Choosing an e-commerce platform is less about features and more about fit. A store selling fifty simple products has very different needs from a supplier whose doors come in dozens of sizes, finishes and hardware options. Here are three routes we use and when each makes sense.

WooCommerce: fast launch, standard catalogues

WooCommerce runs on WordPress, so content pages, blog and shop live in one place. It suits businesses with a straightforward catalogue, standard checkout and a team already comfortable with WordPress.

  • Good fit: retail catalogues, simple variations, quick launch, content-led marketing.
  • Watch for: plugin overload. Each plugin adds weight and maintenance, and speed suffers when a store relies on many of them to force custom behaviour.

Laravel with a Filament admin: your rules, your back office

Laravel is a PHP framework, and Filament provides a polished admin panel on top of it. Together they suit stores whose pricing, ordering or fulfilment rules are specific to the business, and teams that need back-office screens shaped around their daily work.

  • Good fit: B2B pricing, trade accounts, quote requests, approval steps, integrations with stock or accounting systems.
  • Watch for: a larger first build than a theme-based store. Plan a focused first release.

Fully custom: when the product itself is complex

Some catalogues do not fit any standard product model. A door, for example, can belong to a family, come in several variants, and each variant can have its own available sizes and prices. A custom data model and product configurator let customers choose exactly what they need while staff manage the catalogue sensibly.

  • Good fit: configurable products, very large variant counts, unusual checkout flows such as order-by-message alongside card payment.
  • Watch for: you own the whole system, so budget for ongoing support.

Five questions that usually decide it

  • How many products and variants will you manage in a year's time?
  • Do different customers see different prices or terms?
  • Who updates the store every day, and what do they need to do quickly?
  • Which payment, shipping and accounting tools must it connect to?
  • Is content (guides, blog, landing pages) central to how you sell?

Whatever the platform, speed and a clear checkout matter more than any single feature. Design for the phone first, keep scripts to a minimum and test the checkout with real users before launch.