ECOMMERCE COSTS
The cost of an online store depends far more on the sales process, catalogue structure, integrations and migration requirements than on the number of pages. A simple starter store and a custom B2B ecommerce platform are both “online shops”, but they are very different projects.
Short answer: how much does an ecommerce website cost?
As broad 2026 market reference points, a basic SaaS setup may start around €300–€900 plus the platform subscription, while a small professionally implemented WooCommerce store can start around €1,400–€2,800 and grow significantly with custom UX, integrations, migration or B2B requirements. These are not FreenetPro fixed prices; they are broad planning ranges derived from the source article and converted to the English-site EUR pricing model.
Why can one store cost €1,400 and another €8,000+?
Store A
A small catalogue, one market, standard payment and shipping, ready product data and a simple customer journey.
Store B
Hundreds or thousands of products, complex variants, ERP integration, multiple shipping rules, B2B pricing, migration, custom checkout and multilingual SEO.
The visual interface may be only one part of the difference. The cost often sits in data, business rules, testing and integration work.
What actually makes up the price of an ecommerce project?
1. Strategy and architecture
Define customers, catalogue hierarchy, categories, filters, conversion paths, important content and the role of SEO before building screens.
2. UX and visual design
Design product discovery, category pages, product pages, cart, checkout and mobile behavior around the real buying process.
3. WooCommerce implementation
Configure WordPress/WooCommerce, data structure, templates, customer accounts and the technical foundation.
4. Product count is not always the biggest factor
Ten highly configurable products can be more complex than a thousand simple products imported from clean data. Variants, attributes, filters and business rules matter.
5. Payments
Implementation
Payment gateways need configuration, credentials, webhook handling and real test transactions.
Transaction fees
Gateway commissions are operating costs and should be evaluated separately from development.
6. Shipping and logistics
Flat rates are simple. Rules based on weight, dimensions, postcode, country, product class, pickup point or freight can require considerably more configuration and testing.
7. Integrations
ERP, CRM, invoicing, warehouse, marketplaces, marketing platforms and courier APIs can become a major part of the scope.
8. Migrating an existing store
Migration may include customers, orders, products, media, URLs, redirects, metadata and preserving organic visibility.
9. Product import and data preparation
Clean SKU, attributes, categories, variants and media naming reduce implementation time. Poor spreadsheets often require significant data cleanup.
10. Product content and photography
Descriptions, specifications, images and video are real production work. A technically complete store with weak product information is not ready to sell effectively.
11. Ecommerce SEO
Plan categories, product URLs, faceted navigation, indexation, internal linking, structured data and migration redirects before launch.
12. GA4, GTM and sales measurement
Analytics should track meaningful ecommerce events and conversions rather than being added after the campaign starts.
How much does a simple WooCommerce store cost?
A small store with a controlled catalogue and standard checkout can stay within a lower custom-development range. Two offers at €1,700 and €3,400 can still contain very different scope, so compare what is included.
How much does a custom WooCommerce store cost?
Custom UX/UI, complex integrations, B2B logic, migration, multilingual content and advanced catalogue rules move the project into a higher budget. At that point, a fixed “per page” price is not a useful model.
Can you build a store for €300–€600?
It is possible for a very limited self-service setup or a basic template-based implementation with ready materials. It is difficult to include custom strategy, design, integrations, migration, SEO and thorough QA at that level.
SaaS or WooCommerce — which is cheaper?
SaaS
Often has a lower setup barrier and predictable monthly subscription. The trade-off can be platform limitations, transaction policies and less control over custom development.
WooCommerce
Requires hosting and maintenance but gives more control over WordPress, data, design and integrations. The better financial choice depends on the business model, not only the first invoice.
How much does a store cost after launch?
Plan hosting, domain, payment fees, shipping services, licences, maintenance, content, SEO, marketing and future development. Spending the entire budget on the initial build and leaving nothing for customer acquisition or maintenance is usually a poor allocation.
Paid WooCommerce plugins
Some integrations and advanced functions require annual licences. Avoid buying a plugin for every small feature; each dependency adds cost and maintenance.
Why does checkout affect the project price?
Checkout connects customer data, validation, shipping, payment, tax, legal consent, emails and order creation. Customizing it requires careful testing because errors directly affect revenue.
What matters more than the number of features?
A clear purchase path. A smaller store where search, variants, delivery and checkout work predictably is more valuable than a feature-heavy store that creates friction.
Where can you save money?
- start with a well-defined MVP
- prepare product data before development
- use standard payment/shipping when they meet the need
- delay low-priority integrations
- reuse consistent components instead of designing every page differently
Where should you not cut corners?
1. Mobile
A large part of ecommerce use happens on phones; checkout must be designed and tested there.
2. Checkout
Revenue depends on it.
3. Backups and security
Orders and customer data are business-critical.
4. Product data
Bad data creates ongoing catalogue problems.
5. SEO during migration
Changing URLs without mapping can destroy existing organic visibility.
6. Measurement
Without reliable analytics, it is difficult to improve the sales process.
What should you prepare for an accurate quote?
- approximate number of products and variants
- category structure
- markets and languages
- payment methods
- shipping rules
- required integrations
- whether there is an existing store to migrate
- product-data format
- B2B requirements
- planned launch date
From FreenetPro practice: sales process first, plugin list second
We first map how the customer chooses, buys, pays and receives the product. Only then do we choose the technical tools needed to support that process.
Example scenarios
Small starter store
Standard catalogue, simple shipping and payments, limited integrations and ready content.
Growing store
Larger catalogue, stronger SEO, custom product/category UX, marketing integrations and ongoing optimization.
B2B / complex ecommerce
Individual pricing, roles, ERP, custom ordering logic, larger datasets and more extensive testing.
FAQ
How much does a simple online store cost?
A professional custom implementation commonly starts in the low thousands of euros, while basic SaaS/self-service setups can start lower.
How much does a WooCommerce store cost?
It depends on catalogue complexity, design, integrations, migration, SEO and business rules rather than WooCommerce itself.
Does WooCommerce charge a subscription?
WooCommerce core does not require a platform subscription, but hosting, extensions and services can have recurring costs.
Does WooCommerce take a sales commission?
WooCommerce core does not. Payment providers and other services can charge transaction fees.
What increases ecommerce cost most?
Custom business logic, integrations, migration, complex catalogue data, multilingual requirements and B2B workflows.
Does product count affect price?
Yes, but complexity of data and variants can matter more than the raw number.
How much does monthly maintenance cost?
It depends on hosting, licences, update/testing scope and how business-critical the store is.
Can I build an online store myself?
Yes for a simple project, especially with SaaS or standard WooCommerce. Complex stores usually benefit from professional architecture and testing.
Is the cheapest quote always bad?
No. It may simply have a smaller scope. Compare deliverables and assumptions.
Is custom design worth it?
When brand presentation, product discovery or conversion needs cannot be handled well by a standard template, yes.
Should SEO be included when the store is built?
Technical SEO and architecture should be planned during the build even if ongoing SEO is a separate service.
How long does it take to build an ecommerce website?
From several weeks for a prepared small store to multiple months for integrations, migration and complex custom development.
So how much should you prepare?
Budget for the whole ecommerce system: build, data, integrations, launch, customer acquisition and ongoing operation—not only the visual website.