An e-commerce website doesn’t seem like a complicated sales tool. Until you go to build one!
There is a lot of competition, and consumers are getting more and more sophisticated. They know that they should be able to save their selections to return later. They know that they should receive notifications along the purchase trail. They know that they should be able to reach you for questions and returns, and that their payments should be accurate.
If you are working with one of the do-it-yourself companies (and you know there are a lot of them), then you were probably given a low monthly price for the cost of the site. But the low cost of those sites doesn’t include any custom design work. Which means that you will select from a group of templates along with your direct competitors, which in the end produces a lot of sites that are eerily similar. Similar in layout, features and colors, making it difficult for your own site to stand out.
The specialized products and services that have to be interlaced in your layout design are also not generally included in the published price. So details like payment gateways for e-commerce (to be able to accept credit card payments), an SSL certificate (for information security) and a customer relationship program (to engage your target population), among many others may have recurring charges that add up to a lot of money. Other details like collecting different tax rates for each state can add up to expensive legal expenses if not done correctly.
While we can’t give away our work, we also don’t cover anything up.
We will explain all of your options, make recommendations, and give you a transparent estimate of the expenses for your project so that you can make educated choices to stay within your budget.