If you are considering an E-commerce site, then you need to identify the costs that are associated with it, as this will enable you to plan your budget effectively. In order to receive a cost that is accurate, you will need to provide enough information so that the site can be designed around your needs. Of course, the price can differ from one business to the next and it most definitely depends on the size of the business, the number of products and pages and many other determining factors.

Before understanding the cost, you have to consider a number of things:

What do you need?

Naturally, you will want your site to become a success but to achieve this, you need to have a clear idea of what you need and what you must have. To start, you need to consider what pages you require, what content will be on each page and how you want it structured. Once you have this in mind, you can then begin to really delve down into the specifics.

Taking a Custom Approach

You can always opt to purchase an “off-the-shelf” E-commerce site but it will only end up looking like many other sites out there. Therefore, you should opt to take a custom approach, as this will give you more control over what you want, giving you a site that is bespoke and created to the specific needs of you and your audience. Of course, you can pick up an off-the-shelf e-commerce site for as little as $300 per year. However, this will not make your business unique and will certainly not help it to stand out.

Hosting

Your custom site will have to be hosted and the cost of this will be determined by the amount of traffic you have and what you believe you will have. You could end up paying around $19 for this when starting out but if your website begins to grow, then that could increase to $60-$80 per month.

Maintenance

Selling goods and storing data about your customers will require you to keep your site maintained and secure. Therefore, you will need to consider budgeting around $50-$80 per month on maintenance as a bare minimum. Again, as your site grows and begins to hold more data and experience more traffic you will need to consider upgrading the maintenance.

Marketing

You might also want to add marketing to the package to ensure that your E-commerce site really does reach the right target market. This can include promotions, social media management and the adding of content, all of which can cost around $60 per month.

So, how much does an E-commerce cost to build?

On average, building an E-commerce website can cost anything from $5,000 to $10,000 proving just how varied the costs can be.

The Breakdown of Costs

• A Doman Name can cost around $14 per year
• Hosting can vary but typically costs from $300 to $400 per year
• Maintenance can cost up to $700 per year – covering database maintenance, support, and training.
• Marketing can cost $360 per year

The margins between having an average site and a site that delivers on every level are very small. However, if you want the right results, then investing in the right E-commerce site and understanding the costs can help you to make informed decisions that influence your business in a positive way.