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: Shop Maintenance & Support

Shop Maintenance& Support

A live shop needs continuous care — security patches, plugin updates, and compatibility checks before issues arise in production. We take over the ongoing maintenance of your Shopware shop with defined SLAs, a direct point of contact, and proactive monitoring. Your shop stays current, secure, and stable without you managing update cycles yourself.

Request a Maintenance Contract

Challenges you'll recognise

Shopware updates are piling up because no one has taken responsibility for applying them — until a security issue forces action.
Plugin updates regularly cause production issues because they're applied directly on the live system without testing.
When an outage or checkout error occurs, there is no clear point of contact and troubleshooting starts from scratch.

Regular Updates

Shopware releases minor and patch versions regularly with security fixes and bug fixes. We check every update in a staging environment for compatibility with your plugins and customisations before it goes live. You hear about changes in advance — no update lands untested on your production system.

Proactive Monitoring

Problems often appear in logs and metrics before customers report them. We continuously monitor error rates, load times, and availability and respond to anomalies before they affect revenue. Uptime alerts and log monitoring are included in every maintenance contract.

Plugin Compatibility

With every Shopware version, plugin APIs may change. We systematically check all installed plugins for compatibility before an update, coordinate with plugin vendors, or adapt plugins ourselves if needed. No update ends in a broken live shop.

Priority Support Channel

Every minute matters when something critical breaks in production. With a defined SLA and a direct line to our developer team, critical incidents are handled with priority. You know who's responsible and get a contact person, not a ticket number.

Good to know

Security patches are not optional
Shopware regularly publishes security fixes for known vulnerabilities. An unpatched shop is an open risk for data loss, manipulation, or blacklisting by search engines. Postponing updates means carrying that risk alone.
Staging test before every update
An update applied directly to production without prior testing can cause plugin conflicts, visual errors, or checkout failures. The staging-to-live process is the only way to apply updates without production risk.
Monitoring catches issues before customers do
Rising error rates, slow database queries, and uptime deviations are visible in logs before a customer abandons or sends a screenshot. Proactive monitoring gives you the chance to respond before damage occurs.

Frequently asked questions

What does a maintenance contract include?

Regular Shopware updates tested in staging and applied to production, security patches, plugin compatibility checks, proactive monitoring, and a priority support channel for critical incidents. The exact scope including response times is defined contractually.

Do you take over maintenance for shops you didn't build?

Yes. We conduct a brief onboarding audit to understand the existing codebase and infrastructure, then take over ongoing maintenance. Clean documentation of the shop setup is a prerequisite for a smooth transition.

How quickly do you respond to a critical outage?

That depends on the SLA package. Critical incidents — shop outage or checkout failures — are addressed with a defined initial response. The exact timeframe is set in the maintenance contract as a binding response time.

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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