Start an online store: complete guide to opening your own store

You can start an online store in Denmark in less than an hour. You create an account with an online store platform, choose a theme, add products, and set up payment and shipping. Realistically, it costs around 1,500 DKK to get started and 1,500 to 3,000 DKK per month if you do most of it yourself. You don’t need a CVR number to set up the store, but you must register for VAT if your revenue exceeds 50,000 kr over 12 months. At Shoporama, you can create a free trial store without a credit card.

Written by Morten Blinksbjerg Nielsen, founder of Shoporama. He has been working professionally in Danish e-commerce since 2013 and has helped launch over 400 Danish online stores. This guide is a practical guide, not legal or tax advice. Contact virk.dk and your accountant for information on legal requirements.

What does it take to start an online store in Denmark? Requirements for a CVR number, VAT, domain, and platform

Starting an online store is technically straightforward. The practical and legal aspects, however, require a bit more planning. To open an online store in Denmark, you must, at a minimum, have the following in order:

• An online store platform. The software your store runs on. Choose a platform that provides hosting, security, design, and features all in one package, so you don’t have to build everything from scratch yourself.
• A domain name. Your own address on the web, for example, yourstore.dk. If you use Shoporama’s subdomain, yourstore.shoporama.dk, it will harm your brand image and your SEO in the long run.
• A payment solution. You need to be able to accept payments. This requires either a payment gateway like Stripe, Quickpay, or ePay, and typically a merchant agreement if you choose the gateway yourself.
• A shipping agreement. You’ll need to ship packages. PostNord, GLS, and DAO are the most commonly used carriers in Denmark.
• Products, images, and descriptions. The most important content on your store. Expect to spend the most time here.
• Terms of sale, right of withdrawal, privacy policy, and cookie consent. Legal requirements in Denmark and the EU.

Do you need a CVR number to start an online store?

You do not need a CVR number to set up an online store. You can test your idea and finish building the store without registering anything. Once you start selling commercially, the situation changes:

• If your sales total less than 50,000 DKK within 12 months, you do not need to register your business for VAT, but you must still report taxes on your profits.
• If your revenue exceeds 50,000 DKK within 12 months, you must register for VAT at virk.dk and charge VAT on all future sales.
• Most people register as a sole proprietorship at first. It’s free to set up an account on virk.dk, and you can always convert it to an ApS later.

We provide practical guidance, not legal advice. Consult your accountant if you have questions about business structures, accounting, or VAT. Free guidance is also available from the Danish Business Authority at virk.dk.

What about GDPR and personal data?

Every time a customer adds an item to their cart, you collect personal data. This triggers the requirement for a privacy policy, a cookie consent banner, and a data processing agreement with your e-commerce platform. At Shoporama, cookie consent with Consent Mode v2 is built-in, data is hosted in the EU, and you can download a standard data processing agreement directly from the admin panel. This eliminates the most time-consuming parts of GDPR compliance.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Start an Online Store in 7 Steps

Here’s the process we’ve seen work for hundreds of new store owners. You can typically complete steps 1 through 5 within one business day, while steps 6 and 7 are ongoing.

Step 1: Define your idea and your target audience

Before you set anything up, you need to be clear on two things: what are you selling, and who are you selling to? Write a brief 2–3-sentence description explaining why your store exists. This will serve as the foundation for everything from product descriptions to Google Ads campaigns later on.

Check out the competition by Googling the products you want to sell. How many competitors are there? What are their price points? What’s missing from their stores that you can do better? Write it down in a document and refer back to it as you go.

Step 2: Choose an e-commerce platform

The platform is the foundation. Take your time here, because switching later is the most expensive part. Check out our comparison of Danish e-commerce platforms, where we review eight popular options based on price, speed, and features.

If you want to compare the major platforms specifically, we also have in-depth guides for Shoporama vs. Shopify, Shoporama vs. DanDomain, and Shoporama vs. WooCommerce. Most platforms offer free trials, so feel free to test two or three before making your decision.

