You may be hearing horror stories about how people spend their life saving in a eCommerce website. There are also stories that contrary to this and said that eCommerce website cost only a few hundreds. Don’t be fooled by the hearsay from others! Let us share with you the true cost of a eCommerce website!
Hiring a student or a freelancer to establish the eCommerce website for your business can be a bad idea. Not only they can hardly commit to your website development, when it comes to technical issues, you may not be able to get it solved as soon as you want it to be. This is one of the cheaper alternatives to get your business eCommerce website.
Besides, you can also “Do-It-Yourself”. Learn up some codes from the internet, buy programming books and spend tons of time to learn something you’ve never pick up before. Books and online courses don’t cost much, but how much time will it cost you?
If you settled with 2 of the “cheaper” alternatives above, it will cost you even more in the long run! Here’s why.
How much does an ecommerce website cost in Malaysia?
So, how much does an ecommerce website cost in Malaysia? Costs can vary widely, depending on a multitude of factors. Initially, if you’re going small-scale or starting out, you might be able to launch an e-commerce website in Malaysia for somewhere around RM8,000 including a one-year support and updates.
However, for medium-sized enterprises aiming for more sophistication in their online presence – think custom design elements and enhanced user experience – prices could escalate to RM13,000.
These estimations aren’t fixed, though; they fluctuate based on your specific needs. Let’s break down these costs in a way that’s easy to digest, guiding you through the financial landscape of launching your online business in Malaysia.
Domain Registration
Starting with domain registration, this is essentially purchasing your website’s address on the Internet. It’s one of the first steps and luckily, it’s not too pricey. In Malaysia, you can secure a .com.my or .my domain for around RM120 per year through various providers.
If you’re looking at just a .com domain instead, that might cost slightly less. Remember, this fee recurs annually as long as you want to keep your site’s name.
Web Hosting
Next up is web hosting. Think of hosting like renting space on a server where your website data lives, so people can access it online.
Self-Hosted Ecommerce Website
For self-hosted eCommerce websites, the prices vary widely based on the type of hosting service (shared, VPS, dedicated) and provider you choose but expect to pay starting from RM200 yearly for small to medium-sized businesses in Malaysia.
Keep in mind – if your website attracts high traffic or requires substantial resources due to complex functionalities, costs could edge towards the higher end.
SAAS eCommerce Platform Hosting
If you are familiar with SaaS shopping cart provider, you should know that you’ll have to pay subscription fee by the month or year and it will cost relatively the same over the years. In this way you can forecast how much your eCommerce website cost over the span of 3-5 years. However, this doesn’t take currency fluctuation in consideration and the eCommerce platforms provider may raise their price after the first year.
What if you’re not satisfy with the service or feature that they give you? Once you stop your subscription, you can no longer access to your eCommerce website and all the data stays with the SaaS ecommerce software provider. A big slap on your face even after paying them for years!
Payment Processing
Transaction fees are another critical aspect to consider when analysing the costs of running an eCommerce website. Most platforms will charge you a fee per transaction, and they come in different shapes and sizes, each with their own set of payment processing costs.
Read more: How to Add Online Payment in My Website.
Generally, they charge a percentage per transaction plus a fixed fee; the rates vary depending on the processor but expect something in the ballpark of 1.5% to 3% plus RM1 to RM2 per transaction for businesses operating in Malaysia.
It’s crucial to find a balance between cost and reliability—cheaper isn’t always better if it compromises security or user experience.
Check out our Payment Gateway Solutions.
Web Design and Development
Now onto designing and developing your e-commerce site – likely where most of your budget will go if you’re aiming for something bespoke or feature-rich that enhances user experience significantly.
Hiring professionals can set you back anywhere from RM7,000 for basic design work up to over RM12,000 for fully customised solutions with advanced features like integrated payment systems or intricate product databases.
Additional Plugins
These are the bells and whistles that can really make your website stand out, providing functionalities that cater to both your business needs and user convenience.
Whether it’s an SEO tool to boost your site’s visibility, a security plugin to keep customer data safe, or even a customer relationship management software—these extras come at a price.
Depending on what you choose, costs can range from as little as RM100 for basic add-ons to over RM1,000 for more sophisticated functionalities.
Marketing is Essential
Always, always allocate more budget on marketing and not only on R&D. The eCommerce website cost of development is only part of the business. Once your website is completed, you’ll have to let it reaches out to public, boost its exposure to let people know about it.
You can always start with Facebook ads and followed by Google ads. These are 2 cost effective digital marketing strategy to boost the exposure and sales of your eCommerce website.
Never be stingy in your marketing budget as the lesser you spend, the lesser you gain.
Other Costs That Should be Factored into Consideration
When you want to conduct a eCommerce business, the cost of development is just the starter. There are several other costs that you should take into consideration, like:
- Your product cost
- Delivery and logistics
- Graphic designs
- Product photography
- Model, brand ambassador fees
- Business registration fees
- Accounting and taxes
- Offline marketing expenses
- Digital marketing expenses
A eCommerce business is just like a normal business, you’ll have to treat it as a real business and make sure you account for all these cost to ensure your eCommerce business is a successful one.
Cost that You Could Save
Don’t be intimidated by the costs listed above. There are actually quite a few costs that you can save as long as you are willing to do it yourself or trade in with your time.
For example, you can always do product photography by yourself. If you have a good looking friends, why not ask them to be your model? If you are lucky enough to fall in the expertise of an accountant or a graphic designer, you can then tackle one of these task yourself as long as you’re skilled enough to do it. Don’t skim on the areas that you’re not familiar though, always outsource to the professionals in the field, save yourself some headache and troubles.
Get Started on Your eCommerce Website Design and Development
eCommerce website cost lesser than what you’d think if you do it right and engage the right provider. Now you’ve fully understand how much will a eCommerce website cost you, you are ready to get started!
We’ve offering a full fledged eCommerce website development service from only RM3,999. This is a one-time fee and will hand you everything from domain, hosting, design and the complete development of a working eCommerce website!
You’ll even get Google Ads voucher worth RM150 to kick start your digital marketing campaign too!
Get in touch today to find out what we can do for you.
Sanz Teoh
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