Do you have a super cool business idea, and you want to transform it into a successful startup? Well, then the first thing you need to do is to start working on your eCommerce website. But for that, you need a clear idea of how much an eCommerce website costs.
Several factors play a vital role in determining the cost of a startup. You need to pay extra attention to these factors as you cannot put every eCommerce startup under one banner. In this article, we will discuss some of these cost estimating factors of an eCommerce startup. So you can clearly understand the cost of your eCommerce business. But first let’s take a look at some ecommerce platforms.
Ecommerce Platforms
The first thing you need to do when starting up an online store is to choose an eCommerce platform. It is also something that will have an impact on the total cost of your eCommerce startup. Choosing a platform for your eCommerce store depends on various factors. These factors could be the hosting, features, web design, and development you require for your eCommerce store.
Various eCommerce platforms are available. Some of the famous ones are:
- WooCommerce
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Magento
These are some of the most famous eCommerce platforms out there and we will discuss them below in the factors impacting the cost of an eCommerce startup.
Crucial Factors to Estimate the Cost of an Ecommerce Startup
Here are some essential cost estimating factors for an eCommerce startup:
- Website Development And Design Cost
The design and development of your eCommerce website are one of the most crucial aspects of an eCommerce startup, and it greatly affects its cost. Your website must be well developed and visually pleasing if you want your business to boost online. As your website has fractions of a second to impress your audience, you need to be extra careful about its design.
Also, with the revolution in the eCommerce industry, there are hundreds of eCommerce stores opening every day. With this much competition, how can you create brand awareness and recognition? Your website design plays a vital role in setting you apart from your competitors.
Many platforms offer ready-made design templates to choose from. You can easily customize these templates by using some simple drag-and-drop tools.
Also, many platforms offer premium design options. These options offer more attractive layouts and unique features. You can buy and use these premium design templates to easily stand out among your competitors.
Web commerce is an excellent example of an eCommerce platform offering thousands of designs. It’s based on WordPress implying that you can use any WordPress theme for your eCommerce website. Many designs in woocommerce are free, and many others come with an affordable price tag.
Also, it gives you access to various drag-and-drop tools so you can develop a custom design in no time.
But still, if you don’t want to use ready-made templates for an e-commerce platform, you can always hire a dedicated web designer for a more customized web design.
There are many other platforms available like Shopify, big commerce, etc. But, woocommerce is more flexible and light on the pocket than any other.
- Hosting
As it’s a known fact that every website needs online hosting. The hosting you choose will affect the overall cost of your eCommerce website and start-up. You will need trustworthy website hosting to manage all the traffic following your eCommerce website. You will also need a domain name for your website through which your users can find you online.
Usually, there are two approaches to moving forward with web hosting:
- Self-hosted
Self-hosted eCommerce website gives you the liberty to choose whichever host you like. Famous platforms like WooCommerce and Magento, etc. are self-hosted and allow you to choose a hosting provider you like.
Platforms like woocommerce, etc. are free but, you still need to spend on SSL certification, a web hosting account to install the software, domain name, etc. Once you will start receiving a greater traffic flux, you might also need to update your hosting solution.
Self-hosted websites have some advantages. Here they are:
- You have complete liberty to choose the hosting of your choice and develop your website your way.
- It is also a pocket-friendly option as you only pay for the things you need.
- There will not be any restriction on sales, the number of products, or payment methods.
- SaaS eCommerce platform
In SaaS aka software as a service eCommerce platforms, your website hosting will be included in the software cost. You don’t need to install, manage or host it by yourself. But you still need to pay for the domain name. Shopify is an excellent example of such a platform. These platforms have various scalable features in their plans, and you have to choose a plan according to your needs. Once your sales and traffic increase, you might have to opt for upgraded plans.
A self -a hosted platform is a way cheaper and more viable option in comparison to SaaS. But, it all depends on what your eCommerce website requirements and goals are.
- Payment Processing
Payment processing is another vital factor impacting your startup costs. You have to pay a payment processing fee on your website. This fee will depend on the platform and payment services you choose.
For example, in woocommerce, many payment gateways can be used for free. And many extensions are also available that you can be bought and utilized. You will only need to pay for the payment services you need.
The Bigcommerce platform also has flexible and pocket-friendly payment processing fees.
- Add-ons
It is not possible to get everything from an eCommerce platform. There are several features and addons that your eCommerce startup might require to be successful. These add-ons usually cost extra and can affect your overall cost. But they also enhance the functionality of your business.
When it comes to extensions and addons, woocommerce is the best choice. As it offers thousands of free and paid extensions that can help you boost your business.
Final Words
Every startup has some unique requirements and essentials. But understanding them is super important to estimate eCommerce website costs. We hope you now have a better comprehension of the factors discussed above that will give you a clear idea of how much your eCommerce website and overall startup will cost.
