An e-commerce presence extends beyond the traditional functions of a brick-and-mortar store. It offers businesses a platform to reach a global customer base, gather valuable customer data, and build stronger customer relationships. E-commerce also allows companies to operate around the clock, increasing their potential for revenue generation.
Of course, today’s sites are moving beyond generic customer interactions. Personalized content, recommendations, and user interfaces are becoming the norm. The objective is to create an individualized customer journey that enhances engagement and fosters loyalty. In this post, we’ll look into the factors that influence the cost of building an e-commerce site and how much you should expect to pay to create one!
Cost of Building an E-Commerce Website
The cost to build an e-commerce website can vary dramatically, depending largely on your specific requirements and the approach you choose. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Do It Yourself Using Website Builders
If you’re a small business or startup with a tight budget, you might consider using a website builder like Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace. They offer various pricing plans, typically ranging from $20 to $300 per month. They’re user-friendly, but customization is limited.
Custom Development With the Help of Freelancers
If you need more customization, e-commerce developers for hire are likely the way to go. Depending on the complexity of the site and the expertise of the freelancer, this could cost anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 for a completed e-commerce platform.
Custom Development With an Agency
For larger businesses with more complex needs, an agency can provide a fully tailored solution. This comes with a heftier price tag, typically ranging from $10,000 to $50,000–or even higher for particularly intricate sites.
Keep in mind that these costs are just for the development stage. You should also consider ongoing costs for website maintenance, updates, hosting, and potential additional costs for aspects like SEO, digital marketing, and e-commerce-specific features (like secure payment gateways, high-quality product images, and customer reviews).
What Factors Into the Cost?
Number of Website Pages
Creating each web page demands considerable effort. Each page requires its own design elements, content, and possibly unique functionalities.
This isn’t just about the visible elements like text, images, or user interface elements like buttons and forms, but also the underlying coding work that makes these elements function smoothly. So, when you increase the number of pages on your website, this directly translates to more design and development work.
Platform
You should carefully consider the e-commerce platform you will use. There are numerous options available, from open-source platforms such as WooCommerce and Magento to paid solutions like Shopify and BigCommerce. Open-source platforms, though free to download and use, can still incur costs for hosting, security, and maintenance.
SEO and Marketing
To drive traffic to your website, it’s important to invest in search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing. These practices can involve optimizing your website’s design, content, and metadata for search engines, conducting keyword research, creating high-quality content, and managing social media and email marketing campaigns.
While you can handle some of these tasks in-house, they often require a significant amount of time and expertise. Hiring an SEO expert can ensure these tasks are carried out effectively, but this will add to your overall costs.
Functionality and Features
The cost of an e-commerce website will also depend on the complexity of its functionality. Basic features such as product pages, shopping carts, and secure checkout systems are typically included in most platforms.
However, if you require more advanced features like customer reviews, wish lists, product filters, third-party integrations, or custom plugins, you can expect costs to increase. Certain sectors like clothing or electronics may require specialized features, such as size charts or product comparisons.
Security
Investing in security is a must for e-commerce websites due to the sensitive nature of the data they handle. This includes an SSL certificate to encrypt data, regular security updates, a robust firewall, and possibly even more advanced measures, like a security monitoring service. Some of these measures may be included in your platform or hosting package, while others will incur additional costs.
Fast Turnaround
The question of how long it takes to build an e-commerce website may depend on how much you are willing to pay. If you need your website created quickly, you might need to spend more money, as this will require more resources, such as a larger team of developers.
In Summary
In this digital era, the absence of an e-commerce site could significantly limit a business’s growth potential. If you are wondering how to build a simple e-commerce website with the help of skilled professionals, Guru has a diverse pool of qualified freelancers ready to help.
From web developers and designers to content creators and SEO specialists, our platform matches you with the right experts to bring your e-commerce vision to life. Browse our available freelancers or post a free job listing today!
