How much does an online shop cost?

Setting up an online shop is not only a convenient way of doing business online, but also an excellent way of increasing your sales reach and reaching a wider audience. One of the most frequent questions asked by entrepreneurs who want to operate in this sector is the exact price of a comprehensive website creation. In order to answer this question, it is necessary to take into account the individual preferences of the future owner, shop requirements and the technological tools and solutions used. In today’s article, we will give you an idea of how much an online shop costs, as well as its maintenance costs. Enjoy your reading!

Cost of an online shop – what makes up its price?

An online shop does not require the rental or purchase of premises. In this case, the prices primarily involve paying for the server and domain (usually for one year “upfront”). It is additionally important to choose an e-commerce platform (and pay for it, if necessary) and to start working with a web developer who will take care of the implementations. It is also worth remembering to choose an SSL certificate, which is necessary so that customers make purchases without fear of confidential data leakage (e.g. from credit cards).

How much do you have to pay on average for an online shop? – price list for open source and SaaS creation

Given current market standards, an online shop on a free open source platform (e.g. WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Magento) costs between PLN 3,500 and PLN 10,000 net. The price includes the hiring of a web developer who will implement all functionalities and hand over the shop for ready use.

If, on the other hand, you are interested in an online shop on a SaaS (subscription) platform, the price per month of use will range from PLN 100 net to PLN 1 000 net per month (in the case of smaller and medium-sized e-commerce, the prices do not exceed several hundred PLN net per month. The cost of a possible implementation should also be taken into account in this case – approximately PLN 600 – 2 000 net, depending on the platform and advancement of implementation.

Online shop price – what does it depend on? [5 elements]

Below we present 5 most important elements influencing the price of an online shop.

Hosting and domain

Hosting and domain can be purchased from any provider by typing the phrase “web hosting for online shop” or “e-commerce domain” into Google. For our part, we recommend purchasing a domain and hosting from the same company – it is simply more convenient. This is especially possible in the case of domains with standard endings, namely:

• .pl
• .eu
• .com
• .net
• .org
• .biz
• .name
• .info
• .co
• .xxx

If you want to buy a .uk, .de country domain, the most cost-effective solution will be to buy from local service providers – then even after currency conversion the prices will turn out to be very attractive (but often in excess of several hundred PLN).

The most popular domains (i.e. .pl, .eu, .com) cost up to PLN 100. Others of those we have mentioned oscillate within the range of PLN 200 (.co). If, on the other hand, you want to buy a business domain (.mobi, .tel, .ventures, .enterprises, .careers), a commercial domain (.plumbing, .voyage, .kitchen) or an industrial domain (.diamonds, .glass, .marketing), the costs will be up to PLN 1 000.

Domains are paid for once a year – the same as for the server (hosting). In this case, the costs range from PLN 100 to PLN 600 per year. Usually, however (in the case of smaller and medium-sized e-commerce with average traffic), you will have to pay around PLN 200-300.

Summary: Maintaining a domain and hosting on an annual basis costs between PLN 200 and PLN 600 per year (gross prices).

E-commerce platform

Source: https://www.similartech.com/categories/ecommerce-platforms

The cost of an online shop also depends on the e-commerce platform you choose. If you do not want to invest a lot of money “at the start”, you should choose a SaaS (subscription) solution. In the case of open source solutions (with open source code), you should reckon with an implementation price that usually amounts to a minimum of several thousand PLN net.

Among the SaaS solutions we can mention:

• Shopify (prices as low as PLN 89 net per month),
• WiXeCommerce,
• Shoper,
• Squarespace Commerce,
• Ecwid,
• BigCommerce.

The most popular open source solutions:

• WooCommerce (low-cost implementation – from £4,000 net)
• PrestaShop,
• OpenCart,
• Magento,
• X-Cart.

In general, if you are planning to scale your business and do not want to make a huge investment in the long term, you should opt for Open Source (e.g. WooCommerce). You then pay a few thousand one-off and possibly hire a specialist to implement additional functionality as needed. The price for running such a shop in a perspective of 4-5 years will be within the range of a few thousand PLN (even in the case of regular scaling).

SaaS systems are a good solution for the first year or two, because by paying the cheapest subscription (e.g. PLN 89 per month) for 24 months, the investment will only cost you around PLN 2 100. However, you need to take into account the fact that usually medium-sized e-commerce sites pay more than PLN 150 per month for a subscription, plus a commission on sales (in Shopify it is a few percent on each transaction, depending on the package).

The fact about so-called shop ownership is also important. If you don’t pay for more than a month or the platform in question decides to close your business, you will lose your main source of income. By owning your shop on Open Source, you are completely independent, as you have access to all server files.

Summary: Setting up and running an Open Source shop (e.g. WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Magento) costs a few or several thousand zloty at a time. In the case of SaaS systems, you pay a subscription fee, which can be as much as several hundred zloty per month, which in the long run will far outweigh the cost of setting up Open Source.

