Build vs Buy: E-commerce Platform - Pros Playbook

Custom (Build) - Pros

• Tailored to your domain, complex workflows, and unique UX.
• Full performance control (caching, data models, infra) and scale economics at volume.
• Own the roadmap; avoid vendor lock‑in and forced deprecations.
• Deep integration flexibility with legacy/ERP/warehouse and bespoke services.
• Unit economics: no per‑order platform take rate; infra costs can be optimized.

Ready‑to‑Go (Buy) - Pros

• Fast launch and lower upfront cost; predictable subscription.
• Best‑practice defaults out of the box (payments, tax, shipping, analytics, SEO).
• Ecosystem of themes/apps; non‑core features solved without engineering.
• Security/compliance largely handled by provider; fewer PCI and uptime concerns.
• Vendor support and SLAs; frequent feature updates.