An e-commerce website is not an alien term today as thousands of sellers have now shifted towards online business. Numerous marketplaces leverage businesses with improved marketing strategies, more customers, and better business deals. Another reason behind the favorability of online selling or called e-commerce development services is the better margin of the products.

According to research, an average person spends 50 percent of his idol’s time scrolling the mobile screen or using any app if he has Smartphone with him. The new trend comes with the increased shopping interest of the users as people are liking this space to scroll the items, try the different options online, and handle their shopping online without any interference from the shopping agent revolving around them.

Not only e-commerce websites, but people are also relying on famous marketplaces that demand less marketing and no extra expenditure on making your project successful. Famous marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are the biggest gainers of the market and the profitability increases with the collaborative profits of all scales of business. For small businesses, e-commerce website development cost is often dreadful; here is what online selling platform comes out in handy. 

This blog will provide comprehensive details about the cost to develop an e-commerce website and associate facts that can vary the cost. Before looking at the e-commerce platform development cost factors, let’s understand why e-commerce development solutions are the clear buzz term in the IT industry currently.

Let’s look at some of the most prominent facts considering 2022: 

  • The global eCommerce market revenue is forecasted to reach $4.23 trillion in 2022.
  • The whole revenue is predicted to have an annual CAGR of 11.58% between 2022 to 2025 which will lead to a market volume of $5.88tn by 2025.
  • In the eCommerce market, there is predicted that the number of users will be increased to 4,887.9M by 2025.
  • The APRU (average revenue per user) is also forecasted to reach $1,028.  
  • User penetration will amount to 54.1% in 2022 and will be valued at 62.5% by 2025.

Things to Consider Before eCommerce Website Development

While developing an e-commerce website, various factors are there that lead to a huge cost. E-commerce business plans are worth developing before stepping forward for the coding and deployment. Without a proper roadmap, it is impossible to develop a strong e-commerce platform. Before development, it is strongly recommended to spend enough time building a roadmap and preparing a strong plan for the prospective business strategy.

Let’s find out the factors included in deciding the e-commerce website cost and here we will discuss only important factors because discussing all the factors is next to impossible.

Pre-development Factors to Discuss

Let’s find out the factors included in deciding the e-commerce website cost and here we will discuss only important factors because discussing all the factors is next to impossible.

1. Goals of e-Commerce Website Development

Before actually building the website, it is important to determine the goals. If goals are decided previously, it becomes easier to streamline the later development steps. Whether you are a business owner or retailer, whether you are a manufacturer or a wholesale sales provider, a business owner must know what he wants to achieve and what to expect from the resources.

It is always better to retrieve the answers for the following things: 

  • Determine the kind of online store you want to create.
  • Determine whether you have some experience, or it is your first attempt at the online market.
  • Always thinks about the shipping option and calculate the margin for shipping.
  • Decide whether you want to hire e-commerce developers or want to collaborate with any e-commerce development company.
  • Set the e-commerce budget and prepare for the MVP model or directly launch the product.

There can be other questions too regarding e-commerce development services, but these questions are the basic and most important ones to start from. Remember, an indefinite effort with directionless speed can be disastrous. 

2. Domain and Hosting

The next thing is the choice of the domain name. A simple, catchy, general, and famous domain name is important when it comes to selling things online. Your domain name is the identity of your business; therefore, it is worth spending the time on. The next step is to purchase the hosting, it is simply known as the virtual space on the hard disk of the server, where your website and files are stored.

Here are several common guidelines that need to be remembered while purchasing a domain name: 

  • The domain name needs to be directly relatable to the nature of your business. If your domain does not represent the business and is complicated, it will be very hard to remember and it decreases the chance of success.
  • A domain name is the brand name. Your brand name cannot be different from the domain name. Take examples from a few of the most successful online stores. 
  • Never try to copy any brand name. It may seem easy to copy the name and get a small favor from the name, but in the long run, it only decreases the reputation of the business and tarnishes the brand image if any infringement issue arises.
  • Always discuss the domain name with your team and try to register it as soon as possible. Marketers often keep commonly used keywords reserved because others are available at a high cost. Keep your search on and book the domain first for starting the business. 

Here are a few recommended guidelines for hosting spaces- 

  • Choose the hosting company which offers reliable hosting uptime and 24*7 support. There are many famous names such as Hostinger, Cheap hosting, etc. 
  • Set the location of hosting to your business country. A hosting server located in the same country of users tends to give better uptime. 
  • Choose the hosting type as per the requirements. When you are just building a simple shopping website with very few products, you need shared hosting, whereas, for the large e-commerce website, managed-to-host or Virtual private servers are more beneficial. 
  • Few companies offer e-commerce hosting, but they do provide a few custom e-commerce website development service provider tools such as Woo-commerce, Presta shop, Shopify, etc. 
  • While choosing to host, you must first ask for the expert server administrator. For shared hosting, you won’t need any server admin, whereas, for VPS or managed hosting, you need to take care of your server. 

