How to build an eCommerce website from scratch? It is possible to spend hundreds on an eCommerce website that you build yourself, thousands on a website designed by a single professional, or tens of millions (or even more!) by hiring an experienced eCommerce web development firm.
The best eCommerce website builders, with the most advanced business features, do require a decent-sized investment. Generally, the higher the expensive, the better the outcome.
A reputable web development agency can build you an eCommerce website that boasts a strong online presence and converts your target audience into customers. Instead of merely using professional online store templates, they can completely customize your online store to meet your business needs.
Because your eCommerce site is the gateway to your brand, and for certain customers, their only interaction with your company, it’s crucial to get it just right.
What Affects Ecommerce Websites’ Prices?
Each eCommerce website comes with a unique total cost because it has different features. Leading eCommerce platforms are designed by different web developers and cater to different online stores.
The cost of designing an online store differs based on the expertise of the agency or the individual website builder assigned to the project.
There are a few general expenses you’ll be required to cover for the eCommerce website’s development, such as:
- Hosting costs
- Web design cost
- Cost of payment processing
- Add-ons and extensions are expensive.
- Cost of eCommerce functionality and programming
- Cost of marketing
Working with a company that is committed to the long-term viability of your business will raise costs, while using an eCommerce website builder that hands over the finished website will incur a lower price.
Some worthwhile expenses like eCommerce SEO services can boost your total dollar expenditure as well. Agencies usually provide eCommerce SEO packages, so you have a bit of leeway to choose basic options that cost less, whereas eCommerce hosting costs for websites can’t be avoided.
Pricing is also dependent on what leading eCommerce platform you’re using. The most popular ones are:
- Shopify
- Magento
- WooCommerce
Shopify
Shopify website costs vary based on the plan you select. Shopify web hosting makes sure that your eCommerce site offers seamless online shopping and lets shoppers browse your items (and products and services), as well as complete transactions online.
How Much Does the Hosting Service at Shopify Cost?
The Shopify basic plan for eCommerce is just $29 per month. This increases to $79 per month for the mid-range plan, while the premium plan costs $299 per month.
How Much Does Shopify Charge for Processing Payments?
Shopify’s most basic payment processing plan costs 2.9% plus a 30¢/ charge per transaction. The mid-range plan costs 2.6% and a 30¢/per-transaction fee, while the premium plan costs 2.4% and 30¢/ per transaction.
How Much Does Shopify Design Cost?
The average price of a Shopify eCommerce store is approximately $500. The cost increases as you incorporate more features and elements. Even if you find a decent eCommerce template, chances are you will still need to customize certain elements, which hikes up the price.
How Much Do the Extensions and Add-ons for Shopify Cost?
Shopify enables the integration of different add-ons to create a seamless online experience. Prices for these add-ons and apps differ. You can expect to pay as low as $9.99 or as high as $30 on a monthly basis, depending on what you need.
What Are the Costs of Shopify Functionality and Programming?
Shopify lets you add additional product category pages, allowing your customers to choose between different sizes and colors. Further functionality requires you to upgrade to a more expensive plan.
For example, if your eCommerce store has an unlinked fulfillment platform, then connecting it to Shopify may be costly. The more customization you require, the higher the costs.
What Is the Average Price of Shopify Marketing for an Ecommerce Business?
Shopify provides a unique DIY marketing tool built directly into the platform. It allows you to add your items and then automatically connects them to Google’s Shopping Database. It also creates a Google Merchant Center, which lets you add more items as your inventory increases.
This allows you to reach those already looking for similar products via Google search. This is ideal for smaller-scale eCommerce businesses, although it won’t provide the same impact as a strategic digital marketing strategy developed by professionals.
The Total Cost of a Shopify Online Store
The total cost includes Shopify website development, the Shopify platform subscription fee, and additional costs from extensions and plugins. Naturally, this sum varies depending on how big your modern eCommerce company is, the number of items in your inventory, and how many omnichannel marketing tools you need.
