Shopify stores for people who make things

You built it at the market. Let’s take it online.

A thoughtful online home for the business you have already built by hand. Designed and built with you, from first conversation to launch.

A ceramic maker arranging handmade bowls at a farmers market table
Made in person. Remembered online.

Made for the makers

  • Farmers market vendors
  • Food makers
  • Artists & artisans
  • Homestead shops

Why your own store matters

The customers are yours. Your store should be too.

The connection you build across a market table should not disappear when the market closes. Give people one beautiful place to find you again.

From a first hello to a familiar name

  1. 01They meet you at the market
  2. 02They find your own store
  3. 03They come back for more

Your brand. Your customer relationships. Your next sale.

Chris Reed at his market booth
Chris ReedFounder & builder, VendTheWeb

Meet the builder

One person behind every store. That person is me.

I’m Chris, a solo developer in Effingham, Illinois. I’ve spent Saturdays behind a market table myself, selling incense and getting to know the people who make things for a living.

I started VendTheWeb because those businesses deserve an online home with the same care and personality as the work on their tables.

I handle the design, setup, launch, and little fixes after it goes live. You’ll always know who is building your store.

Tell me what you’re making

Profit calculator

See what you’d keep by switching to Shopify.

Put in your real numbers. It compares marketplace fees with Shopify’s Basic plan and card processing.

Your shop today

Where you sell now

Etsy charges $0.20 to relist each item that sells, and $0.20 every four months for each unsold listing.

What you’d pay each month

Etsy fees
$0/mo
Shopify Basic + payments
$0/mo

Monthly savings

$0

At this volume the fees are small. The savings show up as you grow.

Free course · 69 lessons

From market table to online store.

A click-by-click course for market vendors and makers who want to sell online without hiring anyone. Read it here, at your own pace. It’s free, and no tech experience is needed.

  1. 01Foundations
  2. 02Setting Up Your Shopify Store
  3. 03Your Brand Online
  4. 04Adding Your Products the Right Way
  5. 05Product Photography for Makers
  6. 06Pages, Trust, and Navigation
  7. 07Built to Convert From Day One
  8. 08Email and Abandoned Cart
  9. 09Driving Traffic With What You Already Have
  10. 10Launch, Track, and What's Next

Start with lesson one.

10 modules and a bonus, from setting up Shopify to launch day and your first orders.

Start the free course

Free with an email sign-in link, no password. Signing up also gets you occasional emails from me about selling online. Unsubscribe anytime and you keep your access.

How it works

A second table, open every day.

We take what works in person and give it a place to grow online.

A farmer handing a customer a tray of eggs across a market table
01

We begin at your table.

We look at what people ask for, what brings them back, and what makes your work yours.

A maker comparing a handmade bowl with its product photo on a laptop
02

I build your online home.

I turn your products and story into a Shopify store that is clear, useful, and easy to shop.

A maker packing bars of handmade soap wrapped in kraft paper into a shipping box
03

You welcome them back.

Give market regulars a place to return, share new work, and take your first online orders.

A look at the work

A real store to click through.

Made-up products. Real Shopify work.

Cultured Fire is a fictional food business I built to show what I can do. The products are imaginary; the theme, sections, layout and store structure are real.

Open it on your phone too, and get a feel for the care I’d bring to your store.

Open the private demo

Now welcoming founding clients

I’m building the first VendTheWeb client stores at a founder rate, with one person doing the work from start to finish.Ask about a build
Cultured Fire · demo homepageScroll to explore ↓
Cultured Fire Shopify demo homepage

Ways to work together

A clear place to begin.

Each build is scoped around your products, your customers, and where you are now.

01

Market → Online

$1,000

For vendors launching their first Shopify store.

  • Custom theme setup
  • 3–5 product pages
  • Mobile optimization
  • Basic SEO
  • Email capture setup
Talk about this build
02

Scaling Vendor

$2,500

For sellers with a growing audience and a store that needs to keep up.

  • Everything in Market → Online
  • Conversion audit
  • Email marketing setup
  • Upsell funnel setup
  • Custom homepage sections
Talk about this build
03

Established Brand

$5,000

A custom build for brands with needs beyond a template.

  • Everything in Scaling Vendor
  • Custom-coded sections
  • Light app extensions
  • Advanced analytics setup
  • Dedicated onboarding
Talk about this build

FAQ

Before you get in touch.

Got a question that’s not covered here?

Ask me directly

Marketplaces are great for reach but terrible for ownership. You don't control the customer relationship, fees compound as you grow, and the platform can shut you down or change the rules overnight. A Shopify store doesn't replace those channels. It gives you a home base that you actually own, where repeat customers don't get siphoned into competitor ads.

Two easy ways to begin

Tell me where you are now.

Have a store? I’ll send three specific improvements within 48 hours. Planning something new? Tell me what you need and I’ll suggest a practical next step.

  • A real reply from the person who builds the stores
  • No call required to get started
  • A clear next step if we are a fit

Tell me about your project.

A few details help me suggest the right kind of build.

What would help? (optional)

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