Launch an online store you own — no monthly fees
Flip DirectoryLaunch into store mode and the same core you'd use for a directory becomes a real shop: products with variants and stock, a cart, native Stripe Checkout and an orders dashboard. Add Printful and you sell print-on-demand merch without ever touching inventory.
Store builders rent you your own shop
Shopify and every hosted store builder charge a monthly fee forever — plus per-transaction cuts and paid apps for anything beyond the basics. Your catalog, customers and data live on their platform, on their terms.
The DIY route is worse: wiring a cart, Stripe Checkout, atomic stock decrements, an orders table and print-on-demand fulfilment from scratch is weeks of fiddly, security-sensitive work that has nothing to do with your products.
And most store tools assume generic e-commerce — they fight you the moment your catalog needs custom fields, a directory-style browse experience, or content pages that actually rank on Google.
The solution
A store and a content site on one codebase you own
Set `vertical: 'store'` and flip the store flag, and the listing layer swaps over: image-forward storefront cards, product pages with a gallery and a sticky buy box, a persistent cart drawer, native one-time Stripe Checkout, and an admin Orders screen. Prices are validated server-side and stock decrements atomically the moment payment completes.
Connect Printful and paid orders are submitted for print-on-demand automatically inside the Stripe webhook — printed and shipped to your buyer, with tracking flowing back to their account. You keep the same auth, admin, categories, SEO, theming, map and blog as the directory, so your store ranks like content. Pay once, host it yourself, and never pay a monthly platform fee.
What you get
What you get on day one
A complete production stack for your online store — no plumbing required.
Products, variants & stock
Items become products with price, compare-at, inventory and variant pickers. Money is stored safely in minor units.
Cart & product pages
A slide-out cart drawer that persists in the browser, plus product pages with an image gallery and a sticky buy box.
Native Stripe Checkout
One-time Stripe Checkout. Prices are validated server-side and stock decrements atomically the moment payment completes.
Printful print-on-demand
Sync your Printful catalogue and paid orders are submitted for printing and shipping automatically — zero inventory, tracking flows back.
Orders admin & fulfilment
Every sale lands in an admin Orders screen with status, total, line items and the Printful fulfilment id — failures are recorded, never lost.
Same core as your directory
Auth, admin, categories, search, SEO, theming, map and blog are identical to the directory — so your store grows like content, not just a checkout page.
Workflow
From directory to live store in an afternoon
Step 1
Flip the format: set vertical: 'store' in platform.config.ts and store: true in features.config.ts.
Step 2
Run the store migration (0002_add_store_commerce.sql) to add product columns and the orders tables.
Step 3
Add products in the admin, or connect Printful and click 'Sync Printful products' to import your catalogue.
Step 4
Set currency, shipping countries and stock defaults in store.config.ts; wire your Stripe keys and webhook.
Step 5
Test a checkout with a Stripe test card (Printful orders land as drafts), then go live and start selling.
How this fits
Own your store vs renting one
The store vertical makes sense when you want to own your shop outright — code, catalog and customers on your own Vercel and Supabase — and never pay a monthly platform fee. It's a single-owner store, not a multi-seller marketplace.
Hosted builders get you selling in minutes but charge forever and lock your data in. This path costs a little setup up front (flip two config values, run one migration, wire Stripe) in exchange for one-time pricing and full ownership.
| Capability | DirectoryLaunch | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Pay once, host it yourself | Shopify: monthly fee + paid apps, forever |
| Print-on-demand | Printful, wired in | Hosted: via a paid app |
| Content & SEO | Blog + programmatic pages, same core | Hosted: limited, add-ons |
| Data ownership | Your Supabase, your code | Hosted: locked to the platform |
Built for
Who launches a store on DirectoryLaunch
Creators and communities selling branded merch — print-on-demand tees, mugs and posters with zero inventory.
Directory owners adding a shop — sell templates, guides or physical goods right beside their listings.
Solo founders who want to own their store outright instead of renting a hosted builder month after month.
Niche brands that need a store which also ranks on Google — content and commerce on one codebase.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Ready to launch your online store?
A complete no-code platform for niche directories and online stores — submissions, payments, maps, and a Printful-powered store, ready to launch. Pay once, no monthly fees. Done-for-you setup available, or run it yourself in under 2 hours.