What is Full Scratch? | Explaining the Pros, Cons, and Considerations of Building an E-commerce Site

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There are various methods for building an e-commerce site, and among them, a method called "full scratch" is attracting attention.

While the high degree of system freedom and scalability are attractive, there are also disadvantages such as high development costs and long development periods.

Therefore, it is a construction method often chosen for e-commerce sites operated by large companies.

In this article, we will explain the pros, cons, and points to consider when building an e-commerce site from scratch.

We hope this will be a hint for determining whether it is the right e-commerce site construction method for your company.

What is Full Scratch?

Scratch development means developing an original system without using packages that serve as templates for system development. "Full scratch" emphasizes the meaning of scratch development and refers to creating a system with almost no reuse of existing frameworks, templates, or source code.

"Full scratch" for an e-commerce site refers to a method of developing all functions from scratch without using existing e-commerce platforms or templates.

This allows companies and individuals to create a fully customized e-commerce site optimized for their specific needs.

Also, as a method for building an e-commerce site, it is the largest in scale and requires a lot of cost and development time. It is common to prepare infrastructure such as servers in-house and perform operations in-house as well.

Therefore, full scratch is mainly used when building large-scale e-commerce sites with annual sales exceeding 5 billion yen. Development is best handled by your own development department or an external IT vendor.

Features of Full Scratch

Customizability

You can design the site's design, functions, and operation flow with complete freedom. It is possible to create a system optimized for your business processes.

Unique Functionality

You can incorporate unique functions and services not found on other sites. For example, customization for specific user groups, unique payment methods, or unique recommendation functions.

Scalability

It is possible to develop on a small scale in the initial stage and expand functions and scale later. As the business grows, you can flexibly improve the system.

Security

You can implement detailed measures to meet unique security requirements. Especially when handling customer personal information or payment data, a robust security design is possible.

Advantages of building an e-commerce site from scratch

Complete uniqueness

Differentiation from other e-commerce sites is possible, allowing for flexible responses tailored to your brand and services.

Long-term cost reduction:

Although initial costs are higher, in the long run, you can reduce license fees and monthly costs associated with other platforms or external tools.

Advanced feature implementation

Since you can implement unique features not found on other e-commerce sites, you can significantly improve the user experience.

Scalability

Because the site and system are designed to be expanded smoothly, you can respond flexibly as your business grows.

Disadvantages of building an e-commerce site from scratch

Development costs and time

Since it is developed completely from zero, initial development costs and time can be extremely high. Especially as features become more complex, the difficulty and time required for development increase.

Maintenance and operational burden

In the case of full scratch development, system maintenance and updates must also be performed in-house, which requires specialized skills and resources. Additionally, there are operational costs.

Initial instability

Newly developed systems are prone to bugs and glitches in the initial stages, so a significant amount of testing and correction is required to ensure stability.

Difficulty in integrating with external tools and services

When integrating with other systems or services (such as logistics management systems, CRM, or marketing tools), technical hurdles can be high.

Points to consider when building an e-commerce site from scratch

Thorough Requirement Definition

If you do not clearly define what features and designs are necessary at the beginning, you may need to make changes later. Conducting a sufficient requirement definition at the initial stage is the key to success.

Project Management

Since the development period can be long, progress management and resource adjustment are important. It is also necessary to establish a quality control system.

Design Considering Scalability

It is important to design with scalability in mind from the start so that you can handle future increases in access and transaction volume.

Security and Legal Requirements

Because e-commerce sites handle customer personal information and payment data, it is necessary to comply with legal requirements such as GDPR and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, along with sufficient security measures.

For those who want to know more about the points for selecting an e-commerce system, please see the following article.

Companies Suited for Full Scratch Development

Full scratch development is particularly suitable for companies such as the following:

• Companies that prioritize uniqueness and are not satisfied with standard e-commerce platforms

• Companies that conduct large-scale and complex transactions and require a customized system

• Companies that have the resources to operate and manage the system in-house over the long term

Package Software (Half-Scratch) Is Currently Becoming Mainstream

Package software is software that includes the necessary functions for an e-commerce site in a package. Because it builds an e-commerce site by customizing existing software, it is also called half-scratch.

Package software is a development method that balances functional flexibility and ease of development. While based on existing software, it can also handle customization and the addition of features according to requirements, so the degree of freedom in design and functionality is relatively high.

Although not to the same extent as full scratch, it can accommodate a wide range of unique requirements.

Also, because the basic parts are covered by existing software, it is easier to develop than full scratch. Since it requires fewer man-hours, costs can be kept down and the development period is shorter.

Summary

By developing an e-commerce site from scratch, you can create a highly flexible and unique website.

However, because initial investment and operational costs are high, it is important to make decisions based on the scale of your business and future growth projections.

Especially when resources are limited, using template-based e-commerce systems or platforms can sometimes save costs and time, so careful selection is required.