This article is for businesses in Kagoshima Prefecture that want to commission an online store (e-commerce site) from an outside company. It covers how to choose a development company, typical costs by build method, and what to organize before you commission a build.
You can choose a development company more easily by comparing them on four main points. Rather than whether a company is based in Kagoshima, check the following.
- Whether its scope of work fits your goals
- Whether it has a track record close to your own business
- Whether you can communicate smoothly with the person in charge
- Whether the breakdown in its quote is clear
This article is written by Tsun Inc., a development company based in Kagoshima City that specializes in Shopify. Later in the article, we also describe what Tsun can and cannot handle.
What Is an E-commerce Site Development Company?
An e-commerce site development company is a company you can commission to build an e-commerce site. It builds a site to the client's requirements, equipped with the functions needed to run e-commerce operations, such as an order management system (OMS), an inventory management system, a warehouse management system (WMS), and cart and payment systems.
Each company differs in the e-commerce platforms it is strong in (such as Shopify or online marketplaces) and in the scope of support it offers (whether it only builds the site or also supports operations after launch). Choose a company that fits the direction of the e-commerce site you want to build.
What to Consider When Looking for an E-commerce Site Development Company in Kagoshima
Local Company or Company Elsewhere in Japan: Which Should You Commission?
Where a company is located is one factor when choosing a development company, but it is not necessarily the deciding one. Many companies hold meetings online, and businesses in Kagoshima Prefecture sometimes commission companies outside the prefecture.
Points for Deciding Whether You Need to Meet in Person
Use the following points to decide whether you need to meet in person.
- Whether in-person meetings are required, or online meetings (video calls and chat) are enough
- Whether on-site work is needed, such as product photography or on-location interviews (in some cases, someone other than the development company handles this)
- How quickly they respond to questions, and how they communicate (chat, email, phone)
Tsun's Approach
Tsun's head office is in Kagoshima City, but we do not make in-person visits. We work entirely online, from meetings through delivery. We follow the same process for customers both inside and outside Kagoshima Prefecture.
Kagoshima Prefecture Subsidies May Be Available
Kagoshima Prefecture runs the Service Industry Productivity Improvement Support Subsidy (サービス業生産性向上支援事業費補助金) for small and medium-sized enterprises and others that operate in the service industry within the prefecture. On the prefecture's dedicated site, eligible expenses include the cost of building an e-commerce site and the cost of creating websites, social media pages, and the like.
Program Overview (as of September 30, 2026)
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Subsidy rate | Up to 2/3 of eligible expenses |
| Maximum subsidy | ¥3,000,000 (¥6,000,000 for mid-sized enterprises) |
| Eligible businesses | Small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized enterprises (excluding deemed large enterprises) with their head office or principal office in Kagoshima Prefecture that operate in an industry classified under divisions F through R of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification |
| Fiscal 2026 (Reiwa 8) call for applications | First round (May 11 to June 12, 2026) and second round (July 21 to August 21, 2026): both closed |
Points to Note When Considering an Application
The name, eligible industries, application periods, and requirements of the subsidy may change from year to year. As of September 30, 2026, the next call for applications has not been announced. If you are considering applying, check the latest application guidelines on the prefecture's dedicated site. Applications are reviewed, and applying does not guarantee approval.
Source: Kagoshima Prefecture Service Industry Productivity Improvement Support Subsidy (dedicated site)
Tsun's Track Record with the Subsidy
In 2023, Tsun was approved for a Kagoshima Prefecture subsidy for the service industry together with a client (the program name and requirements at the time may differ from the current ones).
Typical Costs of Building an E-commerce Site
The cost of building an e-commerce site is easier to understand if you separate it into two parts: the build cost you pay a development company, and the fees you pay for the service itself, such as an online marketplace or an ASP. First, here is what it costs when you commission a development company. The amounts are guidelines based on publicly available information confirmed as of September 30, 2026, and vary with features, design, and the scope of work.
