E-Commerce Website Development

Your e-commerce store isn't just a shop — it's a tax filing engine. Every order triggers GST e-invoice generation (IRN + QR) if you're B2B above ₹5 crore, DPDP Act obligations for customer consent, TDS reporting on marketplace payments if you're a seller, and TCS on e-commerce platform supplies. Most founders bolt compliance on after launch. We build it in from day one so growth doesn't mean firefighting tax notices.

We design, build, and compliance-armour your store across Shopify, WooCommerce, custom stacks, and Magento. The store is yours; the compliance framework, payment risk filters, inventory locks, and post-purchase tax automation are architecture, not add-ons.

At a Glance

• Who Needs This: D2C brands, SME retailers, marketplace sellers, B2B suppliers — anyone selling online from India.
• Platform Options: Shopify for speed-to-market (30 working days); WooCommerce or Magento for control; custom headless for unique logic.
• Compliance Built In: GST e-invoicing (Rule 48), DPDP Act 2023 consent architecture, TDS/TCS reporting templates, data breach protocol.
• Integrations Native: Payment (Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, UPI), e-invoicing (Cleartax IRN), logistics (Shiprocket, Delhivery, Bluedart), inventory OMS sync.
• Turnaround: Standard Shopify: 30–45 working days. Custom/headless: 60–90 working days.
• What You Get: Live store, admin training, 30-day support, compliance runbook, tax reporting templates.

What's New for FY 2026-27

GST and DPDP rules are tightening. Here's what changed and how it impacts your store.

• E-Invoicing IRN Threshold Static at ₹5 Crore: No further threshold cuts expected. We front-load the integration so you cross ₹5 crore as a non-event.
• DPDP Board Enforcement Live: Consent withdrawal timelines shortened; cookie banner compliance is now non-negotiable. Your site needs active DPO contact and breach notification protocol.
• TCS on E-Commerce Platforms Now ₹5 Lakh Limit: If you sell through Flipkart/Amazon, TCS kicks in at ₹5 lakh annual procurement (Notification 04/2024). Cross-platform parity must be reconciled.
• GSTR-9 Due 31 Dec (Not Extended): Grace window closed. GSTR-9 deadline is same calendar year. Automated GSTR-1 export is now non-negotiable.
• AI & Personalisation Data Consent Mandatory: Recommendation engines require granular consent. Bundled consent no longer permissible. We architect granular toggles from launch.

Why Compliance-First E-Commerce Matters Now

• Avoid Turnover Misdeclaration Penalties: GST officers correlate GSTR-1 with e-invoices. Mismatch triggers Section 73 notice. We sync them live so reconciliation is automatic.
• DPDP Violations Cost ₹5 Crore Per Breach: Consent withdrawal, data breach notifications, and DPO escalations must be logged. We bake audit trails into the database from day one.
• RTO Eats 18-30% of COD Revenue: Risk filters catch repeat address failures and high-risk PIN codes before pickup. Typical improvement: 6–10 percentage-point RTO reduction in 90 days.
• Inventory Overselling Kills Marketplace Ratings: Stock sync failures between your site and Amazon/Flipkart mean rejected orders and delisting risk. Real-time OMS sync prevents this entirely.
• Payment Failure Rates Compound on Poor UX: Three-tap checkout and UPI-first increase conversion 8–15%. Each 1% improvement = 2–4 additional orders per 100 visitors.
• Tax Reconciliation Post-Launch Costs ₹80-150K: GSTR-1 vs bank vs payment gateway mismatches are fixed in real time if built-in. We build it in.

How It Actually Works

The build has six phases. Each one locks in legal, tax, and UX so downstream surprises don't happen.

Step 1: Discovery & Compliance Audit (3–5 Days)

You tell us: category, revenue target, SKU count, return rate, geo, sales mix (B2C vs B2B), fulfilment strategy. We map this to your tax status and document platform choice, payment partner, e-invoicing provider, and logistics partner in writing. You sign off. No surprises mid-build.

Step 2: UX Wireframes & Tax-Aware Design (5–7 Days)

Mobile-first wireframes: three-tap checkout, UPI first, COD risk signals, HSN/GST display for B2B. DPDP-compliant consent flows with separate toggles for analytics, marketing, SMS, recommendations. Withdrawal is one-tap. Prototype tested on real devices.

Step 3: Development & Integration (15–25 Days)

Theme or headless code built. Payment gateway integrated: Razorpay for breadth, Cashfree as backup. COD risk filter applied: OTP confirmation, address verification, courier risk scoring. E-invoicing engine live: IRN auto-generation on B2B orders, HSN pulled from product master, credit notes for returns. Logistics sync live: Shiprocket / Delhivery feeds orders in real time. Inventory locked on order placement.

Step 4: QA, Performance & Security (3–5 Days)

Cross-device testing on Android 9–14 and iOS 15–18. Core Web Vitals: LCP <2.5s, FID <100ms, CLS <0.1. OWASP scan for SQL injection, XSS, CSRF. E-invoicing sandbox: 5 IRNs generated, QR codes verified, credit note flow tested. Payment sandbox: ₹1 transaction, card decline, refund flow. Logistics test: 5 orders through courier, tracking verified.

Step 5: Staging Review & Go-Live Cutover

Staging site reviewed by you: product carousel, checkout, payment pages, order confirmation, admin panel. Live checklist: SSL, CDN (Cloudflare), DNS cutover, payment gateway live mode, e-invoicing live keys, DPDP DPO form live. Day 1: real-time monitoring for payment success rate, IRN generation, order dispatch, notification delivery.

