Shopify is the default recommendation when a UK SME owner googles “how to sell online” — and for good reason, if you are launching a serious retail operation. But if you are a florist in Leeds adding bouquet deliveries to an existing website, or a ceramics maker in Brighton selling six items alongside weekend market sales, Shopify is a lorry delivering a single parcel. Overkill, expensive, and forces a complete migration away from the website you already have.
This guide covers the alternatives that suit UK small businesses selling 5–50 products: embedded e-commerce inside your existing site, WooCommerce on WordPress, and bundled builder options like Sitejet Builder. Real UK pricing, honest comparison, step-by-step setup, and how to decide which route fits your situation.
Do you actually need a dedicated e-commerce platform? • Three alternatives to Shopify • Embedded shops: how Ecwid works inside your site • What you can sell and how payments work • Full cost comparison — 2026 UK figures • Setting up your first products: a walkthrough • UK shipping and VAT • UK legal requirements for online sellers • When to outgrow and move to Shopify/BigCommerce • FAQ
Before spending money on any tool, ask what you are selling and at what volume. A dedicated e-commerce platform like Shopify or BigCommerce is the right pick when:
Most UK SMEs do not fit that profile. Most want to sell a handful of items — anywhere between 1 and 50 products — alongside an existing website that already covers services, portfolio, blog and contact information. The website is the main asset; the shop is a feature added to it.
For those businesses, a lightweight shop embedded into your existing site is faster to set up, cheaper to run and far simpler to manage. You keep your website, design, domain name and content. The shop is another section on your site, not a separate universe.
Treat it like storage: you would not rent a warehouse for a few boxes when you have a shelf in the room already. The same logic applies online.
WooCommerce is a free open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. It handles product listings, cart, checkout, shipping calculations, tax and orders. Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Who WooCommerce suits: UK SMEs already on WordPress, comfortable with plugin management, wanting tight control over e-commerce logic. Less good for owners who want to “just sell stuff” without technical overhead.
The simplest possible approach: a product page on your website with photos and descriptions, plus a Stripe or PayPal payment link for each item. Customer clicks link, pays, you receive notification. Pros: free, no platform to learn. Cons:
Viable for one or two products (consultation slot, single book, digital download). Breaks down fast beyond that.
This is the middle ground — and the sweet spot for most UK SMEs. An embedded-shop tool like Ecwid adds a fully functional online store to your existing website without replacing anything. You keep your current design, domain and content. The shop appears as a section or page within the site. Ecwid handles cart, checkout, payments, inventory and order management. You handle the products.
With Sitejet Builder on smartxhosting.uk, Ecwid is already integrated. Nothing extra to install or configure separately — add an e-commerce element to any page and the shop is there.
Ecwid (short for “e-commerce widget”) was designed from the ground up for exactly this use case: adding a shop to an existing website. It is not a standalone platform like Shopify. It does not replace your site. It embeds within it.
The integration with Sitejet Builder works like this:
Total setup time: 1–2 hours once you have product photos and descriptions ready.
Ecwid is not limited to physical products. You can sell:
The payment provider is the company that actually processes the card transaction. Ecwid connects to your chosen provider — Ecwid itself does not handle money. The most popular UK options:
| Provider | Card types accepted | UK fees | Payout speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe UK | Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay | 1.5% + 20p | 2 business days | Default choice for most UK SMEs |
| PayPal UK | Visa, Mastercard, Amex, PayPal balance | 1.99% + 20p (scales down with volume) | Instant to PayPal, 1 day to bank | Customers who trust PayPal; familiar brand |
| Square UK | Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay | 1.4% + 25p (online) | 1–2 business days | Businesses already using Square POS |
| Klarna | Buy now, pay later; 3–30 installments | Merchant fee varies; 3.29% + 20p typical | Standard | Higher-value items £100+ |
| GoCardless | Direct debit (recurring) | 1% (capped £4/transaction) | 2–3 business days | Subscriptions, memberships |
Sitejet Builder charges no transaction fee on top of payment-processor fees. You pay only what Stripe or PayPal takes. This is a material difference from Shopify, which adds its own transaction fee (0.5–2%) unless you exclusively use Shopify Payments.
You can enable Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe for one-tap mobile checkout — significant boost for UK mobile conversion rates.
Numbers tell the story. For a UK small business selling 5–50 products:
| Cost item | Shopify (Basic) | Shopify (Shopify plan) | WooCommerce | Ecwid on Sitejet Builder |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | £19/month | £49/month | Free (plugin) | Free to 5 products; £15/month (Venture) for more |
| Hosting | Included | Included | £3–15/month (separate) | Included in £5/mo Sitejet Builder |
| Domain name | £10–15/year | £10–15/year | £10–15/year | £10–15/year |
| SSL | Included | Included | Usually free (Let’s Encrypt) | Included |
| Transaction fees (on top of processor) | 0.5–2% | 0.5–1% | 0% (from WooCommerce) | 0% (from Sitejet/Ecwid) |
| Payment processing | 1.5% + 20p (Shopify Payments) | Same | 1.5% + 20p (Stripe) | 1.5% + 20p (Stripe) |
| Theme / templates | Free basic; paid £150–350 | Same | Free basic; paid £30–80 | 170+ included free |
| App marketplace | £0–200+/month | Same | Free plugins; paid extensions £50–500/year | Built-in features cover most needs |
| Technical maintenance | Managed by Shopify | Managed by Shopify | You (updates, security, backups) | Managed by smartxhosting.uk |
| Year 1 total (5 products) | £240+ | £600+ | £50–195 | £70–75 |
| Year 1 total (50 products active shop) | £350–600 | £700–1,000 | £150–500 | £250–270 |
For a UK small business selling a handful of products, the difference is stark. Shopify Basic costs roughly three times Ecwid on Sitejet in the first year alone — and the gap widens over time as Shopify app subscriptions compound. WooCommerce can be very cheap in cash but the hidden cost is your time maintaining it.
