There are two ways to create an online store. Use an e-commerce website builder or hire a web development company. The method you choose will affect the cost of your online store.
Ecommerce website builders are usually the cheapest way to start an online store. While it's tempting to use a free open source platform, you'll end up paying for hosting, themes, plugins, and even developer support if you have specific needs, all of which add to your total cost. may increase.
E-commerce website builders are perfect for:
- People with limited technical know-how
- Anyone who needs to build a website quickly
The price of an e-commerce platform depends on the features you need and whether it has a physical storefront.
Total cost of an e-commerce website
The average cost of an e-commerce website is approximately $39 per month for a new store. Prices vary based on various factors such as design, customization, and platform of choice.
A rough breakdown of the costs involved in creating an EC site is as follows.
- Domain registration: $10-30 per year
- Web hosting: $5 to $250 per month (depending on hosting plan and provider)
- SSL certificate: $0 (free with some hosting providers) to $200 per year
- E-commerce platform:
- Hosted platforms like Shopify: $20-$300 per month depending on plan and features
- Open source platform: Free to download, but extensions, plugins, and themes may incur charges
- Website design and development:
- Pre-built themes: $0–$200
- Custom design and development: $2,000 to $20,000+ depending on complexity, features, and functionality required
- Additional costs:
- Payment gateway fees: Varies depending on provider (PayPal, Stripe, Shop Pay) and transaction volume.
- Digital marketing and advertising: Depends on your budget and strategy
- Website maintenance and support: Depends on how much support you need.
6 common costs for an e-commerce website
- hosting
- Payment procedure
- ecommerce web design cost
- custom development
- Add-ons and extensions
- expense
1. Hosting
Website hosting costs vary widely, starting as low as $2.49 per month and going as high as $1,000 or more. Costs vary depending on a variety of factors, including the amount of traffic your store gets and any additional services you need, such as automatic backups.
In any case, all websites require hosting to store their files. You'll also need a domain name, like a digital home for your e-commerce store.
There are two types of hosting commonly used by e-commerce brands.
SaaS ecommerce platform hosting
Ecommerce platforms like Shopify don't require you to install, manage, or host your own domain. Everything you need is included in your monthly subscription fee.
Secure hosting comes with all Shopify plans and includes:
- unlimited bandwidthSo you don't have to worry about your fees increasing as your traffic increases.
- Level 1 PCI Compliantkeep your customer data safe
- Super fast servers and instant updatesnever miss the latest features
- Ann SSL certificate To prevent fraud and build customer trust
- reliable content management system To process site content
- unlimited Email forwarding
You just need to purchase and register a domain name separately. Find available domains through Shopify's domain name generator to quickly launch your business.
Pricing starts at around $15 per year, but can reach $81 per year depending on the top-level domain you choose.
Self-hosted e-commerce website
Some e-commerce website builders are free, such as WooCommerce (a plugin for WordPress) and Magento. However, you will need an account with an e-commerce hosting provider to manage your files and purchase domains.
Some of the costs you incur when self-hosting your website include:
- Ecommerce hosting accounts (starting at $7.99/month)
- Domain name (can cost around $15 per year)
- SSL certificates (starting at $69/year)
Some web hosts like Bluehost offer a free domain name and SSL certificate for $2.75 per month.
One drawback is that as your e-commerce store grows, you will need to upgrade your hosting plan to manage the increased traffic. If you end up building a large website, self-hosting can cost upwards of $1,000 to $2,000 per month.
Estimated hosting costs:
- SaaS Hosted: As low as $39/month with unlimited hosting.
- Self-hosted: Incremental upgrades range from $2.75 to $2,000 per month.
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2. Payment Processing
A payment processor is a company that manages transactions so that shoppers can purchase products. Every e-commerce store needs a store to accept payments from credit cards, debit cards, and other smart pay options.
Payment processing costs vary depending on your e-commerce platform's plan. For example, the Shopify Basic plan charges a 2.9% processing fee for online credit card payments, plus 30¢ per transaction. The Advanced Shopify plan has a 2.4% fee. If you pay in person, the risk of fraud is lower, so fees are lower.
