Launch fast
Deploy on Railway in minutes.
Database, API, admin, and storefront from one Shepherd template.
Shepherd's Railway template spins up the full commerce stack on infrastructure we manage: Postgres, Strapi API, admin, and storefront in one project. No OAuth wiring across GitHub, Neon, Vercel, or VPS providers. Prefer full control? Self-host the whole stack with Docker Compose when we open source it.
Minutes
Typical Railway template deploy time
1
Template for the full commerce stack
$0
Platform subscription to self-host
One template, full stack.
The Railway template provisions Postgres, Strapi with every plugin, the admin, and the storefront in a single project. You skip the multi-provider OAuth walkthrough and go straight to configuring your store.
- Postgres database included in the template
- Strapi API and admin deployed together
- Storefront included and wired to the API
- Environment variables documented for payment and shipping keys
- Same Shepherd stack whether you deploy on Railway or self-host later
A local stack that matches production.
The Docker environment composes the entire suite (Strapi with every plugin, Postgres, the optimization app, and the storefront) for local development and staging. Seed data gets you a populated demo store on first boot.
- Docker Compose stack: Strapi, Postgres, Adminer, optimization app, storefront
- All plugins pre-wired: Market, Payments, Logistics, Optimization, Enterprise, Vehicle
- Optional demo catalog seeding on first boot
- Documented env vars for payment and shipping providers
- Live plugin reload for development
Pick your level of hands-on.
Self-host free forever when we open source the suite. Railway deploy with managed database and hosting on plan + plugin fees. Full management at a flat monthly rate where we run the whole stack. The software is the same at every tier. Only the ops burden changes.
- Self-hosted: free, open source, your ops (coming soon)
- Railway deploy: ~$60/month typical all-in for a small store
- Full management: flat $100–120/month, we run everything
- Enterprise: custom volume pricing and multi-store
Fast by architecture.
Next.js SSR/SSG with CDN caching keeps the storefront fast worldwide, while the API and database live on infrastructure sized to your store, not shared tenancy you can't see into.
- SSR/SSG storefront with CDN and heavy caching
- Dedicated database. No noisy neighbors.
- Scale each layer independently as you grow
Everything included.
Railway template
Deploy the full Shepherd stack from one template on Railway.
Domain & SSL
Point your domain and certificates at the Railway project.
Database admin
Adminer included in the dev stack for direct DB inspection.
Environment parity
The same compose stack runs locally, in staging, and in CI.
API test suites
Auto-generated Postman collections cover the API surface.
No exit penalty
Open source self-hosting is on the roadmap when you want to move off Railway.
Easy for your whole team.
For founders
Launch quickly
Deploy the template, add products, and connect payment and shipping keys. The infra checklist that takes weeks on DIY open-source platforms can happen in one session.
For ops teams
Infrastructure you can inspect
Railway gives you logs, metrics, and env management without juggling four separate cloud accounts.
For agencies
Repeatable client launches
Same template, same deploy, every client. Spin up a new Railway project per store without rebuilding the stack.
How it compares.
Hosted platforms trade convenience for ownership. Open-source platforms trade ownership for weeks of setup. Shepherd gives you both.
| Capability | Shepherd.Commerce | Shopify | BigCommerce | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to a working store | Minutes (Railway template) | Minutes | Minutes | Hours–days (hosting, plugins, config) |
| You own the infrastructure | Yes, with self-host option coming | No | No | Yes |
| Monthly platform cost (small store) | $0 self-hosted / ~$60 Railway deploy | $29–399 + apps | $30–300 + apps | $10–50 hosting + plugins |
| Exit cost | Low (open source self-host coming) | Full replatform | Full replatform | None |
Competitor details compiled from public sources for general comparison; verify current terms with each provider. Third-party names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Works with the tools you already use.
Railway
Managed deploy template
Strapi
API & admin runtime
Shepherd.Commerce is not affiliated with the providers above. We integrate with their services using your own accounts and credentials.
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Join the waitlist for Railway deploy and the open source suite.
Railway deploy and self-hosting are coming soon. Contact us about managed options in the meantime.