The Actual Cost of Maintaining an Ecommerce Website

The expense of maintaining a website is greater than the cost of a monthly membership. Learn about all of the hidden operation fees and expenses.

Starting a business with e-commerce website builders is more affordable than ever. If you decide to self-host your website, you will be responsible for the cost of the server, bandwidth, cloud distribution network for quick performance, and a variety of additional expenses. We do not recommend that you self-host a website unless you have access to professional IT support.

Depending on whether you have physical outlets or not, the cost of an e-commerce website builder can range from $29 per month to $299 per month. When it comes to building an online store, they are often the least expensive option.

However, all of this is common knowledge. What are the additional costs associated with maintaining an online store?

Payment processing​

The most basic definition of a payment processor is a firm that coordinates transactions in order for people to purchase your merchandise. Payment acceptance through credit cards, debit cards, and other smart payment options is a must for every e-commerce store, regardless of its size or industry.

The amount of money it will cost you to process payments will be determined by the plan you have with your e-commerce platform. The majority of payment processors charge a flat rate of roughly 3 percent plus a minor transaction fee per transaction. As your sales volume increases, the processing rate decreases.

Brand and web design costs​

Was it ever brought to your attention that it takes approximately 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for someone to form an opinion about your website? Not only that, but shoppers make purchasing decisions based on trust, and your branding may assist in establishing that trust straight immediately.

Ecommerce solutions such as Shopify give templates that may be quickly and easily implemented on your website. They are a cost-effective and time-saving alternative for getting your firm up and running quickly. Shopify Themes are pre-configured with choices for altering the layout, colors, style, and other parts of the website, as well as additional features.

Despite this, you will almost certainly require professional support in order to make your store appear the way you envision it.

Custom Development​

It is practically difficult for a single piece of software to meet the requirements of every ecommerce organization. Almost certainly, you'll wish to enhance the functionality of your website.

Custom e-commerce website development refers to the process of creating, launching, and maintaining your store to meet the specific demands of your company. Store owners can collaborate with developers to design custom storefronts or make minor adjustments to Shopify templates.

Add-ons and extensions​

The best eCommerce software allows you to integrate third-party applications into your business, allowing you to expand its eCommerce capability and improve the user experience for your customers. Some are free, while others are not, and this can increase the cost of setting up your online store significantly.

There are over 3,200 apps available for you to pick from in the Shopify App Store, which is also home to all Pasilobus apps, with many of them being completely free. Every task may be accomplished through the use of an app, whether it is email marketing, selling on Facebook, adding social proof to your store, or improving your search engine optimization (SEO).

The cost of paid applications varies. The majority of them are offered on a monthly basis through a membership service.

Custom Applications​

You can also include private apps that have been developed expressly for your shop. These apps are hosted and run on a separate server, but you can generate API credentials to grant the app access capabilities to the platform. In some cases, custom applications might cost upwards of $25,000, depending on the developer's experience and rates.

Plan your budget carefully​

Maintaining an internet store is not free, just like managing any other type of business. You will require a budget in particular for development help and any add-ons that you intend to include on your website. Make sure to include a budget of at least $5000 in your annual financial statements while preparing them.

To assist you in getting started, we provide Free plans on all Pasilobus apps. You may use our applications on any platform, or if you have a custom-hosted website with a headless setup, our apps will function for your website as well as any other platform.

If you are a Shopify store owner, you can browse Store Bytes, which are rapid services designed by our team meant to aid merchants in customizing their stores in a short amount of time, More information can be found on our services page.