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eCommerce Software Development

eCommerce platforms built
to convert, retain, and scale.

Off-the-shelf platforms work well until they do not. We build custom eCommerce platforms and extend existing ones: headless commerce architecture, complex integrations, and the performance engineering that turns traffic into revenue.

Core Web Vitals
Top 10% Performance
50+
eCommerce Projects
Headless / API-First
Architecture
Shopify / Magento
WooCommerce and Custom
Our Expertise

eCommerce development where performance and conversion are engineering requirements

eCommerce platforms are among the clearest examples of the relationship between engineering quality and business outcomes. A 100ms improvement in page load time produces measurable conversion rate improvement. A checkout flow with one fewer step produces measurable completion rate improvement. These relationships are direct and well-documented.

Our eCommerce development practice treats performance and conversion as engineering requirements with measurable targets, not aspirational goals to be addressed after launch. Core Web Vitals targets are defined and measured from the first sprint.

When to go headless and when not to

Headless commerce delivers genuine advantages for businesses needing superior frontend performance, multi-channel commerce, or design flexibility beyond platform themes. The trade-off is real: higher development complexity and higher initial investment. We recommend headless when performance or flexibility requirements justify it, and recommend staying on Shopify Plus when they do not.

eCommerce integration: the work that determines operational reliability

The most common source of customer complaints and operational cost in eCommerce is integrations. Stock discrepancies causing overselling, pricing errors from delayed ERP synchronisation, and fulfilment delays from manual order transfer are all integration problems. We design eCommerce system integration for reliability and observability so failures surface as operational alerts rather than customer complaints.

Every Project Includes
Performance budgets from the first sprint
Core Web Vitals targets set at architecture stage and measured throughout development, not optimised in a final pre-launch sprint.
Mobile-first, conversion-optimised UX
User flows designed and tested for mobile conversion where the majority of eCommerce traffic occurs and conversion rates are most sensitive to performance.
Inventory and fulfilment integration
Integration with WMS, 3PL providers, ERP inventory modules, and dropship suppliers as core project scope, not add-ons after the storefront is live.
Payment gateway and fraud management
Multiple payment method support, SCA-compliant checkout flows, and fraud scoring integration as standard project components.
Search and product discovery
Full-text and faceted search with Elasticsearch or Algolia delivering the search experience that drives product discovery and reduces bounce rate.
Analytics and A/B testing infrastructure
GA4, Segment, and A/B testing tools configured from launch so optimisation decisions are based on data from the first transaction.
What We Build

Specialisations & capabilities

🛍
Headless Commerce Development

Decoupled frontend consuming commerce APIs delivering superior page performance, design flexibility, and the ability to run multiple storefronts from a single backend without the performance compromises of traditional monolithic platforms.

🔧
Shopify and Shopify Plus Development

Custom Shopify theme development, app development, checkout customisation, and complex integrations for brands that want to stay on Shopify while extending beyond standard configuration.

🏗
Custom eCommerce Platform Development

Ground-up eCommerce platforms for businesses whose product catalogue structure, pricing logic, or buying process cannot be handled by configurable off-the-shelf solutions.

🔗
eCommerce System Integration

Connecting eCommerce platforms to ERP, WMS, PIM, 3PL, accounting software, and marketing automation creating the unified data flow that prevents stock discrepancies and fulfilment delays.

📊
Commerce Analytics and Personalisation

Data pipelines aggregating eCommerce events into analytics platforms, personalisation engines surfacing relevant products, and A/B testing infrastructure enabling continuous conversion optimisation.

eCommerce Performance Engineering

Technical SEO and Core Web Vitals optimisation for existing platforms addressing the JavaScript bloat, image optimisation gaps, and server response issues that cause search ranking and conversion problems.

Our Process

How every engagement runs

01
Commerce Discovery

We map your product catalogue, pricing model, customer segments, and fulfilment process, identifying where standard platform configuration is sufficient and where custom development is required.

02
Architecture and UX Design

Headless vs platform-native decision, frontend performance architecture, and mobile-first UX design completed and validated before development begins.

03
Development and Integration

Frontend and backend developed in parallel. ERP, WMS, and payment integrations built and tested as core project components.

04
Launch and Optimise

Performance validated against Core Web Vitals targets before go-live. Analytics configured for data-driven optimisation from the first day of trading.

Track Record

Numbers that reflect real outcomes

50+
eCommerce projects delivered
40%
Average conversion rate improvement
Top 10%
Core Web Vitals scores
99.9%
Platform uptime delivered
Technology Stack

Tools we use in production

Commerce Platforms
Shopify / Shopify PlusMagento 2 / Adobe CommerceWooCommerceCustom Next.js Commerce
Frontend
Next.jsReactNuxt.jsGatsbyShopify Hydrogen
Search and Discovery
ElasticsearchAlgoliaMeilisearch
Integrations
KlaviyoSegmentNetSuiteBrightpearlShipBobRoyal Mail API
Start the Conversation

eCommerce platform not converting as well as it should?

Book a free eCommerce audit call. We will review your current platform performance, conversion funnel, and integration landscape and give you an honest picture of what is limiting growth.

eCommerce Software Development

What separates eCommerce platforms that grow revenue from ones that limit it?

