Build a Multi-Vendor Print-on-Demand Storefront with Printcart and WooCommerce

How to Build a Site Like Teespring with Printcart: A Complete Guide

Understanding the Teespring Business Model and Print-on-Demand Trends

Print-on-demand (POD) has revolutionized how custom merchandise is created, marketed, and delivered. Platforms like Teespring (now Spring) allow creators to upload designs, market them via social media, and fulfill orders with zero inventory. But for many entrepreneurs, limitations in branding, customization, and profit margins lead them to explore building their own platform.

"In 2024, the global print-on-demand market exceeded $6.2 billion, driven by creators, influencers, and small brands seeking scalable fulfillment without upfront costs." — Statista

Teespring operates as a centralized POD platform: users create designs, set prices, and Spring handles printing, customer service, and shipping. The creator earns a margin.

However, this model has drawbacks:

• Limited ownership: You don't control the platform or customer data.

• Branding restrictions: Custom domain, storefront UX, and emails are limited.

• Profit constraints: Platform fees and markup reduce earnings.

• No workflow flexibility: You’re confined to the marketplace logic and payout terms.

That’s why brands, influencers, and creative studios are turning to custom-built POD websites that mimic Teespring’s logic but with full control and better margins.

For more context, explore our article on how to develop a website like Teespring.

Why Printcart is the Ideal Starting Point

Printcart offers a cloud-based Web2Print SaaS ecosystem, built on top of WordPress and WooCommerce. But for enterprise clients, Printcart goes further: we offer custom development of Teespring-style platforms based on your workflow, use case, and business model.

Unlike standalone Shopify apps or rigid SaaS marketplaces, Printcart provides:

• A flexible WordPress foundation you own

• Scalable print workflows using Printcart Online Designer + API integrations

• A modular setup where we tailor vendor management, royalty logic, payouts, and even design UIs

“Printcart gave us the freedom to launch a merch marketplace for anime creators with unique store layouts and per-creator royalties.” — Client, TokyoBase Prints

From startups to global publishers, we’re helping brands launch white-label POD marketplaces with:

• Real-time product personalization

• Design launcher for community-submitted content

• API-based order routing to Printify, Printful, or your in-house team

• Vendor dashboards with full control over designs, pricing, and branding

Learn more in our guide to Web-to-Print API integrations.

In the following sections, we’ll walk you through how we develop these platforms, what Printcart modules are used, and what’s fully customized for each client.

Ready to build your own Teespring-style platform with full control? Let’s go.

(image credit: teespring.com)

Custom WordPress Architecture for Print-on-Demand Marketplace

One of the biggest advantages of using Printcart for building your Teespring-style site is its solid foundation: a fully customizable WordPress + WooCommerce architecture. This open-source environment ensures that your store isn't locked into proprietary constraints and can evolve with your business model.

Modular SaaS Layers for Scalability

At its core, Printcart applies a modular SaaS architecture—allowing each enterprise client to tailor features like:

• Multi-vendor capabilities with Dokan or WCFM

• Tiered commission logic for designers or vendors

• Dynamic pricing rules by product, category, or designer level

• Tax and shipping API integration for accurate global pricing

• Marketplace admin dashboards for approving submissions and payouts

By leveraging Printcart’s full package and plugins such as the WordPress Printcart plugin, clients can build a solution where everything is manageable via backend interfaces.

Cloud-Based Product Designer

Printcart includes a cloud-based designer tool that enables customers and designers to create personalized products in real time. From T-shirts and hoodies to mugs and posters, your users can launch new designs directly from the browser—no software install required.

"Having an in-browser design tool drastically reduces friction. It’s what helped us scale from 10 to 200 SKUs in less than 6 months." — LifestylePrint Co.

Explore more about the Printcart Online Designer.

Seamless API Integration for Print Fulfillment

You can integrate with top POD providers such as Printify, Gooten, or even your in-house ERP system using our Printcart API. This ensures a seamless backend connection for:

• Product sync

• Shipping rate calculations

• Order submission & status tracking

• Reprint automation

Whether you operate a global supply chain or use third-party services, Printcart adapts to fit your operations.

In the next section, we’ll dive into how designers and vendors participate in your marketplace using the Printcart design launcher, earnings logic, and storefront publishing workflows.

Designer Onboarding and Vendor Workflow in a Printcart-Powered Marketplace

Empowering Creators to Monetize Designs

A major aspect of building a Teespring-style platform is enabling designers and vendors to contribute content, manage their storefronts, and earn from their creativity. Printcart offers advanced design launcher tools and vendor dashboard systems tailored for collaborative commerce.