Alternatively, you can also look for cloud hosting for a scalable business. Cloud works on a pay-per-use model. You start with some starter plan and as the need arises and your business grows, the cost of hosting rises.

3. Discuss the Marketing and Strategy

Without a proper marketing strategy, there is no profit from web development solutions. The marketing cost is the recurring cost, which directly increases the e-commerce website cost. 

According to research, among 24 million e-commerce websites, 1 million are making meager income, almost less than $1000 per year. Therefore, successful websites use various mechanisms for increasing brand awareness including Search Engine Optimization, affiliate programs, and advertisement campaigns.

It is to be noted that the buzzing question, “how much does it cost to develop an e-commerce website” is directly affected by the cost of marketing. Marketing the product comprises SEO, copywriting, up-selling, PPC ads, campaigning, offline selling, and other ways. A marketing campaign can cost from $200 to $2000.

4. Fulfillment of the Products

Building capable e-commerce software is only a half story. The real thing is customer satisfaction which is directly related to the success of your business. Your inventory must show the exact product details and number of articles. It can be a manual or automated system. Integrated inventory management is directly related to storing where the availability of the products is real-time updated on the system. This saves from misguiding the customer unknowingly.

You can choose from the different fulfillment options, which can range from $30 to $2000 depending upon the subscription. 

5. Deployment and Maintenance

Apart from this, once the e-commerce website is up, it requires constant attention. Fixing the bugs and making necessary changes are required for the project. Alongside, making the regular update is also necessary for every level of the store. The stores built with Shopify and other frameworks need not be maintained, whereas the custom development needs proper maintenance.

In this, either you need to maintain the team or hire E-commerce developers. For maintenance of small e-commerce development services, any e-commerce development company may charge between $500 to $1000 yearly, whereas for large complex online shops you may have to spend $1000 per month. It is a costly affair, hence choose it wisely.

Features of the Minimal e-Commerce Website

There are many features to add to an online shopping site, and the time required to develop each feature adds up to the cost to create an e-commerce website.

Below is a list of basic online shopping portal features taken from the research over several website development companies:

  • User Login/ Social Media Login

Users can log in or register using email, password, or using any social media profile. This also helps to set the profile using a social media account without the need of filling the data separately. The cost to develop an e-commerce website increases with the number of social media networks available for login. Here, the cost of development significantly rises, if any custom product is developed using some social media plug-in. 

  • Categories

Users can check the products in a different components, whereas the number of categories also makes the website reach and work on different products. For admin, it becomes easy to segregate the products. 

This feature must be powerful enough to let users search all relevant products depending upon the category, range, product name, brand name, and other relevant details. Every user has some preferences for filters. When the user wants the products to be sorted using price, it is always recommended to add different filters for providing convenience to users. 

  • Basic Product Page

Every product needs to have a separate buy now page, where users can get the full details of the product. The details may include size, images, price, and add to cart feature. 

  • Favorite’s page

This is a very important medium for selling products. It can be called the basic functioning of marketing of the products. It is imperative for the shopping platform if it shows the product from the choice of users. Many AI tools can track the scrolls of the users and leverage the e-commerce website development service with procured sales already.

  • Reviews and Ratings

Around 80 percent of the consumer prefers to make purchases according to the reviews available over the platform. The candid reviews and actual photos of the product attract more customers than the seller’s details. You must provide users with the right to image and text-based reviews. Happy faces winning more sales is a common rule of e-commerce development services. Alongside, website users must be able to view the product reviews easily.

  • Basic Cart Management

The user likes simple and easy navigation. When a product can be added to the cart directly from the product search page, it is very easy to keep customers engaged. The customer can later compare the product in the cart and can purchase the needed one. Alongside, if the cart is integrated with some time base features, the festival offers, or some coupon codes, it is easier to popularize. 

  • Order History

A user who likes the product likely to search for similar products. He/she must be able to track the order history. It makes it easy to compare the product customer once purchased and make similar orders. There can be many reasons for reaching out to the order history.

  • Payment Gateway

Users must be able to make payments through all available mediums in web development solutions. Credit card payments, debit card payments, PayPal, Stripe, and other payment systems must be available for the customers. If the customer can save the card, it is easier to make payments and avail easily. It is recommended to collaborate with the website Development Company to compare the prices and commission.

