You’ve come to the conclusion that you want to build an e-commerce website to help your brand grow. By hiring an e-commerce expert to help you create or renovate your e-commerce website, you can set yourself up for success. An e-commerce website allows you not only to boost your revenue, but it also provides the ability to reach consumers from diverse markets—some you never thought you would be able to reach.
Of course, this boost doesn’t come without its costs; an e-commerce website can cost you anywhere from $40 a month to $4,000 a month, depending on the methods you choose.
Things to Keep In Mind
When it comes to building an e-commerce website, there are a number of factors you need to track. Having a good website is incredibly important, as there are always competitive businesses that provide the same goods and services as your company—what sets your website apart? Why should a consumer click on your website?
This is where an e-commerce specialist comes in. What is an e-commerce specialist? Simply put, this is an individual highly skilled in the world of e-commerce who can help you manage your business’s online presence. In addition to helping you generate more sales, this individual works alongside your team to create marketing campaigns, analyze your metrics, and shift marketing strategies accordingly. The best specialists can do this while also providing insight on how to improve your e-commerce website as your brand grows.
The Costs
On average, the total cost of building an e-commerce website can range anywhere from as low as $40 per month to as high as $4,000 per month. This does not take into consideration the initial design fees that you will encounter–that sum alone can range anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000.
These numbers may seem large, but remember they’re just averages. There are many factors that go into determining what your exact costs will be. Remember, building a website is like starting a business in itself, and the initial cost will likely be high and require an immense amount of focus, attention, and detail to succeed.
Design
Will you be using a premade template for your website, or are you looking for a custom-made website tailored to your specific needs? The design of your website is the first thing consumers see. You want to attract customers to your website, but you also want to keep them on it–this means having a design that is appealing and easy to use.
Some templates cost anywhere from $100 to $1,500. Unique custom-made websites might run you anywhere from $5,000 to as high as $30,000.
Hosting
You want to have a trustworthy host for your website. Hosting is responsible for managing traffic and ensuring that consumers don’t face glitches or slow-loading pages. Of course, the better the hosting service, the higher the cost.
Domain
While it is typical to have your hosting service provide you with the option to create a domain, there are instances where this is not the case. You might have to purchase the domain name that you want elsewhere, which will be an added cost to account for.
Consumer Payment Options
Know what type of payment options you want to offer your consumers. Each payment option charges you a fee per transaction. While this might not raise flags at the beginning, as your sales grow, so will this fee. It is important to account for this as you build out your website.
Add-Ons and Extensions
Unless you pay the big bucks for a custom-made website, there is a chance that there will be certain features you want that your website won’t come with. Be sure to account for the added costs of extensions and add-ons.
Ongoing Costs
While the aforementioned factors are only a few to keep in mind as you roll out your website, there will also be ongoing costs to keep it functioning successfully.
You will most likely want to pay for search engine optimization (SEO) to help your website rank higher in search results. You will also want to opt-in for product and email marketing to attract and retain more customers–these all incur additional, ongoing costs.
Final Thoughts
If you’re just starting down the path of e-commerce, it might be easy to feel yourself getting overwhelmed. That’s where we come in! With Guru, you can find the perfect e-commerce specialist to help you create and maintain an effective, eye-catching website. Just post a free job listing with your project specifications, or browse through our long list of available, experienced experts. Check out Guru’s reliable freelancer hiring options today!
