasons a launch slips or sales stay flat.

• Switching templates again and again and never getting to product entry
• Product photos with different lighting and backgrounds, so the shop looks unfinished
• Leaving payment approval to the end, so checkout does not work on launch day
• Complicated shipping rates that make people leave at the cart
• Testing only on a computer and missing how awkward checkout is on a phone
• Launching without tracking, so you cannot see where visitors come from or where they drop off

Each of these is avoidable with a clear order of work and an early start. Design indecision in particular gets much easier once you can see the finished shop.

How UNANOBO builds your shop: a free demo first

Before you commit, UNANOBO builds a free demo of your shop around your brand and products. You check the home page and product pages on your computer and phone, and we decide together whether Shopify, BASE or WordPress/WooCommerce suits you best.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally – one contact from the first demo to marketing after launch – and everything runs by message in Japanese or English. You prepare products and shop rules; UNANOBO handles setup and design, which keeps the timeline realistic. More on the service itself: ecommerce website development.