An online shop costs more because it has to handle products, payments, orders, customer emails and edge cases such as refunds.
Use the range as a planning number, then list the integrations and product setup you actually need.
These are planning figures, not a quote.
What affects ecommerce cost?
Product catalogue
The number of products matters, but product complexity matters more.
A shop with 500 simple products may be easier than 50 products with:
• custom options • subscriptions • bundles • complex shipping • B2B pricing
Platform
Common options include WooCommerce and Shopify.
WooCommerce usually involves:
• WordPress • separate hosting • plugin maintenance
Shopify includes hosting in the platform subscription.
Design
A standard theme costs less than a customised store.
Custom product cards, filters, navigation and checkout-related UX increase project scope.
Payments
You may need:
• cards • wallets • PayPal • Klarna or other methods • subscriptions • deposits
Payment providers also charge transaction fees.
Shipping
Delivery can become complex when you have:
• multiple couriers • weight rules • free-shipping thresholds • local collection • international shipping
VAT
Irish and EU VAT obligations depend on the business, goods, customer and destination.
Do not let a web developer invent your tax rules. Confirm them with Revenue or your accountant and then configure the store accordingly.
Ongoing costs
Budget for:
• hosting or platform fee • domain • payment fees • app/plugin licences • maintenance • backups • security • marketing • SEO
How to keep the project cost under control
Prepare:
• product spreadsheet • categories • shipping rules • payment requirements • tax requirements • product photos • policies • email content
Changing these halfway through development creates extra work.
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Example ecommerce budgets
A lower-complexity project may include:
• standard product catalogue • standard theme or light customisation • one payment gateway • straightforward Irish shipping • client-supplied product data
A higher-complexity project may include:
• custom design • several customer types • B2B pricing • subscriptions • ERP/accounting integration • custom shipping logic • multilingual content • large data migration
The difference between these projects can easily be thousands of euro.
Product data is part of the project
Importing 500 products is not only clicking "upload".
Product data may need:
• clean SKUs • categories • descriptions • attributes • variation logic • prices • stock • images • tax classes
Preparing this before development can reduce cost substantially.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shopify cheaper than WooCommerce?
Sometimes, but not always. Compare several years of platform fees, apps, development, maintenance, hosting and payment costs.
How much does payment processing cost?
It depends on the provider, payment method and plan. Check current gateway pricing before launch because rates change.
Can I launch with only a few products?
Yes. Starting with a controlled catalogue can be sensible if the store structure supports expansion later.
Should product entry be included in the quote?
The quote should state exactly how many products, variations and images are included. Never assume unlimited catalogue work.