Step 6: Post-Launch Optimization (30–90 Days)

Funnel review at day 7, 30, 60, 90. A/B tests on product detail page, checkout express login vs guest, payment method order. Email/WhatsApp upsell sequences, review requests, reorder nudges. AI search tuning, real-time recommendations. COD RTO review: address failure patterns, high-risk PIN refinement. GSTR-1 export, tax reconciliation, payment reconciliation handed to accountant.

A Real Example: ₹40-Lakh-ARR D2C Fashion Brand Launch

A Tier-2 women's clothing brand, 2,500 SKUs, ₹40 lakh year-1 revenue, 80% B2C, 20% B2B corporate gifting. Shopify + Razorpay + Shiprocket + Cleartax. 34 working days to live.

• Compliance Triggers: GSTIN active. B2B below ₹5 crore threshold, but the moment one large order arrives, IRN becomes mandatory. We activate from day 1 — zero friction.
• GST Filing Automation: Day 29: First month complete. GSTR-1 auto-exported from Shopify, mapped to HSN, placed-of-supply from customer PIN. Accountant reconciliation time: 2 hours vs 3 days manual.
• COD Risk & RTO: 7,000 COD orders expected. Shiprocket risk filter: high-risk PIN codes flagged for prepayment incentive. RTO drops from 22% to 12%, saving ₹16,800 in reverse logistics.
• DPDP Compliance Cost Avoided: Built-in consent architecture prevents ₹5 crore breach exposure. No retrofit needed. Cost to bolt-on compliance later: ₹85,000+.
• Total Investment: ₹35,000 build cost. Cost to add compliance post-launch: ₹85,000+. We prevent the difference.

The difference isn't just money — it's sleep. Tax notices arrive when you're scaling, not on day 1. We prevent it upfront.

Annual Compliance & Post-Launch Tax Reconciliation

After launch, your store becomes a data engine. Here's what we hand over.

• GSTR-1 Export (Auto-Generated): Every month-end, Shopify exports GSTR-1-ready JSON: invoice number, date, customer GSTIN, HSN code, taxable value, tax amount, placed-of-supply. Paste into GST portal or hand to CA. 15-minute job.
• E-Invoice Audit Trail: Cleartax audit trail: date, IRN, QR, customer GSTIN, cancellation reason. Kept for 6 years. Regulator requests it, you produce. No liability.
• DPDP Consent Audit: Consent log: date, email, IP, consent type (analytics/marketing/recommendations), given/withdrawn, timestamp. Breach occurred? You produce this log. Liability managed.
• Payment Gateway Settlement Reconciliation: Razorpay settlement vs bank statement vs GSTR-1 revenue auto-matched monthly. Discrepancy? We flag it. CA gets reconciliation before filing.
• TDS/TCS Schedule: Marketplace TCS collected by platform is logged. Contractor TDS (>₹30K/month) auto-generated. No missed 26Q filings.
• Annual Compliance Refresh (Optional): Month 13 onwards: ₹8,000/year compliance package. GSTR-1/3B audit, tax regime recommendation, DPDP consent hygiene, FEMA disclosure if international orders exist.
• Bottom line: Build-in compliance costs ₹0 extra. Fixing breaches post-launch costs ₹50K–₹2 lakh.

Where It Goes Wrong (And How We Prevent It)

• IRN Generation Delayed Until Month 3: We activate IRN in testing even if threshold not hit. Invoice numbers are sequential and traceable from day 1.
• Inventory Oversells on Marketplace: We don't rely on API 'check stock' calls. Real-time OMS sync (Unicommerce, Vinculum) every 15 minutes. One SKU, one quantity, one source of truth.
• COD RTO Hits 35%: Risk filter applied before acceptance, not after pickup. High-risk orders offered prepayment incentive or manual review.
• GST Data Mismatch Between Store and CA Excel: Live GSTR-1 export means every invoice captured the moment issued. No lag, no 'forgot to mention 5 invoices' reconciliation. GST data = single source of truth.
• DPDP Inspector Asks for Consent Audit Trail, Founder Realizes Consent Was Never Captured: Consent architecture is drawn in wireframes (Step 2), built as database schema (Step 3), tested in QA (Step 4). By launch, consent logging is automated like payment logging.
• Payment Gateway Files 26AS, Buyer Never Reconciles TDS: Settlement reconciliation template handed monthly. Matching settlement vs bank vs GST is straightforward because data flows are clean.

What You Receive at the End

• Live e-commerce store (Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom) deployed on your domain with SSL
• Admin user guide and training video: product upload, order dispatch, returns, tax reports
• Compliance runbook: GSTR-1 export workflow, DPDP consent refresh, breach protocol, e-invoice troubleshooting
• Tax reporting templates: monthly GSTR-1 JSON export, annual GSTR-9 summary, TDS/TCS schedule, payment reconciliation checklist
• Payment integration live: Razorpay sandbox + live configured, test transactions validated, refund flow tested
• E-invoicing live: IRN API live, HSN master uploaded, B2B threshold logic configured, credit note template deployed
• Logistics integration live: Shiprocket/Delhivery API live, order-to-tracking feed tested, RTO risk filters deployed
• Inventory sync (optional): OMS live, real-time parity verified across all channels
• 30-day post-launch support: bug fixes, performance tweaks, payment/logistics escalation, first-month compliance review
• Domain, SSL, CDN (Cloudflare), email (SendGrid) provisioned for order and tax notifications

How to Get Started

Email [email protected] with: business name, category, expected annual revenue, current SKU count, target launch date, and whether you're selling B2C only or B2B. We respond in 24 hours with platform options and preliminary cost estimate.

Schedule a 1-hour paid discovery call (₹2,000 + GST, adjusted if you proceed). Walk us through your brand, product catalogue, target geo, payment preferences, and existing systems. We deliver a written scope, compliance checklist, and timeline. You review, sign, and we begin. First working day is discovery; build starts day 2.