The story behind building a simpler alternative to Shopify

Tharindu Madushanka — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 23:37:08 +0000

Hello Dev.to 👋

We’re a small team of developers and product builders from United Kingdom and Sri Lanka, and this is the story of how we ended up building AxonWave.store: an online store builder created to make e-commerce simpler for small businesses.

This isn’t a “how we built the next big thing” story. It’s about observing real problems, feeling the same frustrations as our users, and trying to solve them in a practical way.

Where the idea started

Over the years, we worked with small business owners, creators, and startups who wanted to sell online. The pattern was always the same:

They wanted something simple.
They wanted to launch fast.
They didn’t want to spend weeks learning a platform.

But once they started exploring existing solutions, many felt overwhelmed. Powerful platforms offered endless customisation — which is great for advanced users — but it also meant more complexity than many people actually needed.

We kept hearing things like:

I just want to start selling, not learn a whole system first.

That feedback stuck with us.

The problem we wanted to solve

The challenge wasn’t that existing tools were bad — they’re incredibly capable. The real gap was between power vs simplicity & affordability.

Small businesses often don’t need dozens of settings, integrations, or complicated workflows at the beginning. They need:

A fast setup
Clear guidance
A clean, professional result
Low upfront cost

We realised there was space for a platform focused on clarity over complexity.

Building something simpler

When we started building AxonWave.store, we defined a few simple rules:

The first store should be live in minutes.
Users shouldn’t feel lost in settings.
The experience should feel modern but minimal.
Growth features can come later — launch speed comes first.

This mindset shaped every design and engineering decision we made.

Lessons from the building process

1) Simplicity is harder than adding features

Adding options is easy. Deciding what not to include takes discipline.

2) Most users don’t care about the tech stack

Developers love discussing architecture — users just want things to work smoothly.

3) Real feedback beats assumptions

We changed many decisions after watching real people try the product.

4) Shipping early matters

Perfection delays learning. Releasing early helped us improve faster.

What we learned about small businesses

One of the biggest insights was this:

Small businesses don’t want to become e-commerce experts.
They want to run their business.

The platform should remove friction, not add to it.

What comes next

We’re continuing to improve AxonWave.store with features that support growth without sacrificing simplicity — things like smarter customisation, better analytics, and more payment integrations.

But the core idea stays the same:

Help people launch online stores quickly and confidently.

Final thoughts

Building a product isn’t just about technology. It’s about listening, simplifying, and iterating based on real needs.

If you’re building something yourself — especially a tool for real people — our biggest advice is this:

Start small. Solve one clear problem. Improve with feedback.

Thanks for reading our story. We’d love to hear how you approach simplicity when building products.

Building AxonWave.store: Why We Decided to Create an Online Store Builder (and What We Learned)

Tharindu Madushanka — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 19:08:00 +0000

Hello Dev.to community 👋

This is my first blog post on Dev.to, and I’d like to share the story behind one of our recent projects: AxonWave.store — an online store builder designed to make e-commerce simple and accessible for everyone.

The Problem We Noticed

Over the past few years, we’ve worked with small business owners, creators, and startups who wanted to sell products online. Almost all of them faced similar challenges:

Setting up an online store felt too complex
Existing platforms were expensive or overkill
Custom development required time, money, and technical skills
Many tools were not optimized for local markets and small teams

We realized that while e-commerce tools are powerful, they are not always simple.

So we asked ourselves:

What if anyone could launch a professional online store in minutes — without coding or technical knowledge? That too with affordable pricing and scalability for anyone.

That question became the foundation of AxonWave.store.

The Idea Behind AxonWave.store

AxonWave.store is a lightweight, AI-powered e-commerce platform that helps users:

Create an online store in minutes
Add products easily
Customize design without coding
Scale as their business grows

Our goal was not to compete with giant platforms, but to build something:

Simple
Affordable
Fast
Beginner-friendly

Tech Stack & Architecture

We built AxonWave.store using a modern, scalable stack:

Frontend: Modern web technologies + responsive UI
Backend: Supabse for authentication, database, and hosting
Infrastructure: Cloud-based and scalable
Design: Minimal, light-mode-first UI, multiple themes

One key principle we followed:
Build small, iterate fast, and focus on real user needs.

Challenges We Faced

Building a product is never just about coding. Some real challenges were:

1) Simplicity vs Features: Adding more features is easy — making things simple is hard.
2) UX Decisions: Non-technical users need clarity, not complexity.
3) Performance & Scalability: Even small platforms must be ready to grow.
4) Motivation & Consistency: Building a startup while managing other projects is tough — but rewarding.

What We Learned

Here are a few lessons that changed how we build products:

Users care about solutions, not technology
MVP > Perfect product
Feedback is more valuable than assumptions
Shipping fast creates momentum

What’s Next for AxonWave.store

We’re planning to add:

AI-powered store customization
Better analytics for store owners
More integrations (payments, logistics, marketing tools)
Community-driven features

If you’re interested, we’d love your feedback and ideas.

Let’s Connect

If you’re building something, learning new tech, or exploring startup ideas — let’s connect!

Product: https://axonwave.store

Thanks for reading my first Dev.to post!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to leave a comment or share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Tags: #startup #webdev #saas

DEV Community: Tharindu Madushanka