You want to build an online store for your business because you know it’s an excellent opportunity for you to expand your reach and get your products in front of more interested shoppers.

But how much does it cost to have an online store?

Keep reading to find out how much it costs to build an ecommerce website and what factors influence the cost!

P.S. Want to get an estimate of how much your website will cost? Use our free web design cost calculator to find out!

How much does it cost to have an online store?

To build an online store, you need anywhere from $1000 – $100,000.

There is no set price for building an online store because the cost varies for different companies, depending upon what each company needs.

A small company can spend $1000 – $10,000, while an enterprise company can spend $50,000 – $100,000.

Breaking down ecommerce website cost: Everything that impacts your web design costs

You know the answer to “how much does it cost to have an online store?” but now you want more details.

What makes one store only cost $1000, while another costs $100,000? This significant price difference stems from what companies need on their website.

Here are some features that impact the cost to build an ecommerce website:

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Domain name

Cost: $0.95+

If you want to have a website, you need a domain name. Your domain name is what users will type in to find your business’s website.

You need to buy a domain name so your website can exist on the web. Where you get your domain name is up to you, so that the cost can vary greatly.

So, for example, you can get a domain name from NameCheap for $7.99 a year for a “.com” website. Go Daddy offers options from $7.99 and up. The cost varies greatly depending upon your domain types and where you get it, so this can cause the price to vary.

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Hosting

Cost: $24 – $24,000

Another essential aspect to factor into your online store cost is hosting. A website host provides you with a place to put your website — it allows your website to exist on the Internet.

You can choose from dozens of host providers, which is why the cost varies. The price also varies depending upon whether you use a shared or private hosting:

1. Shared hosting: Shared hosting is when your site is hosted on a server with other websites. This option costs less because you’re sharing a server with other companies, but it also means you have fewer resources, like processing power, memory, and disk space, because multiple sites use the same resources.
2. Dedicated hosting: Dedicated hosting is when your website is hosted on a single server specific to your website. This option comes at a higher cost and requires technical knowledge because you must maintain the server yourself.

If you’re a small ecommerce store, you can start with shared hosting to keep your costs down and then eventually switch to dedicated hosting as your business grows and starts driving more traffic and sales.

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Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate

Cost: $0-$1500

When you build an online store, you need a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. People want to feel safe browsing on your site and handing over information, like their credit card numbers and addresses. An SSL certificate will help you keep this sensitive information encrypted.

Businesses that have a secure site feature “https” in their address name and have a padlock next to the name to ensure it’s secure.

The cost of this certificate varies. If you use a third-party website host, many of them will offer site security for free, whether it’s built into the platform or you must use a plugin. Some of these sites may provide site security plugins for a small fee.

If you aren’t hosting your site through a third-party server, you will need to purchase an SSL certificate on your own.

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Site style and design

Cost: $2000 – $15,000

Now that we’ve combed through the nitty-gritty technical aspects of ecommerce web design cost let’s look at some of the more design-focused costs for building your site. When you ask someone, “how much does it cost to have an online store?” many people will say, “it depends on your design.”

Web design doesn’t cost the same for every company. Companies that want more intricate and complicated designs will spend more money than a company that needs a simple design.

The online store cost will vary depending upon who creates your site’s style and design. If you’re using a third-party host like WordPress or Shopify, you may have to pay a small fee for your site’s design. The designs you get from these sites are templates, so they’re not fully custom to your business.

On the other hand, if you want a custom design, you will have to pay a web design company to create your site for you. While this option may be a little more expensive, you get a fully-customized site that’s built to your exact specifications and needs.

You can incur additional costs, too, for creating a responsive design for your site, which is highly-recommended.

Responsive design can cost anywhere from $3000 – $25,000. A responsive design enables your site to adapt to whatever device your audience uses and provides them with a positive experience.

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Site size

Cost: $1000 – $10,000+

Another factor you need to consider with your ecommerce web design cost is your site’s size. Not only does the design impact your cost, but the size of your site affects your costs too.

Generally, if you need more pages on your site, your ecommerce web design cost will be higher. You must keep in mind how many product pages you need for your business, in addition to your home page, contact page, and about us page.

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Ecommerce functionality

Cost: $2000 – $25,000

Ecommerce website cost includes the cost to make your site an online store. If you already have a website, you’ll need to add ecommerce functionality to it, which will add extra costs to your online store cost.

Some third-party website builders will come with ecommerce functionality, like Shopify. You won’t need to pay additional costs to add ecommerce functionality to your site, but you may need to pay more to scale your business for the number of orders you get.

Other third-party sites will offer plugins to make your site ecommerce functional, which can be an additional monthly cost for your business.

If you’re hosting your site, you’ll need to pay more to integrate ecommerce functionality.

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Copywriting

Cost: $60 – $300 per page

Another vital cost to build an ecommerce website is copywriting. Well-written, informative content is an integral part of your site, so you need to ensure you factor the cost into your site.

Typically, product pages are typically around $60 because they have less text. Longer pages, like about us pages, will be on the higher end because they require more text.

If you’re not writing the content for all your pages, you’ll need to consider how much it will cost to fill your pages with text. Keep in mind that every agency is different, and every agency will have different content costs.

WebFX offers top-notch copywriting services to help you get valuable content on your site fast. Check out our copywriting services to learn more!

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Database integration

Cost: $2000 – $25,000

The last feature you’ll want to consider when analyzing the cost to build an ecommerce website is database integration. Database integration is critical to helping you collect valuable information about your audience and use that information to market to them better.

Database integration is key to helping your business sell products to your audience. It enables you to market your products better because you know more about your audience, which allows you to sell more products.

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Build an online store with WebFX

So, how much does it cost to have an online store? Well, the price depends upon what your business needs for your website.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, trying to figure out what your ecommerce store needs, WebFX is here to help.

We have a team of over 250 web design experts that will help you build the ecommerce store you need. You can feel confident that we’ll help you make an ecommerce store that drives results. We’ve managed over 11.6 million transactions for our clients in the last five years alone.

Ready to get started? Contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our ecommerce web design services!