Choosing
A website for a shop, wholesaler or product brand
Sellers of products must decide whether the site shows, takes enquiries or checks out. Here is how shops, wholesalers and brands usually choose, and what each route needs.
If you sell products, your first decision is not the design. It is what the website should do with a customer who wants to buy: show them, take an enquiry, or take the order and payment. The answer differs for a neighbourhood shop, a wholesaler, a distributor and a brand with its own label, and it decides the cost and the effort. This guide covers retail shops, wholesalers, distributors, jewellery businesses, clothing brands and beauty brands.
I build business sites that present products and take enquiries, and I have two live product-catalogue sites to show on the Work page. I have not built an online store for a client and do not claim to have; payments and carts are not part of my packages unless agreed in writing.
Three jobs a product website can do
- Show. Present the range so a customer knows what you sell and can judge quality. Contact by phone or WhatsApp to buy.
- Take enquiries. Show products with specifications and let customers ask for a price or a quotation. This is how most wholesalers and B2B sellers work, and it is what a product catalogue site is for.
- Sell. A cart, checkout and payment. This is a shop, with a shop’s duties.
Catalogue website or online store helps you choose.
What each seller usually needs
A retail shop: the range, photographs, location and hours, and WhatsApp for “do you have this?” Selling online is optional and a larger step.
A wholesaler or distributor: products by category, specifications, minimum order quantities, the brands carried, the regions served, and a quotation route. Prices are often “on request” because they depend on quantity and customer. See how a quote request should work.
A jewellery business: high-quality photographs, honest descriptions of metal, purity and weight, and a clear route to ask about price, which changes with the market. If you describe gold jewellery, check the current rules on hallmarking before you publish claims.
A clothing or beauty brand: product pages with sizes, materials or ingredients, care or usage, and where to buy: your own store, a marketplace or a retailer. Be careful with claims about skin or health results.
Product pages that help
- A clear name and a clean photograph from several angles.
- Specifications in a table that reads on a phone.
- What is included, and what is not.
- Price or how to ask for it, plus any minimum order.
- Availability only if you can keep it current.
- A way to enquire on the same page.
How to organise a product catalogue website explains categories and page templates. Pages that repeat the same text with only the name changed do not help the buyer.
Your own site versus marketplaces
A marketplace listing brings buyers who are already looking, and it also takes fees and the customer relationship. Your own site is where the range is complete and the contact is direct. Many sellers use both. Own website or IndiaMART listing sets out the trade-off.
If you do want to sell online
An online store needs a payment provider, a checkout, order handling, shipping, returns and tax invoicing, which is a continuing business. Consider a platform built for it; see website platforms compared and online payments on a business website. Not every seller needs this, and starting with a catalogue and WhatsApp is a sound first step.
Size and cost
The number of products usually sets the package, because each product with its own useful content is a page. Essential covers 20 to 30 pages at ₹19,999, frontend only; Growth covers 70 to 100 pages at ₹24,999 with SEO work and the first month; Complete covers 100 to 200 pages at ₹34,999. The pricing page lists what each includes. Message or call Harman with what you sell and about how many products.