With Printcart’s Design Launcher, you can:

• Let designers create designs directly from the browser.

• Upload static artwork or editable templates.

• Automatically sync designs to user storefronts or admin-reviewed categories.

“We had 300+ community artists publish their merch in the first 60 days. Printcart’s design onboarding was a game-changer for our artist economy.” — IndieMerch Studio

Admin Dashboard: Approvals and Earnings Management

Admins can:

• Approve or reject designer submissions

• Set commission rates globally or per designer

• Manage design visibility across storefronts

• Moderate community uploads and flag inappropriate content

This feature set gives you control without sacrificing automation.

Designer Experience: From Creation to Commission

For designers, the journey is intuitive:

• Profile Setup: Upload banner, avatar, and bio

• Design Dashboard: Track pending, approved, and sold designs

• Earnings Panel: Monitor commission, request withdrawals

• Live Chat: Communicate directly with admin (optional)

All activity is centralized in a modern UI, customizable based on your brand’s identity.

Explore our full workflow for vendors and artists.

Optional Vendor Marketplace Features

If you want to take it further and let users run full stores (like Etsy or Redbubble), Printcart can integrate Dokan multivendor or WCFM plugins, customized to match your workflow.

You can:

• Allow vendor registration & approval

• Assign design-enabled products to vendors

• Enable vendors to upload new product listings

• Manage payouts, order fulfillment, and print integration

“We wanted Etsy-level vendor management, but tailored for printing. Printcart made it happen with complete control over templates, SKUs, and design access.” — GlobalMerch Launchpad

Curious about monetization models? In the next section, we’ll break down how pricing, royalties, and fulfillment cost structure work in a scalable Printcart POD business.

Designs: manage design created by designers, then approve or reject designs 

Designer: Manage designers, approve or reject user’s register requests

Withdraw: manage money withdrawal requests from designers  

Live chat: direct chat with designer

How does it work for designers?

Settings: set up banner, avatar & artist profile

My store dashboard: manage designs that were created or approved, pending, sold 

My Design: create designs, manage and edit designs  

When clicking on “Start Designing” the designer could choose 1 product to work with. 

Then, the designer could upload a completed design file or a fixable design.   

Upload file design 

Choose other products that designers want to apply their design to.  

With this design launcher feature, designers could make their own designs. Once, the designs are made. They will be shown in the shop owner's store. If there are any consumers who purchase the shop owner’s products and use designer’s designs, designers will get a commission for each successful order. The admin could set the commission rate, decide to reject or approve designer designs. 

Monetization Models and Cost Breakdown for Print-on-Demand Platforms

Understanding the Revenue Streams

To run a sustainable Teespring-style platform using Printcart, it’s critical to understand the three primary revenue streams for your business:

• Product Margin: The difference between the retail price and the production cost.

• Design Commission Fees: If designers contribute artwork, they earn a royalty. You control the rate.

• Vendor Transaction Fees: For multi-vendor marketplaces, you can charge listing fees or take a commission per sale.

You can also layer in:

• Premium Vendor Subscriptions

• Ad space or promoted listings inside the platform

• White-label design services (B2B orders)

“With Printcart’s flexible commission engine, we set different royalty rates for community designers and brand collaborators.” — Founder, CultureThreads

Cost Structure for Fulfillment

Whether you fulfill orders in-house or via POD partners, these are your core costs:

If using Printify, Gooten, or Gelato, expect to pay a per-item fee + shipping. With in-house printing, your margin can increase significantly, but so do the operational complexities.

Sample Cost Breakdown

Let’s say you’re selling a t-shirt for $24.99:

• POD Fulfillment (Printify): $9.00

• Shipping (US): $4.00

• Payment Gateway Fee (Stripe): $0.75

• Designer Commission: $2.00 (optional)

• Platform Profit: ~$9.24

This profit can be increased by bundling products, upselling with personalization, or fulfilling in-house over time.

Printcart SaaS Pricing and Custom Development Costs

For enterprise builds, we recommend budgeting based on your business model:

“We recouped our development cost in under 4 months. Printcart’s customization paid for itself.” — DTC Print Startup

If you're unsure which monetization path is right for you, feel free to consult with us. We’ll help you model the most cost-efficient strategy based on your fulfillment backend, product types, and audience expectations.

