Online store: how to start selling online in 2026

E-commerce in Poland is growing 18% year over year. In 2025, Polish consumers spent more than 130 billion PLN online. If you sell a physical product and don’t yet have an online store — you’re leaving real money on the table. And even if you already sell on Allegro (Poland’s largest marketplace) or WooCommerce, it may be time to consider a dedicated store that works only for you. Here is a complete step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Business model — before you start

Before choosing a platform, define the fundamentals of your e-commerce model:

• What you sell: Physical products, digital goods, or services? Each category has different technical requirements.
• SKU count: Up to 100 products (starter store), 100–1,000 (pro store), 1,000+ (enterprise). This determines your platform choice.
• Logistics: Own warehouse, dropshipping, or external fulfilment? Integrations with InPost, DPD, DHL.
• Target audience: B2C (individual customers), B2B (companies), or both. B2B requires extra features: tax ID handling, wholesale price lists, deferred payment terms.

Step 2: Choosing an e-commerce platform

Allegro — good for testing, not for the long run

Allegro has 22 million monthly users. Ideal for validating whether a product sells before you invest in your own store. Downsides: 8–15% sales commission, no brand or customer-list ownership, dependence on Allegro’s algorithm, and a price race against hundreds of other sellers.

WooCommerce (WordPress)

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin. Low entry cost (hosting + domain = 500–1,000 PLN/year), thousands of plugins. The catch: it requires constant updates, is exposed to attacks (WordPress is the most-attacked CMS), and performs poorly with larger product catalogs unless you provision a dedicated server (VPS 200–400 PLN/month).

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS platform with a 130–530 PLN/month subscription. Easy setup, suitable for stores with a few dozen SKUs, large plugin ecosystem. Downsides: extra transaction commission (0.5–2%), limited SEO control, no full code ownership, awkward integration with the Polish payments ecosystem.

Dedicated store in Next.js

A custom store built from scratch in Next.js + Supabase. Full control, zero commissions, peak performance (97+/100 PageSpeed), top-tier SEO. Cost: 3,499–8,999 PLN one-off. For businesses that take e-commerce seriously and want to build their own brand.

Step 3: Payments — mandatory in Poland

Polish customers expect specific payment methods. Missing the popular options means abandoned carts. Essential integrations:

• BLIK: 45% of online transactions in Poland. Without BLIK (Poland’s instant mobile-payment standard) you lose half of your mobile customers.
• Przelewy24 / PayU: Polish payment gateways handling express bank transfers (including Imoje, Dotpay).
• Credit and debit cards: Visa/Mastercard via Stripe or Przelewy24.
• Cash on delivery: Still popular in Poland — particularly with new customers who are not yet confident in the store.
• Buy now, pay later: PayPo, Twisto, Klarna — increase average order value by 20–35%.

Step 4: Logistics and shipping

• InPost Paczkomat: Preferred delivery method for 68% of Polish shoppers (Paczkomat = automated parcel lockers). Integrate via the InPost API or a plugin.
• DPD, DHL, GLS: Door-to-door couriers — important for heavy or oversized products.
• Allegro Smart: If you also sell on Allegro, the Smart program integration boosts sales.
• Automatic tracking: Email/SMS with the tracking number on dispatch — cuts customer-service inquiries by 40%.

Step 5: SEO for e-commerce — free organic traffic

A store without SEO is a store that lives only on paid ads. Organic SEO costs 0 PLN per visitor once you reach the top positions. For an e-commerce site the keys are:

• Unique product descriptions: Don’t copy supplier copy. Google penalises duplicate content.
• Product schema: Structured-data markup with price, availability, and reviews — Google displays these directly in the search results (rich snippets).
• Category descriptions: 200–500 words of natural copy on every category page — important for both SEO and conversion.
• Blog and guides: Articles such as “how to choose [product]” generate informational traffic that converts into purchases.
• Site speed: Google ranks faster stores higher (LCP below 2 seconds). An unoptimised WooCommerce site loads in 4–7 seconds. Next.js: 0.5–1.5 seconds.

Step 6: Legal obligations — what you cannot skip

• Store terms and conditions: Must cover returns (14 days no-questions-asked under EU law), complaints, payments, and shipping
• Privacy policy (GDPR): Description of how customer personal data is processed
• Cookies / cookie banner: Consent for analytics and remarketing
• Seller details: Full company information (tax ID, business registry number, address) visible on the site
• SSL certificate (HTTPS): Mandatory — without it, browsers flag the store as “not secure”

How much does an online store cost?

• WooCommerce DIY: 500–2,000 PLN one-off + 1,000–2,000 PLN/year hosting. Significant investment of your own time.
• Shopify: 0 PLN to start + 1,500–6,000 PLN/year subscription + transaction fees.
• Dedicated STARTER store: 3,499 PLN one-off — up to 100 products, Stripe + Przelewy24 + BLIK, admin panel.
• Dedicated PRO store: 8,999 PLN — up to 1,000 products, advanced admin, customer accounts, discount codes, InPost/DPD integration.