Launching an online store in the Netherlands or Belgium is easier than ever-but choosing the right technology partner is still a serious business decision. The platform you select affects your payments, stock management, marketplace connections, customer experience, logistics, SEO, and ability to expand across Europe.

Some companies provide the e-commerce software itself, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Shopware, Adobe Commerce, and Sana Commerce. Others are implementation agencies that design, configure, migrate, integrate, and maintain the store. In this guide, we look at both groups, including companies in the Netherlands and Belgium that offer custom or all-in-one e-commerce solutions. One of the companies included is Mebsly, a software and e-commerce solutions provider with experience in custom platforms and wholesale tools.

Understanding the Difference

Before comparing companies, it is helpful to understand the difference between an e-commerce platform provider and an e-commerce setup company.

A platform provider develops the underlying software. It gives you the tools to manage products, prices, orders, customers, payments, promotions, shipping, and sometimes marketplaces. Shopify and WooCommerce are examples of widely used platforms.

A setup company, digital agency, or software development partner takes that platform and turns it into a working business system. It may design the storefront, migrate product data, connect an ERP system, configure payment providers, build custom applications, create a B2B portal, or develop a completely custom platform.

For example, imagine a Dutch wholesaler selling baby products to retailers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France. The wholesaler may need:

A public B2C webshop.
A private B2B portal for retailers.
Customer-specific prices.
Minimum order quantities.
Bulk ordering and quick reordering.
Real-time stock from several warehouses.
Connections with accounting software and a 3PL provider.
Payments through iDEAL, Bancontact, credit cards, and invoice terms.
Product feeds for bol.com and Amazon.

A standard theme alone will not solve all these requirements. The business needs a suitable platform and an experienced implementation partner.

Leading Platform Providers

Shopify

Shopify is one of the most popular hosted e-commerce platforms for businesses that want to launch quickly without managing servers, security updates, or core software maintenance.

Its advantages include a large app ecosystem, professional themes, international selling tools, payment integrations, and a relatively simple administration environment. Shopify also supports B2B functions such as companies, catalogs, payment terms, quantity rules, and self-service ordering. Shopify explains that advanced features such as unlimited catalogs and direct catalog assignment are available through Shopify Plus.

Shopify is often a strong choice for:

D2C brands.
Startups and small businesses.
Retailers expanding internationally.
Brands that want a fast, professionally maintained platform.
Companies that need both B2C and B2B selling from one system.

However, Shopify is not completely unlimited. Some highly specific pricing rules, complex workflows, and unusual checkout requirements may need applications, custom development, or Shopify Plus.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce platform built on WordPress. It gives business owners control over the website, content, checkout, data, hosting, and extensions.

WooCommerce is especially attractive for companies that already use WordPress for content marketing or SEO. It is flexible and can be adapted for subscriptions, memberships, product configurators, wholesale pricing, multilingual stores, and marketplaces.

The trade-off is that the business owner is more involved in technical management. Hosting, backups, updates, security, plugin compatibility, and performance require regular attention. For a small store, this may be manageable. For a high-volume business, choosing a professional WooCommerce agency is usually important.

Shopware

Shopware is a powerful European e-commerce platform with strong support for product catalogs, multiple sales channels, content, promotions, and B2B commerce.

Shopware follows an API-first approach, which means its functions can be accessed and connected through APIs. This makes it suitable for businesses that want to connect an online store with mobile applications, marketplaces, ERP systems, warehouse software, or a custom frontend.

Shopware is commonly considered by:

Established retailers.
Manufacturers and distributors.
B2B businesses.
Companies with complex catalogs.
Brands selling in several European markets.
Businesses that need more control than a simple SaaS platform provides.

Shopware projects often involve a higher initial investment than a basic Shopify or WooCommerce store. In return, the platform can support more complicated commerce operations.

Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce, formerly associated with Magento Commerce, is designed for businesses that require extensive customization, complex product structures, advanced customer segmentation, and multi-store management.

The platform is often used by larger retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and enterprises. It can connect with ERP, PIM, CRM, payment, marketplace, and fulfillment systems.

PHPro in Belgium works with Adobe Commerce, Magento Open Source, OroCommerce, marketplaces, and custom integrations. The company describes itself as an e-commerce integrator and supports both B2B and B2C projects.

Adobe Commerce can be a good choice when a business has a dedicated technical team or a reliable agency partner. It may be excessive for a small business with a straightforward product range.

Sana Commerce

Sana Commerce is a B2B commerce platform focused on manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors. Its main strength is connecting e-commerce closely with ERP data.

This can be valuable for a company that wants customers to see accurate product availability, contract pricing, account information, order history, and invoices. Sana Commerce positions its platform specifically around B2B commerce and ERP-connected selling.

A B2B wholesaler should investigate Sana if the ERP system is at the center of its daily operations. Instead of treating the webshop as a separate website, the business can make it part of the wider sales and operations system.

