If you're searching "peptide website builder," you've probably already discovered that this isn't a normal e-commerce build. Shopify's payments arm won't touch research peptides. Stripe terminates the accounts. And the FDA reads your whole site - product names, blog posts, alt text, the testimonials you forgot about - to decide whether you're selling a research chemical or an unapproved drug. The website is not the easy part of this business. It's the part that decides whether the business survives.
What to compare across builders
A useful proposal makes the work and ongoing responsibilities clear. Compare these three approaches by scope rather than by a headline price.
1. A site builder or template. Check what the platform supports, what you will configure yourself and which payment integrations are available. Read the provider's current terms before choosing it. Our Shopify guide explains the questions to investigate.
2. An independent developer. Confirm who prepares the catalog and policy pages, tests checkout, handles integrations and maintains the site after launch. Ask which parts are included in the quote and which need a separate specialist.
3. An agency or managed platform. Review the build scope alongside recurring fees, support allowances, software licensing and export terms. Ask what happens to the live store if the service ends.
For any route, request a written scope, an assets checklist and clear ownership terms before you commit.
What "compliant" has to mean: enforced in code, not remembered
The FDA's intended-use doctrine is a totality test. They don't need you to say "treats" anything - they infer intended human use from the overall picture your site paints: the compounds you list, the words on every surface, the products you cross-sell, the imagery, the emails. That's why every warning letter reads like a site scan. Gram Peptides, Prime Sciences, and Pekcura Labs all got cited in 2026; Summit Research Peptides in 2024 and Pinnacle Peptides in 2025 before them. Different stores, same pattern: the site as a whole told a human-use story, and a disclaimer at the bottom didn't undo it. The full pattern is in our teardown of FDA warning letters to peptide companies.
Stonegate uses product guardrails, copy checks and recorded checkout consent to reduce avoidable errors. Those controls support the work of reviewing a store; they do not determine whether a business is lawful or replace its own counsel.
What ships in every build?
Our RUO platform includes these controls. The build agreement identifies the scope of your store and the support that follows launch:
- Age + qualified-researcher gate on every page, with the acknowledgment recorded, not just clicked past.
- Copy linter on every text surface. Product descriptions, category pages, emails, even admin-entered content get scanned for human-use, dosing, disease, and benefit language before they publish. The linter blocks the save - it doesn't send a reminder.
- Do-not-list guardrail at product creation. Compounds the FDA has made radioactive - GLP-1 receptor agonists, growth hormone, anything approved or in trials as a drug - are rejected by the admin itself. You cannot list them by accident, and renaming a compound doesn't fool it; the FDA pierced code names in the 2026 letters, so the guardrail matches the substance, not the label.
- Consent logging on every order. Each checkout records the researcher acknowledgment with a timestamp, so when a processor's underwriting team asks how you keep product away from consumer use, you have an answer with data behind it.
- No supply cross-sell. No bacteriostatic water, no syringes, no "complete your kit" - the totality-test tripwire that shows up in almost every warning letter.
- RUO banner and FDA-status footer rendered by the shared layout on every page. Not a widget someone can delete.
The full surface area is bigger than one list - we published the complete peptide website compliance checklist so you can grade any builder's output against it, including ours. If you already have a site, the faster route is our free scan: paste your domain, get a graded compliance report on screen in about sixty seconds - run the free site scan. Takes about a minute, no signup, no pressure.
Payments handled - the rails that ship with the store
A peptide store without working payments is a brochure. This is where most builds actually die: Stripe, Square, and PayPal all classify research peptides as prohibited or high-risk, and termination usually comes after you've made sales - with funds held 90-180 days and a possible MATCH-list entry that follows you to the next application.
Our builds support configured payment integrations and manual payment instructions. Availability depends on the provider, your account and the agreed build scope. We connect order status, inventory holds and payment confirmation where the selected integration supports them.
A website build does not guarantee regulatory compliance, payment-provider approval or uninterrupted processing. We decide what we are willing to build for; your own counsel decides what is lawful for your business to sell. Stonegate is not a law firm.
The 5-business-day guarantee, in writing
Our RUO build agreement provides for launch within 5 business days after the required assets arrive, or the build is free. You receive the assets checklist before paying. Time spent waiting on required client materials or a third party, such as processor underwriting, does not count toward that period. This offer does not apply to telehealth projects.
The written agreement sets out the delivery guarantee and its conditions. Review it with the scope and assets checklist before committing; a delivery commitment is not a promise of processor approval or a regulatory outcome.
The assets checklist identifies what is needed to start, including your branding, catalog, product images, COAs and domain access. We confirm launch dependencies with you before the build begins.
The platform already provides catalog, checkout and admin tools. The build work applies your branding, catalog and agreed features to that foundation.
What you own, and what we run
You keep ownership of your domain, brand, content and customer data. RUO storefront software and hosting are a managed service. If that plan ends, the live store goes offline and you receive the data and content export described in your agreement; Stonegate's engine and admin are not transferred.
Pricing, straight
Custom RUO builds start at $3,900, plus a monthly Platform plan from $500. Scope, add-ons, product count and migration work determine your fixed build price. Payment is 50% to start and 50% on delivery.
The Platform plan covers hosting, backups, security, website reviews, payment-rail and email deliverability monitoring, and support with a monthly allowance for changes. The initial minimum is three months from launch, followed by monthly renewal. Cancellation requires 30 days' notice. Your agreement sets out the full terms.
The website is one line in a larger budget. See startup cost considerations and the launch sequence to identify the other work your plan needs to cover.
Build availability is confirmed when we scope your project.
Questions, answered straight
How fast can my peptide store be live?
Our RUO build agreement provides for launch within 5 business days after the required assets arrive, or the build is free. You receive the assets checklist before paying. Time spent waiting on required client materials or a third party, such as processor underwriting, does not count toward that period. This offer does not apply to telehealth projects.
Can you guarantee I'll never get shut down or get an FDA letter?
No. A website build does not guarantee regulatory compliance, payment-provider approval or uninterrupted processing. We decide what we are willing to build for; your own counsel decides what is lawful for your business to sell. Stonegate is not a law firm.
Can't I just use Shopify or an AI builder and add disclaimers?
You can build there; you usually can't stay there. Shopify Payments prohibits the category, and the FDA's totality test means a disclaimer doesn't offset benefit language elsewhere on the site. Disclaimers are one line item on a much longer checklist - and the payment problem is separate from the compliance problem. Both will find you.
What if I already have a site?
Start with the free site scan for automated feedback, or get a $149 personal website review. Zane records a walkthrough explaining what to fix and why, so you can choose your next step. The review is paid upfront with no subscription; implementation is separate.
Who owns the site, the code, and the customer data?
You keep ownership of your domain, brand, content and customer data. RUO storefront software and hosting are a managed service. If that plan ends, the live store goes offline and you receive the data and content export described in your agreement; Stonegate's engine and admin are not transferred.
The full service page is at peptide website design and development, and more guides live in the guides library. This page is general information for store operators, not legal advice. Nothing here is a promise of regulatory or processor outcomes.