The eCommerce platform development decision between custom, Shopify, Magento, or headless is consequential because migration costs are significant and the chosen platform constrains what is achievable for years. The right answer depends on product catalogue complexity, pricing model, customer segment, and operational integration needs.

At Softtech IT, our Shopify development and custom commerce practice starts with a platform assessment mapping requirements against the capabilities and limitations of each option before recommending an approach. For many mid-market retailers, Shopify Plus with custom integrations is the right choice for lower total cost of ownership.

Custom eCommerce development is justified when your pricing model includes customer-specific or volume pricing; your product catalogue includes complex configurators; your buying process requires approval workflows or purchase order management; or integration requirements involve ERP and WMS systems needing real-time bidirectional data flow.

eCommerce software developmentShopify development companyheadless commerce developmentcustom eCommerce platform developmenteCommerce integration servicesB2B eCommerce developmentMagento developmenteCommerce performance optimisationeCommerce CROeCommerce system integrationWooCommerce developmentNext.js eCommerce
Performance and Conversion

The engineering decisions that determine eCommerce conversion rate and revenue per visitor

eCommerce performance optimisation has a direct relationship with revenue. Core Web Vitals scores affect Google Shopping and organic search rankings. On mobile where 60 percent or more of eCommerce traffic arrives, the performance gap between a well-optimised and poorly-optimised page is often the difference between a completed purchase and a bounce. We address performance at the architecture stage: server-side rendering strategy, image optimisation pipeline, JavaScript bundle strategy, CDN configuration, and third-party script management.

B2B eCommerce architecture has fundamentally different requirements from B2C commerce: customer-specific pricing catalogs, company account management with multiple buyer users and approval workflows, credit account and invoicing support, purchase order capture, and product catalogue visibility rules. Standard Shopify or WooCommerce configurations handle none of these natively.

eCommerce system integration between storefront, ERP, WMS, and 3PL requires architecture that handles integration failures without cascading to customer-facing order issues. The event-driven integration pattern provides the reliability and observability that polling-based integrations do not, with dead letter queues for failed events and retry logic for transient failures.

Headless Architecture Decisions

Headless commerce separates the frontend from the commerce backend. The frontend in React or Next.js provides better performance and design flexibility. The right commerce backend depends on your requirements: Shopify as headless using the Storefront API, Commercetools for complex B2B catalogue and pricing requirements, or a custom backend for businesses whose commerce logic cannot be mapped to any platform.

B2B eCommerce Architecture

B2B eCommerce requires customer-specific pricing catalogs, company account management with multiple buyer users and approval workflows, credit account support, purchase order capture, and product catalogue visibility rules based on customer segment. We design B2B eCommerce architectures handling these requirements without the performance compromises many B2B platforms accept.

eCommerce Integration Reliability

eCommerce integration between storefront, ERP, WMS, and 3PL requires architecture that handles failures without cascading to order issues. The event-driven pattern with message queues provides reliability and observability. Dead letter queues capture failed events. Retry logic handles transient failures. Integration monitoring surfaces issues before they appear in customer complaints.

Frequently Asked Questions
Shopify Plus is right for DTC brands with standard catalogues and B2C retailers where managed infrastructure and the app ecosystem reduce operational overhead. Magento is compelling for large catalogues with complex product attributes and businesses requiring significant checkout customisation. Custom development is justified for B2B eCommerce with account-based pricing and approval workflows, complex configurators, regulated product categories, or integration requirements that platform APIs cannot support reliably.
Headless separates the frontend from the commerce backend. The frontend in Next.js or React provides better performance and design flexibility. Headless is justified when your current platform performance limits conversion and cannot be resolved through optimisation, when you need genuinely different storefronts for different markets, or when design requirements exceed what platform themes support. It adds development complexity so we only recommend it when requirements justify the investment.
We design eCommerce to ERP and WMS integrations based on the specific systems and data flows involved. Common patterns include Shopify to NetSuite using the connector or custom middleware, Shopify to SAP using Business Connector or custom API integration, and Magento to Dynamics using Commerce integration modules. We pay particular attention to stock synchronisation latency, order status update flows, and error handling preventing integration failures from causing stock discrepancies.
Yes. We begin with a technical audit measuring Core Web Vitals on real devices, profiling JavaScript bundle size and execution time, analysing image delivery, reviewing server response time, and assessing third-party script impact. We then prioritise optimisations by impact-to-effort ratio. Typical results are 30 to 60 percent improvements in Largest Contentful Paint and 50 percent or more improvement in Total Blocking Time.
A custom Shopify Plus theme with integrations typically costs 25,000 to 80,000 GBP. A headless commerce build with Shopify or Commercetools backend ranges from 60,000 to 200,000 GBP. A custom B2B eCommerce platform with account-based pricing, approval workflows, and ERP integration typically costs 100,000 to 350,000 GBP. A Magento implementation for mid-market retail ranges from 80,000 to 250,000 GBP. For context on what leading Custom software development services companies deliver, independent rankings provide useful benchmarks.