How much does a proper eCommerce platform actually cost over 5 years?

Total cost of ownership varies dramatically by platform type and complexity. Basic Shopify: €15,000-40,000 (subscriptions, apps, themes). Shopify Plus: €100,000-250,000 (higher fees, custom development). Magento/Adobe Commerce: €200,000-500,000+ (licensing, hosting, maintenance, developers). MedusaJS or headless composable: €80,000-200,000 (development, hosting, maintenance, but no licensing fees and lower long-term costs). Hidden costs everyone underestimates: integration development, payment gateway fees, migration from legacy systems, ongoing customization, and scaling infrastructure. We provide detailed TCO models during consultations showing exactly where costs accumulate over time.

Should we choose SaaS platforms like Shopify or open-source like MedusaJS?

It depends on your business model and technical capabilities. Choose SaaS (Shopify, BigCommerce) if: you have straightforward B2C requirements, limited technical team, need to launch quickly (under 3 months), and can work within platform constraints. Choose open-source/composable (MedusaJS, headless) if: you need B2B complexity, custom pricing/approval workflows, unique customer experiences, want to avoid vendor lock-in, have or can hire development resources, and plan significant growth requiring platform flexibility. The crossover point is typically €2-5M annual revenue or when B2B requirements exceed SaaS capabilities. We help identify which category genuinely fits your situation, not which we prefer to build on.

How long does platform migration actually take and what are the risks?

Realistic timelines: Simple migration (Shopify to Shopify Plus): 2-3 months. Medium complexity (WooCommerce to MedusaJS): 4-6 months. Enterprise migration (Magento to headless): 6-12 months. Anyone promising faster is either lying or underestimating scope. Key risks: data migration errors (product catalogs, customer records, order history), SEO ranking loss from URL changes, downtime during cutover, integration failures with ERP/CRM systems, and training gaps for your team. We mitigate these through: comprehensive data validation, 301 redirect strategies, phased rollouts with parallel running, extensive integration testing, and thorough team training. Our 100% on-time delivery record comes from honest timeline estimates and proactive risk management. We’ve executed zero-downtime migrations for enterprise clients, it’s possible with proper planning.

Can MedusaJS really handle enterprise-level eCommerce requirements?

Yes, when properly implemented. MedusaJS is built on Node.js with modern architecture supporting: multi-region deployment, complex B2B pricing matrices, custom approval workflows, unlimited SKUs, advanced inventory management, multi-currency and multi-language, sophisticated tax calculations, and API-first integration with any ERP/CRM/PIM system. We’ve deployed MedusaJS for enterprise clients processing thousands of daily orders across multiple countries. The platform scales horizontally and handles traffic spikes elegantly. The difference from traditional enterprise platforms: no vendor lock-in, no per-transaction fees, complete customization freedom, and modern developer experience reducing ongoing maintenance costs. It requires proper architecture and experienced implementation, which is exactly what we provide as an official MedusaJS Expert Partner.

Why does DBot Software recommend MedusaJS so often?

We recommend MedusaJS when it genuinely fits, which is increasingly common for companies needing flexibility beyond SaaS platforms but wanting to avoid Magento complexity and cost. Specific scenarios where MedusaJS excels: hybrid B2C/B2B models, custom pricing and approval workflows, headless/composable commerce strategies, businesses wanting to avoid vendor lock-in, companies with development teams or partners (like us), and those requiring deep ERP/CRM integrations. We do NOT recommend MedusaJS for: small businesses wanting simple solutions (we suggest Shopify), companies without technical resources and no implementation budget, or situations requiring immediate launch under 8 weeks. We’re honest when other platforms fit better, our 94% retention rate comes from recommendations that work long-term, not maximizing our preferred stack. As MedusaJS Expert Partners, we have deep expertise, but we implement whatever serves your business best.

How to Choose the Right eCommerce Platform in 2026

Your Platform Decision Impacts Revenue for the Next 5 Years

Choosing the wrong eCommerce platform costs companies an average of €250,000 in migration expenses and 6-12 months of lost momentum. We've seen ambitious businesses trapped by platforms that can't scale, bleeding revenue through inflexible checkout flows, or paying enterprise fees for features they don't need. The platform you choose today determines your technical debt, operational costs, and competitive agility for years. DBot Software has guided 50+ companies through this exact decision across 12 industries. We've seen what works, what fails, and what actually matters beyond vendor marketing. Don't let platform limitations cap your growth trajectory before you've even started.

