If you’re looking to maximise your brand’s reach, creating an eCommerce website can be a great way to do so. By moving your business online, you can make it more accessible to your target audience and tap into undiscovered markets.
However, shifting your business online can come with its own set of costs and challenges. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the relative costs of creating an eCommerce website and the different tools and platforms you can use to make the process easier.
While there are many top eCommerce platforms available, we’ll focus on three of the most popular: WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify. By exploring these options, you can find the best fit for your requirements and technical skills.
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Table of Contents
- 8 Different Types of eCommerce Websites
- How to Calculate Your eCommerce Website Cost
- Initial Costs
- Development Phase Cost
- Post Development/Ongoing Cost of eCommerce Website
- Estimated Cost of Creating a Replica of Popular eCommerce Websites
- Total Cost of Building an eCommerce Website
- Tips for Keeping Your eCommerce Website Cost Low
8 Different Types of eCommerce Websites
There are various types of eCommerce websites that cater to different business needs and requirements. I’ve discussed 8 of them in a table below to make it easier for you to understand:
| Type | Function |
| 1 | Business-to-Consumer (B2C) – Businesses sell their products or services directly to consumers. |
| 2 | Business-to-Business (B2B) – Businesses sell the product to other businesses. |
| 3 | Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) – Consumers sell their products or services directly to other consumers. |
| 4 | Consumer-to-Business (C2B) – Consumers offer their products or services to businesses. |
| 5 | Business-to-Government (B2G) – Businesses offer their products to government organizations. |
| 6 | Government-to-Business (G2B) – Government organizations offer their products or services to businesses for purchase. |
| 7 | Government-to-Consumer (G2C) – Government organizations sell their products or services directly to consumers. |
| 8 | Mobile commerce (m-commerce) – It allows users to purchase products or services through their mobile devices. |
How to Calculate Your eCommerce Website Cost
Determining the cost of an eCommerce website for your business involves several important factors, one of which is choosing the right platform. Some popular options include WooCommerce and Magento, which are both free to use, while Shopify is a paid platform that offers a 3-day free trial period that can be extended to 3-months by paying $1/month for three months.
WooCommerce is also a plugin, but you can’t use it to the fullest without buying a domain name and suitable WooCommerce hosting. The same applies for Magento.
I guess what I’m trying to say is – the final cost of your eCommerce website will depend on the specific features and functionality you want. To help you better understand the cost factors involved, I’ve divided website costs into three main categories:
- Initial Costs
- Development Phase Costs
- Post Development/Ongoing Cost of An Ecommerce Website
By considering these factors and breaking down the costs into different categories, you can get a clearer idea of what it will take to create and maintain a successful eCommerce website for your business.
1. Initial Costs
Some of the initial key expenses involved in building an eCommerce website may include the following factors:
- Cost of Hosting Solution
- Cost of Domain Name
- Cost of SSL Certificate
- Cost of Paid Tools
Cost of Hosting Solution
The hosting provider you select can have a significant impact on the overall cost of your eCommerce website. It’s important to choose a reliable eCommerce website hosting service that can handle the expected traffic and ensure fast page loading times.
For instance, if you choose a low-quality hosting provider, your website may experience slow page load times, frequent downtime, and other technical issues. These problems can result in frustrated customers and lost sales.
If you’re using WooCommerce or Magento, both of which are self-hosted solutions, you have the freedom to choose your own hosting provider. This gives you more flexibility to select a provider that fits your budget and performance requirements.
Shopify, on the other hand, is a hosted eCommerce platform. You must choose their hosting program if you want to use the platform. Their costs are as follows:
- shopify pricing
If you have the freedom to choose your own hosting provider, you may be able to find more affordable options. For example, Cloudways offers plans specifically designed for Magento and WooCommerce-powered websites. Our pricing plans are often more cost-effective than other managed hosting solutions.
Additionally, for personalized hosting recommendations, explore our Web Hosting Pricing Calculator. This tool gauges your traffic to recommend the best server size and also furnishes a comprehensive comparison between Cloudways hosting and its top competitors.
