Today, we cannot imagine our life without online shopping, and the pandemic has only intensified this trend. The importance of technology will only grow because during times of restrictions it is so important to be aware of everything that is happening around us. Consequently, the online commerce industry will have a strong advantage in the post-pandemic future.
A logical question arises:
How to create your own eCommerce website?
How much does it cost to develop it?
How to start an aspiring entrepreneur?
Let’s figure it out.
It is obvious that the popularity of online trading will grow in the near future. According to Statista forecasts, the number of online shoppers will reach almost 5 billion by 2022, and that figure is likely to reach 6.5 billion by 2023. The main long-term impact of the pandemic will be an e-commerce boom.
Online shopping is becoming an increasingly common practice, which is why fewer people are shopping at malls or opting for offline training. By 2023, the number of people choosing to buy goods and services in online stores will exceed 6.5 billion people.
How to create an eCommerce website?
Basically, the process of developing websites for online trading is similar to the process of creating other websites. However, you can run into common mistakes that lead to a loss of budget and a waste of time.
How to create and launch an online store for the first time without costly mistakes?
How to create a solid foundation for your future business?
Our in-depth guide will help you figure out how to confidently build your e-commerce website with minimal risk and maximum chances of success.
Choose a domain name – in fact, a domain is the address of your site on the network. Usually, shoppers remember an online store by its domain, so a good name is a key to your business’s success. Make it easy to remember, but consistent with your company name.
Choose an eCommerce Platform – There are many platforms for building an online store. But not every one of them is able to cope with high traffic and business scaling. Magento and Shopware platforms are the most suitable solutions for most retailers. Can’t decide on the best solution for your business? there are many great eCommerce Website Development companies that can help you to make your choice.
Customer Base – Consider the expected traffic and the number of customers that determine the platform. A small online store with limited traffic will cost less than a site for a large number of users. As traffic increases, there is a need for more reliable hosting, as well as more frequent maintenance and often more complex features. All this requires more hours and more skills from web developers, although this factor can be mitigated by involving an external development team.
Web Hosting – It is important to choose the best hosting for your website. Most SaaS platforms offer some level of hosting, although this may have limited storage, bandwidth, and even the number of orders, customers, and products. However, SaaS hosting can be a good option for startups and small businesses. As the company grows, most owners move to dedicated hosting.
SSL certification is a standard security technology for protecting data and transactions in online commerce. Without SSL, an online store will be vulnerable to hackers and won’t even be able to rank high on Google. Moreover, most of the users avoid eCommerce sites without a padlock icon in the browser address bar, worrying about their personal and credit card details. Today it is possible to choose different SSL certificates. If a high ranking on Google and the security of your customers’ data is important to you, then buy the one that will be the best option for your business.
Companion Applications – To develop an eCommerce website, you need an Enterprise Resource Planning solution. ERP is an eCommerce platform software that manages inventory, shipping, invoicing, and other internal functions. Large eCommerce businesses can use multiple ERP packages
The design of the user interface (UX) Ecommerce site – to attract traffic to a website and there is no conversion – one of the most common problems in the digital age. UX design in eCommerce is a blueprint that allows your customers to shop quickly and conveniently. But it’s worth noting that good UX design will increase the final cost of your eCommerce site.
There are many extensive experienced eCommerce Web Development Companies that have UX design skills.
Determine the required eCommerce site features – If custom features are needed according to your business model, you need to consider them when creating your site. We advise you to read our recent article on the Top 9 Essential Features of a Personalized Ecommerce Site to understand what custom features might be. Additional features of the site will pleasantly surprise users. Large companies are willing to budget for the integration of cool and interactive features that will help promote a product and stand out in a competitive environment.
We often create features such as dress previews and food builders, and customer loyalty programs. A small company can take advantage of these features with ready-made plugins
Marketing – Obviously, all of the above will be useless if buyers don’t use all of these wonderful features. Unfortunately, many companies do not delve into developing a sound marketing strategy. There are many ways to drive traffic to your site, including social media, video marketing, mobile marketing, and even traditional methods like bulk email.
Graphic design – compelling visualization is the key to grabbing the attention of users in today’s digital world. A trendy web design that reflects your brand’s unique style is a long-term investment in your online business. You can also read about why it is worth integrating CRM into an online store. A striking, memorable logo falls into the same category. If your business does not yet have a recognizable logo, we recommend hiring an outsourced design team. Usually, within a week or a month, you will already receive the first positive results.
Create content – as marketing experts say, content is key. Online store content consists of product images, descriptions, and prices. It can also encourage customers to buy travel guides, blogs, contests, and more. Your supplier may already have professional product images. Either way, working with an outsourced designer is often the best option for optimizing product images.
The owner of a store with 1,000 products will have to spend a lot of time uploading images and product descriptions. We advise you to study this issue in more detail in the article How to create a successful e-commerce website for business.
Ecommerce Website Templates
Platforms like Magento and Shopware offer ready-made eCommerce website templates that can be customized to varying degrees. You can easily change colors, images, and content blocks. All you have to do is just install the theme and upload your own content. These tools will help you cut your website development budget and save you significant time. But the best thing is what you see as a result.
Yet the finished design is in many ways not as perfect as the individual one. If UX is a top priority in your eCommerce project, standard templates are unlikely to meet the needs of modern users. Usually, such decisions are much more tedious than creating a custom design from scratch. A unique, well-designed website can not only increase your conversion rate but also show your customers that you are serious and considerate. However, if price matters, this is not a bad option.