Shopify is a popular and user-friendly option and is a good choice for businesses. Although it could be more expensive than the other platforms available, its user-friendliness is a cost-effective choice for a variety of companies.
Magento
Magento is among the most well-known eCommerce platforms available. Just like Shopify, the cost of this eCommerce platform will vary depending on the features you select. Let’s look at the elements that affect the Magento development services price.
How Much Does Magento Hosting Cost?
The cost of operating a Magento eCommerce website is contingent on the requirements you have, however hosting prices can start as low as $10 per month and rise to $250 per month. If you have dedicated servers, this might even increase to $500.
How Much Do Magento Processing Payments Cost?
The cost of processing payments is contingent upon the processor that you have chosen for your Magento eCommerce website. PayPal, Authorize, AmazonPay, and Braintree are four popular processors frequently used on the platform.
How Much Does Magento Design Cost?
The price of creating an eCommerce site using Magento can vary between $1,500 and $100,000. If you choose a paid design theme, the cost of buying the design theme is included in Magento’s development cost. However, if you opt for a free one, developers will still spend a considerable amount of time altering it to fit your business objectives, which directly impacts the cost of development.
What Is the Cost of Magento Extensions and Add-ons?
Many add-ons and extensions are completely free, while certain extensions cost from $79 to hundreds of dollars. You can look for extensions and add-ons on Magento Marketplace, which allows you to filter searches according to category, function, and price.
How Much Will Magento’s Programming and Functionality Cost?
As with most eCommerce platforms, Magento permits you to include variables in your products, in terms of size, color, or design. The platform also comes with advanced eCommerce tools.
Our Comrade team can utilize these advanced tools to build an eCommerce store that suits complex business needs. We can connect your store’s website via an eCommerce system if you are already using another fulfillment platform, for example.
Through Magento, it is possible to implement additional functionality that allows you to sell goods and services through business-to-business (B2B) as well as to brokers and dealers. These capabilities let dealers, and brokers sell products and services through your website, providing your customers with more options.
What Does Magento’s Marketing Cost?
The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends that 7%-8% percent of your business’s income should be allocated to marketing. At Comrade Digital Marketing Agency, our entry marketing packages cost $2,500, which grow to as much as $15,000 as your company expands.
The Total Cost of a Magento Ecommerce Store
The total cost for your Magento website includes the development of your eCommerce site, web hosting services, any additional plugins (if there are any), as well as digital marketing costs.
BigCommerce
The BigCommerce eCommerce platform lets users create a website on their servers. Like the other platforms, it also has its own marketing tools and SEO capabilities. BigCommerce website prices vary, as do Magento and Shopify, due to the many options available to you.
How Much Does BigCommerce Hosting Cost?
The basic plan offered by BigCommerce costs $29.95 per month. The Plus plan is $79.95 per month, while the Pro plan costs $299.95 per month. While each plan comes with different capabilities, it still allows you to host an unlimited inventory.
How Much Do BigCommerce Processing Payments Cost?
BigCommerce charges a processing fee for every item sold through the eCommerce website. The fee wavers for certain payment gateways, however, the rates for credit cards are between 2.2% to 2.9% per transaction with a minimum charge of 2.59% + $0.49.
How Much Does Magento Design Cost?
The cost can vary between $500 and tens of thousands of dollars. Hiring a professional agency will cost more; however, it provides long-term insurance that your eCommerce website will work efficiently is user-friendly and will keep people coming back to browse your items.
The higher the price you’re willing to spend, the better site appearance and features you’ll get. Choose Pro for the Pro plan ($299.95 monthly), and you’ll have the ability to customize your product filters, which allows customers to browse your items with certain prices or features in the back of their minds.
What Is the Cost of BigCommerce Extensions and Add-ons?
BigCommerce has its own apps that let you download additional tools for the development of your eCommerce website. From live chats to customized headers, there are many options to choose from. Many are absolutely free, while some charge monthly fees of $9.99 or more.
