The short version
To create a website for e-commerce in Thailand, you decide where you will sell, register the business properly, pick Shopify or WooCommerce, set up the payments Thai buyers expect (PromptPay, cards and often cash on delivery), connect a courier, add the legal pages and invoice setup, load your products, and test everything before launch.
With products and photos ready, the website build itself typically takes about 15 days from the agreed brief to launch. Registration and payment approvals run in parallel and can take longer, so start them first.
This guide walks through each step in order and links to our deeper articles where a step needs more detail. It is written for new store owners, including foreigners setting up an online business in Thailand, who want the whole picture before spending money.
The roadmap at a glance
Nine steps, in the order we suggest. Steps 2, 6 and 7 involve outside approvals, so begin them early and let the build catch up.
- Step 1
Choose where to sell
Marketplace, your own store, or both, and which comes first.
- Step 2
Register the business
Legal form, DBD e-commerce registration, VAT when you pass the threshold.
- Step 3
Check foreign ownership rules
If foreigners own part of the business, confirm what the law allows before you trade.
- Step 4
Pick the platform
Shopify for simplicity, WooCommerce for control.
- Step 5
Prepare products
Names, prices, variants, stock, weights and good photos, ideally in Thai and English.
- Step 6
Apply for payments
PromptPay, cards and COD through a gateway or bank.
- Step 7
Set up shipping
Couriers, rates, packaging and returns.
- Step 8
Add legal pages and invoicing
Privacy notice, consent, store policies, e-Tax invoice setup where it applies.
- Step 9
Test and launch
Real test orders on real phones, then open the doors.
Should you sell on a marketplace, your own store or both?
Shopee and Lazada bring ready traffic and buyer trust, and they handle payments for you. In exchange you pay commission and fees, compete on price next to similar sellers, and the customer relationship largely belongs to the platform. Your own website costs more to set up and needs its own traffic, but every sale carries your brand, your margins and your customer list.
Many Thai sellers do both: marketplaces for volume and discovery, their own store for repeat customers, bundles, B2B orders and products that need explanation. If you are unsure which to start with, our comparison of marketplace or own store lays out the costs and trade-offs in detail.
If you plan to sell abroad as well as locally, decide that now. Currency, international shipping and duties shape the platform and payment choices, and our guide to cross-border e-commerce from Thailand covers what changes.
Registration and tax basics
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so confirm your situation with an accountant.
Legal form
Most small sellers start as a registered sole proprietor (an individual trading under a commercial registration) or as a limited company. A company costs more to set up and run, but it separates business and personal liability, and many payment gateways and banks find it easier to approve.
DBD e-commerce registration
Businesses selling online are generally expected to register their e-commerce activity with the Department of Business Development (DBD), after which you can apply separately for its DBD Registered mark to show on your site. Our article on DBD registration for online stores explains the process and the documents.
VAT
According to the Revenue Department, a business must register for VAT once its annual turnover exceeds THB 1.8 million, and it can register voluntarily below that. Once registered, you charge VAT and issue tax invoices, which is where e-Tax invoicing comes in later in this guide.
Foreign owners: what to check first
Foreigners do run online businesses in Thailand, but the structure matters, and this is the step to get right with a qualified Thai lawyer before you trade. We build websites; we do not give legal advice. What follows is only a list of topics to raise with your lawyer.
Topics to raise
- The Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999). It restricts which activities a company counted as foreign may carry out without a licence or other permission. Retail and many services appear in its restricted lists, with conditions. The DBD's foreign business section publishes the lists and the licence process.
- Shareholding and control. How the company is owned and who controls it decides whether it is treated as foreign under the Act. Arrangements that only look Thai on paper carry real legal risk.
- Alternatives. A Foreign Business Licence, BOI promotion for eligible activities, or treaty-based routes can apply to some businesses. Your lawyer can tell you whether any fit.
- Work permits and visas. Owning a company and working in it are separate questions.
From the website side, sort this out before you apply for payment gateways. Gateways check who owns the business, and a change of structure later can mean re-applying.
Shopify or WooCommerce: which should you choose?
Choose Shopify (our explainer on what Shopify is covers the basics) if you want a hosted platform where updates, security and uptime are handled for you, and you are comfortable paying a monthly subscription and working within its app ecosystem and approved payment providers. Choose WooCommerce if you want full control over the code, checkout and hosting, need unusual product rules or a Thai payment method that has no Shopify connector, and are willing to keep WordPress maintained.
