How Much Does an Ecommerce Website Cost? See Average Costs

A report from Statista showed that about $3.53 trillion in retail ecommerce sales took place in 2019, and was estimated to increase and double within a few years. It indicates the rapid growth of ecommerce websites across the world. You may need an online store for your business but have no idea how much an ecommerce website costs.

This article is designed to solve all the issues and questions related to ecommerce website cost to build. You will learn specific and detailed ideas of the average cost of an ecommerce website, such as ecommerce website design cost, development cost, ecommerce platform cost, and additional cost to build an online store.

In addition, you will also know why understanding the costs of building an ecommerce website is important. Finally, I will give you brief tips on how to reduce ecommerce website costs. 

So, no more talking; let’s get dive right in!

Importance of Understanding the Costs Associated with Building an E-Commerce Website

When it comes to building an e-commerce website, many ecommerce website design companies provide ecommerce web design and development services. Each company maintains different criteria and uses different methods for their services which will bring you trouble identifying the exact costs for your ecommerce business site.

That’s why you have to have essential ideas and knowledge of ecommerce website building costs. It will help you clearly understand ecommerce pricing and perceive how much money you have to spend on your ecommerce business budget.

To explain more specifically, the pricing of ecommerce website design and development varies depending on huge factors, such as the level of e-commerce development agencies and their e-commerce store maintenance systems, like what kinds of platforms, plugins, and other elements they use. 

Another important factor you need to understand is what type of ecommerce site you want to create, like B2B, B2C, C2B, C2C, etc. Also, the type of product you want to sell affects the cost of your ecommerce site. You have to fathom your sales and traffic goals and what custom features and ecommerce platforms you want to use on your website. 

Finally, you have to understand your profit ranges and goals. For instance, if you want to earn $50,000 a year in sales, you can create an ecommerce site for around $5,000 range with WordPress or a Shopify website template. But if your target is to do millions in sales, the cost will be higher because it will require more features and functionalities to be added to achieve a market edge. 

Another important factor affecting your ecommerce website development costs is your business size. For example, if you want to make a small or medium size ecommerce site, it will cost a particular budget. But it will cost more if you desire to make an enterprise-level budget. 

Average Cost to Build an Ecommerce Website

The cost of building an ecommerce website is ultimately defined by the project’s complexity, the platform you choose ( Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc.), the features you want to include, and the levels of expertise of the website development agency. 

Here, we will cover all the spending areas for ecommerce website building costs. Let’s take a look! 

Ecommerce Website Design Cost

Ecommerce website design costs vary according to different types, such as UI/UX design. Here are some ideas for that. 

UI/UX design

The cost of UI/UX design basically starts from $500. But it can vary depending on many factors, such as feature planning, feature numbers and complexity, visual complexity, and the design team’s expertise. 

Mobile app design

The mobile app design cost for ecomerce also starts from $500. But depending on its complexity, its costs vary and even go to $50,000.

Ecommerce Website Development Cost

When developing an ecommerce site, its development cost varies according to development types, like backend, front-end, and custom software design.

Backend web development

The backend is one of the most significant parts of the website development tasks as it analyzes and stores website data and ensures its smooth running. The backend development cost can range from $4,000 to $12,500.

Front-end web design

The visitors see and interact with the front end on a website. The front-end development basically starts when the UI/UX design process is done. The cost of front-end development varies depending on the skill and expertise of developers, and it is almost between $1,000 and $12,500. 

Custom software development

A custom ecommerce website development is the process of designing, creating, and deploying ecommerce software for a particular set of users, functions, and organizations. It can cost from $5,000 to $1,000,00, or more.

Cost of Developing Ecommerce Website

The cost of developing an ecommerce website also varies according to its basic, standard, and custom development. Here is a concise view of how much ecommerce website costs. 

Basic:

A basic ecommerce website development with simple functionalities, such as CMS integration, a simple backend database, and UI/UX design, can cost between $500 and $700, or even more. 

Standard:

Standard ecommerce website development with medium complexity can cost from $1000 to $1,500. It can include up to 5o pages and engage a million monthly views.

Custom:

A custom ecommerce website development includes top-notch UI/UX design, multiple databases, complex front-end integration, and more. It can cost from $5,000 to $10,000, or even more.

Basic Ecommerce Website Cost

How much does an ecommerce website cost? See Average Costs here. 

Domain name registration

A secured domain name is crucial for an ecommerce website. To purchase a top-level domain service, you have to provide from $12 to $60 per year, or even more. 

Ecommerce Web hosting fees

E-commerce web hosting fees vary according to business sizes. For a small or medium business, you have to pay $29 – $250/month, while for an enterprise ecommerce site, you have to pay around $1000/month. 

SSL certificate costs

A secure sockets layer (SSL) certification protects your website from unwanted threats and attacks. The average cost for an SSL certificate can range from $10 to $300. 

