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Ecommerce,
written plainly.
Plain answers on running a UK shop: tax, postage, platforms and selling channels, from the team building Orbit. Where a post quotes a price or a rule, it says when we checked it.
- 71 articles
- Written for UK shops
- Prices and rules dated when checked
- RSS feed for new posts
Filed where you would look for it.
Four topics, newest first. Pick a chip in the search bar to see just one.
Getting started
22 posts
Choosing what to sell, registering, budgeting and the first ten orders.
- How much does it cost to start dropshipping in the UK? 2026 figures
Incorporating a company is £100 now, not £12. Every startup cost itemised in pounds with its source, plus three 90-day budgets, all checked 15 September 2026.
15 Sept 2026, 10 min
- Moving your shop off EKM, ShopWired or Bluepark: a UK runbook
What each platform lets you export, what never transfers, and the redirect work that protects your rankings. Prices and export docs checked 15 September 2026.
15 Sept 2026, 9 min
- Dropshipping, print on demand or wholesale: which suits a UK start
Dropshipping, print on demand, wholesale or marketplace only: who holds the risk, what each costs to start, the margin after UK fees and VAT (checked 15 September 2026).
15 Sept 2026, 9 min
- Selling digital products, subscriptions, services and gift cards (UK)
Downloads, subscriptions, bookings and gift cards from one UK shop: the VAT rules, the cancellation right and a three-app cost stack, checked 15 September 2026.
15 Sept 2026, 9 min
- How to start an online store in the UK: the complete step-by-step guide (2026)
The complete 12-step guide to starting an online shop in the UK: HMRC rules, real card fees, legal must-haves and your first ten sales. Prices checked 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- 50 small business ideas you can start in the UK (with startup costs in £)
50 small business ideas for the UK, grouped by theme, each with an honest startup cost band in £. Registration rules and fees checked 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 11 min
- 30 online business ideas you can run from home in the UK
30 online business ideas that run from a UK home: honest £ startup bands (key costs checked 7 August 2026), why each works, and the first step for each.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- Side hustles UK: 30 ideas that actually pay in 2026
30 UK side hustles with honest earning bands, checked 7 August 2026: plus the £1,000 trading allowance and HMRC’s platform-reporting rules in plain English.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- How to make money online in the UK: 25 legit ways (2026)
25 legit ways to make money online in the UK, ranked honestly by effort and reward: from your own shop to pocket-money surveys. Fees and rates checked 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- How to start a business with no money in the UK (actually £0 vs nearly £0, honestly)
The honest split between true £0 routes and nearly-£0 ones, plus the free UK arsenal: £1,000 trading allowance, free banks, free tools. Checked 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 9 min
- How to start a candle business in the UK: CLP labels, insurance and real costs
CLP labels, BS EN safety standards, £69-a-year insurance and what a 30cl candle really costs to make: supply prices checked 7 August 2026 against UK suppliers.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- How to start a clothing brand in the UK: 14 steps
The 14-step UK route from first sketch to first sale: real sampling costs (checked 7 August 2026), low-minimum UK manufacturers, labelling law and honest margins.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- How to start a jewellery business in the UK: hallmarking rules included
Silver over 7.78g legally needs a hallmark before you can sell it as silver: most start-up guides never mention it. The full UK guide, costs checked 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- How to start a soap and bath bomb business in the UK (CPSR explained)
Soap and bath bombs are cosmetics in UK law: no craft exemption. Real CPSR costs (£55 to £180, checked 7 August 2026), SCPN notification and honest startup maths.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- How to sell food online in the UK: registration, allergen labelling and your first 10 orders
Registering with your council is free and can’t be refused: you just need 28 days’ notice. The hard part is allergen law. Checked against gov.uk and food.gov.uk, 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 10 min
- How to name your UK business: Companies House rules, availability checks and names that sell
The Companies House name rules, the four availability checks (register, trade mark, domain, socials) and five naming formulas, checked 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 8 min
- Small business grants UK: what’s actually available for new online sellers in 2026
Every scheme checked live on 7 August 2026: the grants open to UK online sellers, the famous ‘grants’ that are actually loans, and how to find local money.
07 Aug 2026, 9 min
- How much does an online shop cost in the UK? A line-by-line 2026 budget
From about £150 on a shoestring to £2,000 well-funded: every line item for starting a UK online shop, with prices checked 7 August 2026. No £3,000 agency quote required.
07 Aug 2026, 9 min
- Do you need to register a business to sell online in the UK? The £1,000 rule, plainly
Not until trading sales pass £1,000 in a tax year, and clear-outs never count. The trading allowance, the 5 October HMRC deadline and what marketplaces report, checked on gov.uk 7 August 2026.
07 Aug 2026, 9 min
- Moving your shop from Shopify without breaking it
What exports cleanly, what you rebuild, the app audit that often pays for the move, and the redirect work that protects your rankings: with honest timings.
12 Jun 2026, 6 min
- Leaving WooCommerce: when self-hosted stops being free
The honest sum of hosting, extensions and maintenance hours, when to make the move, and the migration path if the spreadsheet comes out the other way.
12 Jun 2026, 5 min
- Sole trader or limited company for your online shop
The old "go limited, save tax" advice died in April 2026. The current maths, the real admin, and when incorporating still makes sense, checked against gov.uk.
10 Jun 2026, 10 min
Pricing
Every plan, in pounds
Solo, Team, Pro and Enterprise, side by side, each with its card rate.
Leaving a platform? Read the comparison first.
Eight comparisons with UK prices and a check date on each page, plus two shortlists.
How this blog is written.
Who writes the posts, and how the figures in them are checked.
Done reading? Start building.
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