What is Cost of eCommerce Website Development – 2022

What does your mind question you while thinking about launching an eCommerce store?

About Website features? About Website Design? or About the marketing strategy you’ll be using? None of these, right? What you’ll be questioning is the Cost of eCommerce Website Development! Well, it’s not shocking as you’re reading this article.

Knowing the cost of an eCommerce website before starting work on it, is as necessary as giving an online presence to your business. It helps you calculate the overall investment, so you don’t overspend, not even by mistake! But what’s more challenging is that there are many factors involved in making an eCommerce website successful, and all of them will equally affect your overall success.

No worries, if you’re not having a clear understanding of Website Costs, There are many who are overspending or underspending on their eCommerce websites which is ultimately affecting the success of their eCommerce store, but we can save you from that! just keep reading till the end!

eCommerce Website  Development price: a difficulty to be solved

If I ask you have you determined the price estimation for your eCommerce website, You may say, I’ll google it, or will ask any IT firm. No doubt you’ll get the answer from google or any IT firm. But sadly it’s not that easy! 

Let’s understand it through a common situation: A client requests a quote for eCommerce website Development from several IT firms, and later he decides to choose the firm which offers the lowest cost. However, it seems cool to him at first, as he is getting an eCommerce website at a lower cost. but later he knows that the solution chosen by him is not even able to launch Minimum Viable Product (MVP). and that’s where the trouble begins: and now the client needs to look for a more reliable firm. Which costs him spending more money and the wastage of his precious time.

The moral of the story is that when you’re selecting an eCommerce web development firm, the cost isn’t everything you need to focus on, you have to go for the reasonable ones.

There is a high level of competition in the market among the IT agencies and companies, there are 2 common use cases:

Offering too low price for Development:

Let’s create the situation for this too: You go to ABC company to request a quote. And they sent you a price estimation that is lower than the average market prices. This will attract you to work with them, right? But the older theories say that any contract made with tiny prices never does anything good for anyone. There are reasons behind their lower price. Which are:

• Not having an experienced Team
• Offers low prices to catch your attention
• Your normal eCommerce site will be launched after your hair goes grey. (It’ll take huge time for them to develop a normal website for you.)

Offering too High-price for Development:

It’s not good if their High-Price for eCommerce website looks no less than a phone number. But if there is a price a little higher than the average market price, with highly experienced developers and great customer support, it is good!

TIP: Get knowledge of Market Price before hiring any web development agency/firm/freelancer.

On-site/Freelance/Outsource Team: Who Should You Trust for eCommerce Website Development?

The junction where each entrepreneur comes when they thought of having an eCommerce website. And the choice depends upon the goals and plans for the future. So, we’ll guide you through the pros and cons of choosing between On-site developers, Freelance Developers, and Outsourcing a development team.

Check on this image to get your answer:

Salary Differences between Developers:

Outsourcing a Web development Team is most convenient for small companies and industry leaders. You will also sign legal agreements, contracts, and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) which will ensure the reliability of the collaboration. 

A large portion of total expense consists of salaries which you’ve to pay the developers for building an eCommerce website for you. In some countries, this price is higher, and in some countries, it is lower. It may cost you less to Hire Development Team in Asia, and that’s not a thing to get worried about, as once you choose a reliable oversea development team, you’ll get a valuable opportunity to save money with a great website.

The following image will guide you through different development prices offered by different countries/continents.

Considerations Before Launching an eCommerce Website:

• What kind of eCommerce store do you wish to open?
• Do you wish to sell your products online? Or do you already have a physical store?
• What is the size of your eCommerce development budget?
• What shipping alternatives do you have?

Determining the Actual Cost of an eCommerce website is a huge part of the decision-making process. Just to confirm 2 things, first, if you’re going on the right path of achieving an outstanding website, and the second that you’re not overpaying for any services. Also, while conforming to things from first you’ll not need to pay for extra add-ons or extensions. 

1. What kind of eCommerce store do you wish to open?

Before starting the development process you have to be sure that what kind of eCommerce store you’re aiming/wishing to have, coz that’s the most important factor in the development process. If you’re unsure what kind of eCommerce your business requires, the development team will never be able to help you. As there is a massive difference between the eCommerce that sells products and the eCommerce that offers services. Here are the questions you’ll need to ask yourself if you are aiming to sell products; First, How many products are you going to add to your eCommerce store? Second, will you be selling to other businesses (B2B) or to consumers (B2C)? 