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Internal discussion of DBot team members to find the best AI solution for a client project

/The Challenge/

Why Most Companies Choose the Wrong Platform

The eCommerce platform market is deliberately confusing. SaaS vendors promise enterprise-ready solutions that crumble under B2B complexity. Open-source platforms advertise unlimited customization but require development teams you don't have. You're comparing monthly subscription fees without calculating total cost of ownership. Your team evaluates features on demo calls that look nothing like production reality. Meanwhile, your competitors are already processing orders while you're stuck in analysis paralysis. We've watched companies choose Shopify for its simplicity, only to hit transaction limits at €2M annual revenue. Others select Magento for enterprise power and spend €80,000 annually just keeping it running. The Häfele team faced exactly this: their legacy system couldn't handle complex B2B pricing matrices, creating 30% stock shortage rates and massive manual workload. The wrong platform doesn't just cost money—it strangles operational efficiency and customer experience.

Client retention

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Industries Trusting Our Solutions

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/Our Approach/

The Stakes: Platform Lock-In vs. Competitive Advantage

Your platform choice compounds over time. Choose wrong, and in 18 months you're either paying ransom-level enterprise fees or planning a costly migration while competitors innovate. You'll watch market opportunities pass because your platform can't support multi-currency B2B with custom approval workflows. Your development team will spend 60% of their time fighting platform limitations instead of building revenue-generating features. But choose correctly—aligned with your actual business model, growth trajectory, and technical capabilities—and your platform becomes an accelerator. DD Bricks achieved this: their hybrid B2C/B2B platform reduced workload by 60% and saved €500,000 annually through automation. The right platform handles your complexity elegantly, scales without exponential cost increases, and adapts as your business model evolves. It supports your team instead of requiring them to support it.

/Why DBot/

Why DBot Software Guides Your Platform Selection

We're not platform-agnostic consultants who recommend whatever pays the highest referral fee. As an official MedusaJS Expert Partner with offices in Frankfurt and Bangkok, we have deep technical expertise in modern composable commerce—but we've also implemented Shopify, migrated from Magento, and integrated with WooCommerce. We know when to recommend headless architecture and when traditional SaaS makes more sense. Our 94% client retention rate and 100% on-time delivery record come from honest guidance that prioritizes your business outcomes over our preferred stack. We've served enterprise clients, ambitious startups, and SMEs across 12 industries, giving us pattern recognition for what actually works at different company stages. German engineering standards ensure thorough evaluation frameworks; Bangkok execution efficiency means we move fast once decisions are made.

Framework-Based Evaluation Methodology

We've developed a comprehensive platform selection framework tested across 50+ implementations. This isn't a generic checklist—it's a decision tree that weighs your specific variables: current revenue and 3-year projections, B2C vs. B2B vs. hybrid requirements, product catalog complexity, integration ecosystem (ERP, CRM, PIM, payment gateways), team technical capabilities, and total cost of ownership over 5 years. We map your requirements against platform architectures: monolithic SaaS, composable commerce, traditional open-source, and headless solutions. The result is a shortlist of 2-3 platforms that genuinely fit, with detailed pros/cons and TCO analysis for each. No vendor bias, no feature comparison spreadsheets that obscure what matters—just clear guidance on platforms that align with your business model and growth trajectory.

Real-World Implementation Experience

We don't just recommend platforms—we build on them. Our team has hands-on experience with MedusaJS, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce, Magento, and custom Node.js/React solutions. We've migrated Alpega's logistics platform to handle 85% freight matching accuracy with 3x scalability. We've built RIS Swiss School's integrated education platform achieving 60% administrative workload reduction. This implementation experience means we know the gap between demo promises and production reality. We understand which platforms handle complex pricing matrices, which scale cost-effectively, which support sophisticated B2B workflows, and which become maintenance nightmares. When we recommend a platform, it's backed by battle-tested knowledge of its actual capabilities, limitations, and hidden costs. We provide complete implementation roadmaps, not just selection advice—ensuring your chosen platform is properly deployed.

Post-Selection Partnership and Support

Platform selection is the beginning, not the end. We provide end-to-end support through implementation, customization, integration, and ongoing optimization. Our agile development approach means we deliver in sprints with continuous feedback, not monolithic projects that miss requirements. We architect for scalability from day one—whether you're processing 100 orders monthly or 10,000 daily. Our solutions include comprehensive IP transfer, NDAs, and clear ownership terms. You're not locked into vendor dependency; you own your platform and can operate independently. We offer dedicated development teams, 24/7 support options, and strategic consulting as your business evolves. When DD Bricks needed hybrid B2C/B2B capabilities, we didn't just implement—we became their long-term technology partner, continuously optimizing as their business scaled. That's the DBot Software difference: we're invested in your ongoing success, not just project completion.

/Get Started/

Ready to Make Your Platform Decision?