Cost of Commissioning a Development Company (by Build Method)
The cost of commissioning a development company varies greatly by build method. The setup fee in the table below is the cost of commissioning a development company.
| Build method | Cost of commissioning a development company (setup) | Monthly and operating costs | Build period |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASP / SaaS | ¥300,000 to ¥1,000,000 | A few thousand yen to tens of thousands of yen per month | 1 to 2 months |
| Open source | ¥1,000,000 to ¥3,000,000 | ¥30,000 to ¥150,000 per month | 2 to 4 months |
| Package | ¥3,000,000 to ¥15,000,000 | ¥100,000 to ¥500,000 per month | 4 to 8 months |
| Full-scratch development | ¥15,000,000+ | ¥500,000+ per month | 6 to 18+ months |
Source: Shopify, "How to Choose an E-commerce Site Development Company: Typical Costs, Comparison by Type, and the Commissioning Process Explained" (published June 16, 2026; checked September 30, 2026). Platform fees may be charged separately. Commissioning design work, customization, or content creation tends to raise the setup fee.
Cost of Commissioning a Development Company for Shopify (by Scale)
When you commission a Shopify build, the build cost ranges from about ¥500,000 to ¥10,000,000, depending on the size and features of the site. The amounts differ by source. Shopify plan fees (monthly) are charged separately from the amounts below.
| What you commission | Typical build cost | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce site with basic features | About ¥500,000 to ¥1,000,000 | When you only need basic features or want to keep the setup cost down |
| Highly customizable e-commerce site | About ¥1,000,000 to ¥3,000,000 | When you add branding and marketing features |
| Fully original or large-scale e-commerce site | About ¥3,000,000 to ¥10,000,000 | When you need custom feature development or integration with core business systems |
Source: EC no Mikata (ECのミカタ), "How to Build on Shopify: Typical Costs, Selection Points, and 15 Recommended Development Companies" (updated August 27, 2026; checked September 30, 2026)
Differences Between Build Methods
E-commerce sites are built in five main ways: online marketplaces, ASPs (SaaS), open source, e-commerce packages, and full-scratch development.
Online Marketplaces
Selling by creating a store page inside a marketplace such as Rakuten Ichiba or Amazon.
ASP (SaaS)
Building an e-commerce site on a service provided to you, such as Shopify, BASE, STORES, or Color Me Shop. You can build without programming knowledge, but design adjustments and feature extensions may require some.
Open Source and E-commerce Packages
Customizing a program that provides e-commerce functions to fit your own business. Free ones are called open source (such as EC-CUBE), and paid ones are called e-commerce packages (such as ecbeing and ebisumart).
Full-Scratch Development
Building everything from zero, exclusively for your own business. It offers a high degree of freedom, but takes cost and time.
Examples of Service Fees (Separate from the Cost of Commissioning a Development Company)
In addition to the build cost, you pay fees for services such as online marketplaces and ASPs. The table below shows some examples.
| Service | Main fees | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online marketplace (example: Amazon Professional selling plan) | ¥4,900 per month (excluding tax), plus referral fees (5% to 15.4% in many categories, excluding tax) | Some categories have higher referral fees |
| ASP (example: Shopify Basic) | From ¥3,650 per month (billed annually), plus the online credit card rate through Shopify Payments (domestic cards) starting at 3.55% | Fees differ by plan |
Sources: Amazon Selling Services pricing, Shopify pricing plans (both checked on September 30, 2026)
The differences between online marketplaces are compared in the article below.
The article below estimates and compares the fees of the major ASPs.
What to Organize Before Commissioning a Development Company
Decide Your Budget and Deadline
Without a decided budget and deadline, you cannot get an accurate quote. Your budget and deadline may also narrow down the companies you can commission. With a short deadline, fewer companies can take on the work and costs tend to rise, so leave yourself some margin.
List the Features You Need
List the features your e-commerce site needs, and tell the company which are "must-have" and which are "nice-to-have." This lets you compare a quote for the must-have features alone with a quote for all features.
Organize Your Operations and Challenges
Organize how much your team can handle in-house across back-end work such as shipping and inventory management and marketing work such as attracting and serving customers. Sharing your challenges as well lets you build them into the requirements or get advice on improvements.
Collect Reference Sites
Collecting competitor and reference sites helps you list the features you need and share a picture of the site with the development company. Sharing not only features but also your preferences for design and usability helps reduce misunderstandings.
Confirm Store Ownership and Admin Access
Even when you commission a development company, set things up so that you keep ownership of the store account (owner permissions) and of your product, customer, and order data. Before signing a contract, confirm the admin access you will hold after delivery and whether you can take your data with you.
