Product
A web shop or selling through Instagram
A web shop pays off when the questions in your Instagram messages start costing more time than the sales are worth. Until then, selling through Instagram is cheaper and often faster. These are the signs of which side of that line you are on.
Selling through direct messages works because it is personal. Someone sees a post, asks, you answer, they pay on delivery. The catch is that every sale is a conversation, and conversations do not grow past what you can type in a day.
- 01Stock
- 02Size
- 03Delivery
- 04Address
Five messages in, there is still no order. Every question had an answer that could have been on a page.
When Instagram selling is enough
- The range is small and changes often. A handful of pieces, often one-offs, that sell out from a single post.
- You know most of your buyers. Regulars and their friends, who would message you anyway.
- Cash on delivery suits your customers. Most buyers in the region are used to it, and it needs no payment setup.
- You reply within the hour. If you can keep that up, messages close sales well.
When a web shop pays off
The signal is usually one of these six.
A web shop brings work of its own. Every product needs photos, a description and a price. Stock has to stay in sync with what is on the shelf. You need terms of sale and a privacy policy, and invoices with PDV if you are registered for it. None of that disappears because the site exists.
The middle path: a catalogue with ordering by message
Between the two sits a site that shows everything and hands the order to a chat. We built this for Quadomania, a quad tour operator in Žabljak. The site lists five tours by difficulty and duration. Booking opens WhatsApp or Viber with the tour, the date and the number of riders already in the message. Cards, deposits and accounts were left out, because each one is a step where a tourist choosing between two operators on a phone stops.
For a shop, the same idea runs in four steps.
- 1The customer browses the cataloguePhotos, prices, sizes and delivery terms answer the usual questions before anyone writes.
- 2They choose and tap orderThe product, size and quantity are picked on the page.
- 3The message arrives filled inWhatsApp or Viber opens with the order already written, so you read it instead of asking for it.
- 4You confirm and shipCash on delivery or bank transfer, the same as today.
It keeps the personal side of selling in messages and removes the repeated questions. It can also grow into a shop later. The product pages stay and a checkout is added.
What it costs with us
Websites with us start from 900 euros, and a web shop from 1,500. The price moves with the number of products and languages and with whether payments are involved, so a shop with card checkout is a larger build than a catalogue that hands orders to a chat. Scope, price and payment terms are agreed in writing before work starts. If you are still deciding whether you need a site at all, start with Why a business needs a website beyond a social media page.
Questions owners ask
Can I keep selling on Instagram if I have a web shop?
Yes. Posts and your bio link to product pages, and people who prefer to message still can.
Do I need card payments from the first day?
No. Cash on delivery and bank transfer work for many shops in the region. Card payment matters most when you sell to buyers abroad.
Have you built web shops?
The closest build in our portfolio is the Quadomania catalogue, with booking handed to WhatsApp and Viber. For a shop with a checkout, the first meeting settles the scope, the price and a start date.
What should I prepare?
Photos and descriptions of your products, prices, delivery terms and a returns policy. The site waits for these more often than they wait for the site.