Stop wasting time comparing feature lists that don't reflect your actual needs. Schedule a free 60-minute platform selection consultation with our experts. We'll analyze your business model, technical requirements, and growth plans to provide a clear recommendation with detailed TCO analysis. No sales pressure, no vendor bias—just honest guidance from a team that's implemented every major eCommerce platform. We'll show you what genuinely fits your situation and provide a tailored roadmap for implementation. Whether you need immediate migration planning or strategic guidance for future platform evolution, we're here to help. Contact us today for platform clarity that leads to confident decisions. Our Bangkok and Frankfurt teams provide 24/7 support across time zones.

/What’s at Stake/

How We Prevent Platform Selection Mistakes

The biggest risk isn't choosing the wrong platform—it's making decisions based on incomplete analysis. We eliminate this risk through systematic evaluation: requirements workshops that uncover hidden complexity, TCO modeling that reveals true 5-year costs, proof-of-concept testing for critical workflows, and vendor reference checks beyond marketing case studies. Our 100% on-time delivery record comes from thorough upfront planning that prevents mid-project surprises. We use agile methodologies with regular checkpoints, ensuring the platform performs as expected before full commitment. Our strategic partnership approach means we're accountable for long-term success, not just contract completion. We've guided companies away from platforms that seemed perfect but would have failed their specific requirements—saving them from costly mistakes. With DBot Software, you get honest answers about what will and won't work, backed by technical expertise and real-world implementation experience across 12 industries.

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/Proven Results/

Trusted by Companies Who Made the Right Choice

Our 94% client retention rate reflects the quality of our platform guidance and implementation. Companies don’t stay with vendors who lead them astray. They stay when recommendations prove correct, implementations succeed, and platforms deliver promised results. We’ve built long-term partnerships with enterprises like Alpega and Häfele, ambitious startups, and growing SMEs—all because our platform selection advice was grounded in their business reality, not vendor marketing. These aren’t transactional projects; they’re strategic relationships where we remain invested in ongoing success. When clients expand to new markets, add B2B capabilities, or scale 10x, they return to DBot Software because we architected platforms that grow with them. Our expertise across industries means we bring cross-sector insights to every platform decision, identifying solutions that have proven effective in similar contexts.

Real Platform Decisions, Real Results

The best way to evaluate our platform selection expertise is through client outcomes. DD Bricks needed a hybrid B2C/B2B platform that traditional SaaS solutions couldn't support—we implemented a custom solution delivering 60% workload reduction and €500,000 annual savings. Häfele faced supply chain platform limitations causing 30% stock shortages—our solution reduced workload by 60% and decreased shortages by 30%. Alpega required a scalable logistics platform supporting complex freight matching—we delivered 85% matching accuracy with 3x scalability and 23% cost reduction. RIS Swiss School needed unified platform integration across disparate educational systems—we achieved 60% administrative workload reduction with 100% platform integration. These case studies demonstrate our ability to match platforms to business complexity, implement successfully, and deliver measurable outcomes. Review our complete case studies to see how platform decisions translate to business results.

Griffwerk

Griffwerk: Redefining Efficiency and Cost Reduction in the Door Industry

Enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs.
Griffwerk partnered with DBot to integrate intelligent automation and software solutions into their processes. This collaboration focused on streamlining workflows through Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Python-based automation, ensuring greater accuracy, speed, and cost-effectiveness in daily operations.

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Heicko

Heicko e-ast GmbH: Streamlining CRM and ERP Systems with DBot Solutions

To enhance efficiency and automation, Heicko e-ast GmbH partnered with DBot to optimize their CRM and ERP systems.
By streamlining sales processes and automating key operations, DBot helped Heicko reduce manual workload, improve data accuracy, and enhance sales performance. Through intelligent automation, including RPA and API integrations, Heicko’s operations became more agile and scalable.

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Häfele

Hafele's Digital Transformation: Intelligent Automation in the Furniture and Hardware Industry

DBot partnered with Häfele to drive a large-scale digital transformation through intelligent automation.
The collaboration spanned various projects, from custom software solutions to automation enhancements. One of the key achievements was the overhaul of Häfele's purchase order system using cutting-edge OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and RPA (Robotic Process Automation) technologies.

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RIS Swiss Section Bangkok

RIS Swiss Section Bangkok: 60-Year Legacy in Digital Transformation for Education

60-Year Legacy in Digital Transformation for Education.
RIS Swiss Section Bangkok, a renowned German language school, embarked on a comprehensive digital transformation journey in collaboration with DBot. This marked a significant milestone in the institution's legacy, a commitment to embracing cutting-edge technology and enhancing the educational experience.