Points for Comparing Development Companies
Check the items in the table below for each candidate and compare them.
| Item to check | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| Scope of work | Whether they only set up an ASP or can also develop custom features. Whether you can also commission operations and maintenance after launch |
| Track record and specialties | Not just the number of projects, but whether they have built e-commerce sites of a similar industry and scale to yours. Whether they have case studies they can share |
| Team structure | The experience of the person in charge, how you communicate, and how often you meet. Whether there is a regular opportunity to check for gaps from your request |
| Quotes and proposals | Whether what was discussed in the initial hearing is reflected. Whether the breakdown is clear. Whether the conditions under which additional costs arise are stated |
| Maintenance and operations | The scope and duration of post-delivery fixes, what paid maintenance includes, and the contact point for inquiries |
| Certifications and partner status | Whether they participate in the official partner program of the e-commerce platform, such as Shopify (for Shopify, a Shopify Partner) |
For track record and certifications, look not only at whether they are listed but also at whether there is evidence you can verify (such as an official partner directory or case study pages).
Precautions When Commissioning a Development Company
Check How Comparison-Quote Websites Work Before Using Them
Some comparison-quote websites work on a model in which the site operator receives a referral fee from the development company. In that case, the fee may be reflected in the quote, and it may come out higher than commissioning directly. If you use one, check how its fees work. If you have already decided which company you want to commission, you can also contact them directly through their inquiry form.
Do Not Decide on Price Alone
If you decide only on the lowest quote, necessary features may not be included, or additional costs may push the total higher than expected. Compare the breakdown of the quote and the scope of work it includes.
About Tsun's E-commerce Site Development
Tsun Inc. is a company headquartered in Kagoshima City, established in March 2022, that specializes in Shopify. We build Shopify e-commerce sites, provide IT and marketing support, and develop and provide the Shopify app series "RuffRuff."
What We Can Handle
- Building new e-commerce sites on Shopify (from requirements definition through development and launch)
- Migrating to Shopify from cart systems other than Shopify, such as Color Me Shop
- Developing custom features on Shopify
- Maintenance of stores built by Tsun
- IT and marketing support related to running an e-commerce site
What We Do Not Handle
We are not currently accepting the following requests.
- Building new e-commerce sites on platforms other than Shopify
- Requests limited to minor feature changes or bug fixes on an existing store built by another company (we do provide maintenance for stores built by Tsun)
Track Record
Case in Kagoshima Prefecture
As a case in Kagoshima Prefecture, we handled the migration of Makino Shoten Co., Ltd. from Color Me Shop to Shopify and the development of custom features such as a limit on the number of items sold and automatic syncing of announcements to the store page (case study page).
Award
On December 16, 2025, Tsun received the "Ecosystem App Developer of the Year" award at "Shopify Partner of the Year 2025 Japan," announced by Shopify Japan.
App Installs and Certification
The RuffRuff series has been installed on 15,000 or more stores in total, and seven of its apps have earned Built for Shopify status (according to Tsun's official website, as of October 2, 2026).
Our Process
Tsun's process has five stages. All meetings are held online, and we do not make in-person visits.
- Inquiry
- Hearing through contract (about 2 weeks)
- Kickoff and requirements definition (about 1 week to 1 month)
- Development and launch (several months to 1 year, depending on the project)
- Post-launch maintenance (about 1 month)
About Post-Launch Maintenance
For about 1 month after launch, we handle fixes and improvements free of charge as a maintenance period. Paid maintenance after that is decided by consultation after the project, so you do not have to sign a contract if you do not need it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can businesses outside Kagoshima Prefecture also commission Tsun?
Yes. Tsun does not make in-person visits and works entirely online, from meetings through delivery, so the process is the same wherever you are located. However, what we can handle is building on Shopify and migrating to Shopify from other cart systems.
Can I use a subsidy to build an e-commerce site?
Under Kagoshima Prefecture's Service Industry Productivity Improvement Support Subsidy, eligible expenses include the cost of building an e-commerce site. However, there are requirements such as eligible businesses and application periods, and as of September 30, 2026, the next call for applications has not been announced. If you plan to apply, check the latest application guidelines on the prefecture's dedicated site.
Do I have to sign a maintenance contract after the site is built?
This differs by development company, so confirm the scope and cost of maintenance before signing a contract. At Tsun, we handle fixes and improvements free of charge for about 1 month after launch. Paid maintenance after that is decided by consultation after the project. If you do not need it, you do not have to sign a contract.
