E-Commerce Websites
E-Commerce Websites allow you to do business online, whether it’s an online shop selling products to the public or payment for services and events online.
What are my options?
E-Commerce Websites can be divided into two types, full package providers with a third party company such as Shopify or Magento or self-published websites built by a developer.
Services like Shopify and Magento offer a complete service including hosting and payment options, you build your site using a template builder. Generally there’s a monthly charge to use these services and some also charge a percentage of each transaction. I can help you get started with these providers.
I can build an e-commerce website for any purpose using WordPress and the WooCommerce plugin or Prestashop for larger shops. These incur a once-off payment for building the site along with yearly hosting and domain registration.
What do I need?
All shop software uses categories and products, with sub-categories if there are a large number of products. We’ll need to create categories for your products with a description, photo and price at the very least and each product will need to be added to the website.
How do I get paid?
The most basic payment methods are click and collect or cash on delivery. If you want to take card payments you’ll need to create an account with a payment provider. PayPal and Stripe are the easiest methods to sign up and configure but in the long term it would be less expensive to set up a merchant account with your bank to take payments.
Can I keep track of my sales?
All E-commerce software will store detailed information about your orders, customers and payments. You can also set up stock control and offer discount coupons or gift vouchers (may require a plugin).
The Cost
Basic Costs
A basic -commerce website with up to 5 categories and 20 products will cost about €1,500 including home, about and contact pages, domain name registration and hosting for one year, a selected theme from the Divi Library and lifetime updates for the Divi engine. On top of this there is the cost of any optional plugins with installation/setup fees.
Extra Costs
Shopify packages start at €30 per month for basic shop functionality, Magento is geared for larger stores and is more expensive. There are also charges for plugins, domain registration and a percentage of each transaction.
The hightest cost with larger sites is creating the product catalogue. If you have a large number of products it will take time to add them all and then they will need to be maintained. I would recommend having a member of staff trained in using the system as the most cost-effective option.
Domain registration and hosting are paid annually with one year included in the initial website cost. Themes in the Divi catalog are also included free of charge but any paid themes not in the catalog will incur the cost of the theme. Brochure websites don’t usually have any paid plugins.
Is there a cost for taking payments?
Taking payments online incurs a cost with a payment provider and this varies depending on the provider and the volume of business. PayPal and Stripe are easy to set up but are the most expensive at up to 5% plus a fixed amount. Your bank can provide information on a payment gateway, the most popular in Ireland are Elavon, Worldpay and BOIPA. It should be possible to get a rate of about 2% with these providers, less for debit cards.
Biker Gear E-Commerce Website
Body Care & Beauty Gifts E-Commerce Website
Davair large scale E-Commerce web site
Erika Marks E-Commerce Web Site
Van Windows Ireland E-Commerce web site
Weave Fabrics E-Commerce Web Site
Let’s Build Something
If you’re looking to sell on line I can help. Contact me with the details of your website and I’ll get back to you with the best advice.