What is the cost of starting an online store?

What is the cost of starting an online store

 5 min read

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It’s really hard to estimate how much does launching an online store cost knowing that to calculate the total cost there are many elements that should be taken into consideration and the final result may vary depending on the result that store owner wants to achieve.

A basic online store, for example being an extention of your website, can be established for a several dozen euro, while a fully independent e-store with thousands products in the offer can cost up to several thousands euro monthly. 

One of the first decisions you need to take is the selection of a shopping platform. As for now there are two common options to choose from – stores running on SaaS model (Software as a Service) or those that are a decidated solution tailored to your specific needs. 

The first choice most often is based on a subscribtion the cost of which depends greatly on the ammount of the products you plan on offering. Companies that offer such solutions sell them in plans from several dozens to several hundreds euro monthly, yet the more affordable plans are ususally about enough just at the very beginning when running the store. More advances plans not only allow you to work with the higher product limits, but they additionally offer extra functionality like products and orders synchronization with marketplaces, additional data storage, advanced addons and fast technical support. 

Shopify pricing

The latter on the contrary requires the purchase of hosting, i.e. the space on the server on which your store will be operating. The main price factor here is, of course, the size of the server you are accessing. When deciding on the choice of hosting, be sure to pay attention to the terms of its extension – the offer that is most beneficial for a new client may not necessarily be profitable in the long run. Although hosting prices vary depending on the provider, choosing one that will allow you to open your store and maintain it at the beginning of your operation should usually not exceed 25 euro per month, with more affordable options starting at only few euros.

Hosting pricing

Having a hosting or a working shop based on the SaaS platform, the next step is their configuration and related expenses. The most important of them, which apply to almost all stores, are:

  • purchase of a domain or domains – i.e. www addresses that will redirect to your store’s website; the cost depends primarily on the domain extension (such as .eu or .com) and usually the first registration costs from several to several dozen euro – as in the case of hosting, pay attention to the conditions for extending the validity of the domain.
  • purchase of an SSL certificate – its task is to confirm the authenticity of your store; in the case of the SaaS platform, it can usually be added directly but in the case of your own store, you have to buy it and install it yourself – the price of the basic certificate usually does not exceed 200 PLN per year.
  • purchase of a graphic template – regardless of what type of online store you have chosen, its basic version will be… well, basic. If you want to increase the attractiveness of your store, you can decide to buy one of the ready-made templates, the cost of which is usually somewhere between few dozens to few hundreds euro, or use the service of individual store adaptation to your preference – in this case, the valuation of such a service can be very diverse.
  • purchase of terms and conditions/privacy policy – of course, you can create it yourself, following the documents of other stores, but remember that these regulations are a mutual obligation – their conditions apply not only to your customer, but also to you. Therefore, it is worth using the services of a lawyer who will make sure that all the necessary elements are included in it – the cost of the basic statute should be within 100 euro.
  • stocking up the store – when your store is technically ready, it’s time to add products to it! The cost of such an operation will depend primarily on the type of store you want to run. If you are going to sell your own products, you will probably choose to add them manually. However, in the case of cooperation with wholesalers, it is worth using tools for automatic importing and updating of products – such as Megamo integrator.
Megamo integrator pricing

Completing all the above steps will make your store ready to start selling. As it develops, you will most likely start considering various topics related to extending the store’s capabilities with additional plugins, improving your website positioning in search engines (SEO), or marketing and advertising activities – they may be associated with additional costs.

Running a store is a constant work on its development. Remember, however, that success cannot be bought – and money cannot guarantee it. So don’t lose your head and focus on what is really important – meeting the needs of your customers.

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