Creating an online store: any additional costs?
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 6:03 am
In addition to the costs of the software platform, installation and content creation, other possible additional costs must be taken into account when opening an online store.
Design
Unless you use one of the templates included in many of the services we have presented, designing your web store and all its sections can cost several thousand dollars.
External software
If you're just starting out in e-commerce but want to run a high-end business, pharmaceutical email lists you'll need to spend a large portion of your budget on purchasing, installing, and configuring external systems for things like merchandise management, sales, marketing, and customer service. Merchandise and shipping management alone requires software that can cost from hundreds of dollars to about $30,000. More expensive options include things like invoice automation, debt collection, and product and customer data management.
Warehouse and Shipping
If you are responsible for producing and shipping your products yourself, you will need warehouses, packaging areas, shipping materials and staff. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can also use so-called fulfillment services or dropshipping providers , which allow you to outsource all these tasks.
Legal advice
Data protection is a very serious issue and it becomes even more complex if you want to sell abroad. That's why you should seek expert advice on creating cookie policy banners , storing and managing customer data , drafting terms and conditions of sale, data protection policy , etc.
Marketing
SEO tools, or search engine optimization tools , are a form of online marketing that is as essential for any business as website advertising. Depending on who your target customers are and what budget you have, you can take care of this type of measures yourself or use specialized freelancers or agencies.
Maintenance and management services
Whether you do everything yourself or have hired external experts and agencies, if you run an online shop you will have plenty of work to do: entering new product data, expanding functions or fixing bugs are just a few examples. It is therefore worthwhile to make a generous estimate of these costs at the beginning, which you can then refine over time based on your experience.
Advice
If you've always wondered how much a domain or website can cost, don't miss our articles on how much a domain costs and how much a website costs .
Personnel costs: your own work, that of freelancers or agencies
Another cost-determining factor is who is involved in setting up and managing the store: do you take care of everything yourself or do you prefer to hire freelancers or agencies? This decision could save you a lot of money on your online store.
Depending on how much you know about programming, design, and web content creation , you may only need the help of a professional on an ad-hoc basis and you can take care of coordinating the elements.
Freelancers are generally cheaper than agencies and offer a more personalized service that can be adapted to your needs.
However, if you need the help of several experts, coordinating the different elements becomes more expensive . Agencies have greater resources to take care of coordinating all the tasks.
Of course, another option is to recruit your own team to help you set up and run your business. If you decide to go with this option, be very mindful of the time and money you will need to recruit and manage your staff.
Design
Unless you use one of the templates included in many of the services we have presented, designing your web store and all its sections can cost several thousand dollars.
External software
If you're just starting out in e-commerce but want to run a high-end business, pharmaceutical email lists you'll need to spend a large portion of your budget on purchasing, installing, and configuring external systems for things like merchandise management, sales, marketing, and customer service. Merchandise and shipping management alone requires software that can cost from hundreds of dollars to about $30,000. More expensive options include things like invoice automation, debt collection, and product and customer data management.
Warehouse and Shipping
If you are responsible for producing and shipping your products yourself, you will need warehouses, packaging areas, shipping materials and staff. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can also use so-called fulfillment services or dropshipping providers , which allow you to outsource all these tasks.
Legal advice
Data protection is a very serious issue and it becomes even more complex if you want to sell abroad. That's why you should seek expert advice on creating cookie policy banners , storing and managing customer data , drafting terms and conditions of sale, data protection policy , etc.
Marketing
SEO tools, or search engine optimization tools , are a form of online marketing that is as essential for any business as website advertising. Depending on who your target customers are and what budget you have, you can take care of this type of measures yourself or use specialized freelancers or agencies.
Maintenance and management services
Whether you do everything yourself or have hired external experts and agencies, if you run an online shop you will have plenty of work to do: entering new product data, expanding functions or fixing bugs are just a few examples. It is therefore worthwhile to make a generous estimate of these costs at the beginning, which you can then refine over time based on your experience.
Advice
If you've always wondered how much a domain or website can cost, don't miss our articles on how much a domain costs and how much a website costs .
Personnel costs: your own work, that of freelancers or agencies
Another cost-determining factor is who is involved in setting up and managing the store: do you take care of everything yourself or do you prefer to hire freelancers or agencies? This decision could save you a lot of money on your online store.
Depending on how much you know about programming, design, and web content creation , you may only need the help of a professional on an ad-hoc basis and you can take care of coordinating the elements.
Freelancers are generally cheaper than agencies and offer a more personalized service that can be adapted to your needs.
However, if you need the help of several experts, coordinating the different elements becomes more expensive . Agencies have greater resources to take care of coordinating all the tasks.
Of course, another option is to recruit your own team to help you set up and run your business. If you decide to go with this option, be very mindful of the time and money you will need to recruit and manage your staff.