What an online shop is for
An online shop has to let a stranger choose a product, trust you with a payment and know what happens next. That needs more than a product grid. It needs clear product information, clear delivery and returns terms, and a checkout that tells people the total before they pay.
Start the planner with the size of the shop: how many products, how often the range changes, and whether you also sell in person. A shop of twenty prints and a shop of two thousand parts are different projects.
What UK rules expect a shop to show
GOV.UK's guidance on online selling lists information a seller must give customers. It includes:
- a description of the goods in as much detail as possible
- the total price, or how it is worked out, and the total delivery cost
- how customers can pay, with delivery options and costs
- your email address and, if you are VAT registered, your VAT number
- the steps to place an order, with a way to correct mistakes
- terms customers can store and reproduce, for example by downloading or printing
- consent for any optional extras, for example by ticking a box
For sales to consumers at a distance, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 also give a cancellation right, which for goods runs for 14 days in the standard case, with listed exceptions. Your returns page and terms of sale have to reflect those rules. Read the regulations or take advice before writing them; this page cannot cover every exception.
Pages for a small online shop
| Page | What it must answer |
|---|---|
| Home | What you sell and why someone would buy it from you |
| Shop and product pages | Photos, description, price, sizes or options, stock |
| Delivery | Where you deliver, how long it takes, what it costs |
| Returns and cancellations | How to cancel or return, and who pays for return postage |
| Terms of sale | The contract terms, in a form customers can save |
| About | Who makes or chooses the products |
| Contact | Email and any other route, with your business details |
| Privacy notice | Including how order and payment details are handled |
Products and photos
For each product, plan the photo, the description and the facts a buyer needs: size, materials, care, what is in the box. Write one product in full before building anything, and time how long it takes. Multiply that by the number of products: that is the content work in the budget estimator.
Use photos you took or have a licence for. A product photo copied from a supplier's site may not be yours to use.
Payments and fees
Card payments go through a payment provider, which charges fees on each transaction. Shop platforms may also charge a monthly plan fee. Write both into the running costs of your budget, using the figures each provider publishes on the day you check. Do not rely on a figure from a guide, including this one, because providers change their prices.
VAT
You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover over the last 12 months is over £90,000, or if you expect it to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days, according to GOV.UK. You can register voluntarily below that. If you are registered, your shop shows your VAT number and prices that include VAT where you sell to consumers. Ask an accountant how VAT applies to your goods.
Company details and reviews
A limited company must show its registered name, the part of the UK where it is registered, its registered number and its registered office address on its website, under the 2015 trading disclosure regulations. If you plan product reviews, the 2025 fake review rules apply to the reviews you publish; see the reviews guide.
Next steps for your shop
Write one product page in full, then the delivery and returns text, before choosing a platform. Those two exercises show how much content work the shop needs. The platform guide compares the kinds of system that can run a shop.
Sources checked for this page