Building an online store in Latvia: platforms, costs and steps to your first order
Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom build? What to choose, what an online store costs and what to prepare before launch.
Building an online store is one of the best investments a small or mid-sized business in Latvia can make — but only if the store is fast, trustworthy and easy to manage. Here's what you need to know before you start.
1. Choose a platform
Shopify — the fastest start, secure payment infrastructure, easy to manage without a developer. A good choice if you plan to sell outside Latvia too. Has a monthly subscription fee.
WooCommerce (WordPress) — flexible with no platform subscription, but needs more technical maintenance (updates, security, speed).
Custom build — when you have specific logic: a product configurator, B2B pricing, integration with inventory or production. A higher starting cost, but no limits.
We help you choose based on your catalogue size, budget and growth plans — see also Shopify store development.
2. What an online store costs
Our online stores start from €2,500. The price depends on catalogue size and category structure, payment and delivery integrations (Omniva, DPD, parcel lockers), number of languages and connections to accounting or inventory. See the full breakdown on the pricing page.
3. What to prepare before launch
A product list with prices and descriptions, good product photos, delivery terms and prices, a returns policy, distance-selling terms and a privacy policy (mandatory in Latvia and the EU), plus company details and a connected payment account.
4. Payments and delivery in Latvia
Latvian shoppers expect card payments, Apple Pay / Google Pay and often bank links (Swedbank, SEB, Citadele, Luminor). For delivery, parcel lockers — Omniva and DPD — are the most popular. The fewer steps at checkout, the more completed orders.
5. SEO and speed from day one
Every product and category page needs a unique title and description, product structured data (price, availability), clean URLs and fast mobile loading. This foundation decides whether the store gets visitors from Google or depends entirely on paid ads.
6. Timeline
Building an online store usually takes 4–8 weeks. The fastest path is having product data and photos ready at the start of the project.
An example from our work
See Koka galdi — an online store for custom wooden tables — and more work under web design examples.
Next step
Tell us about your store on the contact page or write to lapa@lapastudio.lv — we'll reply within one day with a platform recommendation and a rough budget.