In the next section, we’ll explore how to enhance your POD site with AI-powered tools and automation to further scale your business.

AI-Enhanced Features and Automation for Scalable POD Operations

Why AI Matters in Modern Print-on-Demand

Artificial Intelligence is no longer optional for growth-focused eCommerce. In the POD world, AI plays a critical role in personalization, mockup generation, workflow automation, customer support, and design analysis.

With Printcart’s roadmap and enterprise development service, clients can custom-develop or integrate the following AI features:

• AI Image Generator: Allow users or designers to prompt custom artwork using AI.

• AI Mockup Generator: Automatically render product previews in realistic settings.

• AI Background Remover: Clean up uploaded designs and remove non-printable elements.

• Design Recommender System: Suggest related products, templates, or styles using customer behavior.

“We increased average time on site by 47% after integrating smart product recommendations using Printcart AI services.” — ShopinStyle

Workflow Automation with API-Connected Systems

Printcart enables workflow efficiency by integrating with leading services:

• Order Routing via Zapier or ShipStation

• Webhook-based Print Job Automation

• Customer Messaging via WhatsApp, Email, LiveChat

• Real-Time Sync with Inventory Systems or Google Sheets

Explore Printcart’s API documentation to see how you can trigger actions from your CRM, order platform, or production backend.

Integrate AI Chat Assistant for Design Support

Boost conversion and reduce support load by offering:

• In-editor suggestions (e.g., “Center logo?”)

• Live answers for design FAQs (print area, DPI, color mode)

• Personalized onboarding flows via chatbot

"Printcart AI WorkChat allowed our support team to reduce repetitive requests by 60%, freeing them to handle custom orders." — PrintRush Australia

These tools don’t just enhance UX—they unlock scale. From one-person Shopify businesses to 100+ designer platforms, automation helps ensure consistency and margin control.

Coming next, we’ll show how you can turn your Printcart-powered POD platform into a true design marketplace with designer storefronts and multivendor workflows.

Build a Designer Marketplace with Storefronts and Vendor Collaboration

Transforming a Print Site into a Design Ecosystem

Teespring’s strength lies in its community-driven model, where creators manage their own brands. With Printcart, you can replicate—and exceed—that experience by building a full designer marketplace with individual storefronts and shared fulfillment.

Using Printcart + WordPress + Dokan (or WCFM), you can:

• Let designers or vendors register and manage their store profiles

• Assign commission rates, control design access, and moderate listings

• Sync approved designs with the product catalog

• Enable community-curated content, trending stores, and featured creators

“Our users went from casual uploaders to brand owners. With Printcart’s storefront support, we created a micro-brand marketplace.” — StreetPrint Labs

Multi-Vendor Setup: Roles and Workflow

Your platform can include 3 core roles:

• Admin: Controls products, categories, base pricing, approval workflows, commission rates.

• Vendors: Can register, upload new designs, select design-enabled products, and track orders.

• Customers: Shop from vendors, personalize products, or buy ready-made designs.

This allows you to scale horizontally while maintaining operational oversight.

Storefront Features for Creators

Each vendor gets a customizable storefront with:

• Banner, avatar, store bio

• Design gallery & product listings

• Commission and order tracking

• Withdrawal request panel

Designers or vendors can choose which base products to design on, add variants, and promote their work to their followers.

Learn more from this case study on Printcart multivendor setup.

Customization and Branding Support

Printcart can custom-develop features like:

• Tiered vendor access (e.g., Verified vs. New)

• Social feed widgets on storefronts

• Creator spotlight or trending badge logic

• Affiliate tracking for store promotion

These additions help you create a creator-first commerce model—not just another generic POD store.

Next, we’ll wrap up with payment integration strategies and how Printcart connects to major gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and WooCommerce’s global payment network.

There will be 3 types of users on the website: Admin, User, Vendors 

• Admin:  Add product, Price, and variations for products, templates, approve vendors, set commission for vendors.

• Vendors: Register as vendors on the site and wait for admin approval. After admin approval, vendors can add products and then design from products that were added by admin.  After publishing to sell on the site and get a commission, the admin will be the person who prints and ships to users.

• Users shop on site: There will be  2 types of products :

• Products that are added by admin: User will have 4 ways to order: choose variations, add to cart, and order. Upload design and then order. Design online and order. Pick a  template and then design and order.

• Products that are added by vendors: Users can order in the following ways: Choose variations and add to cart, order use design that vendors had designed. Or upload the design and then order. 

