If you're not online already I would recommend that you get online as soon as you can. Why? Because when potential customers want to find out more about companies and individuals that have met for the first time the first thing they would do is google you.
Having said that, web pages and ecommerce websites cost money so the most cost effective way to have a presence online are described below, however, a few names or alternatives that can be used also include eBay, Amazon, Etsy, notonthehighstreet etc
The Cheapest Possible Way to Launch an Ecommerce Store
ou’ve seen (or maybe heard about) the entrepreneurs on Shark Tank. Half of them walk in front of the sharks talking about the hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars they have spent on their startup, only to be in a situation where they need more money from the billionaire investors to keep their dream alive.
It may give you a sinking sensation in your stomach, knowing that you would never be able to gather together that type of money or have the collateral to backup that sort of loan from an investor or bank.
Is it required to have that much money to start a business? Particularly an online business? Although your expenses are likely to increase as your sales increase, I want to remind you that many of these entrepreneurs started off with nothing more than a simple ecommerce website, spending small amounts of money to gradually expand and make money to pay for upgrades.
Is it required to have that much money to start a business? Particularly an online business? Although your expenses are likely to increase as your sales increase, I want to remind you that many of these entrepreneurs started off with nothing more than a simple ecommerce website, spending small amounts of money to gradually expand and make money to pay for upgrades.
But right now, you need the cheapest possible way to launch an ecommerce site. You have either a little money in your pocket, or even zero money to start selling, so we want to show you a few methods that will keep cash in your pocket for investing in other facets of your business. Keep reading to start saving!
Method 1: WordPress with a Theme and Plugin
The first method for keeping money in your pocket while building your online store is to turn to the WordPress platform. If you have experience with WordPress this is an even better option, since you’ll be comfortable with the interface and happy to know that the themes aren’t that expensive.
To start off, WordPress is completely free. That’s a good start when talking about cheap solutions!
However, there are going to be some monthly and yearly costs, but they aren’t all that pricey as long as you keep your site lightweight.
Here’s the roundup for your pricing:
WordPress
As stated, WordPress is completely free, so you can go to the primary WordPress website and download the software. You must later install it through your hosting provider, and they generally have a one-click install button to make it easy for you.
WordPress Theme and Plugin
A WordPress theme is the part that makes your site look pretty. You can go to places like ThemeForest and TemplateMonster to purchase themes for a one time fee. you can download these and install them quickly on your WordPress site. Themes range from around $50 to $100.
Make sure you buy a theme with WooCommerce plugin support, since that’s the shopping cart plugin you are going to install to run on your store. WooCommerce is completely free and easy to install.
Hosting and Domain
With WordPress you have to find your own hosting and purchase a domain.
Hosting generally starts at around $3 or $4 per month, so that’s not a bad fee when it comes to saving money. Try places like Bluehost for some solid rates, but remember, with places like Bluehost, you must pay for a year in advance.
Finally, hosting can be purchased through your host or from places like NameCheap. Domains ranges from around $3 to $11 per year, but it all depends on the domain you select.
Keep in mind, WordPress site speeds depend on your hosting, how many people are coming to your site and how well optimized your site is. Therefore, it’s reasonable to expect that once more customers start coming to your site you will have to upgrade your plans. For example, you may have to go with a more expensive hosting plan to protect your site and to support the traffic that starts coming in. This hosting can go all the way up to $50 a month, and even more depending on your visitor count.
In addition, it might be wise to go with a content deliver network (CDN) for improving your site performance and keeping site down times to a minimum. The best CDNs are paid, but the Cloudflaresystem starts free and goes up to $200 per month. The standard plan is only $20 per month.
If you go with the WordPress option and you don’t have any development experience, you may have to hire someone to run the site for you. In this case, you may end up spending a few thousand dollars per month, depending on whether you hire a contractor or if you get someone in your organization to do it.
Method 2: BigCartel (For Stores with Not Many Products)
If you plan on selling up to five products, the BigCartel system offers a plan that’s completely free, forever. The only problem with this is that you’re limited to five products, and the features are rather limited. Not to mention, if you start upgrading to other plans, you’d be better off going with a solution like Shopify, since the feature base is better.
However, the BigCartel Gold plan looks like this:
- Free for up to five products
- Order management
- Five images per product
- Inventory tracking
- Digital products
- Sell on Facebook
- Discount codes
If you’d like to upgrade your account in BigCartel, here are the plans to choose from:
- Titanium – $29.99 for 300 products
- Diamond – $19.99 for 100 products
- Platinum – $9.99 for 25 products
Method 3: Shopify (Quickest Method with Simple and Powerful Tools)
The final method for building a cheap store is to go with Shopify. It’s by far the easiest and quickest method out of the three, and I highly recommend it for beginner developers.
You start with a 14 day free trial for testing things out, and the Lite Plan is only $9 per month. This is a wonderful price considering you also receive a domain name and hosting, and you can choose a free theme.
This plan doesn’t have an online store, but you receive unlimited products and a Shopify Buy button to start selling.
Even when you start upgrading the prices are pretty reasonable:
- Basic Plan – $29
- Pro Plan – $79
- Unlimited Plan – $179
Over to You…
Now that you’ve had a chance to check out the cheapest possible ways to launch an ecommerce store, let us know in the comments if you’ve had a chance to work with any of these platforms. Were you able to keep costs low throughout the process?
