Can you start with a catalog and add the cart later?

Yes, if it is planned for from the very beginning. That is why we ask about the plans up front: adding payment to a catalog that was built with payment in mind is ordinary work. Reworking a catalog built without it costs more.

Do you need a cash register and fiscal reporting?

If you take payment on the site, the question does concern you, and the answer depends on how your business is registered. This is not our field: we do the technical part, and the requirements are worth checking with your own accountant before the work starts.

How many products will a site like this hold?

A few thousand, with nothing special needed. The difficulty starts not with the number but with how many attributes a product has and whether the prices change automatically.

And what if you already sell on Instagram?

Then the site does a different job: it shows the full range and takes orders at the hours when you have no time to reply. Instagram stays where it is — it brings people in, the site takes the orders.

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Article · choosing

Online store or catalog: where to start selling online

“We need an online store” is the request we hear most often. And in about half the cases it turns out that a store in the full sense is not needed, what is needed is a catalog that is easy to order from. The difference in the work, and in the trouble afterwards, is large.

September 2, 2026 · 6 min read

How they differ

A catalog shows the goods and lets someone order — through a form, a call or a message. A store adds a cart to that, payment on the site, stock tracking and order statuses.

The difference is not just in building it. A store is daily work: the stock has to match, the payments have to be reconciled, the returns have to be handled. A catalog does not create that work.

A store is bought once and looked after every day. It is the second part that people usually leave out.

When a catalog is enough

There are not many products and they rarely run out.
The price depends on the order: size, how the order is put together, delivery. Here the person needs a conversation anyway.
You sell what people want to ask about first — furniture, equipment, services that come with materials.
There are not many orders yet, and taking them in a messenger is faster than in a system.

An example: a catalog with a calculation → A furniture workshop. The visitor puts a set together, sees the price and the drawing — and only then writes. There is no cart with payment here, and none is needed.

When it has to be a store

There are many products, they are of the same kind and they run out.
The person has to buy right now, without a conversation, or they will change their mind.
You sell the same things to regular customers, and it is easier for them to repeat an order themselves.
Payment up front is a matter of principle: that way you do not spend time on the ones who changed their mind.

An example: a store with a cart → A coffee roastery. A cart, payment and a subscription — because coffee is bought regularly and with no questions for the seller.

The middle path we recommend most often

Start with a catalog that already has everything except payment: product pages, search, filters, an order form. People start ordering, and you see what they actually take and how many such orders there really are.

You add the cart and the payment when you start missing them yourself. Until then you are not paying for what you do not use, and not keeping track of stock for the sake of five orders a week.

What is worth deciding before the work starts

Who keeps the products up to date: you yourself or someone once a month. That decides whether a panel is needed.
Where the stock numbers come from — your head, a spreadsheet or your accounting software.
How the person pays: on the site, by bank transfer or when they receive the goods.
Who replies to orders, and where they will see them.

Those four answers set the amount of work more than the number of products does.

Questions

Common questions

Can you start with a catalog and add the cart later?Yes, if it is planned for from the very beginning. That is why we ask about the plans up front: adding payment to a catalog that was built with payment in mind is ordinary work. Reworking a catalog built without it costs more.
Do you need a cash register and fiscal reporting?If you take payment on the site, the question does concern you, and the answer depends on how your business is registered. This is not our field: we do the technical part, and the requirements are worth checking with your own accountant before the work starts.
How many products will a site like this hold?A few thousand, with nothing special needed. The difficulty starts not with the number but with how many attributes a product has and whether the prices change automatically.
And what if you already sell on Instagram?Then the site does a different job: it shows the full range and takes orders at the hours when you have no time to reply. Instagram stays where it is — it brings people in, the site takes the orders.

Not sure what exactly you need?

Describe what you sell and how many orders you have now. We will say whether a cart with payment is needed, or whether it will add work for you and add nothing to sales.

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