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Ways to build & host e-commerce site – Please suggest

By Sridhar Kurapati on 14 Comments / 3071 views

Hi,

I would like to build a e-commerce site (retail superstore) for Pune location. When I researched and found below 3 options are available to build and maintain a e-comm site.

Please suggest a good option in terms cost, maintenance and long term benefit.

  1. Hire freelancers to code and host the website. 

  2. Use e-commerce building sites like Shopify, Infibeam, BuildaBazaar etc. Charges varying from   Rs. 2500 – Rs.5000 per month. No IT technical skills required for design a site. Customization is big issues, some features I wanted may not be available in their templates/themes.

  3. Outsource to company who can build & host the site and including first year maintenace. Charges vary from 80K – 1Lac and maintenance charges of 15K – 18K from second year onwards.  

There would be additional charges for logo design and images for home page.

If anyone has better option please suggest.

Thanks,

Shridhar K

skurapat@gmail.com

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14 Comments

  1. Easy, Fast and cheap way to build a small scale e-commerce site would be:

    1: Buy a domain name i.e Rs 100.

    2: Buy a shared hosting package i.e Rs 3000

    3: Install open source CMS like prestashop or magento.. Magento preferred. (Don’t worry both are free)

    4: Use any basic free theme for starting.

    5: Get a logo done for $5 from fiverr.com i.e Rs 300

    That’s roughly 3400 and you are good to go live….

    If you need any more help regarding ecommerce setup do drop me mail at akshat113@yahoo.co.in 

    I would connect you with the right developer in your budget.

  2. Dear Shridhar, 

       It all depends on how you are planning to take business ahead. customized website ( though it costs more ) is what i recommend, think all popular websites are build from scratch. 

      If you want to go with normal regular features then go with shopify or zepo or what ever . 

     So think about your unique selling point and then go ahead with the best that suits you. finally customer trusts a website which is secure, which helps him get what he is really looking for, for best price and a good customer support.

    Thanks & Regards

    Sai Pothuri

    http://www.beautona.com

  3. Hello Shridhar,

    1) Hiring freelancer is the worst option because most of them would never deliver what they have promised on time (Saying with my experience). Good freelancers work mostly for US projects as they charge on per hour basis which very few in India can afford.

    2) E-Commerce building sites are good if you want a website with all basic features. Best for non-IT founding team.

    3) Having your own team to build the website is the best option as you’ll be able to customize it the way you want it to be. But, as you mentioned it is costly. 

    So, I would suggest you to go with second option and once you start getting enough traffic on your website, you may go on with the third option.  To start with, It’s always suggested to keep your start-up lean.

  4. Hi Shridhar

    We at eWeHelp Technologies can help you build your eCommerce website at a lesser budget. We also provide one year free maintenance. Please reach out to me in case you are interested:

    anoop@ewehelp.com

    Anoop Nair

    Co Founder – eWeHelp Technologies

  5. Very valid inputs. Thanks Roshan.

  6. Hi Sai,

    I wanted to build a decent site with regular features to start with and take it forward as per traffic and customer response. So don’t want to pump lot on money just to building a site.

    Thanks for the information.

    – Shridhar

  7. Thanks for the info Akshat.

    – Shridhar

  8. I would ONLY do this:

    1. Use e-commerce building sites like Shopify, Infibeam, BuildaBazaar etc. Charges varying from   Rs. 2500 – Rs.5000 per month. No IT technical skills required for design a site. Customization is big issues, some features I wanted may not be available in their templates/themes.

    Spend ALL MY TIME getting the PRODUCT right (what you are selling)

    Once you get it RIGHT, THEN do 3)

    Else, you will waste your life trying to manage technology whereas you should be spending your life trying to SELL a great product.

    Oldest rule in the book – Dont BUILD if you can BUY. Dont BUY if you can RENT

  9. Thanks Alok !!

  10. If you are dreaming to be in the big player in the field you should hire a company to create website and customize it. Because at many point you will need expert assistance that you can’t do without any skills.

    So in my opinion hire a good developer and designer from company to create eCommerce website.

    I will recommend Connasys.com Pvt Ltd, Their portfolio contain great websites and many eCommerce website as well.

  11. Start with one of the online hosted ecom players like shopify.  You just need to spend a bit on site design.  Focus on marketing and acquiring customers.  Everyone is doing ecom and the bigger challenge is acquiring customers.  Scale back on your customization ideas and live with the limited feature set.  It usually doesn’t help or hurt sales.  Once you have sufficient customers you will have real world feedback on what you need for your store and hopefully sufficient cash to throw at a tech team to create a new site.

    #1 and #3 can go into an endless loop and by the time the store is launched you may not have enough money for anything else.  

  12. Oh.  That’s what happens from not reading the comments.  🙂 Alok’s already answered this. 🙂

  13. Shridhar,

    If your requirement is till open, you can speak to us. We offer both option. Rental and Custom Solution. 

    You can get in touch with us. We specialize in Custom eCommerce Solutions which is fairly far batter then any other eCommerce platform available in market. You can look at building flipkart using our platform.

    Take a look at our website https://www.72interactive.in 

    Also take a look at some of our projects:

    https://www.printawallpaper.com
    https://www.theboxerstore.co.in
    https://ccds.checkbeta.com
    https://www.kapoorlampshade.com
    https://www.michelleryandesigns.com/

    https://www.emkor.com
    https://www.rohanmotors.in/
    https://international.sonalika.com

    You can speak to me at 9811122212

    Regards,
    Amit

    • Register as a legal company in your state

    • Get an online merchant account for credit card processing as most of your sales might end up in a credit card transaction. It’s good that most of these providers now specialize in online businesses but make sure to compare as there are plenty out there.

    • Build a website around an all in one eCommerce platform that will bring all your business needs together (exceptional design, beyond SEO ready, competitive marketing and outstanding order management) 

    • Establish relationships with suppliers and distributors and stock your initial inventory.

    • Market your new store. Advertise online (Google Ads, Social Media, Email Marketing, Co operative advertising etc.) and distribute coupons. It’s also important to encourage first time visitors, add loyalty programs and seasonal promotions.

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