  • Checkout

Checkout must be smooth and must demand minimal information. You can choose the payment method for checkout. 

  • CMS Integration

The Customer Management System is integrated for easing the operation. The owner of the portal or the vendors selling over the platform can do basic CRUD operations on the platform. It can create categories and subcategories, generate the revenue report, and hide or temporarily deactivate the product search features. 

  • Usage Statistics

This is a very handy tool for admin. An administrator check which product is working better, and which payment method is preferable to customers. Also, the admin can check the high visibility to a particular Geo-location, choice of devices, and preference for the platform. These stats are profitable when it is required to build an e-commerce mobile app or enhance the business. 

  • Customer FAQ

For solving customer queries, the FAQ section is very beneficial. This is a pretty general but really impressive section, which can solve any future problems.

Read Also: Top Reasons Why E-Commerce Businesses Need a Mobile App

Different Stages of eCommerce Platform Development Cycle

A project is always developed in several stages, and any e-commerce development company segments the development in the below stages. 

Stage 1: Research and Roadmap Development Phase 

While developing an e-commerce website, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the project and its goals for both developers and clients. Research the target audiences and potential resources to create a roadmap about the essential steps for website development and make it successful in the market. 

Stage 2: Market Analysis

Identify what is trending currently in the market and what people like. It will provide you with an idea of what and how you should develop the e-commerce site. You will also get to know about your competitors and the mistakes, you are not supposed to make. 

Stage 3: Front-end Development

Client-side services are called front end development services while creating an e-commerce site. Developers use programming languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to build and handle the frontend part of e-commerce website development. These are the services that act on the user’s side and make them attracted to the website through animations, transitions, scroll effects, etc. 

Stage 4: UI/UX Development

A professionally designed site is considered the most reliable that’s why clients are adapting web designing solutions that provide enhanced user experience, creativity, customization, etc. If the site projects have a pleasing design and impressive style, customers would think the site is good and purchase without any second thought.  

Stage 5: Backend Development

Backend development services are like the business-facing side of a website and comprise tools for business management and website setup. Backend is accountable for how things work on a site. It includes database management, a web app framework, and many more.   

Stage 6: Quality Assurance and Testing 

After the development, it is necessary to test the project through different phases so that if there is any bug, it can be fixed. After solving all the errors, it will be re-tested as no error should be there and the website must be working smoothly and fast. When the platform will become error-free, it will be launched on the selected platform.

These are some prominent steps through which an e-commerce website development will be done.

Read Also: How Much Does It Cost To Develop A Website?

How Much Does It Cost to Develop an eCommerce Website?

E-commerce website development comprises various development stages along with different prime components that decide the actual cost of the site development. The complete building cost can vary based on these stages and factors.

Here we have mentioned important stages that you must know before deciding the exact development cost. If these stages take a long time to complete, it can increase the inclusive cost. What are those stages, take a look-

1) Major Components Considerable for Deciding the Website Cost

Often, business owners are confused about, how to estimate the actual cost of an e-commerce website. A website cost can be directly estimated over the number of pages, quality of design, and data handling requirement.  Here are the major components:

  • The Number of Pages

An e-commerce web page is different from a website page. An e-commerce page is built to earn; therefore, it is always recommended to build unique product pages. A website may have around 200 pages, and the cost of each page may range between $80-$100.

This is a basic estimate, further the cost of a page increase if any specific feature or API is integrated.

  • Responsive Design

A responsive design is “what is in demand” today. There are different devices, being used by the customers. A random customer can open your e-commerce portal on any choice of device. The e-commerce web development demands responsive design which can run on any device and give a similar level of smooth user experience. The entire web page component must work well, and UI must be clutter-free.

A simple web design is fine and simple, whereas a moderate-styled website is more impressive and comprises more graphic content. There is more decorative work over the website and design elements are integrated. On the other hand, high-end web designs are a really costly affair. These designs tend to be more distinguished and professional in appearance. Images are customized and color schemes are properly defined.

A web page design may cost you between $100 to $100000 as per the quality of work.

web-design-services-CTA

  • E-commerce SEO

E-commerce projects come with SEO packages. Having e-commerce SEO pages help in ranking better over the search engine. The long-term success of e-commerce web development depends on the visibility of the website and visibility comes with SEO. SEO is an integral cost of an e-commerce website and cannot be seen as a not-so-important affair.

An online selling website SEO may cost you around $500-$5000.

  • Database Integration

The database is an important component of an e-commerce website. Database stores the product data, user detail, customer information, and other relevant information.  Database integration often comprises a huge work over a large website. If you are building a marketplace like eBay, or Amazon, database integration is necessary.

