There are three ways to get an e-commerce website: have one built for you, rent one from a monthly platform, or buy ready-made software and run it yourself. Building gives the most freedom and costs the most. Renting is the cheapest way to start and the most expensive to keep for many years. Buying ready-made software costs more on the first day and little after it. The right one depends on your budget now, how long you plan to trade, and how much you want to own.
The three options side by side
| Build (custom) | Rent (monthly platform) | Buy (ready-made) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to launch | Months | Days | Days |
| Cost at the start | Highest | Lowest | In between |
| Cost each month | Hosting and maintenance | A fee for as long as you trade | Hosting only |
| Who owns the shop | You | The platform | You |
| Source code | Yours | Not available | Yours |
| Changing the design or features | Anything, at a price | Within what the platform allows | Anything, with a developer |
| Risk | The project runs late or over budget | Fees and rules can change | You look after the server, or pay someone to |
Option 1: build it
A developer or an agency writes your shop from nothing.
Good for: a business with an unusual way of selling that no existing product covers, and the budget and patience for a long project.
Watch out for: an online shop looks simple and is not. Payments, stock that never oversells, refunds, delivery rules, tax, invoices, emails, search and security each take real time to get right. Most of that work is invisible in a demo and shows up as bugs after launch. You also depend on the people who wrote it for every change.
Option 2: rent it
You pay a monthly fee to a platform and build your shop in its editor.
Good for: starting this week with little money, and for sellers who do not want to think about servers at all.
Watch out for: the fee never ends, and it often grows with add-ons and with your sales. You do not get the code, so you can only do what the platform allows, and moving away later means rebuilding. Check whether it supports the payment methods your customers actually use.
Option 3: buy ready-made software
You buy finished shop software once and install it on your own domain and server.
Good for: owning your shop for years without paying to have it built, and for businesses that want to change the code later.
Watch out for: you, or someone you pay, must install it and keep the server running. Choose software you can try properly before buying, with a real demo of both the shop and the admin panel.
How the costs compare over time
The first month tells you little. Add up three years.
- Build: a large amount up front, then hosting and a developer for changes and fixes.
- Rent: a small amount every month, thirty-six times, plus any add-ons and percentage fees.
- Buy: one payment, then hosting.
Renting usually wins in year one. Buying usually wins by year two or three. Building rarely wins on cost; it wins when nothing else can do what you need.
Questions to ask before you choose
- How long do I plan to run this shop?
- Do I need to own the code and the customer data?
- Which payment methods do my customers use, and does this option support them?
- Who will fix it when something breaks?
- Can I try the real thing, including the admin panel, before I pay?
- What does it cost if my sales double?
Where Ceylumen Commerce fits
Ceylumen Commerce covers two of the three, with the same software.
- Buy: from LKR 69,999 once, for a lifetime licence with the full source code. You can ask us to install it for LKR 15,000.
- Rent: from LKR 2,990 a month, hosted, backed up and updated for you on your own domain, with 20% off when you pay yearly.
Neither takes a commission on your sales. You can start hosted and buy later, or the other way round.
In short
Build if nothing existing fits and you have the budget. Rent if you need to start now with little money. Buy if you plan to trade for years and want to own your shop. Whatever you choose, try it properly first and add up the cost over three years, not one month.