E-commerce Website Cost: how much should you budget?

The e-commerce sector is doing well. In 2023, total sales generated by French e-tailers reached 159.9 billion euros (source: Statistica, 2024). This represents significant growth of 10.5% compared with 2022.

Faced with these positive figures and all the success stories in France, launching an e-commerce business is often idealized. Yes, it's an exciting adventure, and online visibility is more important than ever. But no, getting started in this ecosystem isn't always easy. Especially when you don't know how much to invest to get started in e-commerce.

In fact, do you know how much it really costs to create an e-commerce site? Do you have a clear idea of the budget involved? What's the most strategic financial choice between e-commerce and marketplace? Rakuten France answers all your questions: follow the guide!

 

E-commerce site: what criteria determine the cost of creation?

It's difficult to determine the exact cost of a website, especially in the world of e-commerce. There are many factors that can make or break the price. But before we get into the details, here's an initial minimum estimate, according to Nicolas Thomas (director of web agency MangoLight):

• The price of a basic website (or showcase) is at least €900.
• The price of a basic e-commerce site is at least €4,000.
• The price of an online platform is at least €10,000.

These figures represent the average initial cost of a digital start-up. However, don't forget all the other essential elements that go into calculating the final price of your website.

The price of an online sales site essentially depends on :

• The solution chosen
• The professionals involved
• Technical specifications
• Security services
• Maintenance and upgrades

Let's take a look at the cost of all these criteria, essential for creating a high-performance online store.

The chosen solution

The design and development of e-commerce site pages can represent a significant initial investment. First of all, you need to make a decisive choice: should you opt for a SaaS solution (Shopify, Wix, etc.) or an Open Source CMS (Prestashop, Woocomerce, etc.)?

With SaaS software, monthly subscriptions range from €20 to €50, with a commission on sales.

With Open-Source, hosting, configuration of extensions and labor (freelance or agency) are much more expensive. The budget for this type of CMS solution can range from €2,000 to €200,000.

Take Webalia, for example, which calculates the cost of an e-commerce site with 20 to 50 products. With a CMS, you can use an existing template or create a custom design. The budget required to use a template varies between €4,000 and €15,000, depending on the platform's quote. In comparison, the investment for a custom website ranges from €6,000 to €35,000. Customization comes with a cost, especially if you want a professional, high-quality website!

The professionals involved

Who are you going to call on to develop your e-commerce site? You have several options. Obviously, you can bring this type of project in-house, by creating the website pages yourself. Think carefully about this decision, and allocate your efforts and energy to the right place, according to your skills.

You can also hire a web developer to support you in this adventure. The median salary for an e-business developer in France is around €45,000 per year. However, developers' salary expectations are generally higher. If you add up the employer's contributions (around 30% of gross salary), the cost of an employee can quickly become out of reach for an e-commerce start-up.

The two other most common solutions are :

• Hire a freelancer to design the e-commerce site. An external service provider costs between €2,000 and €20,000 for this type of website creation project.
• Use a specialized agency (WordPress, Magento, Wix, etc.). More expensive, agencies range from €4,000 to €50,000, depending on the scope of the project and the services included (maintenance, design, etc.).

Technical specifications

Among the technical specifications to factor into your budget are the following:

• The purchase of a domain name: this varies from around €10 to €50 per year . You may need to reserve several domain names (.fr and .com) to limit the risk of plagiarism. Have you budgeted for this?
• Website hosting: this costs between €100 and €500 per year. It varies according to the traffic you generate, the specificity of your website and your performance requirements.
• Customized functionalities: advanced payment options, intelligent search, automatic relaunch of abandoned shopping baskets, chatbot, inventory management, extension purchases... All these additional functionalities require a budget that can range from €1,000 to €10,000 per year.

To discover all the options available to you in this sector, read our guide to e-retail and its specific features.

Security services

Buyer security must be your priority... right from the website design stage! In France, 85% of Internet users believe that security is important when choosing a website. So do your utmost to offer a 100% secure online experience.

This security involves the purchase of an SSL certificate, guaranteeing secure data transfer. It costs between €50 and €200 per year. At the same time, regularly scan your website for vulnerabilities, protect it in real time (WAF, IDS/IPS) and host your content in a certified environment (PCI DSS, HADS, ISO...).

These precautions represent an investment in time and money, which is absolutely necessary to protect your customers. When you consider that, worldwide, almost one merchant in two (46%) has already been the victim of a cyber-attack since launching their business (source: PrestaShop Million Club study, 2022)... Investing in enhanced security is a priority!

Maintenance and updates

Are you planning an e-commerce site? Don't just budget for its creation! Throughout the year, you'll need to invest in the maintenance and updating of your website pages. This is essential to ensure the website's stability.

Depending on the size and complexity of your online store, you should plan on an annual budget of around €500 to €2,000. Your freelance service provider or specialized agency can make corrections and add new functionalities, according to your needs.

In addition to the cost of creating and maintaining an online store, there are other expenses to consider. Like logistics costs. According to a study conducted by Supply Chain 24/7, the average logistics cost for a company is estimated at 11%. This estimate increases every year, due to investments aimed at reducing delivery times.

More than 50% of logistics costs are allocated to managing delivery, to satisfy consumers who are increasingly focused on immediacy. The rest is shared between goods storage, order preparation, after-sales service and insurance.

As you can see, launching an online store is an expensive project. So, to save money while selling your products, is the best option to join an existing marketplace?

 

Marketplace vs. e-commerce site: which is the more strategic choice?

Online commerce is a highly competitive arena. When joining it, entrepreneurs are faced with a crucial choice: is it wiser to create their own online sales site, or opt for an established marketplace?

At Rakuten France, we say it loud and clear: combining an e-commerce site with marketplace sales is completely compatible! However, when your budget isn't unlimited, choosing a marketplace can be a winning strategy. Ready to find out why?

Marketplace: instant visibility

One of the reasons many entrepreneurs choose to join an existing marketplace is the instant visibility it offers. By being present on well-established platforms like Rakuten France, exposure is immediate. The consumer audience is already active, and trust has already been established.

No need to build a customer community from scratch, spending hundreds of euros on marketing and digital acquisition campaigns... At Rakuten France, over 12 million members are ready to discover your products, directly from our marketplace.

Increased trust

Marketplaces often benefit from the trust already built up among consumers. Customers are therefore more inclined to buy on a well-known and recognized platform, where they feel secure. This feeling of security is very real: the payment stage in particular is simplified and extremely well regulated. You don't have to worry about it. Neither does the customer.

Simplified marketplace management

Managing an e-commerce site can be complex, involving tasks such as technical maintenance, updates, payment management... By joining a marketplace, these aspects are often taken care of by the platform itself.

For example, with Rakuten Fulfillment Network, you delegate packaging, delivery and order tracking. You also don't have to manage the design of product sheets, or the back-and-forth with freelancers or agencies to add website functionalities, install extensions... Your priority? Concentrate on the tasks that add the most value to your business, boosting your growth and satisfying your end customers.

Savings from A to Z

Creating and maintaining an e-commerce site involves significant up-front costs, such as development, hosting and security. In comparison, most marketplaces offer listing fees and commissions on sales, often more affordable than the initial costs associated with an independent website. At Rakuten France, we also offer free services such as sales support.

So you save money from A to Z when you join a marketplace like Rakuten France. Rather than spending tens of thousands of euros on creating and managing an e-commerce site, joining a marketplace is a more economical project... And often more profitable! Did you know that in 2020, marketplaces grew by 81%, twice as fast as e-commerce? (source: Mirakl, 2021)

To discover our affordable rates, and benefit from 12 million loyal buyers... Go here!