E-commerce Websites & WhatsApp Store Setup in Nigeria

Stop losing orders in your DMs

If you sell on WhatsApp or Instagram, you already know the pattern: the same "how much?" question fifty times a day, screenshots of products sent one by one, prices that changed last week, and orders that slip through because a chat scrolled out of view. Social selling works — until it doesn't scale.

theHoracle Studio sets up online stores and storefronts that keep the convenience of WhatsApp and Instagram, but add a proper catalogue, clear prices and an order process you can track. The studio is run by James Morgan (theHoracle), a Lagos software engineer who also built Whatstore, a platform for WhatsApp and Instagram sellers — so we've tackled this problem as a product team, not just for clients.

Three ways to sell online — and which one fits you

A WhatsApp-first storefront

Best for businesses whose customers already buy on WhatsApp. You get a mobile catalogue with prices and photos that customers can browse, then a pre-filled WhatsApp message that tells you exactly what they want. Less back-and-forth, fewer mistakes, and you keep the personal touch your customers like.

A full e-commerce website

Best when you want customers to pay online without talking to you first: product pages, a cart, checkout, payment gateway, order notifications and an admin panel to manage stock. The website we designed and built for Mugpit, a printing brand that sells customised mugs, is one example of a product-led site.

A hybrid

Many Nigerian businesses do best with both: a website that ranks on Google and takes card or transfer payments, plus WhatsApp ordering for customers who prefer to chat. We help you decide based on your products, margins and how your customers actually buy. Our guide to website vs Instagram store vs WhatsApp catalogue walks through the trade-offs in detail.

What's included in an e-commerce setup

• Catalogue structure. Categories, product variations (size, colour, design), clear pricing and stock status.
• Product pages that sell. Good photos, honest descriptions, delivery and returns information — the details that answer questions before they become DMs.
• Checkout and payments. Online payment through a gateway that suits your business (Paystack and Flutterwave are the common choices in Nigeria), bank transfer instructions, or pay-on-delivery rules — whatever your operations can support.
• WhatsApp and Instagram integration. WhatsApp order buttons with pre-filled messages, links from your Instagram bio and posts straight to the right product, and catalogue links you can share in broadcasts and status updates.
• Order management. Order notifications, an admin panel to update products and prices, and a simple way to see what needs to ship.
• Delivery information. Delivery zones, fees and timelines displayed clearly, so customers aren't surprised at checkout.
• Speed and SEO. Fast, mobile-first pages with product structured data, so your store can be found on Google, not only on social media.
• Training and handover. A walkthrough of how to add products, change prices and process orders yourself.

How a store project runs

1. Discovery: how you sell today

We look at how orders arrive now, what customers ask most, how you handle payment and delivery, and where things go wrong. This decides whether you need a WhatsApp storefront, a full store or both.

2. Catalogue and content

We agree the product structure and help you prepare product data and photos. A clean catalogue is the foundation of everything else — and the step most stores rush.

3. Design and build

We design the shopping experience for phones first, then build it with a modern stack (typically Next.js, TypeScript and Payload CMS or a commerce backend, depending on your needs) and connect payments, notifications and WhatsApp links.

4. Testing with real orders

Before launch we run test orders end to end: browse, add to cart, pay, receive notifications, update the order. Then we launch, submit the store to Google and show your team how to run it.

Lessons from building Whatstore

Building Whatstore taught us what social sellers actually need, and those lessons shape every store we set up:

• Answer repeat questions automatically. Prices, availability, delivery fees and opening hours should never need a typed reply.
• Keep the conversation, add structure. Customers want to chat; you need orders, not just messages. A good setup gives you both.
• Make the catalogue the single source of truth. When prices change in one place, every link, broadcast and page should reflect it.

If you want to see how this works in practice, read the Whatstore case study and our guide to selling on WhatsApp with a real storefront.

Before you launch: getting your products ready

The stores that sell best are rarely the ones with the fanciest design. They are the ones where every product is easy to understand. Before launch, we help you get these right:

• Photos. Shoot products in daylight against a plain background, from the same angle and distance, with at least one close-up of the detail customers care about (fabric, finish, print quality). Consistent photos make a small catalogue look professional.
• Names and descriptions. Use the words customers actually search and type — "custom photo mug", not "SKU-114". Include size, material, what's in the box and care instructions.
• Prices and variations. Decide how sizes, colours and personalisation affect the price, and whether delivery is included. Hidden costs at checkout are the most common reason people abandon an order.
• Delivery and returns. Write down where you deliver, how long it takes, what it costs and what happens if something arrives damaged. Publish it on the site so customers don't have to ask.

Delivery and logistics in Nigeria

Delivery is where many online stores win or lose repeat customers. We set up your store to match how you actually fulfil orders: flat delivery fees, fees by area (Lagos Island, Mainland, outside Lagos), pickup points, or interstate shipping through a courier. The checkout shows the right fee before payment, and order notifications include everything your dispatch rider needs.

What affects the cost of an online store

• Catalogue size and complexity. Ten products with no variations is a very different job from five hundred products with sizes, colours and personalisation.
• Payments and logistics. Payment gateways, delivery-fee rules, pickup points and pay-on-delivery logic all add work.
• Integrations. Connecting inventory, accounting tools, WhatsApp automation or marketplaces.
• Product data and photos. Whether you provide finished product information or need help preparing it.
• Custom features. Product personalisation (like custom mug designs), wholesale pricing, discount codes or loyalty schemes.

Our project cost calculator currently starts e-commerce websites from $1,000, including a set number of pages, with extra pages and options like hosting and maintenance (from $120 a year) priced separately. You can view the estimate in naira. Read how much a website costs in Nigeria for the full picture.

Ready to sell properly online?

Book a free call to talk through how you sell today, or estimate your store's cost. You can also browse our portfolio and our other services.