Starting an online store in Nigeria: what you need before you build
A practical checklist for selling online: products, photos, payments with Paystack, delivery, and the costs of building and running an online store.
Selling on WhatsApp and Instagram works, until you’re answering the same price question fifty times a day and losing orders in chats. An online store lets customers browse, choose and pay without you, and gives you a list of orders instead of a pile of messages.
What you need before you build
1. Your product list. Name, price, short description, sizes or colours, and stock for every product. A spreadsheet is perfect.
2. Good photos. Clear, well-lit photos on a plain background sell more than anything else on the page. A recent phone and daylight by a window are enough.
3. A way to take payments. Paystack or Flutterwave let customers pay by card, bank transfer or USSD. You’ll need a business bank account and your business details to open a merchant account. Start this early, because verification can take a few days.
4. A delivery plan. Which areas you deliver to, how much it costs (flat fee, by area, or free above an amount), and how long it takes. Decide whether you also offer pickup.
5. Policies. Returns and refunds, delivery times, and what happens if an item is out of stock. Customers look for these before they pay.
6. A domain name. Your own .com.ng or .com builds trust that a social media page can’t.
| Ending | First year | Each renewal |
|---|---|---|
| .com | ₦15,390 | ₦30,690 |
| .ng | ₦38,390 | ₦50,690 |
| .com.ng | ₦30,690 | ₦39,890 |
| .net | ₦23,090 | ₦27,690 |
| .org | ₦13,790 | ₦27,690 |
Registrar prices change from time to time; your proposal shows the current figure.
What it costs
| Project | Price range | About, in naira | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing pageOne focused page that sells a product, event or launch. | $120 to $350 | ₦160,080 to ₦466,900 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| WebsiteA multi-page site for a business, church, school or brand. | $300 to $1,000 | ₦400,200 to ₦1,334,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Online storeProducts, cart, checkout and order management. | $700 to $2,500 | ₦933,800 to ₦3,335,000 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Web appLogins, dashboards, bookings, portals and anything with data. | $1,200 to $5,000 | ₦1,600,800 to ₦6,670,000 | 4 to 10 weeks |
| Mobile appAndroid and iPhone apps, usually with a web dashboard behind them. | $2,000 to $7,000 | ₦2,668,000 to ₦9,338,000 | 6 to 14 weeks |
Naira at about ₦1,334 per $1; you pay in naira at the rate shown at checkout.
On top of the build there’s hosting, the domain and updates every year, which our care plans cover. Payment providers charge a small percentage per transaction. Check their current rates on their websites.
Start small
You don’t need every feature on day one. A strong first version has your products with good photos, a cart, Paystack checkout, delivery options and order emails to you and the customer. Discount codes, reviews, loyalty points and an app can come once orders are flowing.
More guides
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