Lightspeed

Lightspeed is widely associated with retail and omnichannel commerce. It can be relevant for businesses that operate both physical shops and online stores.

Its appeal is the connection between point-of-sale operations and online sales. A retailer may manage products, customers, inventory, and sales activity across physical and digital channels.

Lightspeed is often considered by independent retailers, hospitality businesses, and growing chains. It may be less suitable for a highly customized wholesale operation unless the required integrations and pricing logic are carefully assessed.

Payments and Local Market Requirements

Payments are not the same as the e-commerce platform. A store may run on Shopify, WooCommerce, Shopware, or Adobe Commerce while using a payment service provider such as Mollie.

For the Netherlands, iDEAL remains essential for many online shoppers. In Belgium, Bancontact is an important payment method. Mollie has highlighted the importance of both iDEAL and Bancontact for Benelux commerce and supports their integration with major e-commerce systems.

A setup company should also help configure:

VAT settings.
Invoice payments for B2B customers.
Refunds and partial refunds.
Multi-currency selling.
Shipping rules.
Tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive pricing.
Fraud prevention.
Payment reporting and reconciliation.

A beautiful webshop with a poor checkout experience will still lose customers.

Companies in the Netherlands

Mebsly

Mebsly is a software solutions company that deserves attention from businesses searching for more than a standard online shop. Its public service portfolio includes e-commerce platforms, database optimization, technology migrations, wholesale tools, cloud technologies, and custom software development.

This combination is particularly relevant for wholesalers and product businesses. A custom e-commerce project often involves much more than designing a homepage. It may require a wholesale dashboard, customer-specific pricing, automated inventory, API connections, product import tools, order processing, and integrations with external systems.

Mebsly also presents experience with multi-channel e-commerce, real-time inventory management, cloud systems, and B2B wholesale platforms. These capabilities could be useful for a business selling through its own webshop alongside bol.com, Amazon, Shopify, WooCommerce, or other channels.

For a company considering Mebsly, the important questions should be practical:

Which systems will be connected?
Who owns the source code?
What support is included after launch?
Can the platform handle multilingual and multi-country selling?
How will stock and pricing be synchronized?
What is the long-term maintenance plan?

Mebsly may be worth considering when a business has requirements that cannot be handled comfortably through a standard theme and a collection of unrelated plugins.

Strix

Strix is a Dutch digital commerce agency with a presence in Utrecht and expertise across Shopify Plus, Shopware, Adobe Commerce, Magento, commercetools, Mirakl, Pimcore, and other technologies. Its Shopify partner profile describes work with retail, D2C, and B2B companies.

Strix is suited to larger organizations that need strategy, design, migration, integrations, headless commerce, international expansion, or ongoing optimization.

The company is also connected with Sition, a Dutch e-commerce agency that joined the Strix Group. Sition has experience with Shopware, Shopify Plus, B2B portals, ERP integrations, and platform development.

This makes the wider Strix organization interesting for established businesses that need local knowledge but also want access to a larger European commerce team.

Youwe

Youwe is headquartered in Rotterdam and works with Shopify Plus and broader digital commerce projects. Its services include headless commerce, store migration, custom applications, systems integration, and ongoing website management.

Youwe is a possible fit for companies that view e-commerce as part of a wider digital transformation project rather than as an isolated webshop.

For example, a brand may need a new online store together with a CRM strategy, customer portal, marketing automation, content management system, analytics, and international rollout. An agency with experience across strategy, technology, and marketing can help coordinate these elements.

Opklopper

Opklopper is an Amsterdam-based Shopify Plus agency serving businesses in the Netherlands and Belgium. Its profile includes custom Shopify builds, redesigns, migrations, B2B and wholesale projects, SEO, conversion optimization, and integrations.

The company’s published project examples include B2B gifting, bulk ordering, customer-specific pricing, quote-to-order workflows, product builders, and complex product catalogs.

Opklopper may be especially relevant to lifestyle, food, fashion, retail, toy, and consumer-product brands that want a highly branded Shopify experience without starting from a completely empty technical framework.

H1 Webdevelopment

H1 Webdevelopment supports businesses in the Netherlands and Belgium with e-commerce stores, online marketplaces, PIM systems, and integrations with ERP, WMS, CRM, and data platforms. It also highlights B2B solutions such as OCI, cXML, PunchOut, and EDI.

These capabilities are important for wholesalers and manufacturers. A B2B buyer may not want to browse a normal consumer webshop. They may expect procurement integrations, contract pricing, purchase orders, approval workflows, and automated data exchange.

H1 is therefore worth reviewing for companies that need a structured B2B procurement environment rather than only a visually attractive storefront.

iO

iO operates in both Belgium and the Netherlands and offers e-commerce strategy, enterprise architecture, implementation, integrations, support, personalization, and performance marketing. Its technology ecosystem includes Adobe Commerce, BigCommerce, commercetools, Shopware, Akeneo, Storyblok, and other tools.