Payment gateway fees

Payment processing costs vary depending on the type of payments you want to offer during checkout, like Stripe, PayPal, or other credit cards. You need to pay fees for every payment gateway. Here is an example of that—

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

Add-ons and extensions

You can add extra features to your ecommerce website using add-ons and extensions. The average cost of add-ons and extensions ranges between $100 to $1,000. 

Ecommerce Platform Costs

We have covered different costing areas for creating an ecommerce website in the above. Now we will discuss how much the ecommerce platform costs would. 

Several ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, WooComerce, Wix, and more, each provide the flexibility to choose how much money you would spend. Let’s take a look! 

Shopify

Using the Shopify basic platform will cost $29 per month, with 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction, while the Shopify main platform costs around $79 per month, with 2.6% + 30¢ per transaction. However, the advanced Shopify platform can cost about $299 monthly, with 2.4% + 30¢ per transaction. 

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is free to download as an open-source platform, but there may be charges for extensions, plugins, and themes. WooCommerce themes cost between $20 and $100 per year. The hosting cost is around $120, and the domain cost is $120 per year. 

BigCommerce

BigCommerce platform costs vary according to service types. Usually, the standard platform costs $29/mo, the BigCommerce Plus costs $79/mo, and the BigCommerce Pro costs $299/mo. 

Square

Square provides different service facilities to its customers, ranging from free to premium. Its free version only costs the Transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Its professional version costs around $16 monthly with a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee. Its premium version costs $79 per month with the same transaction fee. 

Wix

Wix provides unlimited and VIP ecommerce business support that costs from $38 to $64 per month, saving between 8% and 16%. 

Additional Cost to Build an Ecommerce Website

You learned in-depth about ecommerce website design and development costs. Now it’s time to get ideas about additional costs for an ecommerce website. 

Content creation costs

Content is king, and it is essential for running a website. Once the design and development process is complete, you must upload regular content on your ecommerce website to promote your products. That’s why you must take content writing services, such as copywriting, product descriptions, and more. 

Here are some ideas for content types— 

• blog posts and product descriptions
• Product Video Creation
• Product image taking and editing. 

All of them take different costs depending on your niches and the skills of content creators. On average, you should spend $100-$1000/day on content services. 

Ecommerce SEO costs

SEO is essential to ranking your website on the first page of SERPs and bringing it to potential customers. You must take SEO services to make your ecommerce business successful. Running SEO usually ranges between $2500 – $20,000 per month.

Marketing and advertising costs

Marketing and advertising are important for any business. There are multiple marketing and advertising ways for ecommerce businesses, which cost different ranges. 

• Ecommerce pay-per-click (PPC) advertising: $700–$3000
• Email marketing: $300 to $500 
• Social media marketing: $900 to $4000

Shipping and handling costs

Shipping and handling costs are among the additional costs of ecommerce businesses. Shipping costs are the type of business payment for shipping items to consumers. And handling costs are the pays that business provides its employees for lactating and packaging the items. Both costs vary according to your products and the location diversity. 

Inventory management costs

There are three primary types of website management costs in ecommerce businesses: ordering, carrying, and stockout costs. You should understand these different types of costs associated with inventory management as they help you understand how to track, manage, and calculate the total costs of your inventory management.

Website maintenance costs

Ecommerce website maintenance contains bug fixing, adding new elements to your site, and keeping it up-to-date. Website maintenance costs vary according to your website level and the expertise of the web developers you hire. 

Cost Breakdown

When it comes to the cost breakdown of an eCommerce website development, it depends on the size of your business. Every company requires different levels of feature complexity, security, marketing investment, and maintenance depending on its size, contributing to the total cost. 

Here is a brief idea of the total projected costs for an ecommerce website development, including basic and additional costs. 

• Small business— total estimated cost is between $5,000 and $100,000. 
• Medium business— total estimated cost is between $100,000 and $1,000,000.
• Large enterprise— total estimated cost is between $1,000,000 +

Tips for Reducing Costs

The actual cost of developing an ecommerce website depends on the store’s perception and vision. If you want to reduce your ecommerce website building costs, you can follow the ideas shared below. 

• Use the best hosting platform that offers maximum services at less cost.
• Use a pre-made template containing a basic layout instead of using a custom design.
• Keep the focus on the essential features only, reducing the number of features.
• Use free plugins without having paid ones.
• Use a simple color palette and clean lines to keep the design cost low.
• Consider hiring a freelancer or a small agency.
• Use open-source platforms and CMS. 

Conclusion

Ecommerce website has become an important source of selling products online and earning profits. But it’s also essential to have clear ideas of ecommerce website cost to spend money correctly and utilize it properly by reducing unnecessary costs. 

In this article, you got prominent ideas for ecommerce website building costs and how to decrease the additional costs. Now it’s easy for you to decide how much you should spend on your ecommerce website according to its objectives, profits, and requirements. So, go forth, and make your goal.