What does building an online shop with nextlevels cost?

It depends heavily on scope. A manageable shop based on Shopware typically starts in the low five-figure range, while complex B2B or headless projects with ERP and PIM interfaces sit above that. On top come running costs for hosting, licenses and maintenance as a separate line item. You get a concrete fixed-price offer after a short discovery in which we clarify requirements, interfaces and data volumes.

How long until my shop goes live?

A clearly scoped shop usually takes from a few weeks to a few months. The range is wide because it depends on the number of interfaces, the complexity of your assortment and the data migration. We work in iterations: you see a working state early and give feedback, rather than only seeing the finished result at the end.

Which shop system do you recommend – Shopware, headless or something else?

Our focus is Shopware, because as an open-source system it is powerful, extensible and well established in the German mid-market. We recommend headless architectures (Shopware as backend, your own frontend) when you need maximum frontend freedom or special performance. We make the decision based on your requirements, not on principle – a simple shop doesn't need a headless setup.

Can you migrate my existing shop?

Yes. We migrate existing shops including product data, customers, order history and URL structure. The URLs and redirects in particular are crucial so your SEO rankings don't collapse during the move. Before migrating we analyze your current shop and plan the move so ongoing operations are disrupted as little as possible.

Do you support B2B, B2C and D2C equally?

Yes. In B2C, conversion, speed and a frictionless checkout matter most. In B2B, requirements such as customer-specific price lists, tiered pricing, order approvals, quotation features and ERP integration come into play. We support D2C brands from brand staging to the logistics interface. We build the shop around your business model, not the other way round.

How do you ensure performance and scalability?

Performance isn't an afterthought for us but part of the architecture. We optimize for good Core Web Vitals, use caching, a CDN and clean database indexes, and test behavior under load. That keeps your shop fast and stable even during load peaks such as sales campaigns or Black Friday.

What about data protection, security and payment processing?

We build shops GDPR-compliant and integrate payments via certified payment providers, so no sensitive card data sits on your server. Updates, secure configuration and a roles-and-permissions concept are standard for us. In e-commerce, security isn't an optional add-on but a prerequisite for trust and conversion.

Who owns the shop – does vendor lock-in arise?

You own everything: code, configuration, data and content. Because we build on open-source technology like Shopware, you're not tied to proprietary systems and could in principle hand operations to another team. We document cleanly – vendor lock-in is not our business model.

E-Commerce: A/B Testing

A/BTesting

Data-driven decisions instead of gut feeling: A/B testing shows you with statistical confidence which variant of your shop converts better. We derive hypotheses from real user data, set up tests with methodological rigour, wait for sufficient sample size, and interpret results so you understand what you've learned — not just which number is larger. Every test becomes a building block of your optimisation knowledge.

Start A/B Testing

Challenges you'll recognise

Design changes to the shop are made based on opinions and gut feeling, and no one knows afterwards whether they improved or worsened conversion.
Tests have been stopped too early in the past as soon as one variant was ahead — and implemented changes turned out to be ineffective or even harmful.
There is no systematic documentation of past tests, so the same hypotheses keep coming up and no cumulative knowledge about users is built.

Hypothesis Development

An A/B test without a hypothesis is guesswork. We derive test hypotheses from heatmaps, session recordings, funnel analyses, and user interviews. Each hypothesis names an observed problem, a proposed solution, and a measurable expectation. Every test has a clear objective — and you know what you learn, regardless of how it turns out.

Test Setup & Tooling

We set up A/B tests with established testing tools, configure correct audience segmentation, and ensure variants are distributed evenly and consistently. Sample ratio mismatch and other common implementation errors are actively checked before a test starts.

Statistical Analysis

A test is not finished when one variant leads, but when the sample size is sufficient for statistical significance. We calculate the required sample size before the test starts, monitor continuously, and stop only when reliable results are available. Stopping early leads to false positive findings.

Learning Documentation

Test results are documented in a central test log: hypothesis, result, statistical significance, and derived action. This knowledge base makes every test result the foundation for future hypotheses. Over months, an institutional understanding of what works for your users develops.

Good to know

Early stopping leads to wrong conclusions
Stopping a test as soon as one variant leads falls into the peeking problem. Without a pre-calculated sample size and sufficient runtime, results are not statistically reliable — and decisions based on them can actually worsen conversion.
Hypothesis matters more than tool
The A/B testing tool is interchangeable. The quality of the hypothesis determines the learning value of the test. A hypothesis cleanly derived from data with clear expectations yields insights even when the tested variant loses.
Test log is institutional capital
Every test result — won or lost — is knowledge about your users. Organisations that don't document results lose this knowledge with the next personnel change and retest the same hypotheses. A maintained test log is one of the most valuable resources in the CRO process.

Frequently asked questions

How much traffic do I need for meaningful A/B tests?

That depends on the element being tested, the expected effect size, and the accepted significance level. As a rough guide: several hundred conversions per month enables tests with well-measurable effects. For lower traffic, we recommend qualitative methods and best-practice optimisations that deliver results even without large samples.

What do you typically test first?

We prioritise by potential, effort, and confidence. Checkout elements typically have the highest potential because cart abandonment is most costly there. Product page elements with high traffic follow. We never start with small cosmetic changes when larger structural levers haven't been tested yet.

What happens if a test shows no statistically significant results?

A null result is still a result: it shows the tested element has no measurable influence on conversion. We document this and derive whether the hypothesis was wrong or whether the effect is too small for the available sample size. Both are valuable for prioritising the next tests.

Shopware B2B Suite 2026: Features, costs and why the suite is being phased out

Commerce & Shopware05/24/2026

Shopware B2B Suite 2026: Features, costs, EOL with 6.8 - and the honest decision Suite vs. B2B Components for new projects.

Angular vs React vs Vue: Which frontend framework suits your shop?

Commerce & Shopware04/08/2026

Angular, React or Vue for your shop? A practical comparison for e-commerce and headless shopware with a clear recommendation based on team, SEO and setup.

Subscription commerce with Shopware: How recurring revenue supports your shop

Commerce & Shopware05/29/2026

Subscription commerce turns one-off purchases into predictable, recurring revenue. How this works with Shopware and how to start a subscription model.

Why nextlevels

Success you can measure

With us you're always at the cutting edge of technology and benefit directly from our developer expertise. Together we analyze your shop, identify key areas and develop tailor-made solutions. Your goals and expectations are at the center of our work.

Developers, not resellers
Your shop is built by developers who understand the code — nothing gets passed to subcontractors.
Shopware down to the detail
Architecture, API integration and performance from hundreds of project hours.
One team, every discipline
Development, design and marketing from a single source — no friction at the handoffs.
Built for growth
We build for conversion, load time and revenue — not for gut feeling.
Partner, not vendor
We stay on after launch and keep developing your shop continuously.

Ready for your successful online shop?

Whether it's an improvement or a fresh start — a no-obligation conversation never hurt anyone.

Paul Kalisch
Executive Partner

info@nextlevels.de +49 (0) 2161 539 71 60