Most basic eCommerce website templates cost up to $ 300, but installing and customizing them can cost up to $ 2,000. Whereas the cost of a unique and carefully designed website that stands out and grabs attention can be as high as $ 100,000
How Much Does it Cost to Develop an Ecommerce Website?
The exact cost of developing a custom eCommerce website depends on various factors for each individual business. Therefore, it is not possible to give a total cost for all eCommerce sites. The only way we can help is to list the important factors that directly affect the cost of developing a website for an online store. Let’s see what these factors are that affect the cost of creating an eCommerce website.
The following items will be included in the price:
The cost of web hosting for small online stores typically ranges from $ 20 to $ 250 per month. Hosting large online stores costs over $ 300 per month. To improve security, which is a major concern in today’s cybercrime environment, hosting can cost up to $ 2,000 per month.
ERP packages can cost over $ 100,000 per year in license fees. Beyond the base cost, integrating all of the software can require hundreds of man-hours for programming and development. To save on these costs, startups can opt for ready-made ERP solutions that require little or no special work due to customizable functionality.
A good UX design for an eCommerce site usually costs up to $ 10,000- $ 15,000. Measuring the effectiveness of UX design is an ongoing process.
It’s hard to imagine an online store without a catalog and attractive images. Today, site visuals typically cost anywhere from $ 2,000 to $ 4,000. Stock photography can be quite expensive, as can custom work and graphic design.
Last but not least, do not forget about the running costs of maintaining your online store. Whether you are a sole proprietor or a manager of a large team, you will definitely need training and support for your website. Keep in mind that you will pay between $ 500 and $ 1200 for initial training, depending on the complexity of your eCommerce platform and the number of employees to be trained.
Calculating the Cost of an eCommerce Site Cost
Below is a list of the most important costs in the online store building process. However, a careful cost analysis should also include the allocation of developer time. Let’s take a look at a typical breakdown.
Domain name: $ 5 to $ 15 per year
Hosting: $ 75 to $ 200 per year
CMS: from $ 0 to $ 50,000 + per year
Site functionality: from $ 5,000 to $ 50,000 (one-time costs)
Web Design or Theme: $ 250 to $ 20,000 + (one-time costs)
Copywriting: $ 50 to $ 500 per page or article
SEO: $ 300 to $ 1,500 per month
Multimedia Design: $ 250 to $ 10,000 + (depending on the level of interactivity required)
Database Integration: $ 5,000 to $ 25,000 for Integration
Site content: from $ 500 to $ 1250 per year (depending on the number of updates required)
In most cases, the cost of an eCommerce site ranges from $ 5,000 to $ 50,000. As with any business, saving on the initial investment may result in lower returns later on. Compared to the cost of a classic store, eCommerce is a fairly inexpensive business. Taking into account rent, warehouse, interior design, marketing, personnel, and equipment, opening a classic store can cost anywhere from $ 100,000 to $ 200,000. But ask yourself this question: would you like to open a store with design flaws, disorganized shelves, painfully slow checkout, and the likelihood that this whole place could burn down at any moment?
Taking the time and resources to build an online store from the start is much less costly and less risky. Most successful stores will recoup their initial investment in the first year or less.
As always, the team is ready to help with more accurate planning by providing information on the cost of developing an online store. Next is the second part of our article, where we describe the process and costs of developing an online trading site.
How startups can reduce development costs?
Limited budget? Don’t worry. This is absolutely normal for any startup, and we have solutions. First, an outsourcing development team can significantly reduce development costs without compromising quality. Outsourcing is one of the great tools in modern software development, and every company should not miss the chance to take advantage of this.
There are also many inexpensive options for online trading platforms. Hosting solutions like Magento or Shopware can allow a new company to get started without spending a lot of money.
A hosting solution means that the internal code of the online store is owned and maintained by the platform provider. It’s like renting space for a regular store. You can use the space at your discretion, using it for your business, but there can be no question of serious renovation in it.
Hosting solutions are a great way to get started with your online store, and ITXITPro can help you set up and customize your eCommerce solution no matter which one you choose.
Pitfalls, hidden costs, and how to spot them
Most companies today are choosing to take advantage of the benefits of owning an eCommerce site. Development and coding can be easily done with an outsourced team if your priorities are divided between time, cost, and customization. If you need a website built from scratch and you need it quickly, the cost will be higher, etc.
Below is a list of additional questions to ask yourself before hiring an outsourcing development team.
Does your business have internal resources that would allow you to create a quality online store in less time and with less cost?
Does your in-house team have the specific knowledge and experience required to develop a modern eCommerce site?
Who will undertake ongoing service and support?
By answering these questions, you will be able to better understand how much the development and support of an e-commerce site can cost, and also decide whether you should do the development yourself or you need to involve outsourcing.
How to choose an outsourcing team for eCommerce website development?
However, no matter where you decide to go to solve your problems in the field of web development, to get started, we recommend that you do the following.
Make a list of the features your online store needs. Arrange functions according to importance.
Be prepared to describe your business, brand, and target market.
List your eCommerce business goals.
Analyze your competitors. Create a document listing what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong, and what you can do better.
Make a budget plan. Don’t forget to add web development, web design, and finished site maintenance and support.
Identify eCommerce agencies and outsourcing teams as candidates for your business.
Before starting cooperation with an agency or team, carefully check their portfolio and recommendations.
Finally, contact your “finalists”, provide them with the prepared documentation, and ask them for a quote.