Be as determined as possible, while the planning process. Some services and products require different kinds of features in your eCommerce store. 

2. Do you wish to sell your products online? Or do you already have a physical store?

After 2020, there is a huge demand for online stores, and many physical store owners have chosen to sell their products online in order to get a global presence. And there are other trends named BOPIs (Buying Online and Picking up In-store). Either of these options is capable enough to expand your business reach, you can choose any of your preferences.

Selling products online is also about managing stock and handling the shipping process. And if you’re already having an inventory management system that works for you, don’t wait and look for an eCommerce store to integrate with it unless you’re looking to have a new solution that’s already a part of your eCommerce platform.  

3. What is the size of your eCommerce development budget?

Once you’ll start research for your eCommerce store, you’ll easily be sidetracked by all the different features and design options. And that’s why it is important for you to determine your budget at first. 

And you’re not going to say that you have got a huge amount of dollars as saving and you’ll spend easily on your website. It can make you many rough expenses, so it’s important to determine your budget in accordance with the features you need for your website, and add-ons that are beneficial to have, you can even make a list of things required and stick to it so you never run out of your budget.

4. What Shipping alternatives do you have?

Last but not least, you’ll need to think about Shipping, too. if you’ll manage it by outsourcing or by the in-house team? You will be providing global shipping options? Such Questions will determine your capacity of managing shipping needs. Extra, Whatever shipping option you choose, either if you’re providing deliveries limited to some area or you’re delivering it globally, you’ll need to add convenient payment options relating to that, in your eCommerce store. 

The major stages in which you’ll need to invest for eCommerce Website Development:

Primarily, let us make it clear that we are gonna give approximate estimations. As no one can tell you the exact price of an eCommerce website until you share your design idea with them.  Because no one can read your thoughts or guess your intentions, Right? And if anyone does, don’t ever work with them! As all they want is your money and not your website launched.

We told you enough to make you aware of the situation. Coming towards the most important topic. 

The Items/services you’re going to pay for:

(1) eCommerce Software:

Usually, the pricing range of eCommerce solutions depends on their outstanding features, the type of software they are offering, and their quality of service. Talking about 2022, there are many eCommerce platforms that are convenient to build an eCommerce website, but what’s highly recommended is choosing the best amongst them all. Let’s check on the most popular eCommerce platforms you must consider

Magento:

Magento has both on-premise and cloud-hosted solutions, but many organizations are turning to SaaS models because they provide ongoing upgrades, including security fixes. Magento does not provide training. There are also no on-site developers to whom you may turn for assistance in building your site. You will need a developer or a team of developers to develop your site. However, Magento is one of the most trustworthy eCommerce platforms. Magento is utilized in small, medium, and large corporate applications, making it the ideal eCommerce option for enterprises. If you want a simple and smooth website with a little larger budget, use Magento with 0 to minimize downtime.

BigCommerce:

BigCommerce is feature-rich, simple to use, and helps businesses swiftly get up and operating. It provides a simple user interface that makes it easy to create stunning websites even if you’ve never done it before and is extremely straightforward to use after everything is set up, with a basic shop page for adding products and managing orders. BigCommerce is a SaaS (Software as a Service) provider, and SaaS platforms deliver a high degree of performance, so you won’t have to switch hosting providers as your business grows. Your monthly fee includes everything.

Shopify:

Shopify was created to meet the demands of small businesses looking for an easy solution to develop online stores. building a site using a drag-and-drop area is quite simple as anyone can build a website on Shopify with zero knowledge of code. A simple website may be up and running fast; but, if you wish to add more complex features, you will need to write custom code. First, businesses that are just getting started in eCommerce used to choose Shopify. As Shopify is growing, more established businesses are migrating to it.

(2) Domain Name Cost:

You’ll have to pay annually for the domain. also, you can pay for the domain name in advance for upcoming years. As per GoDaddy, Purchasing a Domain Name normally costs around $2 to $20 per year. This price depends on where you purchased your domain from and what extension you’ve taken with that; such as .com, .shop, .org, or any other. Additionally, purchasing a domain name from a private seller or from an auction can cost you more than usual. 

