Introduction to E-Commerce
The cost of e-commerce can vary greatly. Anyone can sell on eBay or through Amazon. Other marketplace sites such as Shopify are becoming popular, while Google's range of e-commerce services grows.
On the high street we can get various 'out of the box' DIY website packages. MrSite, boasting built in e-commerce facilities, costs around £35. Alternatively with free set up and just a small sales commission it's very easy to add PayPal buttons to any web page.
For many small to medium business owners however, keeping an attractive, functional and well maintained company website is often the most desirable option in the long term. But the options can be overwhelming.
What's Available?
Once committed to developing an e-commerce website, the options available remain overwhelming but can be summarised:
1. My Mate's Son's Hamster Builds Websites!
Mate's rates are fine but be wary of anyone unable to demonstrate a portfolio of operational websites. Prices might typically be as low as £100 but don't expect much more than a page of coloured text and a buy button for this money.
2. Graphics, Cards, Brochures, Websites & Co.
Some companies offer bespoke e-commerce web design as a sideline to other services, with prices typically around £500.
If you like the company's design portfolio and are interested in using them for e-commerce, be sure to ask for a demonstration of the software, in particular the CMS.
Think carefully about any particular functional requirements and obtain a formal quotation that explicitly addresses those requirements.
When entrusting your website to a small company find out about any software license fees and other ongoing costs and agreements that must be entered into. What happens if that company later goes bust? Does leaving that company mean losing the website?
Often a company will drop the asking price for a website in order to win that client's long term business. This knowledge can be used to your advantage but make sure the website enables you to maintain it fully.
3. Specialist Web Agency
Rather than risk being the proud owner a web site, equivalent in car terms to a Ford Fiesta mk2, you seek out the professionals to build you a state of the art e-commerce site.
A good e-commerce site from a reputable design agency is likely to cost in excess of £20,000. But it is likely to be very impressive, with all the features you need and very well supported in terms of marketing services and maintenance.
Digivate Ltd, my previous employer and contract client, is an excellent example of a specialist e-commerce agency and one I would recommend to anyone serious about their online business.
4. The Freelance E-Commerce Developer
A relatively new phenomena - you're lucky if you can find one - is the specialist e-commerce web developer; that's me!.
As the e-commerce industry matures, dedicated software packages and services emerge that stand the tests of time and of our expectations. Web developers can now employ proven software packages to provide functionality that would otherwise require a team of developers to achieve.
Furthermore, community-developed software, where end user developers are ecouraged to contribute, is able to evolve and improve more rapidly than software developed strictly in-house, thus reducing the cost of setting up a bespoke online shop dramatically.
In short, an experienced e-commerce web developer is able to achieve the same high standards of web production and broad range of functionality as a dedicated agency.
Employing a specialist e-commerce developer brings the cost of bespoke e-commerce back within the scope of the smaller businesses, with prices starting at around £3,000 for a complete solution.
My Service
I offer a bespoke solution for your business. I use the acclaimed CubeCart software, complete with web-based CMS and bolt-ons such as stock control, affiliate management, shipping integration, and payment gateway integration.
For a full and up-to-date list of e-commerce features available, please see the CubeCart features page.
Optionally, I can provide my clients with domain and hosting management services and arrange SSL certification for secure data collection.
Help with setting up a merchant account is not a problem.
Ongoing support for clients is very important. In addition to regular software updates and 24/7 hosting support, all e-commerce projects include 6 months free technical support and full training.
So What Next?
Why not View my portfolio, Contact me