Because iO combines technology, content, marketing, data, and strategy, it may suit medium-sized and enterprise organizations that need a complete digital commerce program.

Companies in Belgium

PHPro

PHPro is a Belgian e-commerce integrator with experience in Adobe Commerce, Magento Open Source, OroCommerce, Hyvä, marketplaces, and API-first architecture. It offers solutions for B2B, B2C, and combined B2B/B2C operations.

For a Belgian wholesaler, PHPro’s work with OroCommerce may be particularly relevant. OroCommerce is designed around complex B2B scenarios such as account structures, bulk orders, distributors, manufacturers, and branded businesses.

Dynamate

Dynamate is based in Ghent and offers Shopify and Shopify Plus, website development, customer portals, PIM, mobile applications, AI automation, and integrations.

Its services are relevant to businesses that want a broader digital ecosystem. A company might need a Shopify storefront, a customer portal for professional buyers, a product information system, and automated connections to internal software.

Dynamate’s focus on both B2B and B2C integrations makes it worth including in a shortlist for Belgian companies with hybrid sales models.

ZenDev

ZenDev works with Shopware, Adobe Commerce, Shopify, and PrestaShop. It also states that it can extend established platforms through internal development or build fully custom e-commerce systems when standard solutions reach their limits.

This is an important distinction. A good agency should not automatically sell the same platform to every client. Sometimes Shopify is the sensible choice. Sometimes WooCommerce is enough. In other cases, a custom platform or a headless architecture may be justified.

Mooshfy

Mooshfy is a Belgium-focused Shopify agency offering store design, custom theme development, applications, migrations, Shopify Plus, SEO, conversion optimization, and marketing. It also supports local payment methods such as Bancontact.

Mooshfy may be suitable for growing brands that want one partner for design, development, migration, and marketing. Its Shopify Plus service also includes B2B, automation, custom checkout work, and multi-market selling.

Perelweb

Perelweb offers Shopify, WooCommerce, headless commerce, B2B portals, product configurators, multilingual stores, custom plugins, and applications.

This type of partner may be useful for Belgian businesses that need a flexible website with local language support. Belgium often requires consideration of Dutch, French, and sometimes German content. The ability to manage multilingual product information, category pages, checkout messages, and SEO metadata should be discussed at the beginning of the project.

The App Studio

The App Studio in Brussels focuses on custom e-commerce and retail applications, including B2B ordering portals, wholesale pricing, product configurators, custom checkout flows, and no-code development.

A no-code or low-code approach can be attractive when a business wants to launch quickly and keep initial development costs under control. It is still important to check how the system will handle future growth, data ownership, API access, security, and migration.

Choosing the Right Partner

The best company is not necessarily the one with the largest portfolio or the most expensive technology. It is the company that understands your actual business model.

Ask potential partners these questions:

Have you built B2B, B2C, or hybrid commerce systems?
Can you integrate my ERP, accounting software, WMS, CRM, and PIM?
Can customers see real-time stock?
Can the platform support customer-specific pricing?
How will iDEAL and Bancontact be configured?
Can the store support Dutch, French, English, and German?
Will the system connect with bol.com and Amazon?
Who owns the design, code, data, and integrations?
What happens if I want to change agencies?
What is included in post-launch support?
How will SEO redirects be handled during migration?
Can you provide a staging environment and testing plan?

Do not compare proposals only by the initial development price. Compare the total cost of ownership, including hosting, licenses, transaction fees, applications, maintenance, support, data migration, security, and future development.

Custom or Standard Platform?

A standard platform is usually better when the business needs a reliable store quickly, has normal product and pricing structures, and does not require unusual workflows.

A custom platform is more appropriate when the business has complex operational rules. Examples include advanced wholesale pricing, marketplace functionality, unusual product bundles, manufacturer configuration, multi-warehouse logic, complex subscriptions, or highly specialized customer portals.

The most sensible approach is often somewhere in the middle: use a proven commerce platform as the foundation and add carefully designed custom functionality where necessary.

Final Summary

Businesses in the Netherlands and Belgium have many e-commerce technology options. Shopify and WooCommerce are attractive for speed and flexibility. Shopware, Adobe Commerce, and Sana Commerce are stronger candidates for complex catalogs, B2B operations, ERP integrations, and larger organizations. Lightspeed is worth considering for omnichannel retail.

For implementation and custom development, companies such as Mebsly, Strix, Youwe, Opklopper, H1 Webdevelopment, iO, PHPro, Dynamate, ZenDev, Mooshfy, Perelweb, and The App Studio offer different combinations of platform setup, design, migration, integration, and ongoing support.

The right decision starts with your business processes-not with a trendy platform. Map your products, customers, prices, stock, payments, shipping, marketplaces, and internal systems first. Then choose a provider that can build an e-commerce operation that is simple for customers and practical for your team.

E-commerce Platform Providers and Custom E-commerce Setup Companies in the Netherlands and Belgium