How much does an Ecommerce Website Cost in India

How much does an eCommerce website cost to build and host? If you have researched already, I am pretty sure you have probably guessed there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. But before we dive into the actual cost, answer this question - What is the budget you are willing to spend?

If your overall budget is less than INR 30K

I may sound arrogant, but you can thank me later. If you are starting up or have a budget of less than 30K. Please do not get an online store. Here is the blueprint you can follow - 

• Step 1
  Do an awesome photo shoot of your products (you can do it yourself). Write detailed description of your products.

• Step 2
  Open an Instagram / Facebook account on your brand name. Sign up with payment gateway provider like Razorpay.

• Step 3
  Create a content plan and start posting regularly on your social media handles. Do not forget to use hashtags and mentions.

• Step 4
  Take orders via DM. Share payment links from your payment gateway and get some orders.

All the steps mentioned above are FREE. So what about the 30K that you were willing to spend. Well use it for advertising. Boost posts, create ads and increase your brand reach. Get more sales!

So why this approach - The answer is simple.

If you have been running an offline business you already know that there are certain costs related to operations and marketing. Setting up an online store is similar to setting up an offline business. There are various costs involved, which if you want to be successful, they need to be addressed. If your budget is low or you are just starting up - I say why not test waters before diving. If you are getting good sales from your social media channels then it will be way easier to set up an online store later.

But I don’t know how do I sell? How do I shoot photos that are awesome? What content to write?

The answer to this is Internet. Internet is the best university there is. Knowledge is available in abundance and for free. Whether it is Google Search or You Tube - search and you shall get the answers.

If your overall budget is more than INR 30K

Here are the main items that will determine your E-commerce website cost

• Platform Cost

  Today with advanced platforms like Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, etc an e-commerce website setup cost can vary based on the platform you select. While Shopify and Wix have a monthly platform fee, WooCommerce allow you to host on your own web hosting servers (we have awesome budget friendly web hosting plans for WooCommerce).

• Design & Theme Cost

  The look and feel of your website will decide the success of your online store. Most of these platforms offer readymade themes (free or paid) which are good to get started.

• Functionality & Plugins or Extensions

  Though most of the platforms will fulfil basic requirements, if you have custom functionality needs then that will increase your costs. This is because the extensions or plugins that will be needed by your e-commerce website are developed by third party and aren’t free.

• Maintenance Cost

  These are the cost related to running your store daily. It can be for website maintenance or social media marketing fees or employee salary.

Considering all the aforementioned variables, there is no quick answer to the cost of developing an eCommerce site. However, here is a small table that can give you an idea of cost.

We have taken the cost consideration of the most widely used e-commerce platforms around the globe.

Conclusion

By now you must have understood, if you want to run an online store and be successful at it then you will need a good budget. Many times I notice brand owners telling me that I don’t have this high budget, I want to help you but there are costs involved which are unavoidable.

So think hard and select the right path, you will need a good budget to be successful online. If you are serious about selling online via your own e-commerce website - please make sure you have the content ready.