Three very different ways to sell online in India, compared on cost, control and ease - so you pick the right platform for your stage and budget.
If you want to sell online in India, these three represent three philosophies: hosted-and-polished (Shopify), India-first-and-cheap (Dukaan), and free-but-DIY (WooCommerce). The right one depends on your budget, technical comfort and ambition.
Shopify is the polished hosted platform. India plans start around Rs.399/month (Starter) and Rs.1,499/month (Basic) for a full store, hosting included. You get a reliable, app-rich ecosystem and a smooth checkout. The trade-off is monthly cost and, unless you use Shopify Payments-equivalent flows, awareness of transaction fees on third-party gateways. Best for serious D2C brands that want reliability and are happy to pay for it.
Dukaan is India-built and aimed at small sellers who want a store fast and cheap, priced in INR with affordable tiers. It is the most approachable for a local business or first-time seller who wants UPI checkout and a simple catalogue without a learning curve. Best for small Indian sellers and those starting lean.
WooCommerce is a free, open-source plugin for WordPress. The software costs nothing, but you pay for hosting, a theme, and any premium extensions - so "free" really means "you assemble and maintain it". It offers the most control and no platform lock-in. Best for those who already run WordPress or want full ownership and are comfortable managing hosting and updates.
A useful rule: if your time is worth more than the subscription, Shopify or Dukaan saves you the maintenance WooCommerce demands. Whichever you pick, pair it with an Indian payment gateway - see our payment gateway charges guide - and browse storefronts in the e-commerce category. To plan the full toolset, see the stack to launch a D2C brand in India.
Plan pricing changes; confirm current rates on each platform's site.
Turn this research into a workflow with apps, stages, caveats, and next actions.
Start with the product itself: a place to write and ship code, host it reliably, and catch errors in production, because nothing else matters until customers can actually use what you built. Next, get the team coordinated with project management and a shared knowledge base so work and decisions are not lost in chat. Then put customer acquisition on a real CRM so leads, demos, and deals are tracked rather than living in inboxes. Add billing and accounting once you have paying users, choosing payment rails that fit whether you sell to India, abroad, or both, and keep GST-clean books from day one. Finish with customer support, product analytics, and access security so you can keep users happy, see what they actually do, and not get breached. Do not buy enterprise sales, analytics, and security suites before you have product-market signal; sequence around shipping and getting your first paying customers.
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Start by choosing the right no-code platform for what you are building, because a customer-facing web app, a mobile app, and an internal portal each suit different tools. Next, model your data cleanly in a database or spreadsheet backend, since a messy data model is the most common reason no-code projects collapse later. Then build the interface and logic so users have real screens and workflows, not just a database. Add payments, forms, and automations to connect your app to the outside world and remove manual work. Finish by launching, securing team access, and measuring usage so you know the app works and is safe. Do not expect no-code to scale infinitely; it is excellent for validating and running real workflows, but be honest about its ceilings and plan to move to custom code if you outgrow it.
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Start by choosing a website builder that matches your skill and needs, because the builder decides how fast you launch and what you can do later. Sort your domain and hosting next, remembering that most builders bundle hosting while self-hosted WordPress needs its own, so you do not pay twice. Then design and write the site so it looks credible and explains clearly what you offer, since a confusing site loses visitors in seconds. Add lead capture, booking, and payment tools so the site actually does something, whether that is collecting enquiries, taking appointments, or selling. Finish by getting found and measuring, with basic SEO, a Google presence, and analytics so you know what is working. Do not over-build a complex site before you have visitors; launch a clear, fast site and improve it with real data.
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Describe your actual business goal and WhichStack will map the apps, trade-offs, setup stages, and buying caveats.
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