
Quick Introduction

For creating a website you will have to keep a lot of things in mind . First of all , you have to keep in mind the goals and extent of your website . You have to see each and every element of the website you want to create in minute detail . The cost of making a website is not definite . It varies according to the scale of your website .
The first question that pops up in one ‘s head while thinking of creating a website is – What about the website ‘s design ?
With website design , comes the question of its cost . That cost is the reason you are here reading this article .
Roughly , an e – commerce website will cost somewhere between $5000 and $200000 . Now , this estimate is obviously not very specific . The reason or it is , as stated above , is that we don’t know the goals , scale and extent of the website we are talking about yet .
- To reach a reasonable scale of cost , first you have to ask these questions to yourself :
- What do I want the scale of my website to be ?
- What kind of traffic am I expecting ?
- How soon do I want the website to get ready ?
- Do I want to customize my website or do I want to use a platform for making websites like Shopify ?
- How much emphasis do I want to put on the website design ?
- What additional features do I want for the website ?
- How many products will be listed on the website ?
- What kind of marketing strategy do I want to follow ?
You will have to answer these and maybe some other questions to get the correct cost range of your website . Keep reading this article to know how certain stages or decisions affect your e-commerce website .
Scale of Your e -Commerce Website and Suitable Method of Development
The internet has different types of websites . You will find some websites revolving around only one product and you will find others providing everything that exists . These websites have different goals and scales , which leads to different costs for designing these websites .
One way to estimate your cost is to see where you stand on the e commerce landscape . Are you a mere startup with not so much money to spend ? Or are you a massive startup with a sufficient amount of capital ? Or are you an already established business trying to make a similarly established virtual presence ? The key to knowing your cost range is your financial independence .
Another important consideration is the website ‘s construction process. Open -Source and SaaS eCommerce platforms , as well as custom eCommerce development , are the options . These strategies each have their own set of advantages and disadvantages , which you’ll learn more about as we progress through the article .
Cost Breakdown of e-Commerce Websites

The picture above gives you an insight as to how your cost will vary according to the scale of your business .
- According to design : small scale – <$1000 , medium scale – $1000 to $5000 , large scale – $10000 to $800000
- According to functionality : small scale – <$2000 , medium scale – $5000 to $12000 , large scale – $20000 to $100000
- According to fulfillment : small scale – free, medium scale – $30 to $400 , large scale – $20000 to $100000
- According to marketing : small scale – $0 to $500 , medium scale – $500 to $2000 , large scale – $5000
- According to maintenance : small scale – $0 to $500 , medium scale – $500 to $1250 , large scale – $3600 to $12000
- According to essentials : small scale – $300 , medium scale – $6000 , large scale – $10000
If you want a low cost for a low scale business , you can go to SaaS e- commerce platforms . They will save you time and money both . But , it might be a disadvantage in terms of customization .
On the other hand , sky is the limit when it comes to customization . You can customize the design ,time and cost everything . It is very flexible .
Now lets see how different elements of e commerce website affect cost .
Design : Cost of Website Cosmetics
If your design is different , it will drive more traffic to your website . On the other hand , if the design is boring and difficult to use users will be tempted to leave your website .
Platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify give you in – built templates for your website . These type of platforms are advantageous to those who have a low budget . However , the cookie – cutter options always tend too be insufficient .
Another option is to buy the themes from Shopify . These themes will cost you somewhere between $100-$150 . They are better than the free ones . You can even customize them and the estimated amount for that will be $1000 . If the customization is for a wider range it might cost you around $5000 too .
The cost for customized designing start from $10000 and can go even higher . The cost may vary according to the features .
Functionality :the Price Varies for Basic and Advanced e Commerce Features
Every website , no matter the scale ,needs some basic functionalities . These functionalities include product management , shopping cart , payment module etc .
If you are going for an e Commerce website you will have to look into these functionalities . But who wants a cookie cutter website right ?

The free ones aren’t very good . So the simplest and bets solution is customization .
Basic Features : SaaS Platforms
Just like for themes you can customize your add on the platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify too . Typically it will cost you somewhere between $5000 and $15000 . they can even build add ons from scratch .
But most website owners don’t want to settle for features provided by platform like these . Everyone wants a site that provides features like wishlists and discount available .
Basic Features : Custom Development
The cost for customization of features for e- commerce websites is between $20000 to $30000 . These features include payment portals , product management and many more .
Advanced Features : Custom Development
However , if you want to customize advanced features it will cost you up to $10000 to $16000 . These features include wishlist management , discount management etc .
Fulfilment :the Cost of Tying in Digital and Physical Ends of a Store
After designing your website , you have to fulfill your promises to the customers too . These include good customer services , delivery on time and many more . If you don’t held your end of the bargain you might end up losing the game .
Fulfillment service will be the backbone of your business . You will have to make sure that the fulfillment software is in sync with your website .
It should seamlessly interact with the delivery partners ,. Update the inventory status and generate correct invoices and many more such things .
You can have a fulfillment software or get a customized one .Subscriptions are for monthly basis generally .
If you decide to have a customized one the cost will be around $5000 . While for a software it will be $30 to $400 .