To start an online store in Egypt, define your product and its full cost, get a commercial register and tax card, and choose a ready-made platform or a custom store. Then connect a gateway such as Paymob or Fawry plus cash on delivery, integrate a courier by API, and prepare product pages, a returns policy and tracking.
What are the legal requirements for an online store in Egypt?
An online store is a commercial activity like any shop and needs official paperwork, which payment gateways and couriers may ask for when you sign up:
- A commercial register and tax card for the activity.
- The Tax Authority's e-invoice and e-receipt systems, depending on your company's category; ideally the store issues the receipt itself. Details in integrating e-invoicing with your system.
- A written exchange and returns policy that complies with Consumer Protection Law No. 181 of 2018. Its Article 17 gives consumers the right to exchange or return goods within 14 days of receipt without giving a reason, with exceptions such as perishable goods and items made to the customer's specifications (source in Arabic).
- A privacy policy explaining what customer data you collect, in line with Personal Data Protection Law No. 151 of 2020; see customer data protection and compliance.
If you target Saudi Arabia, the requirements differ, such as a commercial registration or freelance certificate and e-invoicing with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).
Ready-made platform or custom store: which fits you?
| Criterion | Ready-made platform (e.g. Shopify, Salla or Zid) | Custom store |
|---|---|---|
| Time to launch | Faster; ready themes and settings | Slower; needs design, development and testing |
| Cost | Monthly subscription, plus possible app fees or commissions depending on the plan | Upfront build cost, then hosting and maintenance |
| Flexibility | Limited to what the platform and its apps allow | Any pricing logic, or integration with an ERP or a local courier |
| Code and data ownership | The platform owns the code; data can be exported within its limits | Code and data under your control if the contract says so |
| Technical responsibility | The platform handles hosting, security and updates | You or your developer handle hosting, security and updates |
A ready-made platform suits testing a new product quickly. A custom store makes sense once sales grow and you need integration with your systems, or payment and shipping methods the platform does not support well. More in custom store vs platforms and online store cost.
What are the steps from idea to launch?
1. Choose the product and calculate its full cost
Pick a product with steady demand and price it after adding every cost: the product, packaging, shipping, gateway fees or cash-on-delivery collection fees, returns, and advertising cost per order. If no margin is left after that, the problem is pricing, not the store. The article on calculating customer acquisition cost helps with this part.
2. Design the shopping experience for phones first
Design for the phone first, then larger screens: a right-to-left Arabic interface, fast search and filters, clear photos, and an "Add to cart" button that is always visible. Our UI/UX design service covers this part, and for a worked example in fashion see online clothing stores.
3. Set up the technical foundation
A custom store is usually built as an API with a framework such as Laravel and a front end such as React; see when to use React and when to use Laravel. Plan caching and hosting capacity ahead of sale seasons such as White Friday and Ramadan, when traffic spikes within a few hours.
4. Connect payment gateways
- In Egypt: gateways such as Paymob and Fawry accept cards and mobile wallets, Fawry also offers pay-by-reference-code at its outlets, and instalments can be added through services such as valU.
- Cash on delivery: still important for winning new customers' trust, with controls that reduce refusals (see the next section).
- In Saudi Arabia and the Gulf: mada cards and Apple Pay through gateways such as Moyasar, Tap and HyperPay, and instalments through Tabby and Tamara.
Snaabble provides a tailored technical assessment to define the right stack & exact budget.
Do not store card data on your server; use the gateway's hosted payment page or embedded form. The full comparison is in the payment gateways guide.
5. Integrate a courier
Choose a courier with an API, such as Bosta or Aramex, to create shipping labels automatically when an order is confirmed, send the tracking number to the customer, and collect cash-on-delivery payments. Compare rates by governorate and how long it takes to transfer collected cash to your account. Details in e-commerce shipping solutions.
6. Prepare the store for search and speed
Write an original description for each product instead of copying the supplier's text, add Product Schema structured data with price and availability, and compress images and speed up pages as explained in website speed optimization.
7. Set up tracking before the first ad
Connect Google Analytics 4, Meta Pixel with the Conversions API, and TikTok Pixel to measure real sales rather than clicks, and prepare WhatsApp order confirmations and abandoned-cart reminders as described in WhatsApp chatbot for your store.
How do you reduce cash-on-delivery refusals?
- Confirm every order by WhatsApp message or call before shipping, and ask the customer to confirm the address.
- Show shipping cost and delivery time by governorate on the product page, not only at checkout.
- Offer a small incentive for prepaying by card or wallet, such as cheaper shipping.
- Keep a record of customers who refused delivery without reason and review their next orders before shipping.
- Write accurate descriptions and clear sizes and use real photos, so the customer is not surprised by a different product on delivery.
Which mistakes cost new stores sales?
- Forcing account creation before purchase: offer guest checkout.
- Fees that appear suddenly at checkout: unexpected extra costs are the top reason for cart abandonment in Baymard Institute's research.
- A slow store on mobile.
- No clear returns policy or visible contact option.
- Neglected security: outdated plugins and an admin panel without two-factor authentication; see common website vulnerabilities.
- Leaving abandoned carts without follow-up.
How to raise the share of visitors who complete a purchase is covered in e-commerce conversion rate optimization.
What else do people ask about starting an online store?
How much does it cost to build an online store in Egypt?
Cost depends on the number of products and categories, the integrations needed with payments, shipping and accounting, and whether the project includes a mobile app. Compare a platform subscription over two or three years with the build and maintenance cost of a custom store, and read online store cost.
Do I need a mobile app with the store?
Usually not at the start. A fast web store that can be installed on the home screen as a progressive web app is enough for many stores in their first stage; read PWA vs native app.
Can I move from a ready-made platform to a custom store later?
Yes. Plan the export of products, customers and orders, and keep product URLs or 301-redirect them so you do not lose search rankings. Details in migrating your store to a custom system.
Can one store sell in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia?
It is possible, but it needs separate currencies and prices, local payment gateways in each country, different couriers, and compliance with each market's tax and invoicing rules. Start with one market and add the second once operations are stable.
Snaabble is a software company based in Talkha, Dakahlia, Egypt, working on e-commerce store development. To discuss your store idea or migrating an existing store, message us on WhatsApp at +20 103 673 3131 or email hello@snaabble.com. Our address is on the location page.