Step 3: Set up your online store and choose a theme

Once you’ve chosen a platform, create an account. With Shoporama, it takes less than 60 seconds, and you’ll have a working demo store with sample products right away. We automatically create a store at name.shoporama.dk so you can get started without having to buy a domain just yet.

Next, choose a theme. This determines the appearance, layout, and user experience. Shoporama offers five official free themes: Montana, Delaware, California, Alaska 2, and Washington. All themes are mobile-optimized, built with Tailwind CSS, and can be customized without any technical knowledge. Check out our themes and choose the one that best matches your industry.

Step 4: Buy a domain and set up DNS

A good domain name is short, easy to remember, and ideally includes a keyword that signals what you’re selling. You can purchase a domain from us starting at 45 kr or from external providers such as Gratisdns, Simply, or Domæneshop.

Once the domain is purchased, it must point to Shoporama. You do this by updating two DNS records with your domain provider. We have a detailed guide to setting up your own domain and configuring its DNS settings, which walks you through the process step by step. Expect to wait anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours for the change to take effect online.

Step 5: Set up payment and shipping

Without payment and shipping, you can’t sell. Sign up with a payment gateway and at least one shipping provider. Enter your API keys in the admin panel and place a test order through the entire checkout process to ensure that the card payment, order confirmation, invoicing, and shipping label all work properly.

Our guide to the Stripe payment gateway shows you how to set up Stripe, and the checkout flow with shipping goes into detail on how to set up shipping options.

Step 6: Add Products and Content

Now your store needs actual products. You can add them manually, import them from a spreadsheet, or migrate them from an existing store. Remember to use high-quality product images. One good product photo sells more than five poor ones.

Also, write the text that customers expect to find: a homepage, an “About” page, shipping terms, return policy, terms of service, privacy policy, and a contact page. Use Shoporama’s AI assistant to generate drafts of product descriptions and SEO copy, which you can then edit.

Step 7: Market Your Store and Make Your First Sales

An online store without traffic won’t sell anything. Start with the basics: set up SEO so you appear on Google. Read our guide to SEO in Shoporama for specific tips. Connect Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, and Meta Pixel so you can measure what’s working.

Send a newsletter to your network and ask for feedback. Share your online store on the social media platforms you use yourself. The first 10 sales typically come from your own network and referrals. The next 100 come from ads, SEO, and word of mouth.

What’s a realistic cost to start an online store? A budget for small, medium, and ambitious stores

The cost of starting an online store depends on how much you do yourself and how big you want to start. Here are three realistic budgets for the first three months. The figures are exclusive of tax.

The figures highlight one key point: the platform itself is a small part of the budget. Your inventory, marketing, and time are the biggest expenses. If you want to dive deeper into the cost issue, we have a dedicated guide on how much an online store costs and a comparison if you’re looking for an affordable online store solution.

Tip from experience: Set aside 20 percent of your total startup budget as a buffer. Unforeseen issues always come up, and it’s better to be able to afford to do it right than to cut corners in the wrong places.

Pro vs. Flex: Which Shoporama plan is right for your store?

At Shoporama, you can choose between two subscription plans. They have the same features, but the pricing structure differs. The key factors are how much revenue you generate and how stable it is.

The break-even point is approximately 28,000 kr in monthly revenue. If you sell less, you’ll typically pay less with Flex. If you sell more, you’ll save money with Pro. You can switch plans in the admin panel without any commitment or notice, so it’s a smart move to start with Flex and upgrade to Pro as your revenue grows.

Both plans include unlimited revenue, an AI assistant, a page builder, a built-in newsletter, POS, a loyalty program, cookie consent, SEO tools, a blog system, multilingual support, and Danish support. The differences are minor: Pro includes unlimited users and 10,000 API calls per month, while Flex includes 1 user and 1,000 API calls. See all the details on Shoporama’s pricing plans.

Choose the Right E-commerce Platform: Shoporama Compared to Shopify, DanDomain, and WooCommerce

Choosing a platform is the single most important decision when starting an online store. Switching later is possible, but it’s costly in terms of both time and money. Here’s a comparison of the four most widely used platforms in Denmark based on the factors that typically make the difference.