How Much Will BigCommerce’s Programming and Functionality Cost?
Like Shopify and Magento, BigCommerce lets you customize your own eCommerce website, so prices vary. BigCommerce’s custom B2B functions let brokers and dealers sell their products through your website; hence, you might need to connect your current fulfillment platform to the new system for e-commerce. This comes at additional costs, but can make your site more intuitive and offer a superior user experience.
What Does BigCommerce Marketing Cost?
BigCommerce does not include an integrated advertising function, or service. Your eCommerce business will rely on the skills of web-based developers to assist with this. At Comrade, we design online marketing campaigns based on your company’s goals and vision. Most campaigns are between $2,500 to $15,000 per month.
The Total Cost of a BigCommerce Ecommerce Store
The cost of running a great eCommerce store will depend on the features you require. It could range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, your store maintenance might require monthly fees, since every successful online business uses eCommerce software to offer customers a seamless shopping experience.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin used with WordPress. The cost of a WooCommerce website development services is based on a variety of factors, including development hosting, plugins, and much more.
How Much Does WooCommerce Hosting Cost?
WooCommerce has a variety of hosting partners, some of which start as low as $3.95. Hosting costs are based on your eCommerce website, the expected traffic, and requirements regarding custom domain names and email accounts.
How Much Do WooCommerce Processing Payments Cost?
The fees for payments are credited to your account through the payment processor you select. If you’re using different payment processors, say PayPal and Amazon Pay, there will be different fees. Always choose the most cost-effective one for your online transactions.
How Much Does WooCommerce Design Cost?
Your customized eCommerce website needs to be developed via WordPress. The development of a custom eCommerce site costs ranges between $1,000 and hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on whether you choose to work with an in-house web design firm or an eCommerce web design firm.
What Is the Cost of WooCommerce Extensions and Add-Ons?
WooCommerce offers a variety of extensions and add-ons that are available via WordPress. Many of them are completely free, with a few which are available at a modest cost. These plugins make it easy for small businesses to set up and run an eCommerce store.
What Is the Cost of WooCommerce Functionality and Programming?
WooCommerce is completely free, but it comes with an unending array of options when you use third-party extensions. As we said, these extensions are cost-free, but others may come at a monthly or one-time cost.
Communication features vary from completely free up to $328 per year. SEO for eCommerce is also free, but could cost $89 annually. It is the same for security. Either you won’t pay a dime or will want comprehensive protection that can be as high as $328 per year.
What Is the Price of WooCommerce Marketing?
The WooCommerce eCommerce platform allows you to sell items on the internet, but they must be supported with a solid marketing plan. Web development companies with expertise like Comrade have the technical skills to help you establish your online presence using Search Engine Optimization as well as other digital marketing methods. This could range between $2,500 and 15,000 dollars per month.
The Total Cost of a WooCommerce Ecommerce Store
The total cost for your site includes the cost of your eCommerce plan, web development, hosting, and marketing. The great thing is that WooCommerce, like the eCommerce platforms we’ve mentioned here, can accommodate businesses of various sizes and budgets.
Future Ecommerce Website Development Costs to Consider
We’ve just talked about the initial cost of creating an eCommerce site, however, once you have built one, you have to maintain it.
Here are the most common costs associated with eCommerce business maintenance:
- Data Backups: Ecommerce websites process countless, useful data. This can aid in the development of your online store, and, without it, you’ll be in danger of losing a significant amount of dollars. The cost of data backups is typically dependent on the total size of the eCommerce website’s file. The fee you pay will directly impact data collection quality.
- Management Systems (CMS): It is not always easy to code, so these tools permit you to alter your website without having to change the code. Magento is among the platforms for eCommerce we mentioned previously, which has an easy-to-use CMS tool.
- Domain: A distinct name is essential to building a successful site. It’s not costly to register a domain name for the online shop you have, however, it’s a cost you shouldn’t overlook.
