How much online store cost

Selling products online also means managing inventory and handling shipping more on this in a bit. If you've already got an inventory management system that works for you, look for an ecommerce platform that will integrate with it — unless you're willing to use a new solution that's already a part of the platform. Once you begin researching ecommerce solutions, it's really easy to get sidetracked by all of the different custom design and features options.

This is why it's important to nail down your ecommerce development budget ahead of time. What features do you absolutely need? Which add-ons would be nice to have? Create your list and stick to it so you stay within your budget.

It's time to think about the shipping options you want to offer once your online store opens. What is your capacity to handle shipping needs? Will you outsource shipping or manage it in-house? Will you have global shipping options? It's up to you what you want to offer.

Additionally, you'll want to make similar considerations when it comes to the payment options in your online store. There are many different variables that contribute to the overall cost of building an online store. In general, some ecommerce stores cost a few hundred dollars to set up while others can cost tens of thousands, or even several hundred thousand dollars.

Ecommerce solutions range in costs depending on their out-of-box features, the type of software they offer and their level of service. There are several platforms to choose from, and choosing the right one is an important step in opening an ecommerce store. Let's take a look at some of the platforms you might consider.

BigCommerce is a leader in the ecommerce space. The platform is feature-rich, easy to use, and helps businesses get up and running quickly.

BigCommerce has a clean user experience that makes it easy to build beautiful websites even if you have never done it before. Another potential advantage of BigCommerce from a backend user standpoint is its headless offerings. BigCommerce is a software-as-a-service SaaS provider, which means you are essentially renting the software and the hosting from them. SaaS platforms automatically make updates for you, so you always have the latest version without worrying about maintenance.

Magento offers on-premise and cloud-hosted options, but many businesses are now also looking toward SaaS models because they provide continuous updates, including security patches. Magento does not come with training wheels. And there are no on-site developers for you to contact for help building your site. You will need either a developer or a team of developers to build your site, a hosting partner that can host your site, and someone to integrate your tech stack.

Brands that are just starting out in ecommerce may choose to start out on a Shopify store. More established businesses, brands looking to grow and those with complex needs often choose BigCommerce for its flexibility and freedom of choice.

Shopify was built to satisfy the needs of small businesses that want a user-friendly way to create online shops. With drag-and-drop areas, it's fairly easy to build a site if you've never worked with code. You can get a simple website up and running quickly; however, if you want to add more advanced features, you will need to add additional apps or custom coding. Your domain name will be an annual cost unless you're able to pay for a few years upfront.

The price depends on where you purchase it from and the extension you get, such as. Purchasing from a private seller or through an auction will usually be more expensive. Apps can be a wonderful thing indeed, but not when you need to use them as part of your online store's very foundation. Web design is crucial to how your customers experience your site. As Steve Jobs said, "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like.

Design is how it works. When it comes to designing the look and feel of your website, you have a similar choice to make as with development: do it yourself or hire someone , or look for pre-existing solutions like themes or templates.

It can be easy to immediately convince yourself you need custom web design, especially if you have a mental image of exactly how you want your online store to look.

Of course, custom design has its benefits, as what you or your designers create will be completely unique to your store alone. Be aware, though, that custom web design from a competent webmaster can cost you thousands of dollars, and it's also possible to come up with a highly personalized design even if you begin with a template.

Templates are just that: templates. They can be used as-is, or they can be altered to more closely match your vision by changing colors, graphics, and other elements. A template can be developed into a version that looks as if it were custom-designed just for you. You can reach a compromise between custom design and website templates by choosing a template and paying a designer to customize it for you.

This can result in the best of both worlds: you get the design you want at a lower price because the designer doesn't need to start from scratch. A designer who customizes your theme will need to be familiar with the structure of the theme and underlying eCommerce software, so look for a designer who has some association with your eCommerce platform so they will have that familiarity.

If you decide to do all the customization yourself, remember that it may take you some time to familiarize yourself with the process, depending on how much you know about HTML, CSS, and other coding languages that may be used.

Graphic design is the other half of the equation and you'll need to spend time on that as well. This time may be better spent working on other aspects of your business, so be sure to put some thought into this before deciding to create graphics yourself. Since we've narrowed it down to a hosted eCommerce platform as your best option bu dget-wise, you need to understand one of the most significant differences between the individual eCommerce platforms on the market: the number of included features and available apps.

Your website needs content, not just to describe your products, but also to provide information to your customers and help establish you as an authority in your industry. Good site content does a lot for your search engine rankings, and the value of content writing can't be overlooked.

Doug Kessler, Creative Director and co-founder of the leading B2B marketing agency Velocity, says "Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.