Database integration for a website may cost you around $5000-$20000.

  • E-commerce Functionality

The web page functionality is an important factor affecting the cost. Identifying customers, customer account management, cart management, retaining customers, mail integration, etc. are well-known associative functions. Showing multiple images and videos of the products, 360-degree view of the product, spec sheet, and others are a few important functions.

Average prevalent functions may increase your e-commerce website cost by $5000-$15000.

  • CMS Integration

CMS integration is an important part of any e-commerce website. An e-commerce website cannot be successful if a capable CMS is not integrated.  The CMS system such as Drupal, Magento, and Woo Commerce are a few famous CMS, where the plans differ as per the choice of services.  You can choose the plan as per need.

The yearly plan of CMS may cost between $2000 to $10000.

  • Technical Team Structure

Every e-commerce development company provides its clients with an efficient team that can build an impressive site for them in minimum time.

Here are the roles a typical web development team includes:

i) Requirement Analyst

This role has the responsibility of taking care of the project’s vision, examining it, and converting it into the technical specifications completely. This specification will be given to the web development team to set further planning and get ready for the project development.

ii) Project Manager

The project manager conducts all the essential operations of the e-commerce development services including handling technical specification fulfillment, taking care of the due date, and so on. The project manager also monitors the entire product development procedure to make sure that each step will be finished on time. 

iii) UI/UX Designers

Website designing is a milestone that determines the success of the whole project. In this, user interface and user experience are the two important concerns. UI/UX Designers look after this process along with analyzing the target audience’s expectations.   

iv) Web Developers

Web developers have a crucial role in e-commerce website development. They change your custom design into a whole-new working website. If you want to hire e-commerce Developers, you must know that developers from different regions have different charges. Look at the below to know about it:

  • Asia: $25-$30 per hour
  • Africa: $35-$40 per hour
  • Latin America: $60-$70 per hour
  • North America: $45-$55 per hour
  • Eastern Europe: $40-$50 per hour
  • Western Europe: $65-$75 per hour
v) QA Engineer

Quality assurance protects your website from bug incursion and keeps it safe from unwanted issues. According to a testing plan, automated and manual testing methods are applied to the project for making it bug-free as per the demand of customers.  

Read Also: Things to Consider for eCommerce Website Development

2) Miscellaneous Factors for Cost

Costing is also affected by the services you choose. SaaS e-commerce platforms such as Shopify don’t require you to make any effort. You can start as quickly as possible. These platforms theme charge as per their subscription charges. The basic plan starts from $29 and can go up to $300. Here the platform comes with SSL and other e-commerce marketing tools, which is a pro. But every year you need to pay the subscription and also the platform charges a certain amount for transactions. Famous SaaS e-commerce website development platform Shopify charges a 2 percent commission, which becomes higher with large transactions. 

Instead, when you are self-hosting your e-commerce website, you spend over purchasing hosting, domain, SSL, and setting up the portal with the required plug-in. These self-hosting plans are highly scalable and can range from $100 to $10000 depending upon the requirement. For the best e-commerce website design, you need to buy a theme or hire a UX designer, which also increases the e-commerce website cost; this is worth spending. The expenditure on a domain is very minimal, costing you around $50 per year, which may also go higher if you want to purchase an acquired domain.

3) The Estimated Cost

An e-commerce website is very scalable. It can range from $1000 for a Shopify-enabled store whereas can range up to $200,000 for a rich marketplace with multiple features. For the custom e-commerce website development service, the cost of development increases. An average e-commerce website development cost with the basic features may cost you around $30,000 to $100,000, which you can estimate by summing up the above-given factors.

Verdict

Starting the e-commerce website development from scratch is a way more longer and expensive process rather than using a ready-made website solution. In the above article, we have provided you with an idea of the estimated cost of e-commerce site development comprised of various factors that are responsible to vary the overall price.

These factors involve pre & post-development factors, future goals, domain and hosting prices, marketing strategy cost, core, and advanced features, team structure, geolocation, and others. There is no exact answer to e-commerce website development cost but identifying all these factors will provide you an idea of how much it will be.

Hire skilled and experienced e-commerce developers from a top-notch eCommerce website development company to have an advanced and highly responsive website. They will assist you in every business-related problem by providing you an innovative e-commerce site to the mark.

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Jitu Bhaskar is the founder of SemiDot Infotech, a website and mobile application development company that has made a global presence in a relatively short time by offering World-class Website Development Services and Mobile App Development Solutions. Jitu Loves working with Startups and Entrepreneurs to create a better world and has a keen interest in the Blockchain, AI, AR/VR, along with other emerging technologies.

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