The cost of eCommerce Design

If you’ve done much “designer shopping” to price the cost of having an eCommerce web site designed, then you’ve no doubt encountered a wide range of prices, and perhaps some sticker shock.

Why is eCommerce web design more expensive than regular web design; and for that matter, why is any web site design so expensive?

It boils down to two things:

  • Skills
  • Time

As you are aware, web design is a service, not unlike doctors and lawyers, where you pay for the skill, knowledge and time of the designer to create a web site. Although we live in a “gotta have it now” type society, web design simply takes time.

Yes, you can buy yourself a web site template, and if you have the skills and software needed to get the template files online, you could - in theory - have a web site up in an hour or two. But, will all of your site content be there? Will all the graphics be customized with your company name and specific navigation headings? Will the code even validate? What about search engine optimization? Is this site designed well enough, with enough good content, keyword phrases, appropriate page titles, meta tags, relevent backward link submissions to even stand a chance in getting a decent search engine ranking? Is the site optimized for your target market? Do you know who your target market even is? Is your shopping cart up and running, with real-time processing for your credit cards?

These are all questions and situations that a professional designer has the knowledge and skill needed to implement when designing a web site. A good web site is more than just slapping up a pretty web page with some nice graphics. A good web site takes time….. the average eCommerce web site takes me at least 40 billable hours to create - often much longer, depending on the size and scope of the project.

Yes, that’s a chunk of change considering the average hourly rate of professional web designers; but what do you get in return? A site that functions well, looks good with a custom design to suit your company, good rankings in the search engines and buying customers. The bottom line is no matter how nice your site looks, if you’re not selling your products, then something is wrong. It could be the wrong color choices, poor navigation or the layout is wrong for your product…. there could be many reasons, but without buying customers - your web site is not serving its purpose.

A web site, while can be completed and have a specific launch date, is really a continual work in progress. With a content management system, you can easily update the site content yourself, even adding new products in your storefront. So no longer are you bound to ongoing web designer maintenance fees, unless you prefer a web designer to maintenance your site!

I honestly can not imagine why any business on the planet today does not have a web site. Even if it’s just to have your business contact information and a little about what you do, every business needs this type of 24/7/365 advertising that a web site can provide. It could very well be one of the best investments you make for your business.

December 7, 2005 | Filed Under General Comments 

Comments

Got something to say?

You must be logged in to post a comment.