Your own website costs money you haven't earned yet.
Shopify. Wix. Square Online. They all start at $30–$60/month before you’ve sold a single egg. And none of them come with buyers. Paddock gives you a full online stall — map listing, payments, orders, stall page — for free. You pay 4% only when you actually sell something.
For high-volume producers selling nationally or building a brand beyond local, a dedicated website makes sense. But for local farm gate and market sellers — who are selling to buyers within 20km, in person or close to it — a full website is expensive overkill for a problem Paddock solves for free.
The problem with building your own website
Paying before you earn
Shopify is $39/month. Wix eCommerce is $32/month. Squarespace is $36/month. You're paying hundreds of dollars a year just to exist online — before a single sale.
A shop with no customers
A website gives you a shop. It doesn't give you customers. You still need to drive traffic yourself — paid ads, SEO, social media — all of which cost time and often money on top of the platform fee.
A part-time job to run
Choosing a template, writing your pages, uploading products, configuring payments, connecting a domain — it's a part-time job to launch and another one to maintain. Most local sellers don't have that time.
Not on any local map
A website doesn't appear on any local map. Buyers searching 'eggs near me' on their phone see supermarkets and delivery apps, not your website. You're invisible at the exact moment intent is highest.
Maintenance never ends
Plugin updates, security patches, broken images, slow load times — a DIY website needs ongoing attention. A Paddock stall doesn't.
Paddock vs. Building Your Own Website — at a glance
With Paddock, you get
Free to start
Seed plan is free — up to 2 stalls, 20 products, full map listing, Stripe payments, and your own stall URL. No credit card required to get started.
A built-in audience
Paddock's map has buyers actively searching for local produce. When you list your stall, you're joining a marketplace — not building one from scratch.
Your own stall page
getpaddock.com.au/stall/your-stall-name — shareable, linkable, and indexed by search engines. You get the discoverability of a website without the build cost.
Upgrade only if you want
Start on Seed free. Upgrade to Grow ($9.99/mo) or Harvest ($29.99/mo) when you want analytics, unlimited products, or Fresh photo updates. No lock-in.
No monthly fee. No website to build. No traffic to chase. Start free — your stall is live in under 3 minutes.