What product type does your company sell? Clothes? Jewelry? No matter what product you are selling at your store or not, the online marketplace can provide you with access to a vast untapped market at a fraction the cost of running a physical location. This fact is obvious if you look at any pricing calculator on the internet. You might be skeptical about some of our statements.
That’s okay. Take a look at this. No matter where you live, think about how many people are able to access your store each day. What number of people could easily walk into your store? 100,000? Maybe 300,000. Or maybe 300,000. But, Shopify users made more purchases on their website in August 2017 than the combined population of people from Texas, California, Florida and New York.
The Census Bureau estimates that there are more than 107 million people in these four states in 2018. Shopify released data in August 2017 showing that 131 million people have made purchases on Shopify websites in the past year. These facts show that having a Shopify website can allow you to reach millions of people worldwide. Most business owners hesitate to create a Shopify website because they don’t know how much it will cost.
Shopify Website Prices – Upfront
Shopify is the largest online platform for building e-commerce websites. There are two types costs you should expect to pay when a Shopify website is built. These are recurring operating expenses and upfront costs to have the website designed by a web developer. The features that you wish to offer your visitors will determine the upfront costs of building a website. The average Shopify website will cost between $3,500 and $5,000. It will typically include the following features:
- Professionally designed ecommerce website that can hold up to 25 products
- Contact form with basic five fields
- Hosting website for one year
- Professionally written content up to 10 pages
Small startups can still benefit from a basic website. Although the website structure allows you to concentrate on a limited number of products, your website must be designed to allow you to manage your Shopify website efficiently. You may see a greater return on your initial investment if you pay for more features early. A fully optimized website costs between $6,000 and $10,000. It includes features like:
- Professionally written content on 35 to 42 pages
- Search engine optimization
- A product catalogue
- Advanced product filter
- MailChimp integrations for email marketing
- Similar products
- Cart abandoned feature
- Custom payment gateway
- Email notifications, custom cart page, and invoices
Shopify Mobile Users
It is rapidly changing how people shop online. Buying products via a mobile device or smartphone is the future of ecommerce. Having a Shopify website that does not cater to mobile users could negatively impact your website’s performance. Google research has shown that 62% of people who experience a negative experience with a mobile website will not purchase from the brand again in the future. To cater to mobile users, your website should be built using responsive web design techniques.
Responsive websites automatically detect what device is being used to view the website. They adjust the site’s size and structure to fit the device. It is crucial to ensure that your Shopify website is responsive and designed to be accessible to mobile users. In retail, conversion rates can drop by 20% if there is any delay in loading pages. Due to the nature and business model of your website, this 20% drop in conversion rate can directly translate into a 20% drop on your Shopify website’s revenue.
Do you want to be the next Jeff Bezos? Want to conquer the ecommerce market? Shopify is a popular platform that you may be familiar with.
Shopify is one the most well-known ecommerce platforms. It offers an intuitive interface and a low pricing plan that will get you up and running in no time.
Shopify is a platform that allows you to create and manage your own content.
This question is not easy to answer. However, we will break down pricing options and help you choose the right one for your company.
Shopify Basics
Before we get into the details of Shopify’s payment options, let us first explain what Shopify is.
Shopify has been one of the most popular ecommerce platforms worldwide. It allows businesses to create online shops and sell their products to customers all over the world, even those who live next door.
Shopify allows you to sell physical and digital products, classes, memberships, or services for customers. The best thing? It’s easy to set up and sell.
It is entirely cloud-based and hosted. This eliminates the need for hardware or software upgrades and allows you to sell from any place you have an internet connection.
Shopify allows you to sell online, in brick-and-mortar stores, online marketplaces and social media. It also offers a point-of-sale system that allows you to manage inventory, product mix, shipping and payments.
It’s easy to start your own business because there is no barrier to entry.
Shopify Plans and Prices
You now have a better understanding of Shopify’s functionality and its versatility, let’s talk about the cost of getting started.
First, you should remember that Shopify charges less processing fees for the monthly fees you pay. Choosing the right Shopify plan doesn’t just mean getting the lowest monthly rate. It’s more about finding the right monthly rate for your business.
Shopify offers four plans that are very basic. One of these plans is guaranteed to work for you, regardless if you’re just starting or already have a successful business.
SHOPIFY BASE
Shopify’s Basic Plan is a great place to start if you are just starting out and want to find out if running your own business is right for you.
Shopify is $29 per month at this tier. This makes Shopify ideal for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and new businesses.
This entry-level plan has its pros and cons. Let’s see what you get for $29 per month.