The differences boil down to three considerations:

1. Do you want everything in Danish? Choose Shoporama or DanDomain. Both offer Danish support, Danish integrations, and Danish documentation.
2. Do you want the largest possible app ecosystem and global reach? Choose Shopify if you’re willing to accept transaction fees and English-language support.
3. Do you want maximum control and are you willing to handle hosting, security, and updates yourself? Choose WooCommerce. It requires technical experience but offers complete flexibility.

Payment: How to Accept Payments in Your Online Store

To receive payments from your customers, you need a payment gateway. The gateway acts as the link between your online store and the card processor, which transfers the funds to your account. You can choose from several Danish and international providers.

The most commonly used gateways at Shoporama

• Stripe. Modern and easy to get started with. Supports cards, MobilePay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. No subscription fee; only a transaction fee of approximately 1.4 percent + 1.80 DKK per transaction. A 0.5 percent surcharge is added through Shoporama. Read our Stripe guide.
• Quickpay. A Danish gateway supporting Dankort, MobilePay, Klarna, ViaBill, and Apple Pay. Monthly subscription plus an acquiring agreement.
• ePay. Another Danish classic. Same range of options as Quickpay and a wide selection of card acquirers.
• OnPay and PensoPay. Danish providers that often offer competitive pricing for lower transaction volumes.
• Nets Easy. An all-in-one solution from Nets that combines Visa, Mastercard, Dankort, MobilePay, Vipps, Swish, Apple Pay, and Klarna.
• Mollie. Popular in the Nordic countries and Europe. A good choice if you want to sell in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany.
• PayPal and Payson. Good to have as a supplement if you sell internationally or to Sweden.

Which one should you choose? If your monthly revenue is less than 100,000 DKK, Stripe is the easiest to set up. If you sell mostly to Danish customers and want everything consolidated with Dankort, Quickpay or ePay is a solid choice. If you want to accept MobilePay payments directly at checkout, this happens automatically when you use Stripe, Quickpay, ePay, or Nets Easy. The same applies to Klarna and Apple Pay, which are activated through your primary payment gateway.

Remember: At Shoporama, there are no extra transaction fees beyond Stripe’s 0.5 percent surcharge. We don’t take a percentage of your sales, either on the Pro plan or on the payments themselves.

Shipping and Delivery: How to Ship Your Packages

Shipping is one of the three most important factors when customers decide whether to shop with you. The other two are price and delivery time. Therefore, choose at least one—and preferably two—shipping providers.

Shoporama integrates directly with PostNord, GLS, and DAO. You can create shipping documents, choose a package pickup location, home delivery, or a pickup point, and print shipping labels directly from the admin panel. For other providers such as Bring, Burd, or specialty shipping, you can use external integrations or enter the information manually.

What should you consider when choosing a shipping option?

• Free shipping. Offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount, for example, 499 kr. This significantly increases the average order value.
• Pickup point vs. home delivery. 70–80 percent of Danish customers prefer pickup points. It’s also cheaper for you to ship this way.
• Returns policy. If you set up a returns policy with your shipping provider, customers can print their own return labels. This boosts conversion rates and reduces customer support requests.
• International shipping agreements. Do you want to sell to Sweden, Germany, or Norway? Add international shipping options from the start so you don’t have to reject orders later.

Our guide to checkout flow and shipping shows you how to set up the various delivery options and how customers see them at checkout.

Marketing: How to Attract Your First Customers to Your New Online Store

Once your store is ready, you’ll need customers. This is where many new store owners are caught off guard. Even the best product won’t sell if no one knows it exists. So make a plan for how you’ll drive traffic from day one.

SEO: Traffic That Keeps Coming

SEO is a long-term investment. You’ll work with titles, meta descriptions, product descriptions, category descriptions, internal linking, and sitemaps. It takes 3–6 months to see results, but traffic builds up and continues as long as your pages rank. Check out our complete guide to SEO in Shoporama, where we dive deep into what works and what you can do yourself.

Google Ads and Shopping

Google Ads delivers quick results but costs money per click. Start with a small budget of 50–100 kr per day and test which products convert. Shoporama automatically sends product data to Google Shopping via a built-in feed, so you can appear on the Shopping tab without having to do everything manually.