Here are the pricing plans for Cloudways:
- Cloudways pricing
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Cost of Domain Name
The cost of a domain for an eCommerce website can vary depending on several factors, such as the top-level domain (TLD) you choose, the registrar you use to buy the domain, and whether the domain is already registered or not.
Typically, the cost for a standard TLD, such as .com, .net, or .org, can range from $10 to $50 per year. However, some popular TLDs, such as .shop or .store, may have higher costs due to their popularity among eCommerce businesses.
Cost of SSL Certificate
The cost of an SSL certificate for an eCommerce website can vary depending on several factors, such as the type of SSL certificate, the vendor you purchase it from, and the level of validation required.
There are three types of SSL certificates:
- Domain Validated (DV)
- Organization Validated (OV)
- Extended Validation (EV)
The estimated cost of each type of SSL certificate is listed in the table below:
| SSL Certificate | Estimated Cost |
| Domain Validated (DV) | $50 per year |
| Organization Validated (OV) | $50 to $150 per year |
| Extended Validation (EV) | $150 to $500 per year |
2. Development Phase Cost
After you’ve paid the initial costs, it’s time to move into the development phase costs. To give you a general idea, here are some of the costs you can expect during the development phase of an eCommerce website:
1. Development and Design Costs
The rapid rate of expansion of the eCommerce industry means that you have to think outside the box to come up with an engaging design for your eCommerce website. A good user interface and interesting design is very important.
By giving your website a clean and user-focused look, you’ll be able to attract more customers. You can check out our blog on top 20+ eCommerce website design examples to take inspiration from.
Thankfully, most eCommerce platforms understand that store owners want something that looks neat and clean.
Magento Development & Design Costs
Magento is an open-source platform that provides an easy way to customize themes. Each Magento theme offers basic features like a responsive website layout, easy installation, and support for multiple languages. However, the platform also provides creative control, allowing you to install themes through Composer or by manually uploading the files.
If you don’t have the time or expertise to create a custom theme, you can buy one from a third-party marketplace like ThemeForest. The price of decent Magento 2 themes starts from around $99, but it can go higher depending on the features and complexity of the design.
If you’re looking to create a custom theme, hiring a developer is the best option. Depending on the level of customization you need, the costs for design are likely to start from $500.
WooCommerce Development & Design Costs
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that is absolutely free to use. WordPress, for those who don’t know, is one of the most popular website builders in the world.
Using page building plugins for WordPress which come with drag and drop tools, you can create all kinds of product pages and landing pages.
It takes hardly a few minutes to do that!
There are literally thousands of different WordPress themes available for you to choose from like Astra, OceanWP, and Neve. Plus, any WordPress theme can be customized to work with WooCommerce.
As for pricing, there are some WordPress themes that cost under $20, while others cost hundreds of dollars. It primarily depends on the level of customization that you want and the features that you require. That said, there are also several third-party platforms that sell themes on discounts as well.
If you choose WooCommerce, however, you won’t have to spend a lot on setting up the theme.
Custom themes are more expensive, starting from $1,500. There are some enterprise level projects that can cost upwards of $20,000, so be sure to research the costs well.
Shopify Development & Design Costs
Shopify offers numerous customizable themes. However, some of these are free while others are paid.
Shopify’s pricing structure is very simple, with prices ranging from $0 for basic themes to around $150 for more premium options. Although the themes are responsive and functional, you can also customize them as per your requirements.
While it is easy to install a custom theme on Shopify, any modifications that you want may require a Shopify expert. The costs for hiring a Shopify developer can range anywhere from $30 to $150 per hour, depending on the complexity of the task.
2. Payment Gateway Integration Costs
You can’t run a successful eCommerce business without a reliable payment gateway. Thankfully, most eCommerce platforms offer seamless payment gateway integrations for their users.
