Startup Costs for an Online Business on Shopify: What to Expect

You might have heard about Shopify –  one of the most popular e-commerce platforms on the market. Shopify allows everyone around the world to set up online stores and sell their products to customers all around the globe.

If you are planning to open a Shopify online business, this article will help you clarify the cost of various pricing plans on how much you have to pay for them to help you decide which one is right for your business. 

Shopify Plan

Shopify plan cost

Free Plan 

This is an ideal plan for a beginner who has just started to research Shopify. Customers can use this plan for 14 days to get used to its interface and to see if there is any problem that they are struggling with. This is an ideal plan for people who like to experience using apps to see if they can adapt to their needs, then decide if it is suitable for their business. 

Shopify Basic

With just $25 a month, this plan is appropriate for small businesses, new businesses, or entrepreneurs just starting businesses. 

If you’re just getting started and looking to see if running a business is for you, then Shopify’s Basic plan is a good place to start.

Shopify 

The Shopify plan works well for growing e-commerce businesses looking to expand their operations by including gift cards, reports, and restoring abandoned baskets of $65 per month. These features allow business owners to sell more with gift cards while giving them the ability to recover lost revenue by recovering abandoned baskets. Access to reports will provide you with valuable insights into your customers’ spending habits so that you can make better choices in your business.

Advanced Shopify

If you are considering the Advanced Shopify plan, there is an excellent possibility that you have a large, established business and want to grow your business even further. With the advanced reporting engine, you can create custom reports that you can filter by dimension to help you find different ways to grow your business.

A major benefit is the operator’s real-time shipping information, which guarantees that you will offer carrier-based shipping prices at the time of payment. This information can help prevent the abandonment of carts since one of the common reasons this comes from the customer who got an unexpected cost.

Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus is the equivalent of a bespoke e-commerce solution at the corporate level. It also eliminates the stress of order management because you do not have to worry about transaction costs.

In addition, you’ll get a dedicated project manager at your disposal, an account manager, personalized support contacts, negotiated Shopify rates, and early access to beta features.

Domain

Your domain name is the name of your website/URL. If you want to start an eCommerce business on your own site, you will need to have a domain name.

Domain name cost

The domain you choose matters a lot to your brand. In order to make customers remember immediately when they visit your website, make sure the domain you are using is popular and related to your online store. Domain names are usually cheap, you can purchase them directly from your hosting provider like Shopify or buy them through GoDaddy or Namecheap will cost $0 – $15/year.

Store Design

When customers visit your store, the Website Page creates a first impression that can attract visitors to stay or leave your site. That’s the reason why store design is so important as it presents store style and raises awareness about brand identity. All we need to do is have a gorgeous template and manage tab display in the most proper way.

One of the most beneficial while using Shopify is using their available theme. You can choose either a free or paid theme and use it directly on your online store. Consequently, without code knowledge, customers can still have their own store which follows the Shopify template.  

However, while using Shopify themes, there are many limitations. That is why Shopify allows customers to install apps outside to support businesses due to their needs. For example, customers can install layout or themes to build their website in the most proper way as Shopify themes are limited in customization option.

Store Owners can make combinations between Shopify themes and every other Page Builder to create their own page which has their own style. 

You can try out Beae – a tremendous app page builder.

Beae - Flexible Page Builder

Beae is considered one of the most famous apps for customizing by drag and drop action in order to customize each section in layout. Customers can create landing, product, and blog pages due to. Besides, if they don’t know how to create a page, Beae offer a template library with various theme and a large resource of trending template that is updated every week following customers’ requirements.  

• Free: $0/month
• Basic: $11.10/month
• Pro: $29.99/month
• Premium: $149.99/month

Shopify Apps

Shopify apps and tools

Apart from the Shopify theme and setting, there are many other apps for customers to choose from and in conjunction with Shopify to increase your conversion rate. The apps that you need are what your online need, for example:

• Email Marketing
• Product Reviews
• Order Printer
• Other Apps

There are variable options for you to choose to help your business grow potentially. Just check out the number of apps available in Shopify’s App Platform and consider which app suits your business.

Among those listed apps, there are several things that are not required but useful to your business and might be necessary depending on your specific business feature. Let’s check out:

• Product Reviews: This may be the first app that we want to mention because it can raise brand awareness and create curiosity for customers when they see an image or video reviews from customers.
• AVADA WhatsApp Email Marketing: A simple and user-friendly app that can help non-tech users easily send emails to engage and convert customers.
• MultiVariants - Bulk Order app: has a significant impact on both B2C and B2B wholesale businesses at Shopify. This app lets users add different variants of products from one product page with just one click. Store owners can apply restrictions, set MOQs, and create custom bundles with this app.
• PushOwl Web Push Notifications: By using web push, you can collect store visitors as subscribers with just one click, requiring no personal information like an email address or phone number.
• Growave – Loyalty, Wishlist: Instead of using several apps to control your store, try Growave to manage different components in your business such as Rewards, Reviews, Wishlist, Instagram, Social Login.
• ReConvert Upsell & Cross Sell: ReConvert is the most powerful upselling solution for Shopify stores. With app you can instantly add an average of 15% revenue, without spending a cent on ads.

In conclusion, starting an online business on Shopify comes with its own set of costs. It is essential to carefully consider expenses such as platform fees, website development, marketing, and product sourcing, among others, to accurately plan and budget for your venture. By understanding and preparing for these costs, aspiring entrepreneurs can set realistic expectations and position themselves for success in the competitive online marketplace.