For a first store with a modest catalogue, either works. The deciding questions are usually practical: which payment provider will approve you, which courier connectors exist, and who will look after the site after launch.
Which payments do Thai buyers expect?
A Thai checkout usually needs three things. PromptPay QR, because many local buyers prefer paying straight from their banking app. Cards, for tourists, expats and corporate buyers. And cash on delivery, which remains common for first-time buyers who do not yet trust a new shop. Some sellers add wallets or instalment plans later.
Most stores get these through a payment gateway, which handles approval, security and payouts to your Thai bank account. Fees, payout times and supported methods differ widely, so spend an hour comparing payment gateways before you sign. Apply early: approval can take longer than the build.
COD needs its own planning. The courier collects the cash and transfers it to you later, minus a fee, and refused parcels come back at your cost. Many shops limit COD by order value or by area once they see their refusal rate; our guide to cash on delivery on WooCommerce in Thailand shows how to set those limits.
Shipping and couriers
Thai buyers are used to fast, cheap delivery, so your shipping promise is part of your product. Common choices include Thailand Post, KEX Express (formerly Kerry Express), Flash Express and J&T Express, each with different prices, pickup options, COD handling and coverage outside Bangkok.
Decide before the build
- Flat rate, weight-based or free above a set order value.
- Which courier handles standard parcels, and whether you need a second one for bulky or fragile items.
- Whether labels are printed from the courier's own system or created from the store through a connector.
- How returns work, and who pays for them.
Accurate product weights and box sizes are the thing most new stores skip, and they are what makes automatic shipping rates correct. Our guide to shipping integrations for Thai stores covers courier connectors, label printing and tracking emails in detail.
Invoices, PDPA and store policies
These are the pages and settings a Thai online store should have before its first order. Payment gateways often check several of them during approval. Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562, regulated by the PDPC, applies as soon as you collect customer names, addresses and phone numbers. If you are VAT registered, the Revenue Department's e-Tax Invoice system lets you issue tax invoices electronically; our guide to e-tax invoices for online stores explains the options.
- Privacy noticeWhat personal data you collect, why, how long you keep it and how customers can contact you about it.
- Cookie consentA banner that lets visitors accept or refuse non-essential cookies such as analytics and ads.
- Checkout consentA separate, unticked box for marketing messages, never bundled with the order terms.
- Terms of salePrices, payment methods, delivery times and what happens when an item is out of stock.
- Refund and return policyConditions, time limits and who pays return shipping.
- Business detailsBusiness name, address, phone, email and your DBD registration where applicable.
- Tax invoice setupFull tax invoices or e-Tax invoices for VAT-registered sellers, with a field for the buyer's tax ID.
Budget and timeline
Set aside money in three buckets: the build, the running costs (platform subscription or hosting, apps or plugins, payment and courier fees) and the content (product photography, descriptions, translations). Running costs are ongoing, so check each provider's current pricing page rather than relying on figures you read elsewhere.
For the build, our E-commerce package starts from THB 50,000 as an indicative one-time price. It covers Shopify or WooCommerce, PromptPay, cards, COD and Thai couriers, product import and e-Tax invoice setup, plus staff training and a launch checklist. The final price is set in your written quote after we see your catalogue and requirements; our online store pricing page explains what moves it.
A typical project takes about 15 days from the agreed brief to launch, with products, photos and decisions ready at the start. Large catalogues, complex variants or data migrations take longer, and we will tell you so at the quote stage. Payment approval and registration follow their own timelines, which is why we suggest starting them in week one.
Launch week checks
- Place real orders with each payment method, including a refund.
- Check order emails in Thai and English, on phone and desktop.
- Book a courier pickup from a test order and confirm tracking works.
- Confirm stock reduces correctly and out-of-stock items cannot be bought.
- Test the checkout on a slow mobile connection.
If you would like a team to handle the build while you focus on products and registration, see our online store development service, or send us your product list on WhatsApp for a quote.
About this guide
Who builds your site
Litesh Dhir
Builds and ranks the websites: the systems behind the 17 client sites whose Search Console numbers we publish.
More about usMore on starting an online store
Sources
- Department of Business Development (DBD)
- Revenue Department: VAT
- Revenue Department: e-Tax Invoice & e-Receipt
- Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC)
- DBD: Foreign business under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999)