For a broader look at website costs, see how much does a business website cost in the UK.
Let us walk through adding your first product on Sitejet Builder + Ecwid. This assumes you already have a Sitejet site up and running. If not, start with how to order and launch a Sitejet Builder site.
Open the Sitejet editor. Navigate to the page where you want your shop to appear — a new page called “Shop” is usual, but existing pages (home, services) work too. Drag the Ecwid e-commerce element from the Elements panel to the chosen location. The shop widget appears immediately, ready for products.
From within Sitejet Builder, open the Ecwid control panel. This is where you manage products, orders, customers, payments and shipping. The dashboard is separate from the Sitejet editor but reached directly from it — single sign-on handles authentication.
Click Add new product and fill in:
Save the product. It renders on your website immediately.
In the Ecwid dashboard → Payments. Select Stripe (recommended for UK) and follow the wizard. You need a Stripe account — sign-up takes ~10 minutes and needs your business details and bank account for payouts. Once connected, your shop accepts Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Add PayPal in parallel if you want to accept PayPal balance — some UK customers prefer it.
UK delivery options:
Before going live, place a test order using Stripe’s test card (4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future expiry and any 3-digit CVC). Confirm the order appears in Ecwid, the customer email sends, the shipping calculation looks right.
Publish the Sitejet page. Your shop is live. Promote it to existing customers, update your social media, and consider a Google Ads campaign targeting local keywords.
Key rules for UK SMEs selling online in 2026:
Ecwid handles VAT automatically once configured: you set your VAT rate per product (standard, reduced, zero, exempt) and the platform adds it at checkout. VAT-registered businesses can display prices ex or inc VAT depending on customer type (B2C should show inc VAT per UK consumer protection rules).
Ecwid and similar embedded shops serve UK SMEs well up to a point. Signals that it is time to consider Shopify, BigCommerce or WooCommerce:
Moving from Ecwid to Shopify at this point is a planned migration (1–4 weeks of work) — product data exports, customer data, order history, URL redirects. Worth the work once volume justifies the monthly subscription jump.
Is Shopify always better than these alternatives?
For small catalogues (under 20 products), usually not — Ecwid on Sitejet Builder handles the basics equally well at one-third the cost. Shopify’s advantages (apps, scalability, multi-channel) kick in at serious e-commerce volume.
What about Wix Stores or Squarespace Commerce?
Wix Stores has the same export problem as the rest of Wix: your site is locked in. Squarespace Commerce is competent but pricier and limited compared to Ecwid. For portability, Sitejet + Ecwid wins.
Can I use Stripe on any builder?
Most modern builders support Stripe. Sitejet Builder, WooCommerce, Squarespace, Wix all do. UK Stripe fees: 1.5% + 20p for UK cards; 2.5% + 20p for EEA cards; 3.25% + 20p for non-EEA.
Do I need to register for VAT to sell online in the UK?
Not until you exceed £90,000/year turnover (UK 2026 threshold). Above that, registration is mandatory within 30 days of crossing. Voluntary registration below the threshold is sometimes useful (lets you reclaim input VAT, signals credibility to B2B).
Do platforms handle physical fulfilment (picking, packing, posting)?
No. Physical logistics is your operation. Integrations with Royal Mail Click & Drop, Shiptheory, Easyship, ShipStation connect platforms to carriers — printing labels, batch shipping, tracking numbers — but the physical work is yours or your 3PL’s.
What about selling on Etsy or eBay as well?
Marketplaces are complementary, not competitive, with your own shop. Most UK craft and small-maker businesses sell on both their own site and a marketplace — each channel brings different customers. Marketplaces take 5–15% fees per sale but bring visibility.
Can I sell digital products like PDFs or online courses?
Yes. Ecwid handles digital products: customer pays, they receive a secure download link automatically. For courses specifically, integrations with Teachable, Thinkific or LearnDash (WordPress) may serve better if you need student progress tracking.
What if I want subscriptions?
Ecwid supports subscription products on paid tiers. Alternatively GoCardless direct-debit integration handles UK monthly/quarterly billing cleanly — typical for boxes, memberships, recurring services.
How do I handle returns?
Ecwid has built-in returns management: customer raises request, you approve or deny, issue refund (full or partial), update status. Your returns policy (published on the site) sets the rules.
What about international selling from the UK?
Post-Brexit, UK sellers to EU face new rules: IOSS registration for <€150 orders, formal customs declarations, potential VAT collection in destination country. For casual overseas sales under £1,000 annual it may not be worth the administrative overhead. For systematic international trade, accountant advice is strongly recommended.