Choosing an SSL certificate

For an SSL certificate, you have to pay between a few dozen and a few hundred PLN per year (gross prices). This usually involves costs of around PLN 300. You can choose from the following solutions

• DV (Domain Validation),
• OV (Organisation Validation),
• EV (Extended Validation).

The SSL EV certificate has the highest level of security. As a rule, we can even choose an SSL DV certificate – customers will then be able to make secure online purchases. For medium-sized e-commerce, SSL OV is a good option. On the other hand, if you have a very large site (Allegro type), you should opt for SSL EV or other dedicated solutions.

Summary: You will pay around PLN 100-300 per year for an SSL certificate. Larger costs apply mainly to complex websites with very high traffic.

Hiring a web developer for implementation

You will find the most web developers to implement WooCommerce, as it is currently the most popular platform with over 1,000,000 websites. Costs can vary and depend on, among other things:

• thedesign – dedicated or from a template;
• additional implement ations – including integration with payment systems (e.g. PayPal, PayU) and courier implementations (e.g. DHL, DPD);
• the level of optimisation – responsive and efficient websites are included in the price, while for optimising the website for SEO and additional creation of positioning or sales content, an additional fee should be paid.

The final cost of an online shop also depends on the size of the shop – i.e. the number of products and categories. The price is also influenced by additional integrations with other systems (e.g. ERP, CRM, PIM).

Summary: Hiring a web developer to create an open-source online shop costs between several and several thousand PLN net. Designing a Shopify or Shoper shop involves a cost of up to PLN 2,000 net.

Taking care of the shop

Shop maintenance is not an obligatory cost. However, it is worth being aware of the fact that failure to implement a specific update or improvement may leave your business “behind” – your competitors will overtake you.

In addition, by choosing to click the ‘update’ button yourself (which is not always possible), the template may lose responsiveness, which will need to be corrected manually. Otherwise, the user experience will be drastically reduced. The conversion rate will then decrease and the rejection rate (so-called bounce rate) will increase.

Summary: The cost for shop maintenance is usually tens or hundreds of PLN net per month. Much depends on the specific functionalities and the frequency of additional implementations and changes.

Price for an e-commerce shop and fixed costs – what should be taken into account?

Among the fixed costs of running an online shop we distinguish:

• domain (on average about PLN 100 per year),
• hosting – in SaaS systems it is on the side of the platform (approx. PLN 100-600 per year),
• technical support (from several dozen to several hundred PLN per month).

If you decide to purchase a paid SSL certificate (there are also free ones, less effective, dedicated to small e-commerce), add about PLN 100-300 per year to the fixed costs.

How much does an e-commerce web shop cost? – summary

An online shop in the e-commerce sector usually costs between PLN 3,000 and PLN 12,000 net for open source solutions (e.g. WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Magento). In the case of so-called SaaS, prices in the long term can be considerably higher, depending on the specific subscription, which is no less than PLN 89 net per month. In addition, one should bear in mind the sales commission charged by SaaS platforms. This amounts to several percent.

FAQ – the most common questions and answers [How much does an online shop cost?]

Here are the most common questions and answers about how much an online shop costs!

1. How much does it cost to set up an online shop?

The cost of setting up an online shop is usually no less than PLN 3,000 net. However, a lot depends on the choice of e-commerce platform (e.g. WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Shoper and Shopify), the scope of functionality, the size of the shop and the level of technical sophistication. The choice of design is also important. If you decide on a template – the price will be lower than in the case of a dedicated graphic design.

2. What are the costs of maintaining an online shop

With an open source web shop, you should expect annual costs of several hundred PLN gross. This includes the domain, hosting and SSL certificate. In the case of so-called SaaS, the biggest investment is mainly paying a subscription on a monthly basis. You only have to pay for the domain, as hosting is the responsibility of the platform owner.

3. Is it worth investing in a dedicated online shop project?

A dedicated web shop design will allow us to obtain a unique appearance (standing out from competing solutions) and “on demand” functionalities. However, it should be remembered that the cost of setting up an e-commerce shop with a dedicated design may increase by as much as PLN 2-3 thousand.

4. What are the costs of promoting an online shop?

For advertising an online shop you will pay from several hundred PLN net on a monthly basis. If you care about the most effective form of promotion (i.e. website positioning), prices start from PLN 1,000 net per month. The recommended budget for paid Google Ads (formerly AdWords) and Facebook Ads or Instagram Ads campaigns is approximately PLN 500-800 per month + a commission for the agency for running the advertisement.

5. What is the cost of an online shop if set up independently?

When setting up an online shop yourself, you only pay for hosting (in the case of Open Source), a domain and an SSL certificate. However, most non-web developers find it difficult to program an Open Source shop, so they choose SaaS systems. These, in turn, only require a monthly payment – you then save around £1,000 – £2,000 net on the design of the site, as you can ‘cobble it up’ yourself (not so easy, though).