Hey, do you want to build an e-commerce website but tight on a budget? If you are wondering whether you can survive with limited resources, Yes you can! Because all successful entrepreneurs start with limited resources and manage to build successful websites.
After Covid-19, a huge shift happens in shopping trends, and there is a significant increase in e-commerce sales. Nowadays, people are more inclined toward online shopping, and it is estimated that 43% of Internet users search for products on the Internet before purchasing.
It is predicted that the e-commerce business will generate $476 billion in revenue in the United States in 2024. In online stores, Global retail sales reached up to 22% in 2023.
You can take advantage of this opportunity to start a business and easily reach overseas customers. First, learn the necessary resources that you need in your e-commerce business, then create a budget plan.
That is the right way to do it because many business owners invest very little in their e-commerce website and expect a high ROI return on investment. In this way, they get discouraged, and their business does not end well.
So start your e-commerce journey with a realistic estimation of how much it costs to build to run an e-commerce website.
In this article, I will tell you how to build an e-commerce website within a budget.
So without further ado, let’s start!
Why Build An E-commerce Website For Your Business?
If you are running an existing business or starting your new business journey and wondering whether to build an E-Commerce website for your business or not.
Many reasons make it necessary to build an E-commerce website.
1. Reaching Out To New Markets:
It is a pretty daunting task for small businesses and start-ups to open a new store and find new customers, especially if you are fresh in the market. So E-commerce websites help small businesses and start-ups reach out to new and target customers.
2. Long-lasting Relation:
An E-Commerce business offers a different experience that the brick-and-mortar store usually does not provide. These online businesses have a direct impact on the customers’ buying journey.
You reach out to them through personalized services, and your relationship with them does not end after the customers check out. Reach out to them via different channels like email marketing and social media. In this way, your relationship with online customers stays longer than the typical customers.
3. Improve Brand Image:
Building your own E-Commerce business gives you complete control over the display of your products and your customer support. If you provide the best services, they will remember and return to you next time. That also improves and strengthens your brand or business image.
In short, an E-commerce website gives you entire control of every aspect of your customer shopping experience, from marketing to shipping and customer services. Moreover, these online stores also give you worldwide recognition.
What To Consider Before Building An E-commerce Website?
Before starting an online business, you have to consider a few points: what is your budget, what kind of products you will sell to your customers, and how will you market your e-commerce business?
1. Identify Your Goals:
First, clear and identify your business goals, like how much profit you need to earn from online business. Or how many loyal customers or how much you want to increase the sales for your business.
In short, clear goals will help you to know in which area you have to focus and spend more. Like attracting new customers, you have to complete marketing tactics and paid advertisements. Investing in the right area or resources will increase your Return On Investment (ROI).
2. Your Budget:
Maybe you also know how important it is to consider your budget for building an online store. You have to pay for your
- Domain Name
- Website Hosting
- Website Theme
- Plugins
- Website Security
- Marketing Of Your Business
3. What Kind Of Products Do You Sell?
If you have not considered the kind of products you sell, then look for the products that have high demand and generate high profit for you.
If you are still deciding which kind of product you should sell, then focus on the specific niche. In this way, your competitors in the market will also be less. Also, choose the product you have in-depth knowledge of and have a keen passion and interest in.
Find trending products, choose particular niches, and read reviews of those products. In this way, you will know the weaknesses and strengths of the product.
4. Marketing Your Business:
Marketing is important for all kinds of businesses, so before building an E-commerce website, make a strategy for E-Commerce marketing.
Create a mind map of how you will reach and deal with your ideal customers so they become your loyal customers. So use keywords to create your brand voice and build a strong presence on different social media platforms.
5. Create A List Of Budget Before Building An E-Commerce Website:
If you want to create an E-Commerce website, then creating a budget is the foremost step. First, create a budget plan and you need to learn how to create and handle an e-commerce budget.
To thrive in an online business marketplace, you must have a clear idea of where your money will be spent and how much money is in your pocket.
How To Estimate an E-commerce Cost?
