Cost and Time to Build a Small EC Site

“How much does it cost and how long does it take to build a small online store?”
This is a common concern for shop owners and solo entrepreneurs.

This article provides a professional breakdown of the cost and workload of developing a small e-commerce website.
You’ll also find cost comparisons by approach, real-world examples, and common pitfalls—all useful before starting your project.

Cost Summary of Small EC Sites
1. Estimated Development Costs
Implementation Example (HTML + JS)
Common Pitfalls and Fixes

Cost Summary of Small EC Sites

Estimated Development Costs

Method	Cost (USD)	Duration
Full Scratch	$6,000–10,000	2–3 months
WordPress + WooCommerce	$2,000–4,000	1–2 months
Shopify (with template)	$1,000–2,000	1 month

Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan)
https://www.meti.go.jp/statistics/toppage/report/ministry/index.html

Implementation Example (HTML + JS)

<html>
  <body>
    <h1>Product List</h1>
    <div id="items">
      <div>
        <span>Product A</span>
        <button onclick="addToCart('Product A')">Add to Cart</button>
      </div>
    </div>
    <h2>Cart</h2>
    <ul id="cart"></ul>

    <script>
      const cart = [];
      function addToCart(item) {
        cart.push(item);
        document.getElementById('cart').innerHTML = cart.map(i => `<li>${i}</li>`).join('');
      }
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

Common Pitfalls and Fixes

Payment issues
→ Make sure to use production API keys in live environment.
Emails not sent
→ Check SMTP settings and DNS configuration (SPF/TXT).