Meta Ads and Social Media

Facebook and Instagram are still among the most effective channels for new Danish online stores. Use Meta Pixel and the Conversion API in Shoporama to track conversions accurately, even with iOS restrictions. Establish a consistent posting schedule featuring product images, customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes content.

Newsletter and Loyalty Program

Shoporama has a built-in newsletter system with segmentation and A/B testing. You can also integrate with Klaviyo, Brevo, or Mailchimp if you prefer to use an external tool. Send welcome emails, abandoned cart emails, and monthly newsletters. Add a loyalty program to increase customer retention and encourage repeat purchases from your best customers.

Tracking and Analytics

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Connect Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, Meta Pixel, and the Conversion API even before launch. It’s much easier to have data from day one than to set up tracking later. If you want completely accurate server-side tracking across devices and browsers, you can purchase it for 89 DKK per month.

How long does it take to launch an online store? Realistic time estimates

The short answer: from less than an hour to several weeks, depending on how prepared you are before you start. Here’s a realistic timeline for three typical scenarios:

• Test shop, demo, or hobby project. Less than an hour. You create an account, choose a theme, play around with sample products, and get a feel for the workflow.
• Small store ready to sell. 1–3 days. You add 5–30 products, set up payment, shipping, and a domain, write the most important text, and place a test order.
• Full-scale store with everything in place. 1–4 weeks. You’ll have 50–500+ products, professional images, accounting integration, a newsletter, tracking, GDPR texts, shipping to multiple countries, and a marketing plan ready.

The actual time required depends mostly on how many products you need to add and the quality you want for your images and text. The technical setup itself can be completed in under two hours with Shoporama.

If you’re an entrepreneur with a brand-new idea, our guide to online stores for startups might be helpful. It covers how to get started quickly without blowing your entire budget on the first day.

10 Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid When Starting an Online Store

We see the same mistakes repeated by new store owners. Here are the ten most important ones to avoid.

1. Too many products from the start. Many people think a large selection leads to more sales. The opposite is often true. Start with 10–30 products, and expand based on what sells.
2. Poor product photos. Your most important sales tool. A consistent, well-lit photo on a white background converts better than a sophisticated artistic shot. Use your phone and a simple box if your budget is tight.
3. No clear shipping terms. Customers will abandon their carts if they can’t see how much shipping costs and when the package will arrive. Always display this information upfront.
4. Forgetting to show prices including VAT. In Denmark, consumers must see prices including VAT. This is the default setting in Shoporama, but check your configuration. Our article on displaying prices including VAT goes into more detail.
5. Too few payment methods. Offer at least credit cards, MobilePay, and preferably Klarna or ViaBill. A lack of payment options is one of the most common reasons for abandoned carts.
6. No tracking from the start. Without Google Analytics and Meta Pixel, you won’t know what’s working. It costs nothing to set up.
7. Incorrect or no domain. A domain like navn.shoporama.dk is fine for testing, but not for a real store. Buy your own domain from day one. Also, get your own email address on that domain so you come across as professional.
8. No return policy. A 14-day right of withdrawal is a legal requirement in Denmark. Write a clear return policy and make it easy to find.
9. Forgotten cookie consent and privacy policy. GDPR isn’t optional. Fortunately, it’s built into Shoporama, so you just need to enable it.
10. Too little budget for marketing. Many people spend all their money on the store itself and forget that traffic has to come from somewhere. Set aside at least one-third of your startup budget for marketing during the first three months.

How to migrate from Shopify, DanDomain, or WooCommerce

Do you already have an online store you want to migrate? It’s easier than most people think. At Shoporama, we can import products, categories, customers, and order history from the most popular platforms.

• Shopify: We have a dedicated import tool. Read the Shopify import guide, which walks you through the process step by step.
• DanDomain. We import products, categories, and images. Orders and customers can also be migrated.
• WooCommerce. We retrieve data from the WooCommerce REST API or from export files.
• Other platforms. CSV import covers almost everything. The onboarding package, priced at 10,000 DKK (excluding VAT), includes migration and setup.

