The cost of ecommerce website development ranges widely: one guide gives $500 to $50,000 or more as an upfront cost depending on the number of products, and another puts custom stores at $10,000 to $25,000 or more. A small catalogue on a hosted platform sits at the low end. A large store with custom features, several integrations, and a bespoke design sits at the high end. The platform you choose changes both the build cost and what you pay every month afterwards.
The figures below come from published guides, many from platform companies and agencies, so treat them as ranges. This post explains what drives the cost of a store, compares the three common routes, and lists the running costs that surprise people.
What are the main ways to build an online store?
A hosted platform such as Shopify. The platform provides hosting, checkout, and security, and you pay a monthly plan. Setup is quicker and the upfront cost is lower. You work within the platform's structure, and some features cost extra through paid apps.
A WordPress store. An ecommerce plugin turns a WordPress site into a shop. It suits businesses that publish a lot of content and want one dashboard for everything. You manage hosting, updates, and security, or pay someone to.
A custom-built store. Developers build the store to your requirements on a modern framework. It costs the most upfront and gives the most control over how the store works and looks.
Our post on WordPress versus custom websites compares the platforms in more detail.
What drives the cost of an ecommerce website?
Number of products and complexity of the catalogue. Ten products with no options is a small job. Thousands of products with sizes, colours, and bundles takes more setup and testing.
Design. A store built on a template costs less than one with a fully custom design. Store design also includes product pages, category pages, a basket, and a checkout, all of which need to work well on a phone.
Payments and checkout. Setting up payment methods, tax rules, and shipping options takes time. Each additional method or region adds testing.
Integrations. Connections to accounting, stock management, shipping providers, email marketing, or a CRM each add work.
Custom features. Subscriptions, custom pricing, product configurators, and wholesale accounts go beyond standard setups.
Content. Product photographs, descriptions, and category copy are often priced separately from the build.
Speed and security. A store that loads quickly and protects customer data needs care in the build and testing. Independent testing, such as a penetration test, is worth considering for stores that handle many orders.
Who builds it. Freelancers, small studios, and larger agencies price differently, as with any web project.
What are the running costs of an online store?
The build is a one-off cost. These continue after launch.
- Platform fees. Hosted platforms charge a monthly plan, and the right plan depends on your size.
- Payment processing. Payment providers usually take a percentage of each sale plus a small fixed fee. This grows as you sell more.
- Apps and plugins. Many features come from paid apps or plugins, each with its own fee.
- Hosting and domain. Included on hosted platforms, separate for WordPress and custom builds.
- Maintenance. Updates, backups, security checks, and fixes. See our website maintenance services.
- Marketing. A store with no visitors sells nothing, so budget for search, advertising, email, or all three.
- Fulfilment and support. These are not website costs, but they grow with the store.
Compare total costs over two or three years instead of the build price alone. A cheap build on a platform with high monthly and per-sale fees can cost more than a dearer build with lower running costs.
How can you keep the cost down?
- Start with your best-selling products and add more later.
- Use a standard platform for standard needs, and custom work only where it earns its place.
- Prepare product information and photographs before the build starts.
- Choose a small number of payment and shipping options at first.
- Plan the store in stages, with a focused launch followed by improvements.
- Decide who will look after the store after launch before you build it.
What should you ask before you hire someone?
- Which platform do you recommend for us, and why?
- What is included: design, setup, payments, product upload, testing?
- What running costs should we expect in the first year?
- How is the store tested on phones and in different browsers?
- How is customer data protected?
- What support do we get after launch?
- Who owns the store, the design, and the code?
What does a checkout need to feel trustworthy?
Customers decide whether to trust a store quickly. A few things help. Show the total cost, including delivery and tax, as early as you can, because surprises at the last step are a common reason people abandon a basket. Offer guest checkout if you can, since forced account creation turns some buyers away. Use recognised payment methods and make the security of the page visible. Give clear delivery and returns information near the buy button, not hidden in a footer. Keep the form short, and make error messages explain how to fix the problem.
All of this needs to work well on a phone, with fields that suit a thumb and autofill that works. These details belong in the design and test stage, and they affect how much of your traffic turns into orders.
How should you plan your product data?
Messy product data is a quiet source of cost. Before the build, collect clear product names, descriptions, prices, sizes and options, images, and stock information, ideally in one spreadsheet. Decide how products will be grouped into categories, and what filters customers will need. Consistent photographs and well-written descriptions help people buy and help your pages appear in search. If you have a large catalogue, ask the provider how products will be imported, since entering hundreds by hand costs time.
What mistakes make a store cost more than expected?
- Starting the build without a final product list, then changing it repeatedly.
- Choosing a platform on its headline price and discovering later that key features need paid add-ons.
- Underestimating payment, tax, and shipping rules, which vary by region.
- Leaving out the cost of photographs and copy.
- Launching with no plan for getting visitors, so the store opens to silence.
- Giving no thought to who handles orders, returns, and support.
- Skipping security and speed work, which later costs sales and trust.
Should you sell on a marketplace or run your own store?
Marketplaces give you ready-made traffic and trust, in return for fees and limits on how you present your brand and use customer data. Your own store gives you control of the experience, the customer relationship, and your margins, but you must bring your own visitors. Many businesses do both: a marketplace for reach and their own store for loyal customers and higher-value orders. The right mix depends on your product, your margins, and how much marketing you can do.
How should you stage the launch?
Launch with the products that sell and the features that matter, then improve. Test with real orders, using a small group of friendly customers if you can. Check that confirmation emails arrive, that stock updates correctly, and that refunds work. Keep a list of improvements for the weeks after launch, such as more payment methods or better filters. Our pages on website maintenance and web design and development explain how we support a store once it is live.
Quick answers
Which platform is cheapest for an online store?
Hosted platforms usually have the lowest upfront cost, because hosting and checkout are included, and WordPress with a store plugin can be cheap to start. Custom builds cost the most at the beginning. Compare total costs over two or three years, including fees and add-ons, before choosing.
Do I need a developer to run an online store?
Not for daily work. Adding products, taking orders, and editing pages are done through the platform's dashboard. A developer or provider helps with setup, custom features, speed, security, and fixes, and many stores keep one on a maintenance arrangement.
How long does it take to build an online store?
Scope sets the time. A small catalogue on a hosted platform is quicker than a large store with custom features and integrations. Ask for a schedule that includes product setup, payment testing, and a trial period before launch.
How Krylo builds online stores
We build stores on Shopify, WordPress, and custom platforms, and we recommend the one that fits how you sell. Each project starts with a short call and a proposal that sets out the timeline, the deliverables, and transparent pricing. See our ecommerce website development page, or tell us about your store. For the wider picture on pricing, read how much a website costs.