Ecommerce Website Development Can Be No-Brainer (5 Simple Hacks)
Yesterday, my friend Nadeem called me to help him with E-commerce Website Development. He is starting a Home Decor Business and wants to sell popular items in the Middle East and Europe.
He has been my friend ever since we were in college. Though I’m Hindu and he is Muslim, we never felt divided as always portrayed in the news.
Even my client and friend, Miller from the UK (London), never likes to take any development and marketing decisions without me in the last 2 years.
Being a freelance web developer, I have helped over 200 clients across the globe build websites and grow their businesses online through digital marketing, and I’m proud of it.
Oh my God, while I was trying to make you feel comfortable, it seems like I’m selling my IT services. Though I would be happy if you hire me, this post is just to help you have a better understanding of e-commerce website development so that no agency owner can take advantage of you, and you can end up building a very professional website.
5 E-commerce Website Development Hacks
Not all websites cost $5000 or more to build. Even in modern times, you can create a decent e-commerce website for as low as $500 to $1500.
That’s why you need to understand the 5 essential hacks about website development that can save you big money and help with creating a great e-commerce website.
Here we go !!
1. Website Development Essentials
Whenever you plan to build a website, whether it’s like Twitter, Amazon, or something else, there are 4 essential things that will likely cost you the most money.
- Domain name — A memorable name for your website.
- Web hosting — A server to store your website files and present them to users searching on Google, Bing, and other search engines.
- SSL certificate — A type of encryption certificate that adds security to user data and all kinds of website information on the site.
- Designer And Developer — Whether it’s a UI/UX designer or a developer, you’ll need someone to code (design) the website and tailor it to your specific requirements.
When you build an e-commerce website, a product catalog (images, descriptions, and pricing) along with a payment gateway is also needed.
Most websites don’t require any government approval, but for the payment gateway, you may need to provide business details and tax information.
Alternatively, you can also register as an individual and verify with general government IDs.
Suppose you earn more than individual tax limits and need to charge taxes on various products, you may require more money and legal structuring similar to any other business.
However, for beginners, it’s okay to start with a simpler setup.
2. Choose the Right Platform
The platform you choose for your e-commerce website, such as Shopify, WordPress WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Prestashop, or using programming languages like PHP or .Net, will significantly impact your website’s efficiency, cost of operation, and development.
On the internet, approximately 40% of websites are built on the WordPress CMS, which not only reduces development and maintenance costs but also offers a wide range of high-end possibilities.
Hosting a Shopify e-commerce website can cost anywhere from $250 to $1000+ per year, while hosting a WordPress WooCommerce website costs between $50 to $200 annually, with similar or even better efficiency.
Similarly, building a website on Shopify can range from $500 to $5000, whereas on WordPress, you can create a premium e-commerce website for $500 to $1500.
However, if you require a custom website built from scratch by a coder, the cost can range from $1000 to $30K or more for a superior result.
Deciding on a website platform solely based on the front-end technology used can be challenging.
I recommend starting with WordPress or Shopify for your e-commerce website development, as it will save you money, and time, and potentially generate millions without needing to invest in high-end solutions.
Believe me, e-commerce website development in London, the United States, or elsewhere can be equally frustrating and often puts one in a dilemma.
That’s why I’m writing to help with the common challenges that most entrepreneurs and emerging businesses face.
3. Hire A Freelancer
Do you know that the US workforce consists of approximately 60 million freelancers, accounting for nearly 39%? This number is expected to reach 1+ billion globally by 2030.
The Indian IT sector and freelancers have gained a great reputation worldwide for delivering quality work at affordable prices.
Even companies like Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Google, and Airbnb don’t hesitate to hire freelancers.
But why?
- Cost savings in development and services.
- Flexibility and no long-term commitment or employee-related obligations.
- The opportunity to choose the best talent without compromising.
- Freelancers have shown a gradual increase in commitment compared to employees.
- You can hire freelancers from across the globe, all you need is an internet connection and access to freelance marketplaces.
A freelancer will not ask for a raise; whatever hourly or project-based rate you agree upon, they will develop your shopping website.
