Online Shopping is one of the most important parts of the digital world. More than 2 trillion dollars are generated worldwide in e-commerce. There is no doubt: online shops are an ideal means of making money as a company.
Because the forecasts look good, the world is becoming more and more digital and that together with the purchasing behavior is increasingly shifting from the shopping streets to the web. However, this also has a consequence: the competition is getting stronger and it is harder to attract attention with a good online shop.
Especially new companies often don’t even know what the success factors for an online shop are – and what costs for them Creation can arise. So that you are as well prepared as possible, we will explain to you which building blocks are needed to set up a web shop and what costs you may incur. An additional checklist gives you all the questions you need to clarify before the shop can be implemented.
The 9 building blocks for creating an online shop
1. Setting up a development environment
When it comes to relaunching an online shop, it is important that the shop can be used without any problems during the conversion. A development environment must be set up for this. This means that the existing shop account is cloned and worked in this copy.
The function of the existing online shop remains intact while the new version is set up becomes. When it is finished, it can then simply be moved and replaces the old shop.
Even with completely new shops, it is important to set up a development environment. Because this offers a safe environment for risk-free tests and at the same time fulfills an important documentation function. In this way, all changes are recorded and the entire project remains traceable even after many years of further development and support. In addition, content from the development environment does not accidentally end up in the Google index.
2. Design and templating of the online shop
Design and templating take a central role a. After all, it’s about what customers see when they call up your shop. Various factors play a role here, such as the pure look and the user experience.
Shop systems such as Shopware often also offer ready-made templates for free or chargeable use. This may save time, but it has the problem that these templates can only be adapted to a limited extent. So as soon as you want to make major changes (e.g. clear and consistent presentation of your corporate identity), you will reach your limits here. Later extensions can also become problematic, which is why we advise against using ready-made templates.
It is accordingly important that you regard the creation of an individual template as a sensible basic investment. This is the only way that your online shop can be easily maintained and adapted in every respect if your business changes. At the same time, the shop fits 100% to your company and exactly what you do.
Important factors in templating are e.g. B. the optimal function on all browsers and end devices. SEO (search engine optimization) should also be taken into account when designing. After all, you have to create the basis here so that you can later create and display search-engine-optimized content in a meaningful way.
How complex this process depends on your personal requirements. However, you should reckon with the fact that design and templating tend to be time-consuming and therefore cost-intensive. This is a basic investment that you cannot avoid with your online shop.
3. Configure the online shop individually
Even if online shops ultimately depict the same function – the sale of products – they can differ greatly in the application. It is therefore necessary for the shop to be configured accordingly.
In the case of a shop system such as Shopware, this means that the system must first be installed. The categories must be created, product filters created and the article display and Product URLs must be precisely defined. The configuration also includes the integration of required plug-ins for certain functions and the legal mandatory texts (Imprint, data protection, terms, and conditions …).
In addition, payment methods must be set up and all Shipping information (costs, conditions) to be deposited. All in all, the configuration turns out to be a time-consuming but necessary undertaking, even with a system like Shopware.
4. Content creation & maintenance for product and theme pages
Copied product descriptions from the manufacturer, loveless two-liners to introduce: Many shop operators ignore the importance of strong content for the webshop. Good content is an effective way to greatly improve the performance of your online shop.
There are two reasons for this:
Good content provides powerful selling points. You present your product in an effective way and explain the benefits.
The content is used in terms of SEO for online shops to increase visibility. Better rankings in the organic search results increase traffic.
The following applies here: The more information and materials you can provide to the executing company, the less work there is in terms of content. So there is definitely potential for savings if you create a good basis for the content. But consider: The value of professional content creation for online shops should never be underestimated.
5. Security for your online shop
Online shops work with sensitive data such as addresses and account information. It is therefore important that special attention is paid to the topic of safety. Therefore, suitable security packages should always be set up to provide the necessary protection.
In addition, it is also important to adequately address the issue of data protection. These are mainly mandatory texts and cookie banners, which must appear routinely on every website. However, it may also be necessary to obtain additional legal advice. Security is always a necessary building block, but it doesn’t weigh too heavily overall.
6. Coupling to merchandise management
In order for your e-commerce business to function smoothly, it is necessary to connect the online shop to merchandise management. With an appropriate merchandise management system, all processes such as purchasing, storage, production and sales are mapped in one place so that you can keep track.
This becomes particularly complicated if you also sell outside of your online shop (e.g. in a stationary shop). But even with purely online shops, the appropriate setup and connection must be considered. Only in this way is it possible for online sales to function smoothly and as a closed system.
Setting up such a system takes a lot of time, which in turn means corresponding costs. However, this is also a necessity that you cannot avoid when planning your shop.
7. Integrate additional payment methods
Shop systems such as Shopware offer some payment methods as standard to (advance payment, invoice …), which can be used without any problems and are set up in the configuration phase. Depending on the requirements (e.g. special means of payment or international online shop), it is, therefore, important to integrate additional payment methods.
This extension is possible with external payment service providers that are added to the existing system. Such integration should definitely be taken into account when calculating the costs for your online shop if it is necessary for you. If you need the corresponding payment methods, you have to reckon with additional time and costs. Corresponding fees also apply to transactions.
8. Hosting package for your online shop
If you already have an online shop, you usually already have one Hosting package concluded with a provider. This can then be continued at the existing monthly costs. Here, however, it makes sense to check extensively whether the hosting package meets the requirements of a company and your online shop in terms of performance and security.
Many offers from well-known hosters are more tailored to small businesses or blogs but are useless for a well-visited online shop. It may be necessary to move the hosting here.
If you plan a new online shop, then you have to budget for the corresponding costs anyway. The corresponding hosting package will be booked, set up, and made usable for you. Expect a small one-off amount and subsequent monthly costs.
9. Special Requirements That Increase Costs
There are many factors beyond standard applications and the cost of your online -Shop can increase. Should z. B. Collective orders be possible, this is a more complex topic. Multilingualism also leads to additional effort and costs.
The question arises as to whether your online shop should be additional marketing measures (e.g. newsletter, Google Ads, Social Ads …) that want to be accompanied. Here, too, you have to reckon with costs, but these pay off in the form of sales.
Altogether there are many Special cases and additional agreements, which can increase the costs of an online shop. It is therefore important that you think in advance about what is important to you.
Checklist: You should do this for estimating the cost of your Consider online shops
- How big is the product range?
- How complex are your design ideas?
- Do you sell only in one country or internationally?
- Is a Multilingual page needed?
- Are additional payment methods required?
- Do you need special features that are important to you?
- Do you have high-quality text and images or must everything be complete recreated?
- Do you already have a functioning merchandise management system or do you need a new system?
- When should the new shop go live?
- Do you already have a powerful hosting package?
- Should Your shop be advertised by appropriate online marketing measures?
