How Much Does an Ecommerce Website Costs in India?

For any business wanting to know how much an ecommerce website costs, it is crucial to understand the multiple factors that go into building an operational online store. 

An e-commerce store is the combination of several variables determined by the type of business and its corresponding audience.

88% of online consumers will not return to a website following a bad experience.

Therefore, every aspect that contributes to building a store needs to be carefully examined – it includes the various functionalities & features, design, licences and so on.

All of this put together shall help you arrive at a final cost. To make it simpler, here’s a detailed look at the things you should consider when calculating the costs of building your website.

How much an ecommerce website costs – 5 things to consider

E-commerce website price is the addition of the following features.

1. Ecommerce software costs

An e-commerce platform helps in building a strong website for selling products and goods online. The costs can vary depending on the type of platform you choose (open-source, headless, SaaS), the required functionalities and specific business needs.

SaaS platforms usually offer automated updates and maintenance while an on-premise platform requires you to take care of these aspects. Most of the e-commerce platforms also have a limited number of free themes while the premium options can be bought at an extra price.

Additionally, every platform offers varying degrees of customisation, plug-ins & extensions and customer support. 

In the case of an open-source platform such as Magento, there isn’t any customer support. Instead, a developer community shares their tips and experiences through online forums.

There are several e-commerce solutions available in the market, let’s look at the features of some of the most popular ones that include BigCommerce, Magento and Shopify.

Cost: The cost of an e-commerce platform for a basic website starts at INR 1499.

2. Domain costs

Domain costs are fairly priced and should be one of the first things when planning a business. Domain names can’t be bought but can be leased from a period of 1 year to as long as 10 years.

The prices are based on the extensions (.com,.net,.in, etc) as well as the registrar you buy from. If your preferred domain name has to be bought from a private seller the price can be expensive.

Here’s a detailed article that shares 7 tips when buying a domain name.

Cost: A .com domain cost per year in India starts from around INR 700 when leased from a domain registrar.

3. Hosting costs

Your website needs a web host – a server where all the information related to your store is safely saved. 

There are multiple types of hosting services that include shared hosting, dedicated hosting, VPS web hosting, cloud web hosting and WordPress hosting. A good hosting service helps in improving the speed and performance of your website.

E-commerce platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce also offer hosting services when you use their platform. 

The hosting costs depend on factors such as your site’s security and traffic, SSL certificate, servers, domain name registration and so on.

Cost: The e-commerce hosting costs start from INR 69 and can go up to INR 25,999 per month. 

Read this article to understand the amount charged by different hosting companies along with the inclusions.

4. SSL certificate

An SSL certificate is crucial because it safeguards the user data, verifies website ownership and stops hackers from creating fake versions.

Moreover, your website may ask your users for their personal information while accessing it which needs to be kept safe and confidential. 

The HTTPS website traffic is encrypted by SSL. If a website has an HTTP web address it is often flagged unsafe by the browsers cautioning the users to be careful while accessing it. HTTPS is a safer version of HTTP.

Cost: A SSL certificate in India can cost around INR 4000 per year.

5. Payment processing costs

Payment processing costs mainly involve the fees incurred during transactions on the website. The process is facilitated by a payment gateway and the charges depend on the type of payment method chosen by the customer. 

Paytm Payment Gateway for instance does not charge a setup or maintenance fee to its customers.

However, a business needs to pay a Merchant Discount Rate or MDR – a fee incurred on every online transaction. 

Paytm Payment Gateway charges around 1.99% of the total transaction amount which is among the lowest MDR in the industry. It also offers a custom pricing plan for enterprises, designed according to their specific business requirements.

Cost: Payment processing costs amount to around 1.99% of the total transaction amount.

Here’s a complete guide to payment gateway charges in India.

5. Website costs

A website combines many elements including the basic design and themes to plug-ins and extensions. Let’s look at each of these elements.

Themes: Website design themes are usually a part of the e-commerce solutions and you get a range of options to choose from. However, you might have to pay an additional amount if you opt for a theme that is not a part of the package.

Shopify for instance offers a huge collection of professionally designed themes that are free as well as premium. 

Cost: The cost of a theme can range from INR 11,000 to 14,000, which is a one-time fee.

Extensions: The e-commerce platform you pick may not cover all the features needed for your website. Plug-ins and extensions are essential to add extra functionalities and customise the website further.

For example, Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin offering real-time analysis for content optimisation on the pages. It has a free as well as an advanced paid version.

Cost: Magento extensions for instance can cost anywhere between INR 4,000 to 47,000. 

Content: The different pages on the website will need corresponding content along with product descriptions, banners, calls to action and so on. 

Cost: Content development prices can start from INR 25,000 and is dependent on the number of pages and products in addition to the agency or freelancer you hire.

Development: While cloud-based platforms can be built with little or no experience in coding, you will require a developer or an agency to create a website with an open-source platform. In either case, hiring an experienced developer helps in creating an impressive site. 

The tasks include back-end web development and front end web design, mobile design, UI/UX, customer software development, etc.

Cost: The cost for website development usually starts from INR 25,000 and can highly vary depending on the requirements and the agency or developer you choose. 

Additional costs

The list mentioned above includes the primary features necessary to take a website live. But, there are other charges that are essential for added functionalities and to keep the store running smoothly. 

• Content development including banners, titles and resources 
• Design elements such as brand logo and colours
• Search engine optimisation 
• Data backup to prevent loss of information
• Live chat feature
• Website maintenance and updates
• Security software

How much does it cost to make a website: Conclusion

An e-commerce website development cost in India is determined by the choice of options that fit your brand and product. Nevertheless, building an e-commerce website demands substantial funds and considering the difference it can make to your business, should not be overlooked.

When deciding how much should a website cost, it is advisable to calculate the price based on how each feature benefits your business in the long run. An e-commerce platform for instance that might seem reasonably priced at the start can turn out to be costlier as your business grows.

An e-commerce website is highly beneficial for every business and should be considered a rewarding business investment.

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