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DD Bricks

DD Bricks: Revolutionizing E-Comm with a Customized ERP System

Revolutionizing E-Comm with a Customized ERP System.
DD Bricks, the global leader in e-commerce for pre-owned Lego components, embarked on a transformative journey to enhance its operations and solidify its position in the dynamic Lego marketplace. They partnered with DBot to create a tailored ERP system, a game-changing move in the world of Lego commerce.

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Alpega

Alpega Group: Enhancing Transport Management Software Excellence

Enhancing Transport Management Software Excellence.
Alpega is a leading global logistics software company that offers end-to-end solutions that cover all transport needs, including transport management services (TMS) and freight exchanges. Dive into the challenges faced, innovative solutions implemented, and the transformative results achieved in the logistics software sector.

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Platform Selection Questions Answered

We've guided hundreds of companies through platform selection decisions. Here are the most common questions we receive and our straightforward answers based on implementation experience across 12 industries.

How much does a proper eCommerce platform actually cost over 5 years?
Total cost of ownership varies dramatically by platform type and complexity. Basic Shopify: €15,000-40,000 (subscriptions, apps, themes). Shopify Plus: €100,000-250,000 (higher fees, custom development). Magento/Adobe Commerce: €200,000-500,000+ (licensing, hosting, maintenance, developers). MedusaJS or headless composable: €80,000-200,000 (development, hosting, maintenance, but no licensing fees and lower long-term costs). Hidden costs everyone underestimates: integration development, payment gateway fees, migration from legacy systems, ongoing customization, and scaling infrastructure. We provide detailed TCO models during consultations showing exactly where costs accumulate over time.
Should we choose SaaS platforms like Shopify or open-source like MedusaJS?
It depends on your business model and technical capabilities. Choose SaaS (Shopify, BigCommerce) if: you have straightforward B2C requirements, limited technical team, need to launch quickly (under 3 months), and can work within platform constraints. Choose open-source/composable (MedusaJS, headless) if: you need B2B complexity, custom pricing/approval workflows, unique customer experiences, want to avoid vendor lock-in, have or can hire development resources, and plan significant growth requiring platform flexibility. The crossover point is typically €2-5M annual revenue or when B2B requirements exceed SaaS capabilities. We help identify which category genuinely fits your situation, not which we prefer to build on.
How long does platform migration actually take and what are the risks?
Realistic timelines: Simple migration (Shopify to Shopify Plus): 2-3 months. Medium complexity (WooCommerce to MedusaJS): 4-6 months. Enterprise migration (Magento to headless): 6-12 months. Anyone promising faster is either lying or underestimating scope. Key risks: data migration errors (product catalogs, customer records, order history), SEO ranking loss from URL changes, downtime during cutover, integration failures with ERP/CRM systems, and training gaps for your team. We mitigate these through: comprehensive data validation, 301 redirect strategies, phased rollouts with parallel running, extensive integration testing, and thorough team training. Our 100% on-time delivery record comes from honest timeline estimates and proactive risk management. We’ve executed zero-downtime migrations for enterprise clients, it’s possible with proper planning.
Can MedusaJS really handle enterprise-level eCommerce requirements?
Yes, when properly implemented. MedusaJS is built on Node.js with modern architecture supporting: multi-region deployment, complex B2B pricing matrices, custom approval workflows, unlimited SKUs, advanced inventory management, multi-currency and multi-language, sophisticated tax calculations, and API-first integration with any ERP/CRM/PIM system. We’ve deployed MedusaJS for enterprise clients processing thousands of daily orders across multiple countries. The platform scales horizontally and handles traffic spikes elegantly. The difference from traditional enterprise platforms: no vendor lock-in, no per-transaction fees, complete customization freedom, and modern developer experience reducing ongoing maintenance costs. It requires proper architecture and experienced implementation, which is exactly what we provide as an official MedusaJS Expert Partner.
Why does DBot Software recommend MedusaJS so often?
We recommend MedusaJS when it genuinely fits, which is increasingly common for companies needing flexibility beyond SaaS platforms but wanting to avoid Magento complexity and cost. Specific scenarios where MedusaJS excels: hybrid B2C/B2B models, custom pricing and approval workflows, headless/composable commerce strategies, businesses wanting to avoid vendor lock-in, companies with development teams or partners (like us), and those requiring deep ERP/CRM integrations. We do NOT recommend MedusaJS for: small businesses wanting simple solutions (we suggest Shopify), companies without technical resources and no implementation budget, or situations requiring immediate launch under 8 weeks. We’re honest when other platforms fit better, our 94% retention rate comes from recommendations that work long-term, not maximizing our preferred stack. As MedusaJS Expert Partners, we have deep expertise, but we implement whatever serves your business best.