Comparison
Brochure website or online store: what you can run day to day
An online store is not a more expensive website — it is a second job: stock, orders, returns and tax obligations, every working day.
The most expensive mistake we see at small companies is not a badly built website — it is an online store opened with nobody to operate it: orders confirmed late, stock out of sync, returns handled chaotically, and a sales channel that dies within six months even though it works perfectly on the technical side. The gap between the two kinds of site is first one of purpose and only then one of money. A brochure website (an indicative €1,500–5,000) informs and generates quote requests or bookings; a store (an indicative €1,500–10,000+) sells directly but commits you to daily operations — stock management, order processing, a returns policy compliant with the consumer legislation in force, invoices transmitted through e-Factura. The decision rule: if you sell standardised products with stock and a fixed price, build the store and allocate operating resources from day one; if you sell services or configurable products where every order starts with a conversation, build the brochure site with request forms, possibly a product catalogue without a basket.
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Key takeaways
Where the brochure website wins
Low start-up and upkeep cost, no daily operating obligations and total focus on one objective: getting the visitor to contact you. For services, made-to-order manufacturing or B2B with negotiated pricing, it converts better than a shopping basket that would only raise questions.
Where the online store wins
It sells on its own, around the clock, independent of your schedule: the customer orders, pays and receives confirmation at three in the morning. For standardised products held in stock, it is the only model that scales beyond the number of calls you can answer.
The long-run operating difference
A brochure site takes a few hours a month for content and updates. A store needs somebody every single day: order processing, stock synchronisation, couriers, returns, accounting with e-Factura. Cost that person in before comparing the price tags of the two sites.
The middle road: a catalogue without a basket
Products displayed with photos, specifications and a Request a quote button instead of a basket. You get the SEO benefit of product pages without a store's obligations — a fit for equipment, made-to-order furniture or B2B with volume pricing.
The practical test: something to sell directly, and someone to run it?
The first question is not what the site costs but whether anybody in the company can process orders every working day. A store with 10 orders a day realistically means 1–2 hours daily of packing, waybills, customer replies and exceptions, plus heavier bookkeeping. If the answer is that you will fit it in somehow, start with a brochure site or a catalogue and open direct selling only when volume justifies a dedicated person, at least part-time.
The second question: is your product bought or discussed? Bespoke installations, accounting services, construction, made-to-order manufacturing — here a shopping basket is an obstacle, because the price depends on specifications. A brochure site with case studies and a detailed request form brings more qualified leads than an empty store ever would. Conversely, if you sell consumables, spare parts or shelf products at a fixed price, every month without a store is a month of orders somebody else takes.
The figures and obligations quotes never mention
For a store, the development price is only the entry ticket: add the payment processor (an indicative 1–2.5% commission per transaction), the courier contracts, the invoicing module connected to e-Factura — mandatory in both B2B and B2C relationships — plus platform maintenance at an indicative 15–20% a year of the initial cost. Legally you need terms and conditions, a 14-day consumer return policy and correct registration with the consumer-protection and online dispute resolution channels.
A concrete example from practice: a furniture manufacturer asked us for an online store; after analysing the sales flow — every piece is configured to measure — we delivered a catalogue with a request configurator at roughly half the budget estimated for the store. Quote requests grew, and the company did not inherit return obligations for personalised products that the law treats differently anyway. Sometimes the right service is not to sell you the store you asked for.
Frequently asked questions
Can I turn the brochure site into a store later?
Yes, and it is a common route: the structure, the branding and the content stay, and the commerce layer is added as a separate stage. The condition is announcing the intention at the start, so the chosen platform supports the extension — otherwise the conversion can mean an almost complete rebuild.
Is an online store worth it with only 10–20 products?
The number of products matters less than the purchase frequency. Ten consumable products customers reorder monthly comfortably sustain a store; twenty products bought once every few years do not. Calculate realistic monthly orders rather than catalogue size.
What legal obligations does a store have that a brochure site does not?
Considerably more: a 14-day consumer right of withdrawal under the applicable consumer legislation, sales terms and conditions, display of the consumer-protection and dispute-resolution links, invoicing through e-Factura and VAT records on every transaction. A brochure site essentially comes down to data-protection and cookie policies.
Why do both options start from similar prices?
Because a simple store on a standard platform can cost about the same as a carefully made custom brochure site — the ranges overlap at the bottom. The gap explodes with requirements: inventory integration, configurators, thousands of products. Compare offers on functionality, not on the label attached to them.
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Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247