Calculate The Development Cost of An Average e-Commerce Website
A business website is the first point of interaction which introduces the product/service to prospective clients. Therefore, investing in the website design and development services is a significant venture which business owners can’t afford to avoid or compromise. The one thing which they can definitely do starts with proper preparation to avoid unexpected expenditure at a later stage.
Often we have wrong notions about the factors that hike an average website development cost. For instance, a site that is visually appealing may not be that costly as compared to a plain looking one. Rather than focusing on all irrelevant matters, it is suggested that you emphasize on the key factors for the desired result. Here we offer a breakdown of five key website components and explain how these control the development cost.
The Domain Name of Website
A unique domain name helps establish credibility with prospective clients and site visitors, which in turn helps grow your business. Even if you decide to change the hosting, this domain name goes with you. Also, an exclusive domain name throws open a whole lot of online advertising opportunities. Such a domain usually costs $5 to $20 a year. The cost can be controlled to a certain extent by consulting an expert enterprise development company.
Hosting of the website
A reliable website hosting service provider can help reduce page loading time, offer round-the-clock tech support to avoid crashes, and also presents the flexibility of expansion in the future. Simply speaking, it is the hosting company which can impact the way your website functions. Generally, the service costs $75 to $300, depending on the type of features you want to incorporate.
Designing the Website or Creating Theme
From a zero buget, the website design cost can go up to $30,000 as well, if you want a world-class website design that draws attention instantly. Those with limited budget, can take up the ‘theme’ or ‘skin’ feature, offered by Content Management Systems for the basic designing purpose. However, if you want a website that reflects the business features and presents users with delightful experience, then you need to invest in a full-fledged UI/UX design and development agency. The good thing is that this is one-time expenditure which you can keep aside as initial investment.
Ecommerce Features
A website with shopping cart, payment gateways, integration with shipping and distribution system, and other such features, surely costs more than the one without ecommerce functions. The initial investment may vary from $500 to $5000 but the continuous monitoring and update of the ecommerce store may add up to the cost. The expenses can be restricted by availing customized eCommerce development service.
Managing the Content
What’s a website without proper content! Even if your website is developed with basic information the content needs to be altered and updated regularly to keep your clients informed, to promote new products/services and also to stay on top of the search engine. Rather than trying the content management on your own, you can avail content management services for assured result. This cost keeps changing on a yearly or monthly basis.
SEO Compatibility
If your website is not fully optimized for search engines, then you may lose valuable leads and clients. SEO services vary, depending on the kind of ranking and visibility you are seeking for the site. Investing in customer-centric internet marketing services is one wise decision, which you will never regret. However, this is an ongoing cost which varies per month.
It is always suggested that you do some research on your own and compare services and rates of several website design and development companies to find out the accurate development cost of your website.
