🇺🇸 Client Onboarding

Ecommerce Website Onboarding

What to expect when we build your online store, step by step. Everything you'll need to prepare, in the order you'll need it.

Region: USA Viewing USA → switch to India

1. Discovery & scope #

We start by understanding your business so we recommend the right approach - not the most expensive one.

Your business goals and what success looks like (sales, leads, brand)
Roughly how many products you'll sell (10, 100, 10,000?)
Target customers and regions (US-only, or international)
Rough timeline and budget band so we can scope realistically
Any existing store, domain, or brand assets you already have

2. Choose your platform #

The foundation. Each option is a valid choice - the right one depends on your catalogue, budget and how custom your store needs to be.

Shopify

Fastest to launch

Hosted, subscription-based store. Huge app ecosystem, reliable checkout, minimal maintenance. Best when you want to sell quickly and care less about deep custom logic. Monthly fee + transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments.

WooCommerce

Most flexible on WordPress

A plugin on top of WordPress. Cheap hosting, thousands of plugins, full ownership of data. Great if you already use WordPress or want content + commerce together. You (or we) manage hosting, updates and security.

Custom build

Maximum control

A bespoke storefront - typically Next.js/React on Vercel with a headless commerce backend (Medusa, Saleor) or a custom API. Best for unique flows, large catalogues, or when the store is core to your business. Highest upfront cost, best long-term flexibility and performance.

ℹ Note - We build on all three. For custom stores our default stack is Next.js + Vercel with Supabase/PostgreSQL for data, and a headless CMS (Sanity or Strapi) when you need to edit content yourself. We'll recommend the right fit for your catalogue size, budget and roadmap - you don't need to decide this alone.

3. Accounts & credentials to prepare #

A few accounts must be in your name (the business owner's), so you always retain ownership. We'll guide you through each.

Domain registrar

Where your domain (yourbrand.com) is registered - e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare. We'll need access to point DNS.

Business email

Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 on your domain (e.g. hello@yourbrand.com).

Hosting (if not us/Shopify)

For WooCommerce/custom we usually host on Vercel or a managed host. If you have existing hosting, share access.

GitHub (custom builds)

For custom stores, code lives in a GitHub repo that deploys to Vercel. We can host it under Uxory or your own org.

4. Branding, content & imagery #

Your store only looks as good as the assets behind it. Here's what we'll need from you (or can produce for you through our partner agencies):

Logo - send us your existing logo files (SVG/PNG preferred). No logo yet? Let us know and our design team will create one.
Brand colours & fonts - share your palette and fonts, or ask us to define a brand system.
Product photography - decide between: (a) you supply images, (b) licensed stock imagery, or (c) a professional photo/video shoot with our partner agencies. Good product photos are the single biggest driver of conversion.
Product descriptions & copy - you provide raw details; we can polish or write the copy.

5. Login, accounts & OTP verification #

How customers sign in and how you verify phone numbers.

Email / password

Simplest. Works everywhere, no extra accounts needed.

Google / Apple sign-in

One-tap social login. Apple is required if you also ship an iOS app.

Phone SMS OTP

Common for accounts and 2FA. Requires an SMS provider + US registration (see below).

WhatsApp verification

Less common in the US than email, but available via the WhatsApp Business API if your audience uses it.

⚠ Important - US-specific - SMS requires A2P 10DLC registration. To send application-to-person SMS on US networks you must register your Brand and Campaign (via Twilio or your provider). It's faster and lighter than India's DLT but still needs doing before OTP works. Tip: email-based OTP avoids this entirely if SMS isn't essential.

Twilio

The default US choice for SMS/OTP - reliable, great docs, handles 10DLC registration.

MessageBird / AWS SNS

Alternatives depending on volume and existing cloud stack.

6. Payments #

You'll create the payment account (it holds your money and verification); we integrate it.

Stripe

The US default. Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, subscriptions. Needs business verification (EIN, bank account).

PayPal / Braintree

Widely trusted at checkout; easy to add alongside Stripe for customers who prefer PayPal.

Shopify Payments

If you go with Shopify, this is the built-in option (waives Shopify's extra transaction fee).

ℹ Note - Sales tax is the US wrinkle: you may have tax obligations ("nexus") in states where you have customers or presence. We integrate automated tax via Stripe Tax, TaxJar or Avalara so it's calculated correctly at checkout. You create the gateway account and complete verification; then share API keys with us.

7. Shipping & operations #

How orders reach customers. We integrate your chosen provider so rates, labels and tracking are automated.

Shippo / EasyPost

Multi-carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx) with discounted rates and one API/dashboard.

ShipStation

Great for higher order volumes - batch labels, automation rules, returns.

ℹ Note - Plan your returns policy early (free returns? restocking fee? prepaid labels?) - it affects checkout copy and logistics setup.

8. Legal & compliance pages #

Required before launch. We build the pages; you (with your attorney) confirm the specifics for your business.

Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Return / Refund policy
Shipping policy

⚠ Important - US specifics: sales-tax nexus (above); CCPA/CPRA if you have California customers (privacy rights + a "Do Not Sell" link); ADA accessibility is an expectation and a litigation risk - we build to WCAG standards; and CAN-SPAM rules for marketing email (clear unsubscribe, valid physical address).

9. Marketing & analytics setup #

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) - traffic and conversion tracking
Google Search Console - SEO health and indexing
Meta Pixel - Facebook/Instagram ad tracking & retargeting
Google Merchant Center - free & paid product listings on Google
Email marketing (Klaviyo / Mailchimp) - newsletters, abandoned-cart flows
TikTok / Pinterest pixels - if those channels fit your audience

10. Testing, launch & handover #

Before go-live we run a structured round of testing and feedback. This is where the Uxory client portal makes life easy - you point at any page, mark the exact section, and request changes with screenshots. No messy email threads.

User acceptance testing (you try real orders end-to-end)
Structured feedback rounds via the Uxory client portal
Go-live checklist: payments live, SSL, redirects, analytics firing
Credentials handover - every account stays in your name
Training session + a support/maintenance plan

11. What we need from you, when #

A quick map so nothing blocks the build. Typical durations - yours may vary with scope.

Phase	You provide	Typical time
Discovery	Goals, catalogue size, references	2–4 days
Platform & design	Logo, brand, product photos/copy	1–2 weeks
Accounts	Domain, email, payment verification, 10DLC (if SMS)	Parallel - start day 1
Build	Timely feedback via the portal	3–8 weeks (scope-based)
Launch	Final approval, go-live sign-off	2–5 days

ℹ Note - The two things worth starting on day one are payment-gateway verification and (if you're using SMS) A2P 10DLC registration - both are on your side and take a little lead time. Everything else we can build in parallel.

Ready to start?

Book a call and we'll walk you through this for your specific store - no obligation.

Talk to Uxory

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Store Onboarding - India

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