
Learning the Basics of B2B Payments
By Miva
Learn how to price your website investment based on the size, complexity, and unique requirements of your business.
Want to read this blog offline?
No worries, download the PDF version now and enjoy your reading later...
More people are buying online than ever before...and sellers everywhere are competing for their business. To stand out and thrive as an online merchant, you’ll need a strong website. As you undertake your own ecommerce website project, your first question is likely how much does an ecommerce website cost?
In this article, we discuss all the costs of and considerations for creating, maintaining, and building upon a modern online storefront.
The cost of your ecommerce website will depend on several components: there is the initial site build and development, followed by recurring costs and fees to keep the site fresh, relevant, stable, and secure. Here’s what you can expect to be included in your costs:
Your ecommerce website cost is part of a larger dialogue and decision-making process. You’ll want to invest in a solution that both meets your business goals and gives the room to grow in the future. A key part of this decision is having the right ecommerce platform for your business.
How much does an ecommerce platform cost? The short answer: it depends.
Ecommerce platforms will have different setup fees, service charges, recurring costs, and additional fees depending on the feature set you select. If you’re a small business that is just starting out with a limited catalog, you might expect to pay under $50 a month for a beginner-level shopping cart. As you grow over time, you’ll bolt on additional apps and plugins. Eventually, you’ll upgrade to a full-featured ecommerce platform, which tends to start in the $1,000 to $2,000 per month range and scales up with your business. Enterprise-grade “commerce clouds” start in the $10,000 to $20,000 per month range and can scale to millions of dollars per year.
Ecommerce software comes in all shapes and sizes, from low-cost “shopping cart” solutions to full-featured, scalable ecommerce platforms. Finding the right fit for your business—today and tomorrow—is important when starting or growing and online store. Check out our guide on shopping cart vs. platform software to learn more:
So, you’ve now selected an ecommerce platform. What cost comes next? There is no “one size fits all” price for building an ecommerce site—the unique requirements of your business will dictate the initial costs and the ongoing investment needed to build, manage, and run your site.
If you’re a small business, you can often pay a freelancer between $2,000 and $5,000 to build a site with a DIY theme or template. For mid-size migration projects that require design customizations, data migration, integrations, and project management, the costs are more likely between $20,000 and $50,000. If you’re an emerging or established enterprise with high traffic and a sophisticated website, you will likely require more customization, integrations, and development to sell your products and exceed customer expectations. Companies of your size and complexity can expect to pay anywhere from $75,000 to $300,000 or more for an online storefront.
In addition to the costs involved with creating and launching a website, you will also need to consider the long-term investment for your business. Your total cost of ownership (TCO) for an ecommerce site will involve building upon this sales channel and leveraging over time.
The total cost of ownership for your website can include things like:
If you haven’t run an online business before, the above list may seem daunting. Work with your ecommerce platform partner or web agency partner to navigate various decision points and help you determine where to invest in your business. Keep in mind that these costs are similar to what you would put into a physical brick-and-mortar storefront. For example, instead of regularly refreshing window displays and launching local promotions to bring in customers, you’re investing in new features and unique experiences that both attract and keep customers coming back time and time again.
It can be hard to quantify the immediate ROI of an ecommerce platform. A high-level ROI calculator will give you a general picture of your return and for a more comprehensive analysis of potential ROI you can also consider things like:
These aspects reflect the hallmarks of a profitable website. A site that is inefficient, hard to manage, and unappealing—no matter how "cost-effective" the investment might seem—will turn away customers and hold your business back. An appealing, easy-to-use, and efficient website, however, will take your business toward new markets, more customers, greater sales, and long-term growth.
Your choice of an ecommerce platform impacts not only your ecommerce website, but also your business’ long-term sucess. A solid platform serves as the backbone for online storefront, and investing in the right technology will give you everything you need to achieve success and realize your vision—no matter where your business is at in its growth.
Want to learn more about ecommerce platform features and see which options are best suited to your business? Check out our blog on finding the best ecommerce platform. If you’re looking for a better ecommerce platform fit for your business, download our guide on replatforming your online store.
Author's Bio
Miva
Miva offers a flexible and adaptable ecommerce platform that evolves with businesses and allows them to drive sales, maximize average order value, cut overhead costs, and increase revenue. Miva has been helping businesses realize their ecommerce potential for over 20 years and empowering retail, wholesale, and direct-to-consumer sellers across all industries to transform their business through ecommerce.
Copyright © 1997 – 2021 Miva®, Miva Merchant®, MivaPay®, MivaCon® Miva, Inc. All Rights Reserved.