- Marketing Budget: For great sales, you should showcase your products in the most appealing light. No eCommerce website can survive without a marketing budget to generate brand awareness and promote products to different customer groups.
- Website Maintenance. In some ways, eCommerce stores are not that different from retail stores and also require maintenance. This includes fixing bugs, adding new eCommerce features, working on responsive designs, etc.
The Cost of the Average Ecommerce Website
Each eCommerce website is unique, so it’s difficult to provide an accurate average price without knowing your online store’s specific needs.
At Comrade, we specialize in digital marketing and web development for eCommerce websites. Our long-term commitment to each online store’s vision and brand ensures they can successfully sell online and grow their revenue.
As a full-service digital marketing agency, we provide the best eCommerce marking that’s tailored to your business objectives. We take the heavy chores off your shoulders and place your products and services in the hands of customers already interested in what you have to offer.
We price websites according to your company’s scope, as well as the online functionality and marketing you require.
Most eCommerce platforms charge a fixed, annual fee. Once you’ve decided which platform you want to use; we’ll assign our skilled web developers to take care of your site, at the cost of a monthly retainer.
Our dedication to your success is one of the reasons why investing in a professional eCommerce website design is so worth it!
Questions Your Ecommerce Web Agency Might Ask You
An eCommerce agency will ask you a series of questions to ensure services are tailored to your needs. It’s important you answer honestly and in as much detail as possible. This is the best way to help them help you convert visitors into paying customers.
How Many Products Does Your Ecommerce Store Have?
The more products you sell on your online store, the more filters you’ll need. Customers require a method of sorting through the products to discover the ones they’re looking for. This can also affect the overall style and layout of your website.
Do You Require Special Attributes?
If you have an eCommerce store selling clothes, you know precisely what this means! Specific attributes of products permit customers of eCommerce sites to select different versions of a single item, in terms of size, color, design, and fabrics. Functionality and fees for programming are tied to these attributes.
What Are Your Shipping Requirements?
The eCommerce web design and marketing company must also understand the shipping options you have for every product you sell. This allows your customers to pick the appropriate option and integrate the communication channels between your company and its shipping system.
Do You Need Built-In Shipping Calculators, Sales Stacks, and Integrated Freight Costs for Bulky Items?
If you are already using an existing sales stack, you need to let the agency know. The built-in shipping calculators that you have on your eCommerce website can be created to give customers precise estimates for different types of shipping.
Do You Need Separate Account Silos for Certain Customers?
Special members, rewards for shoppers or employees, as well as partners that require discounts will need a customized section on your website with additional options.
Which Platform Are You Using?
The cost of your site will depend on the eCommerce provider you select. The four platforms mentioned in this article are excellent options that have clear pricing models.
Investing in Your Company’s Long-Term Success
Your business’s eCommerce venture is only as successful as your eCommerce website. It is, after all, the foundation and the engine of your company, and must be intuitive and simple to use.
The truth is that creating a successful eCommerce website requires time and effort, and this should be regarded as an investment—and a vital one, to that of your company!
Engaging with an expert agency is a wise choice for small and mid-sized online businesses looking to boost their revenue.
At Comrade Digital Marketing Agency, we would be delighted to complete a comprehensive evaluation of your current eCommerce website and your business objectives. We’ll develop a web development plan as well as a digital marketing strategy to increase revenue and traffic. Our evaluation is absolutely free, and the plan is yours to keep regardless of whether you decide to work with us or not. It’s as simple as that.
Do not hesitate to reach out to find out what we can do to help!
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find your company?
Comrade originates in Chicago, but we worked all around the United States. We can help your business grow and increase revenue whenever you are. We have offices across most major cities in the US. For example, we can offer digital marketing services in San Antonio or Chicago. You can even find our internet marketing experts in Kansas City! If you want to know more about our Portland digital marketing agency or find out how exactly we can help you, contact us via the phone or email.
