If you’re looking to create an ecommerce website, you’ll need to break down the numbers before getting started.
As your retail model will determine your business needs, you’ll want to study the solutions available today.
You don’t actually need a big budget to begin. With many Software as a Service (SaaS) retail stores available, anyone can start an ecommerce business.
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What is an ecommerce website?
Ecommerce is one of the trends consumers will expect from every business in the future. Even brick-and-mortar retailers will need to transform their business models with an ecommerce option. The actual cost of setting up an ecommerce website also varies according to your needs.
Hosting your ecommerce website
You can choose to host your ecommerce site on a platform like Shopify or WordPress. This requires an account from either of these sites. An entry-level Shopify account starts at $29 per month.
This includes an online store, two staff accounts, and you can host unlimited products. The basic account will charge you 2.9% on online credit card purchases, plus 30 cents for every transaction.
To use WordPress as an online retail store, you’ll need to use WooCommerce. While the plugin is free, getting a domain name will cost $12 per year, and hosting the site can cost between $5 and $100 per month.
To add more features, you may need plugins. Developers will charge between $25 and $89 for a single plugin. Additionally, you may need a premium theme that can cost you $59.
Custom-developed ecommerce sites can run into thousands of dollars. If you don’t want to use an existing SaaS platform, you’ll need to engage with web designers and developers to determine the cost.
Selling your products
Whether you’re a manufacturer or retailer, you’ll need to include your product costs in your assessment. Shipping fees, profit margins, and lead times can all influence your website’s cost. Companies now market products directly to the customer (D2C). You can also use a dropship business model, so that you don’t actually manage any inventory. The supplier will ship directly to your customer from their warehouse.
Marketing your products
To let people know about your shop, you’ll need a marketing budget. Social media platforms still drive the most traffic but provide fewer conversions.
We found that 18.6% of small businesses plan to decrease their spending on traditional marketing channels.
Boosting an ad on Facebook will cost $1 per day. Facebook will then boost the ad evenly over its platform for a single day. While organic reach will inform customers about your shop, you’ll need a channel that provides the best conversion rates.
Campaign Monitor enables you to build engaging email campaigns that lead to the best conversion rates. You can build lists of subscribers and send personalized emails using customer data. Once the email reaches the customer, you can track the open, click-through, and conversion rates of your campaigns.
The pricing for a basic account starts at $9 per month. This gives you access to 2,500 emails across all of your campaigns. For an unlimited account, it’ll cost you $29 per month. You’ll also get spam-testing tools, time zone sending, and marketing automation features with the unlimited account.
Does it really matter?
In the future, every company will need to maintain some kind of ecommerce presence. Customers expect access to information about your company and products from anywhere. As the costs vary between platforms and providers, it’s important to note the actual cost of building an ecommerce website.
What now?
As the success of your online business will likely depend on your marketing efforts, it’s important to ensure you know the latest trends.
The online retail industry will continue to grow into the future, and now’s a good time to start your journey. With a better understanding of the costs involved in starting your ecommerce website, why not read this blog post about the future of ecommerce marketing?