Here are 5 freelancing platforms where you can find the best freelancer for your e-commerce website development:
1. Freelancer.com
2. Upwork.com
3. Fiverr.com
4. People Per Hour
5. Guru.com
There are even more marketplaces where you can search for the best match to meet your development needs.
You can even hire me to help find the best freelancer or utilize my services to build a great website.
It’s a win-win situation, and I’m not asking that you are obligated to hire me. Just take my advice shared above and make the task easier for yourself.
Hiring on a project basis is always a good decision as it saves a significant amount of money, with rates going as low as $20 per hour. However, in general, a skilled developer’s hourly charge ranges between $50 to $150+ per hour.
4. A/B Testing Your E-Commerce Website (+Any website)
Back in 2017, when I designed my very first website for a client on Freelancer.com, I realised that fulfilling the needs of a client with the kind of website they want is not enough. We need something that turns out profitable and useful for them in the long run.
I mean, when you are considering an e-commerce website development, you are not just interested in building it for fun; you want to sell different products to consumers, make money, and build a customer base and brand value.
Here comes the role of A/B testing, meaning optimising your website design (And Ads) to accomplish various must-have things on your website, such as:
- Higher retention rate.
- Easy navigation on different devices.
- Optimization for more leads or direct sales generation and upselling.
- Building trust and giving users confidence to buy.
- Easy purchasing, shipping, and re-engagement.
There are many things that you will consider to keep your potential customers hooked with your platform, make them believe in your brand, and help you scale your business.
At every stage of transformation, development, and marketing, you can do A/B testing by grouping your audience, showing different versions, and targeting different customer personas.
No matter how you differentiate your tests, whether it’s two different kinds of designs, different languages on the site, different landing pages, or audience age groups for marketing, A/B testing will always play a significant role.
Don’t blindly get your e-commerce website or any other website built and launched.
Always hire a long-term developer and marketer to penetrate the market, test different ad copies, website versions, and help you succeed.
Push notifications, social sharing, CRM for client management, and a data-driven approach on your website leave no scope for your faliure as a business owner or anyone just starting up.
5. The Importance of On-Page SEO and Marketing For Your E-Commerce Website Development
Ever since AI has started taking over, and tools like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly popular, many people think as if SEO is dead.
Believe me, they are a bunch of idiots. As long as humans research anything or search for products online, SEO is not going anywhere; only the way we do SEO is changing.
I have written several posts on how the new SEO will affect existing and emerging businesses online. To be precise, SEO (search engine optimization) will always be relevant, even in the coming decades, to help you get a good number of organic traffic (without paid ads), build great brand value, and rank on Google and other search engines.
A good website always implements the best SEO practices to stay ahead in competition and build a robust online presence.
Here are a few key elements of on-page SEO that your website must have when it’s being built:
- Ability to add header and footer tags.
- Ability to add META descriptions and tags such as keywords, title tag, H1, H2, and related tags, alt tags for images, and more.
- Should be able to work with tools like Google Analytics, Bing signals, and other SEO tools.
- Reviews, schema type, and other related elements should be able to be generated without manual work (end-to-end coding) again.
- Fast and secure.
Sounds interesting? There are hundreds of things in SEO and on-site SEO that we can discuss and implement to make your website perform better in every manner.
I do understand SEO, Digital Marketing, and e-commerce websites like a pro, and that’s why you can count on my advice to have a website that can prove to be useful for your inspirations and vision.
Conclusion:
Do you know that 95% of people blindly hire a developer to design their e-commerce website and end up robbing their wallet without getting what they eventually want?
This was my small effort to help you learn and understand the basics of e-commerce website development and to hire the best talent to build a platform that turns out to be great for buying and selling products.
I have not only focused on how you can save big money on your e-commerce website development but also introduced the essential components of a great e-commerce website in a user-friendly and beginner-friendly tone in this blog post.
E-commerce website designing or development is a part of my job as a freelancer, and that’s why you can believe in me and hire me if you like (here).
I have shared several related blog posts in the past that you can read below to stand out from the crowd and create a good e-commerce website for yourself.
And.
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