Here is a list of elements that help to estimate the overall cost of running an e-commerce store.
1. Platform:
When you build an e-commerce store, you have to host a website where you make a list and display your products.
2. Product Sourcing:
You also have to pay for the raw materials of the products. Pay the workers or laborers who make the product and pack and ship the material. Sometimes you hire delivery companies. You need special software to keep track of suppliers and how well they are delivering your products.
3. Order Fulfillment Software:
When you run an e-commerce store, you have to manage customers’ orders and deliver their products to their homes.
4. Tax And Duties:
If your products are transported to foreign countries, then you have to pay import and export taxes.
5. Customer Support:
You also have to pay for customer support and website technical issues that arise during and after sales transactions.
6. Item Shipping And Returns:
If your products are going over the sea, then the shipping cost is also included. Or you have to return the money or refund them in case customers are not satisfied with your products.
7. Maintenance Of The Website:
If you build a website yourself or hire a developer or web designer you have to spend money on website building, maintenance, and optimization.
8. Digital Marketing:
After creating a store, you also have to market your business, so people know about your business. You have to run paid ads to reach your target audience. You also have to invest in different marketing like email marketing, social media marketing, SEO, etc.
Although these marketing methods are free, you need to use different tools to make your marketing tactics successful.
All of the above are general expenses, additional costs can be added depending on your business goals and the nature of the business.
So it is essential to keep in mind the different elements before setting your budget. In this way, you have an idea of how much money you need to build an e-commerce website.
How To Build An E-Commerce Business In 2023?
Building an e-commerce business is just like building a normal website but the main thing is that you have to consider the requirements for an E-commerce website.
So before starting an E-Commerce, do enough research and find out what are the basic requirements that must be present in your E-commerce website.
WordPress is one of the cheapest ways of building an e-commerce website. On WordPress, you can sell unlimited products without any restrictions. If you want to add advanced features, then you have to pay for them.
If you are not confident enough, then you can start your e-commerce store on different online sales channels like Amazon to sell your products.
Test how your business is driving traffic to your store and how much profit you are earning. After establishing your foot on an e-commerce business, you can build your professional website. In this way, your money will not go in vain.
Follow the underlying procedure to build an eCommerce
Steps:
- Choose an e-commerce platform or content management system
- Get web hosting
- Decide the name of the domain
- Choose the theme and plugin
- Create pages
- Add photos and description
- Set up a payment procedure
- Set up shipping and delivery setting
- Test and launch the e-commerce website
- Marketing your e-commerce website
1. Choose An E-commerce Platform Or Content Management System:
Each website works on a content management system (CMS). Different content management systems like open source platforms such as WordPress or beginner-friendly all-in-one website builders. You can choose according to your e-commerce needs and experience.
The cost of building an e-commerce website depends on the platform you use. If you have the technical know-how, use WordPress because the cost of the e-commerce website is low compared to the other platforms.
First, you need to choose a perfect e-commerce website builder that fulfills the requirements of the online store.
Like there are different e-commerce platforms, try out different website builders to analyze which one is ideal for your E-Commerce Store.
Some CMS platforms also offer tools and extensions for E-Commerce stores where you can choose a management system for e-commerce. Before choosing CMS read reviews and also keep in mind your budget. In this way, it will be easy for you to find the site builder.
Choose the platform that gives you access to features that manage website content and also provide tracking data tools and other tools that manage your inventory.
2. Get Web Hosting:
After Choosing WordPress as your content management system the next step is to get a web hosting plan. Choose the web hosting plan that offers a free domain name and SSL certificate.
With one click of WordPress installation, you can easily connect the domain name and web hosting to WordPress.
3. Decide The Domain Name:
If you have already chosen the product, then decide on the domain name relevant to your industry. Domain names must be short, simple, and easy to remember, so the audience can easily type your domain name in the search bar.
Also avoid domain names that have similarities to the existing domain names because sometimes people misspell them, and they land on the other’s website; as a result, you lose traffic and revenue.
