Case Study3 weeks5 min readCustom e-commerce instead of Shopify — 80% lower operating costs
MessyPlay.cz sells art supplies and runs creative courses for children. Their off-the-shelf Shopify setup was costly and full of compromises. We built a fully custom platform and reduced operating costs from ~240 EUR to just 48 EUR per month.
48 EUR
monthly operating costs
server only
−80%
reduction in operating costs
vs. Shopify setup
3 weeks
time to production
from zero to live
€0
transaction fees
no hidden costs
Shopify: expensive compromises instead of a tailored solution
The client ran their shop on Shopify with a stack of paid plugins. Every additional feature meant another monthly fee — yet the system still didn't fully cover their business needs. Managing courses, reservations, and membership passes required manual workarounds and constant friction.
Shopify plan (e-shop)
~96 EUR/mo
Zásilkovna plugin
29 EUR/mo
Fakturoid plugin
16 EUR/mo
Payment gateway module
29 EUR/mo
Course & reservation module
69 EUR/mo
Transaction fees
variable
Total operating costs
+ transaction fees and the constraints of a boxed solution
~240 EUR/mo
A tailor-made system: two frontends, one powerful backend
We designed and built the entire platform from scratch. A .NET backend handles all business logic, while two separate frontend applications serve customers and administrators.
.NET Backend API
A robust REST API covering the entire e-commerce operation — orders, products, courses, reservations, membership passes, and invoices. Deployed in Docker on Azure.
Customer-facing web
A performant frontend for customers: product and digital content purchases, course sign-ups, reservation and membership management, full checkout with shipping and payment selection.
Admin application
An internal tool to manage all operations: orders, inventory, courses, participants, membership passes, exports — all in one place without any third-party dependency.
iOS app
A native iOS mobile app enabling customers to conveniently shop, manage courses, and handle reservations directly from their phone.
App Store →COMGATE payment gateway
Direct integration with the COMGATE payment gateway — no monthly plugin fee. Card payments, bank transfers, and more.
Zásilkovna + PPL with label printing
Full integration of both carriers — pickup point search, shipping cost calculation, and automatic shipping label printing directly from the admin.
Money S3 accounting integration
Automated data exports for the Money S3 accounting system and custom invoice generation eliminate all manual data entry.
Solution Architecture
The entire solution runs in the Azure cloud, protected by Cloudflare. Both the backend and frontend applications are containerized with Docker. PostgreSQL provides reliable and scalable data storage. A CI/CD pipeline automates deployments from the Git repository.
Integrations
Results
Physical & digital product sales
A full e-shop with support for physical goods and digital content.
Course & reservation management
Course sign-ups, capacity management, participant overview, and automated notifications.
Sample lessons & membership passes
Purchase of sample lessons and a membership pass system with balance tracking and expiry.
Email notifications
Automated emails on order, reservation, payment confirmation, and course reminders.
Invoice generation
A custom invoicing engine — no dependency on an external invoicing system or plugin.
Money S3 exports
Automated accounting exports eliminate all manual data transcription.
Technologies
- .NET
- PostgreSQL
- Docker
- Azure
- Azure DevOps
- CI/CD Pipelines
- Cloudflare
- COMGATE
- Zásilkovna API
- PPL API
- Money S3
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Related reading
Deeper technical notes on the topics from this case study.
7 min read
Shopify vs. custom e-commerce: five signals that the platform is holding you back
For MessyPlay we replaced Shopify with a custom build and cut running costs by 80%. Not because Shopify is bad — because that specific shop had outgrown it. Five signals that it is time to go.
6 min read
Custom e-commerce for the price of a Shopify subscription: TCO over 24 months
Build-vs-buy is usually won or lost on the calculator, not on principle. A concrete TCO for 2 years on Shopify vs. a custom Azure build — with real numbers from MessyPlay.
7 min read
Migrating off Shopify without losing orders or SEO: a playbook
The biggest barrier to leaving Shopify isn't building the new system — it's the fear of losing SEO rankings and breaking checkout during cutover. Lessons from MessyPlay: URL mapping, redirects, parallel runs, and what can't be skipped.
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