How much should you invest in an ecommerce store? What type of budget should you be looking at?

Trying to sum up how much you should spend isn't easy because each store is different. But the best way to answer this question is to estimate what you'd spend to grow your business without ecommerce. Would you hire another employee, open another retail outlet, spend more on advertising or use direct mail? Would an ecommerce website reduce the cost involved in attaining a customer or would this cost increase?
Once you have discovered how much each path will cost, you will then get an idea of how much your ecommerce store may be. But if you do decide to take the ecommerce route what kind of pricing should you be looking for?

Depending on the type of ecommerce solution offered, most web designers price themselves on the store construction and then charge you for the amount of products. Others provide a package deal where construction and a set amount of products are included. Do remember that merchant and shipping costs need to be equated as well. At ADK, we provide a variety of ecommerce packages and this is because there are many options to choose from. You can update the site yourself or have us update it for you; you can choose from 10 to 10,000 products; you can choose certain design elements; and choose a selection of support options. That's why its difficult to generically price ecommerce.

However, you still need to get an idea of costs before you set off down the ecommerce path, so lets create some requirements for a business who wants an ecommerce store from ADK:

That's why the best ecommerce solution providers have an air of business about them. Mainly because they remain focused on the core; making an ecommerce store work and not just to provide it. It's also a good idea to reserve a budget for unforeseen additions. The reason why we say this is because many opportunities and ideas are discovered during the design and build process. Ask any designer of anything - they'll tell you.

But many designers know that they are on a fixed budget and often do not share with their clients their discoveries for this reason. That's why it's a good idea to mention to the designers that 'if they come up with some good ideas during the building of the site, and they think it will boost site productivity and provision, let me know. I'm open to ideas'. This will then promote a open forum for both to exchange ideas and you will get the most out of your designer.

Total £6233
with a foreseeable yearly costs of £2433

We hope that we have given you enough information to give you an idea of the costs involved and what service levels you should expect. The most important thing is to ensure that you still make a profit after all other expenses. Finally, we leave you with a general ecommerce budget check list of costs you need to consider.