Check out our guide to moving your store to Shoporama, where we walk you through the entire migration process and common pitfalls. We also feature named customers who have switched platforms and are happy to share their experiences in our case studies.

Frequently Asked Questions About Starting an Online Store

How much does it cost to start an online store with Shoporama?

You can start for free for 30 days without a credit card. After that, the Pro plan costs 1,400 DKK (excl. tax) per month with no long-term commitment, or the Flex plan costs 0 DKK fixed plus 5 percent of revenue; however, starting January 1, 2027, the minimum monthly fee will be 249 DKK (excl. tax). On top of that, you’ll typically need to pay for a domain (starting at about 75 kr per year), an email account (9–15 kr per month), and any fees charged by your payment gateway.

How long does it take to get an online store up and running?

The setup itself takes less than 60 seconds. You’ll have a demo store with products right away. Realistically, you should expect it to take anywhere from a few days to two weeks to add actual products, set up payment and shipping, choose a theme, and point your domain. Most people are ready to start selling within one business day if their product selection is small.

Which payment gateway should I choose?

Stripe is the easiest to get started with and supports credit cards, MobilePay, and Apple Pay. Quickpay and ePay are classic Danish options that include Dankort, Klarna, and ViaBill. Nets Easy is a good fit if you want all Nordic payment methods in one place. At Shoporama, there are no additional transaction fees beyond a 0.5 percent surcharge if you use Stripe through us.

Can I migrate my existing online store from Shopify or DanDomain?

Yes. We can import products, categories, customers, and orders from Shopify, DanDomain, WooCommerce, and most other platforms. The onboarding package, priced at 10,000 DKK (excluding VAT), includes migration, during which we’ll help you transfer data, set up payment and shipping options, and train you on the system.

What’s the difference between Pro and Flex?

Pro costs 1,400 DKK (excl. tax) per month, regardless of revenue, and is typically the most cost-effective option if you generate more than approximately 28,000 DKK in monthly sales. Flex costs a flat fee of 0 DKK plus 5 percent of revenue; however, starting January 1, 2027, there will be a minimum monthly fee of 249 DKK (excluding VAT), and it’s suitable for associations, seasonal stores, and brand-new stores where revenue fluctuates. Both plans include the same core features.

Is there a contract term or cancellation policy?

No. You pay monthly and can cancel on a month-to-month basis. We also do not automatically lock you into a contract when you upgrade. If you want to leave, you can export all your products, categories, customers, and orders and take your data with you.

Which accounting systems can be integrated?

Shoporama offers ready-made integrations with e-conomic, Dinero, and Billy. You can automatically send invoices, orders, and customer data to your accounting system, eliminating the need for manual entry. Setup is done via OAuth, and it typically takes less than five minutes to connect the systems.

Can I sell in multiple languages or in multiple countries?

Yes. Shoporama supports Danish, English, German, Norwegian, and Swedish. You can also create multiple online stores under the same account with different domains, currencies, and languages if you want to segment your sales by country or by brand.

Ready to start your own online store?

Starting your own online store in 2026 is neither complicated nor expensive if you do it in the right order. Choose a platform that meets your needs from day one, select a theme, set up payment and shipping, and then spend your time on what really drives sales: great products, great images, and great copy.

At Shoporama, we’ve helped more than 3,000 Danish online stores get started since 2013. We offer you a free 30-day trial with no credit card required, Danish support on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., no long-term commitment, and no transaction fees on the Pro plan. You can set up your store in under 60 seconds and be ready to make your first sale the same day.

Take the first step. Browse our themes and find the design that suits your store, or check out all our integrations to see if your existing tools are supported. When you’re ready, you can set up your online store for free and be up and running within five minutes.

If you want to dive deeper into practical topics, we have a comprehensive overview— see all our guides—where you can read about everything from GDPR to marketing to accounting.

Which guide is right for you?

This guide takes you all the way from idea to a live store. If you’re looking for something else, check out these three:

• Set Up an Online Store — You’re ready to get started and just want to set up your store.
• Build Your Own Online Store — You want to build everything yourself, without a developer and without coding.