Kessler's insight explains why content marketing can be so effective. It engages the visitor on a level that advertising can't reach. It also makes your site look professional and competent. You can write content yourself, but it can be time-consuming, especially if you aren't happy with your writing. You may want to hire a professional content writer. Some content writers charge by page or word count instead, so make sure you're clear on pricing. Content writing may also be offered as an optional service from your eCommerce company, so this can be an easier way to get a good writer at a decent price.

High-quality photos act as a strong selling point for your products, so you may want to hire a professional photographer to show off your inventory to best effect. There's a huge variance in cost, with professionals offering their services for a wide range of rates — but it can be very expensive. You might also consider setting up a product photography studio and taking the pictures yourself. For this, you'll need a backdrop, some bright white lighting, and a camera at the very least.

A photo tent is also quite helpful, and sometimes you can find the complete set of equipment for sale at a discount. Your products may have different photography needs, such as models if you sell apparel, in which case you'll need a full-size room to use as a studio. Don't forget that you'll have to pay the models as well, unless you find willing volunteers. Your marketing budget can grow with the size of your business, so you can hold off on paid advertisement for a while if you need to.

If you do start using paid ads, Facebook and Google both have ad services that let you define a strict daily or weekly budget. Start slowly with these until you see results. Online stores benefit greatly from email newsletters, so you'll need a subscription to MailChimp or a similar mass-email service, unless your eCommerce platform comes with a built-in newsletter module.

Social media like Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram are all very profitable for advertising organically, but you need to put real effort into communicating with your customer base and keeping your posts frequent and exciting. Your social media can be handled by a dedicated employee if you start receiving lots of interaction — just understand that this relationship with your customers must be nurtured to remain effective. Search engine optimization is a necessity: your website must be structured correctly and follow the current standards put in place by Google.

When these standards change , you'll need to update your online store to meet them, which can be impossible to do without an SEO expert on your side. Fortunately, hosted eCommerce platforms update much of the SEO requirements during their software updates.

The world of payment processing can be a confusing one. In order to accept credit card payments, you'll need a merchant account with a payment processor. The cost of this varies, but usually comes down to a small percentage-based fee per transaction.

PayPal and other alternative payment methods also charge a similar fee. The average rate you can get from credit card processors like Braintree, Square, or Stripe is 2. Watch out for additional transaction fees from eCommerce platforms. If your head is spinning from all that information, here's a quick takeaway that narrows down the most clear-cut choices you can make.

Compare this to setting up a store on your own: you'd be putting thousands of dollars down before you're even online , potentially leaving your business in the red for a long while.

Plus, 3dcart offers a day free trial so you can learn the software with zero initial investment. Every store is different, and will the costs will depend on the size, products sold, and inventory management.

While it is possible to run your store all by yourself, it usually takes between people to maintain the necessary sales volumes. You will need people to handle things like accounting, chasing down non-payments, answering customer inquiries, and a lot more.

If you have an emergency situation where something needs to be fixed right away, the cost will be the salary of the tech expert who will be performing the job. However, if you have a small business, you can usually perform the fixes yourself. Just like with the brick and mortar stores, you will need to attract customers and let them know about all of the products you are offering.

One of the best ways to do this is through email marketing. You can set up an email drip campaign to notify potential buyers about any promotions or sales that are currently going on. You should also actively promote your business on social media. Search engine optimization SEO is also very important because you want to show up in the top search results when people are searching.

We focused a lot on how much does it cost to start an online store, but the fact of the matter is that a lot of the eCommerce platforms are very complex and you will need to hire a development agency that specializes in eCommerce sites to get this done for you.

While this will add to the overall maintenance costs, you will ultimately get a higher return on your investment and attract more customers. Skywell Software has a long track record of developing retail software solutions , and we know how to how to set up an online store to help you attract customers.

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High-quality product photos are one of the most important parts of an ecommerce store. Crappy pictures can and will hurt your conversions. Unfortunately, a lot of the stock photos you get from your suppliers and manufacturers really suck, so you might want to take your own.

Pro tip: You can use the crappy stock photos from other sellers to your advantage! If you decide to sell on Amazon or another competitive marketplace, your photos can help your listing stand out above the competition. You can do some high-quality shoots with your smartphone. You can also invest in some standing lights to remove the need for natural light.

Whenever someone buys something, signs up to your newsletter, or gives you an email for a discount, you should be taking advantage of that.

Last but not least, there are some cool apps and plugins to improve your online store. Hundreds of small ecommerce stores use this Shortcut to capture their first email and grow their email list. Not on Shopify? Sign Up Here.

Sumo syncs with your email marketing software to send leads straight there, and allows you to send an email autoresponder to emails you capture. Plus there are more Shortcuts to help you reduce cart abandonment, increase average order value, convert window shoppers, and more! Live chat can help you learn more about your site visitors and close sales.

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