(3) eCommerce Hosting: 

When you’re done registering for the domain name, find a web host. Platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce are hosted on the cloud and are offering hosting within their subscription. So if you’re choosing them as your eCommerce platform you don’t need to hunt for third-party hosting or deal with challenges to manage it. And if you’re looking to self-host your website then, the cost ranges from $80 to $730 per month as it mainly depends on how much traffic your store receives, the functionality of your website, and automatic services, such as site backup.

(4) SSL Certificate Costs:

SSL certificate usually ranges annually between $20 to $70. It provides the security over your eCommerce website network that you’ll need for your customers to visit and purchase from your website. In many cases, the Search engine ranks your website on basis of an SSL certificate. Additionally, some hosting companies offer this as part of their fee, don’t forget that.

(5) Payment processing costs:

Payment processing cost depends upon the types of payment option you want to offer your customer during checkout, it can be PayPal, Stripe, and many other payment methods. You’ll need to accept the type of currency, where you’ll be selling. And you’ll have to pay some amount for each payment gateway that you want to offer to your customers. Here are some examples:

• PayPal: 2.9% + $0.30 for transactions over $10.
• Stripe:  2.9% + $0.30 for transactions
• Authorize.net: 2.9% + 0.30 per transaction + $25 monthly fee.

(6) Store theme and design costs.

All of the main eCommerce platforms provide eCommerce web design themes to pick from. Some themes may not cost anything more than what you already pay to use the site, however, other themes may range in price from $60 to $200 per the theme. Shopify and BigCommerce stores have access to a wide range of free and paid themes. You can easily choose any from and they are also easy to manage without coding skills. additionally, when you choose any theme, check if they are mobile-friendly.

(7) Add-on, plugin, and extension costs.

No matter how great a platform you choose to make an eCommerce website, they’ll lack at least a single thing. And that’s where Add-ons, Plugins, and Extensions enter, along with their cost.

Magento:

If you want any Add-on to your Magento eCommerce website then it will require custom development, and it’ll be pricy as well. But what’s good about it is that it’ll be exactly as your requirement. Magento offers thousands of extensions in its marketplace which range from $0 to $15000(as a one-time payment). 

BigCommerce:

Talking about BigCommerce, there are many free or paid add-ons to go with. A premium add-on can vary in price and is generally paid for on a subscription basis. Bigcommerce has add-ons and extensions ranging between $9 to $350+ per month.

Shopify:

Near to BigCommerce, Shopify Sellers can access hundreds of free and premium add-ons and extensions and their cost depends on the app itself.

We’ve covered enough to get you a thought of the budget you’ll require to have an eCommerce website.

Ongoing eCommerce Costs to Consider:

Some of the costs of running an online store are one-time, while others are ongoing. The following are the ongoing maintenance costs of an eCommerce website:

• Data backups
• Inventory management
• Security
• Email marketing
• Product marketing. 

They are either monthly, yearly, or per transaction. Most likely, you’ll be able to predict these charges monthly or even annually so they don’t surprise you.

eCommerce Website Pricing Break-Down:

Before starting on How Stagebit can help you with eCommerce Development, let’s have a look at the breakdown of expenses of eCommerce website pricing for small businesses to mid-sized businesses, and large businesses.

How can Stagebit Help you with eCommerce Website Development?

The building or expanding your eCommerce website may rapidly become a challenging process. consequently, you’ll need a dependable and competent partner to carry this burden. And, in terms of eCommerce website building, Stagebit checks all the boxes.

Stagebit can help you create a bespoke website, that works on a SaaS platform like Shopify, or create an eCommerce store on Magento. For project delivery, we employ an agile development approach and track process. And, during these stages of development, you’ll stay continuously informed of the progress through timely stand-ups and weekly demos. We are your one-stop destination for responsive design, development, and maintenance.

We can help you with your next eCommerce project in the following definitive ways:

• eCommerce Consultancy and Strategy
• Designing a Custom eCommerce Store
• Custom Shopping cart Development
• Third-party Integrations in CMS Development
• ERP System That is Dedicated

So please do not hesitate to contact us if you are looking for eCommerce Website Development Services.