Online store development, delivered in milestones
Ordering a store on CommerCentr means a brief, an agreed estimate and milestone-based work: funds sit in escrow and are released only after you accept each milestone. The store runs on your hosting under a perpetual licence — the code and data belong to you, not to the platform.
Three ways to get your store
A free CMS build: install it on your hosting and add payments and shipping as catalog modules. You only pay for the modules you actually need.
Get Community for freeA developer assembles the store from your brief: design, content, payments, shipping, SEO basics. You accept the work in milestones — escrow holds the money until acceptance.
Order developmentNeed a module that does not exist yet? Several buyers co-fund its development — each pays a share, every participant gets the result.
Browse campaignsHow an order works
You describe what you sell and what the store needs. You get back an estimate with a clear list of work and milestones — no hidden items.
The money is reserved on the platform instead of going straight to the contractor. The developer sees the order is funded; you see the payment is protected.
Every milestone has a verifiable result: installed build, configured payments, populated catalog. Progress is visible in your account.
When you accept a milestone, its share of the payment is released. At the end you get a working store on your hosting, all credentials and a perpetual licence.
What makes up the price
The cost of building a store depends on scope, so the honest answer is an estimate from a brief, not a number from an ad. Here is what drives it:
The Community build is free — you do not pay for the engine, only for the work and any paid modules.
A ready theme with configuration is cheaper; custom design costs more and takes longer.
Payment gateways, carriers and fiscal receipts are installed as ready modules rather than written from scratch.
The number of products and migration from OpenCart, a SaaS platform or spreadsheets directly affects the timeline.
Special pricing rules, B2B price lists, ERP integrations — anything not covered by ready modules is estimated separately.
How this differs from hiring an agency
- Escrow instead of an upfront payment on trust: money is released only after milestone acceptance.
- Perpetual licence: the store is not rented — the code, the data and the hosting are yours.
- An open module catalog: payments, shipping and SEO are installed as ready modules — fewer development hours in the estimate.
- Visible progress: milestones, chat and acceptance live in the platform account, not in email threads.
Frequently asked questions
How much does online store development cost?
It depends on scope: a basic store on a ready build with payments and shipping configured is one budget; custom design with a migration of thousands of products is another. Send a brief — the estimate is free and comes with no obligations.
Can I start for free?
Yes. The Community build is free and perpetual: install it yourself and pay only for paid modules if you need them. You can order development later — on the same build.
Who owns the finished store?
You do. The store runs on your hosting under a perpetual licence; the source code and the database are yours. The platform cannot switch your store off.
How am I protected from a bad contractor?
The payment sits in platform escrow and is released in parts — after each milestone is accepted. If a milestone is not delivered, its money does not go to the contractor; disputes are reviewed by a platform arbiter.
Do you migrate stores from other platforms?
Yes, catalog and data migration is a typical milestone. The migration scope is described in the brief and fixed in the estimate as a separate milestone with its own acceptance.