The online presence of retail stores as well as stores that provide a service is becoming more and more noticeable over the years.
Especially in the period we are going through, it is undeniably an issue that concerns a very large part of the market. See our article on the new NSRF e-lianiko subsidy if you can benefit.
So, the pandemic is now clear, that despite the disasters, it also brought with it a rapid development of e-commerce, something that many were not ready to face…
… Maybe you are still waiting for a parcel from a carrier!
This explosion of e-commerce has given the opportunity to many to advertise “creating an eshop” for €500, essentially taking advantage of the difficulties experienced by entrepreneurs and also their ignorance on the subject.
You can also read our article about the obstacles and difficulties faced by website owners.
Many loopholes from which extra costs or legwork will emerge along the way are two of the most common phenomena…
This does not necessarily mean that good work requires a few thousand euros, but neither does the opposite. Everything is relative and below we will explain in detail how the cost of an eshop up to a website is calculated.
Depending on how simple or complex the e-commerce platform is and the licensing costs, costs can vary dramatically for similar functionality.
People’s questions as they get closer to the decision to enter the e-commerce space are increasing, but they all have a common axis. “How am I going to win from this story?!”.
So how much does an eshop cost? Maybe €400 or €10,000? Will my eshop sell? Will I need to hire someone to manage it? Which company should I choose for its creation?
But what really matters most is that you need a consultant to develop your online store, not just a technical company to build it for you.
We at ArtisWeb provide you with a complete development plan for your eshop along with its creation. Contact us to find out what you need.
Our goal with this article is to give you full transparency of what we know based on our experience so that you have a clear picture in your mind.
An image that will protect you from the “big fake words” that you will be bombarded with during your market research.
How much does an eshop cost?
Eshop that respects “itself”.
How much and what are the one-time and fixed costs?
How Web Hosting Affects Cost?
How does Web Design affect the price of the eshop?
How does planning affect the price of the eshop?
Where do “hidden” charges come from?
What is the desired performance of an eshop?
How much does an eshop cost?
So why does one company offer you an eshop for €500 and the other for €3000? The first thing to note is the value someone places on the growth an eshop offers them.
Value that of course will not only arise from its creation but also from its utilization.
The second issue to discuss is the lack of information.
Creating an online store is not much different from creating a physical one. And for a short answer and exactly to our topic, a good eshop is not and cannot be cheap!
The eshop is not just an outlet, or just an alternative. The eshop is an investment! And perhaps the top investment these days for a store.
The implementation of an eshop that respects “itself” with all the necessary features that a store needs to stand out from the competition cannot cost less than €2000.
And how does a store stand out from the competition? We’ll see later…
Eshop that respects “itself”.
Such a store must step on a study and a plan that shows it the way to dynamically enter the arena of competitive eshops.
It needs the study of a person who can:
- to identify the desired audience,
- to provide the appropriate design and structure to attract this audience and keep them in the store environment,
- to provide easy and understandable navigation within the eshop, also known as a user experience for customers,
- to create a strategic marketing plan for the store,
and of course technical issues concerning
- the name of your site, known as domain name or otherwise your e-mail address,
- hosting (server),
- the connection of the eshops with the banks where the transactions will take place and the transport companies that will deliver the product to the customer,
- cart optimization and checkout,
- SEO optimization so that you appear high in your audience’s google searches
and these are only a small portion of the definition of a successful eshop.
However, the difference found in the prices from company to company does not depend only on the above.
The experience of each company in how they will convert your visitors into more customers (Conversion Rate Optimization) plays a decisive role in the price they will finally propose to you.
How much and what are the one-time and fixed costs?
The costs for creating an eshop are divided into one-time and fixed costs.
Fixed costs
Fixed costs are the renewal every two years of your domain name, the monthly “rent” on the server that hosts you as well as its maintenance/support by technicians when needed.
This could mean software upgrades, content refreshes, or anything else. An eshop has damages like any physical store, therefore it needs the corresponding care.
How Web Hosting Affects Cost?
On the other hand, server rental prices vary according to the needs of each eshop.