We will develop the function that allows vendors after uploading products they will be able to choose products that were enabled design by admin, and then they can design based on what admin has set and then public to their store.

• Step 1: Register as a vendor and get approved by the admin

• Step 2: Add product and set price for the product

• Step 3: Choose a product to customize and choose colors to design 

• Step 4: Design based on colors, sides chosen 

• Step 5: Process to upload the designed products on vendor' store

Payment Gateway Integration and Commission Logic

Seamless Checkout Experiences with Global Gateways

Whether you're building a local boutique or a global print marketplace, seamless and secure payment integration is non-negotiable. Printcart, built on WooCommerce, supports integration with 80+ major payment gateways, including:

• Stripe — Ideal for global transactions and flexible payout schedules

• PayPal — Widely trusted and fast to set up

• Mollie — Great for EU markets

• Razorpay — Perfect for India-based operations

• Paystack — Popular across African countries

See the full list of supported gateways via WooCommerce Payment Extensions.

“We reduced cart abandonment by 21% after adding PayPal and local payment gateways through WooCommerce.” — PODHub Asia

Configuring Commission Logic with Multivendor Tools

For marketplaces with multiple vendors or designers, Printcart supports:

• Fixed-rate commissions per product or vendor

• Percentage-based split between admin and seller

• Tiered commission levels based on vendor activity or product category

This is configurable directly via Dokan Pro or WCFM Marketplace plugin settings. Admins can:

• Enable instant or delayed payouts

• Set minimum withdrawal thresholds

• Review order logs and track vendor balance in real time

Add-On Customizations Available

Need more control or unique logic? Printcart’s team can custom-develop:

• Region-specific tax and fee rules

• Multi-currency checkout flows

• Split commissions involving designers + vendor

• Stripe Connect integration for auto-payouts

"We had a complex B2B flow involving 3 parties per sale. Printcart’s dev team built a custom payout system in 3 weeks." — InkFoundry Pro

With robust, scalable, and secure payment architecture, your Teespring-style site is now ready to go live—or expand globally.

Let’s now conclude with a recap and CTA to help you take the next step with Printcart’s enterprise POD platform.

For other specific payment gateway integration, please kindly contact us for more information.

Final Thoughts: Launch Your Own Teespring-Style Platform with Printcart

Why Printcart is Your Ideal Development Partner

From product personalization to multivendor workflows, Printcart delivers a flexible, scalable, and automation-ready architecture. Our WordPress-based Web2Print ecosystem allows for:

• Custom design workflows tailored to your business logic

• Designer store onboarding and storefront management

• API integration with POD providers and fulfillment centers

• AI-powered tools that scale personalization and production

Whether you're a startup looking to launch fast or an established print provider aiming to expand into self-serve eCommerce, Printcart is designed to meet your needs.

“We migrated from a basic Shopify store to a full Teespring-style POD marketplace in 8 weeks with Printcart’s custom WordPress stack.” — StudioMakers

Get Started with a Custom Teespring-Like Platform

If you're ready to:

• Launch a creator-powered print marketplace

• Enable end-to-end product customization

• Automate order, design, and fulfillment workflows

• Offer personalized storefronts with scalable payout systems

Then it’s time to talk to Printcart.

Reach out via project@printcart.com or message us directly on WhatsApp.

Or explore the full suite of features and pricing via Printcart Dashboard.

We’ll work with your team to scope, plan, and deliver your vision—powered by Printcart.

Lynn Jones

Shop Owner

Lynn Jone, Digital Marketer, copywriter, and avid fan of Technology!

One of my favorite quotes is: "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value" - Albert Einstein.

I graduated from foreign trade university majoring in Economics. However, it took me 5 years to find my passion for Digital Marketing. With over 5-years research and over 3-years practical work experience, I am confident that I can easily what problems your website is facing and suggest the best solution for your business.

I used to be an accountant, a salesperson, a banker even a receptionist. However, I just feel to be myself when I choose to be a Marketer, especially an SEOer. I have spent a lot of time studying and learning about marketing tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahref, Alexa, Similar Web, ... In order to understand customer behavior as well as to make a website to be on the top rank on the search tool.

"Content is king". Where advertising is about the sale, content marketing is about establishing a connection. The best content marketing will lure people to your brand and keep them coming back for more.

So let’s explore the wide world of ever-increasing content, and investigate how you ensure your message is well delivered to your target customers.