This plan has many notable features, including the low monthly price and the complete package that covers everything you need to get started. It’s also scalable so it can grow with your company.
Shopify Basic has its downsides.
Basic has a limited functionality that is not available in the other tiers. This is the biggest problem. Basic won’t allow you to use advanced reports or gift cards.
This tier also has the highest credit card processing fees of all plans. Shopify Basic customers will pay 2.9% plus $0.30 for each credit card transaction.
Shopify’s basic plan does not have all the features of its more expensive plans, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs or wants them. Shopify’s basic plan is a great way to get started in the Shopify ecosystem.
SHOPIFY
Shopify is the second tier offering.
This plan might be right for you if you have outgrown the basic plan or your business requires more power in its ecommerce engine and sales engine.
This level of subscription costs $79 per month. However, you will get many benefits that you don’t get with the basic plan.
- Gift certificates
- Recovery of abandoned carts
- There are many reports available
- Credit card transactions at a lower rate
Shopify Level: You will pay 2.6% plus $0.30 for each credit card transaction. This is a significant savings over the 2.9% base plan.
This plan is ideal for small businesses that are looking to grow. The cost of this plan is less than $100 per month and includes all the features you need for your business.
ADVANCED SHOPIFY
Advanced Shopify is a great option for larger companies looking to control their business.
This package is quite expensive compared to the Shopify standard tier. But here’s what you get for your extra cash:
- Customized, more robust reports
- Checkout for real-time shipping information from carriers
You might be thinking, “Only 2 additional features?” It’s not impressive.
The customizable reports can help you identify growth opportunities that you won’t be able to find in the standard report. This will allow you to filter information in specific ways, which can give valuable insight into the performance of your company.
This tier’s main feature is the availability of real-time shipping information. Cart abandonment can be caused by customers finding out that shipping costs are higher than they expected. This tool will allow you to inform your customer the shipping costs at the time of purchase, which can eliminate any potential barriers to the transaction.
The Shopify Fulfillment network is another way to lower shipping costs and reduce fulfillment times. This could help you to eliminate shipping headaches while allowing you to concentrate on your business.
Advanced Shopify can be purchased for $299 per month. You will see a drop in credit card processing fees at this level. They will settle at 2.4% plus $0.30 per transactions.
This product is for you if your company is ready to take the next step.
SHOPIFY PLUS
Shopify Plus is the final Shopify tier. It’s for those who are serious about a fully-functional commerce platform.
You will be charged an additional cost for this service, but you get the following:
- A dedicated project manager
- A manager for accounts
- Contacts for personalized support
- Beta features available for access
- Rates of payment that can be negotiated
This is Shopify’s most luxurious level, but it comes with a high price. Shopify Plus costs $2,000 per month. This may seem expensive, but when you consider how much personal attention your business will receive, as well as the ability to negotiate your rates, it is easy to see why this package would be appealing to power sellers.
Additional costs
Shopify’s platform costs are just one cost you need to consider before you start your business. You will need to invest additional funds if you want your business to succeed.
ORGANIC MARKING
Organic marketing refers to all marketing activities that aren’t based on paid advertising, sponsored posts or other things.
Organic marketing focuses on building your traffic over time with content marketing (blog posts and social media posts), user-generated content, email marketing, etc.
Organic marketing has costs. Content, email, social media software and other services will still need to be paid. You don’t pay to boost content or posts.
The amount you spend on organic advertising will depend on your company, your goals and your ability to do the work yourself. However, it is something that you should consider. Without marketing, a business is unlikely to survive.
PAID MARKING
You’ll need to consider paid marketing for Shopify after you have done your organic marketing. These are the marketing activities that aren’t covered under the organic section. Paid marketing includes paid words, boosting content and marketing campaigns. Sponsored content is just one example.
The cost of this will depend on many factors. If you want your business succeed, you will need to budget.
PRODUCT SOURCING
Let’s not forget about the biggest expense in running Shopify: product sourcing. If you don’t have any products to sell, it’s impossible to run a business.
Drop shipping on Shopify has the advantage of not having to have inventory. Customers will order the item, and your wholesale source will supply it.
When you set up your business, make sure to include the cost of any products you sell or inventory you need.
Last Thoughts
Monthly Shopify costs can range anywhere from $29/month up to $2,000/month. This is just your Shopify subscription.
Dropshipping and ecommerce have a lower barrier to entry than traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, but you still need cash.
While you can start Shopify for as low as $100, you will need to invest at least $1,000 to cover marketing expenses and other costs.
Shopify has a solution that will work for you, no matter which path you take. Spending less time worrying about how to sell your products will let you focus on what is really important: building the best company possible.
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