What you are looking for, however, are good speeds so that it loads quickly, its compatibility with new technologies and automatic backup for security reasons.
For basic functions of an eshop, the prices usually range from €10 – €15 per month.
One-time expenses
One-off costs are also where large price fluctuations are found.
Here we are talking about costs related to design and construction, the type of website (eshop, portfolio, blog, etc.) and whether it is “built” from scratch or whether it is a reconstruction.
Usually it costs less to rebuild a website/eshop but what we would suggest without a second thought, is to start from a blank sheet of paper and not choose to make patches “on your rag boat”.
Trying to conform to an already non-functional design is not a good tactic.
Another key point where there is a confusion is that construction is one thing and design is another.
How does Web Design affect the price of the eshop?
Many platforms like WordPress or Shopify have themes or design templates that you can easily apply to your eshop.
While these may not be perfect for your business or dramatically set you apart from the competition, these templates are a quick and inexpensive option.
In the case of the custom design, obviously the cost is higher depending on the details, the requirements and the depth of the process.
However, this is the only way to ensure the uniqueness of your eshop in the competition on the internet and also to showcase your own style.
How does planning affect the price of the eshop?
The construction concerns the implementation of the eshop by writing the code, which must be well-written and “clean”, finding and solving errors, the testing phase from various devices in the responsiveness stage and much more, work done by the Web Developer .
There are platforms that provide module or extension support, which allows you to use functionality developed by someone else in your eshop at a much lower cost than if you could develop it yourself.
A good e-commerce organization will develop code that is reliable, well tested and secure. Although this is more costly, your custom code will be better maintained over time.
Where do “hidden” charges come from?
Many times you will find yourself in tempting situations where you will be offered a satisfactory price for an eshop, however along the way you will find mark-ups that you had not calculated but were not informed about.
One of the techniques that is often encountered is that companies put limits on their benefits. For example in the case of an eshop, they provide you with the entry of only 10 products and from there on each entry is charged extra.
So you should always read carefully what the package you choose provides you with.
An additional charge may arise if you need texts for your eshop. Texts for any articles or even for framing your pages.
These should be original, properly structured, contain keywords that will help you rank better in google search (SEO), attract the reader and of course spell correctly. This job is done by the Copywriter.
This specific fee can also be fixed in case you maintain a blog in your eshop and you need someone to write the articles for you.
Continuing in the same pattern, an eshop just like a “simple” website needs photographic material. If you don’t already have the required photos for your products you will need a photographer to handle this part.
Among the most important extra charges that no one should try to avoid is the cost of promotion and advertising.
How you choose to move depends on the strategic plan that your advisor will suggest and also on the audience that you will focus on.
What is the desired performance of an eshop?
The absolute “measurement” of an eshop’s performance is judged by its Conversion Rate, i.e. the percentage of visitors who entered the eshop and carried out at least one of the actions that make them potential customers for the company, such as filling out a contact form or subscribing them to your newsletter.
We mentioned it at the beginning, but let’s go a little deeper. An eshop does not have any value simply by existing. It must be utilized in such a way as to bring the desired results. No online store sells by itself!
To begin with, the customer must reach your eshop and this will be done through advertising. Advertising on social media, via email marketing or in any other way you wish, always relying on your audience.
If you want to find more information on how to make the most of Facebook, we suggest you read our guide to advertising with Facebook Ads.
After the customer arrives, just as in a physical store there would be an employee to serve them, this is exactly what happens, or rather, it should happen in your online store.
There is no “easy” solution to set up your eshop and make it sell by itself. You definitely need at least one person actively involved in this.
An eshop is a seller, working for you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Give it the attention it deserves and remember:
Building an online store is an investment, not an expense!
Epilogue
So what you have to keep in mind is that in the end it is not the price that determines the quality of your eshop.
What you need to ensure the foundations of its success is to provide you with an extensive strategic plan for your project, to have a professional design from a designer, programming knowledge and therefore a developer, a copywriter for your texts and experience in optimizing it Conversion Rate.
As is understandable, all this requires a necessary cost, time and effort from those who implement it for you who will use it along the way!