First, check out the availability of domain names and different domain name directories. The domain registrar also sells the domain name. It is easier to register the domain name directly on the website builder you use for your E-commerce.
4. Choose The Theme And Plugins:
Now the next step is to choose a theme. It is a template of a website that gives your e-commerce store a professional look.
Choose a theme that offers underlying features like
- The template that has good reviews
- Quick load time of the website
- It displays products in an appealing manner
- Mobile friendly
- Friendly user interface
- Both free and premium versions should be available
You can customize your theme and use personalized fonts, colors, and other features to make the store more unique.
After choosing a website theme, the next step is to activate the plugin that works for e-commerce businesses.
5. Create Pages:
Creating a page for your product display is not enough, you also have to include other pages like
- Home page
- Contact Us page
- About Us
- Shipping And Return Policy page
- Terms And Condition
- FAQs page (optional)
When you create a page, add a meta description and URL of all pages.
Write a copy that compels people to buy your products. Also, try to respond to their issues and worries. It will make your brand more trusted, and if possible try to frequently ask questions and answer their worries. In this way, you will save yourself from getting too many phone calls and emails for customer service.
Creating pages and many site builders is easy, you just need to click on the add page option in your dashboard menu. If you are not sure, and cannot decide which page you should add to your website builder, then browse other E-Commerce stores and take ideas from their pages.
6. Add Photos And Description:
Now add photos after products and their description to make your business more authentic. Use high-resolution photos and add a detailed description of your product.
Make your photos aesthetic and appealing to the eyes because customers cannot touch or feel your products, so the first thing they do is see your product. If your product photos and description are appealing enough, then they will take the next step.
Display your products from different angles and also tell them detailed features like weight, dimensions, colors, etc. Add keywords in your product titles and descriptions, in this way online consumers can find your products easily.
7. Set Up A Payment Procedure:
Now set up a Payment procedure. If you are shipping your products over the sea, then you can connect your website to different payment tools. Test your payment procedure to confirm that your system is properly handling a Payment procedure.
Many online e-commerce business owners use third-party tools to make the payment transaction process secure and smooth.
If you are redirecting the customers to another website where they enter their payment information, then make sure that customer data like credit card details are fully encrypted before being transferred.
8. Set Up Shipping And Delivery Settings:
If it is possible, connect shipping services to your website. In this way, when customers buy your products, it will be convenient and simple for everyone.
Before connecting services to your website, clear out your shipping policies to determine how you will offer shipping costs to your customers whether
- You will be charged based on the weight or distance;
- It will be free of cost;
- Or your shipping charges will be the same for all products.
Also, set up refund and return policies in which you tell your customers how you will handle the scenario if they want to return the product or get a refund.
9. Test And Launch The E-commerce Website:
After customizing your website, test the site thoroughly. Check every button and link on the website to be worded properly. Also double-check the product description and category pages.
Run the test as a customer and analyze the shopping experience from the customer’s point of view. Make sure all emails are reaching the right destination after purchases have been made or declined.
Also, check your website performance on different devices, especially on mobile phones and also on different web browsers.
10. Marketing On Your E-Commerce Website:
Now here comes the crucial step, promoting and marketing your e-commerce website on different social media platforms. Make social media accounts for your business even if a few social media platforms are not perfect for your business, like TikTok and Twitter, you can still use them to brand and promote your business.
Try to reach different well-known websites related to your industry and do a guest post on their website.
Create an email marketing campaign and send emails to your audience so they are getting updates on your latest products. If you have a budget, then go for paid advertisements on different social media platforms and various search engines like Google.
Tips To Make A Good E-commerce Website With In A Budget:
1. Perform In-Depth Research:
Before starting an e-commerce business, it is necessary to do deep research and find out whether a website will be a perfect sales channel for your business. For this, explore different websites that are running a similar business as yours.
And analyze how they are selling and marketing their products and reaching out to new customers. In this way, you have a clear idea of how much budget you should have to build a good e-commerce website.
