How to create an online store with TeleportHQ

TeleportHQ lets you sell from your own site, with a product catalog, cart, checkout, customer accounts and order management. There are two ways to start: let AI build a complete store (or start from a store template) from the E-commerce card when you create a new project, or switch on E-commerce in a project you already have. Either way, you then connect a payment provider (Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Razorpay, Square, Paddle or CoinGate), add your products and publish.

A quick example#

A candle maker already has a TeleportHQ website with an "Our Candles" page. They switch on E-commerce, connect Stripe, and let TeleportHQ turn the candle cards into real products. Shoppers can now add a Lavender Soy Candle to their cart, pay by card and see their order on their account. The candle maker sees each order in the editor's Growth panel and marks it shipped.

Two ways to get a TeleportHQ store#

1. Build a new store with AI, or from a template. On the dashboard, click + New Project and choose the E-commerce card ("Products, cart, checkout, customer accounts and an admin panel"). The store panel that opens offers Generate with AI ("Describe your store and let AI build its pages, catalog and checkout") and, under Or continue with a template, ready-made store designs. Filter the templates by what the store sells: Everything, Physical products, Digital products or Subscriptions. With Generate with AI, describe your business. In the Your products step, choose Generate products for me (AI writes a starter catalog) or Upload my own products (a CSV or JSON file, including a Shopify export). When the store is built, the Your store is ready! window asks how you want to accept payments. See How to generate an online store or web app with AI.

2. Add a store to an existing project. In the editor's left sidebar, click Plugins, then the E-commerce row, and switch on E-commerce enabled in the drawer that opens. A short wizard sets up the database, the store pages and, if you want, a payment provider. See How to add a store to an existing project.

Every TeleportHQ store is a web app#

A TeleportHQ store always runs as a web app, because it needs a database, shopper sign-in and checkout logic. That has three effects:

• There's no switch back. Turning e-commerce off later keeps the project a web app. To make it a website again, restore the backup Before Web App features Enabled that TeleportHQ saves before the change, or ask support to restore it (on a trial, ask support). See How to back up and restore your project.
• Code download isn't available for the project. You publish and host it from TeleportHQ.
• It needs a Web App slot to keep publishing after a 7-day window. Trial and Premium workspaces include 1 slot, Pro includes none, and every paid plan can buy more. See Why does my web app need a slot, and what is the 7-day window? and the TeleportHQ pricing page.

What TeleportHQ creates for your store#

When e-commerce is turned on, TeleportHQ adds:

• Store pages in an e-commerce folder: a products list (/products), a product details page (/products/[slug]), cart, checkout, the shopper's order pages, a My Subscriptions page and a right-of-withdrawal (returns) page.
• Store data for products, variants, orders, carts, vouchers, reviews and invoices, in the TeleportHQ database or a database you connect.
• Shopper accounts. Sign-up and login are switched on so customers can see their orders.
• A mini cart, a drawer that slides in on the pages where shoppers add products to the cart, plus store workflows (automations) for adding to cart, checkout and payment confirmation.
• Email templates for store emails, and an invoice template.

Where you manage your TeleportHQ store#

Once the store is on, it gets its own E-commerce icon (a credit card) in the editor's left sidebar. It opens the E-Commerce panel:

• Payment Providers: connect Stripe, PayPal or another provider. See How to accept payments with Stripe or PayPal.
• Products: add, import and organize products. See How to add a product.
• E-Commerce Settings (the gear): the E-Commerce Setup panel, with delivery, cash on delivery, store pickup, guest checkout, stock, order emails, favourites, reviews, invoices, abandoned cart reminders, Products Listing, Product pages, Google Shopping, Digital products, Vouchers, Shipping & Tax Regions, Automatic Discounts and Gift Cards.

Your store's records are followed in the Growth panel (under Live in the left sidebar), in its E-Commerce group:

• Orders ("Track sales & export reports"): see, ship, refund and cancel orders, and download reports. See How to find and manage orders.
• Subscriptions ("See recurring customers"): the customers on a recurring plan. See How to sell subscriptions and manage subscribers.

For a guided walk through the panel, see How to use the E-Commerce panel and the store tour.

What a TeleportHQ store can sell#

• Physical products, with sizes, colors and other variants. See How to add sizes, colors and other variants.
• Personalized products, with choices, engraving text or a photo upload. See How to let shoppers personalize a product (product options).
• Digital downloads and license keys. See How to sell digital products (downloads and license keys).
• Subscriptions billed every week, month, quarter, half-year or year. See How to sell subscriptions and manage subscribers.
• Gift cards. See How to sell gift cards and accept them at checkout.

Setting up your store, step by step#

1. Add a store to an existing project, or build one with AI.
2. Accept payments with Stripe, PayPal or another provider.
3. Test payments before going live.
4. Add your products.
5. Set delivery fees, shipping zones and other checkout options.
6. Publish your site. For Stripe and PayPal, publishing also connects the payment webhook, so paid orders are marked paid. See How to set up the payment webhook.

If you delete the store pages by mistake, or want to remove the store, see How to regenerate store pages or turn off e-commerce.

Good to know#

• Payments go to your own account. Shoppers pay through your Stripe, PayPal or other provider account. This is separate from your TeleportHQ subscription.
• No provider yet? A TeleportHQ store can also take orders paid on delivery or at pickup.
• Store settings go live when you publish. Products, orders and vouchers are saved in your database right away. Switches, pages and payment providers reach your live site after you publish.
• Copying a store. A clone of a TeleportHQ store project copies its products, vouchers, discounts, shipping and tax rates and store locations. It never copies the customers, orders, invoices, reviews, subscriptions, gift cards, the files of digital products or the payment provider keys: the clone's owner connects their own provider.
• Some things aren't available yet, such as a few payment providers and direct imports from other store platforms. See What can't the TeleportHQ store do yet?.