To keep it short, here are some of the most popular payment gateways used in eCommerce and their associated fees:
| Payment Gateway | Transaction Fee | Setup Fee |
| PayPal | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | $0 |
| Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | $0 |
| Square | 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction | $0 |
| Authorize.Net | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | $25 |
| Braintree | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | $0 |
It’s crucial to factor in these transaction fees when calculating the overall cost of building your eCommerce website.
3. Cost of Additional Functionality
Most eCommerce platforms offer plugins and extensions that you can use to enhance your eCommerce website. Some of the most commonly used plugins include SEO, Email Marketing, Sales Analytics, and Marketing Automation.
For example, WooCommerce allows you to install several essential plugins. A good SEO plugin like Yoast can be purchased for $89/year. On the other hand, email marketing software like Mailchimp can be integrated for free.
Similarly, with Shopify, you can choose from thousands of plugins to enhance the functionality of your eCommerce website. Most of these are paid, but you can still find some free ones.
3. Post Development/Ongoing Cost of an eCommerce Website
The development of your eCommerce website doesn’t end when you launch it. Instead, you’ll need to continuously maintain it to ensure it runs smoothly. Some ongoing costs to consider include:
- Website Maintenance Cost
- Hosting Costs
- Payment Processing Fees
- Shipping Costs
- Marketing Costs
1. Website Maintenance Cost
You’ll need to maintain your eCommerce website regularly to ensure it runs smoothly. Most eCommerce platforms offer support, but you may still need to hire a developer occasionally to handle specific issues.
On average, website maintenance costs can range from $50 to $300 per month, depending on your requirements. Additionally, you should budget for any updates or changes you want to make to the site over time.
2. Hosting Costs
As previously mentioned, the hosting provider you choose will impact the overall cost of your eCommerce website. It’s essential to account for this expense as a recurring monthly or yearly cost.
3. Payment Processing Fees
You’ll incur fees each time a customer makes a purchase on your site, so be sure to factor these fees into your calculations as an ongoing cost.
4. Shipping Costs
If you’re planning to sell physical products, you’ll need to account for shipping costs. Depending on the size and weight of your products, these costs can add up quickly.
5. Marketing Costs
Promoting your eCommerce website is essential for driving traffic and generating sales. Budget for ongoing marketing costs, such as paid ads, email marketing, and social media promotions.
Estimated Cost of Creating a Replica of Popular eCommerce Websites
For comparison, here’s a rough estimate of the costs associated with creating a replica of popular eCommerce websites:
| Website | Estimated Cost |
| Amazon | $10,000 to $1 million |
| eBay | $10,000 to $5 million |
| Etsy | $5,000 to $100,000 |
| Walmart | $10,000 to $500,000 |
Please note that these are just rough estimates and can vary based on the specific features and functionality you want to include.
Total Cost of Building an eCommerce Website
Based on the factors we discussed above, the total cost of building an eCommerce website can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. It depends on the platform you choose, the level of customization you need, and any additional features you want to implement.
Tips for Keeping Your eCommerce Website Cost Low
Here are a few tips for reducing the costs associated with building and maintaining your eCommerce website:
- Choose the Right Platform
Choose a platform that aligns with your business needs and budget. If you’re looking for a low-cost option, consider using WooCommerce with a WordPress website. - Use Free Themes and Plugins
Take advantage of free themes and plugins to reduce initial setup costs. Many platforms offer a wide range of free options that can still provide a professional appearance. - Invest in DIY
If you have some technical skills, consider taking on the setup and maintenance of your eCommerce website yourself. This can save you money on hiring developers. - Outsource Wisely
When you do need help, consider outsourcing specific tasks rather than hiring full-time employees. Freelancers and agencies can provide the support you need without the long-term commitment. - Monitor Your Spending
Keep track of all your expenses related to your eCommerce website to identify areas where you can cut costs. Regularly assess your budget and make adjustments as needed.
In conclusion, the cost of an eCommerce website can vary significantly based on several factors. By carefully considering your needs and choosing the right platform, you can create a successful eCommerce website that fits your budget.