2. Update Your Content:
Updating your content is a cost-effective way to reach out to a product audience because customers do not want outdated content. They always expect new and relevant content so try to update your web pages regularly.
3. Choose A Reliable Internet Service Provider:
For website hosting, choose a reliable service provider and choose a website that offers high performance within your budget.
4. Keep In Mind The 8 Second Rule:
Make your website friendly enough that compels the audience to dwell on your website for more than 8 seconds. As you know, a human attention span is less than 8 seconds.
So make your website easy to navigate so they can easily find the desired products just by writing on the search bar.
5. Clearly Explain About The Delivery Option And Charges:
Offer the right and guaranteed delivery options and charges for your products. Show the cost of delivery charges based on the number of items, so you don’t lose sales and customer trust.
6. Provide Different Payment Options:
If it is possible, analyze different payment options compare their cost, and find all appropriate payment solutions so customers can easily purchase your products from you.
7. Choose The Relevant Keyword To Drive Traffic:
Use keywords that are related to your industry, and instead of hiring a specialist, try to use free keyword tools and software that will improve your website’s visibility in the search engine result pages.
8. Fast Delivery:
When you deliver products to your customers on time, then that will also improve your business success. So pick the delivery services that offer speedy and guaranteed delivery services within your budget.
9. Encourage Customer Feedback:
Encourage your customers to leave good reviews and tell their experiences about your products and services. In this way, you will attract more customers.
10. Use Different Tactics To Drive Traffic To Your Website:
Use different tactics to attract an audience to your website. Approach them via a newsletter and engaging blog posts related to your products, and also offer special discounts to your products that will drive more traffic to your website.
11. Website Maintenance:
Keep in mind the post-website launch technical support team. When you launch a new website, many technical issues can arise which is critical to resolve immediately and offer assistance to your customers who are using your website for the first time.
12. Website Security:
In the era of cyber threats, use encrypted technology and powerful anti-virus and anti-malware software to secure your website and protect your e-commerce transactions.
Final Words:
Running an e-commerce business within a budget is a pretty daunting and challenging task, but you can do it if you learn how to handle an e-commerce budget.
Creating a wise budget plan will help you to know how much money you need to build and run an e-commerce website and how much money you need to spend on important areas.
In this way, your mind will be prepared for the expenses of how much money you need to set aside for creating, promoting, and marketing your e-commerce website. In this way, you will avoid losses and your business will also thrive in a competitive marketplace.
Good luck!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
What Is An E-Commerce Website?
An e-commerce website is your online store in which buyers buy products from sellers on the internet. It is a virtual space where the seller displays his products, and online customers choose and buy products. Your E-commerce website acts as the Shell for your Product and sales staff and cash register.
In short, all the things that happen in the brick-and-mortar store, also occur on the E-commerce website.
Do I Need A Logo For My E-Commerce Website?
If you want to survive in the competitive market, then you have to stand out. Logos also make it easier for your customers to recognize your brand and build brand reputation and loyalty. Logos also make your ecommerce website more legitimate and trusted which will help you to promote your business.
It also grabs the new audience’s attention, and if the logo is unique, it also becomes a memorable one that makes you stand out in the competitive market.
In short, the Yes logo is necessary for your e-commerce website.
How Long Does It Take To Build An E-commerce Website?
It depends on your level of expertise. If you are using WordPress, then you can probably build your E-commerce website within a few days to a few weeks. If you do not have any technical know-how, then it might take more than a few weeks.
If you have no technical knowledge then it is recommended to get professional assistance in e-commerce site-building.
Do I Have To Know About Coding For Building An E-Commerce Website?
No, you do not need to know about coding for building an E-commerce website because many E-Commerce builders offer drag-and-drop features that easily make your e-commerce website without any coding know-how.
Can I Use WordPress For My E-Commerce Website?
If you want to design a customized E-Commerce Store, then using WordPress for your Store is a perfect option. Using a specialized e-Commerce plug-in will help you to make a more personalized e-Commerce store.