All Shopify plans come with Shopify Payments, so you can start selling right away. Enabling Shopify Payments allows you to accept credit cards and other popular payment gateways such as Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and G Pay.
By offering Shop Pay as a checkout option, your customers can easily checkout using their saved payment and shipping information.
3. E-commerce web design cost
Did you know it takes about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for someone to form an opinion about your website? Not only that, but shoppers buy based on trust, and branding can quickly build that trust. Help you build.
Ecommerce platforms like Shopify have templates that you can easily apply to your site. These are quick and affordable ways to get up and running. Shopify themes provide built-in tools to customize layout, colors, styles, and other settings.
These templates come with everything you need to start your store.
- home page
- Product page
- shopping cart
- checkout page
- FAQ
- About the page
Shopify Themes offers over 100 free and paid themes to help you find the perfect look and feel for your store. You can find themes based on categories such as videos and his 3D products, large images, large inventory, minimalist style, fun and vibrant.
Themes range from $0 to over $180 depending on what you choose.
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4. Custom development
From complete design overhauls to backend customization, you may need help getting your store just the way you want it.
Custom e-commerce website development costs are associated with designing, deploying, and maintaining a store tailored to your specific business needs. Store owners can work with developers to create custom storefronts and adjust Shopify themes.
Prices vary depending on the services required. Some development companies, like Outerbox, charge upwards of $100,000 for customization work. Other established he Shopify agencies can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the scope of the work.
What is the best course of action? If you need custom design or development work, check out Shopify's Partner Marketplace. You can find freelancers and agencies that offer custom theme development at a lower cost than hiring an in-house developer.
5. Add-ons and extensions
It is nearly impossible for one e-commerce software to meet the needs of all e-commerce businesses. Perhaps you want to add some functionality to your website.
The best e-commerce software allows you to add applications to your store to expand your e-commerce capabilities and improve your user experience. The cost of creating an online store can be high, as some are free and others are paid.
There are thousands of apps in the Shopify App Store, and many free Shopify apps. Whether you want to add email marketing, sell on social media, add social proof to your store, or improve your search engine optimization (SEO), there's an app for it.
Prices for paid apps vary. Most are available on a monthly subscription basis. You can also add private apps created specifically for your store. These apps are stored and run on separate servers, but you can generate a Shopify API key to give them permissions.
The cost of a custom app can exceed $5,000, depending on the developer's experience and fees.
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6. Business costs
Budget is always a consideration. You can launch an e-commerce website for as little as $100, but you may need to spend more to get your business going.
According to our latest research, most small business owners spend about $40,000 in their first year, with 9% of that allocated to their online business needs. (Shopify sellers spend an average of $38,000, while non-Shopify sellers spend an average of about $41,000.)
Online business takes time to become profitable. So choose an e-commerce platform that won't eat up your entire budget and gives you the tools you need to succeed.
Focus on where your business is now and where you want it to go in the future. Then, find an e-commerce platform that will help you get there.
Build a successful e-commerce business today
E-commerce websites don't have to be expensive.
After you purchase a domain name for your e-commerce business, you only need to pay $39 per month for a standard online store with Shopify. Adding custom features or including paid apps can increase the total cost.
Shopify allows you to choose how much you want to pay upfront, so you can start making profits.
Frequently asked questions about e-commerce website costs
How much does an e-commerce website cost?
The cost of an e-commerce website can range from $20 to more than $10,000. Costs vary based on a variety of factors, including the platform used, design complexity, number of products, and custom features.
How much does the website cost per month?
Monthly website fees vary depending on the type of website, the complexity of the site, and the services required. Monthly fees generally range from $5 to $50 for a basic website with hosting, security, and some additional services. More complex websites with custom design and development can range from $500 to $5,000 per month.
Where is the cheapest e-commerce site?
The cheapest e-commerce website option is Shopify, which costs just $39 per month. Get free SSL certificates and pre-built themes. Costs may increase when considering apps and marketing efforts.
How long does it take to develop an e-commerce website?
The cost of developing an e-commerce website can range from a few hundred dollars for a basic, pre-built solution to tens of thousands of dollars for a custom-designed, feature-rich site.
