"I want to create a small online store, but how much money and time will it take to develop?"
This is a common question for many store owners and sole proprietors.
In this article,A detailed explanation from a professional perspective of the estimated costs and labor required to develop a small-scale EC siteI will.
Also,Comprehensive coverage of cost comparisons by development pattern, implementation examples, and points to notePlease use this as a reference for making your decision before production.
What is the average cost for a small e-commerce site?
Conclusion: The guideline is between 300,000 yen and 1.5 million yen.
The development costs for a small-scale e-commerce site (less than 50 products and basic functions only) vary mainly depending on the following:
- Development method(Full scratch/WordPress/Shopify etc.)
- Design or no design(Template/Original)
- Additional Features(Reviews, payments, inventory sync, etc.)
Below is a summary of the costs:
| Development Form | Estimated cost | Man-hours (duration) |
|---|---|---|
| Full scratch development | Approximately 1 million to 1.5 million yen | About 2 to 3 months |
| WordPress + WooCommerce | About 400,000 to 800,000 yen | About 1 to 2 months |
| Shopify construction (using paid templates) | Approximately 300,000 to 500,000 yen | About 1 month |
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry "Survey on IT Implementation Status (2024 Edition)"
https://www.meti.go.jp/statistics/toppage/report/ministry/index.html
Comparing development effort
Development time varies depending on the scale and components.
Examples of basic functions
- Product list page/Product details page
- Cart function (add, delete, check)
- Payment (credit card, bank transfer, etc.)
- User Registration/Login
Estimated man-hours (1 man-month = 160 hours)
- Design + Front-end implementation: 1 person-month (approximately 200,000 to 300,000 yen)
- Backend + payment integration: 1 to 1.5 man-months (approx. 300,000 to 500,000 yen)
- Test and production environment construction: 0.5 man-months (approximately 100,000 to 150,000 yen)
Advantages and points to note for each development method
The benefits of a full-scratch approach
- Highly customizable and easy to make unique
- Freedom of future expansion
Disadvantages
- Longer development time
- Higher development costs
CMS (WordPress/WooCommerce)
- Easy to use even for beginners, and quick to build
- Multifunctionality possible with a combination of plug-ins
Note: Errors may occur due to security or plugin compatibility issues.
Sample code for a simple e-commerce site
Below is an example of a simple cart process created using HTML and JavaScript.
<html>
<body>
<h1>Product List</h1>
<div id="items">
<div>
<span>Product A</span>
<button onclick="addToCart('商品A')">add to cart</button>
</div>
</div>
<h2>Cart Contents</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 errors and solutions
- Payment doesn't work
→ Test API keys and production API keys are often mixed together. - I haven't received any emails
→ This is caused by incorrect SMTP settings or a missing SPF record.
summary
When developing a small-scale e-commerce site, you need to make choices based on your purpose and budget.
If you want to keep costs down, use a CMS. If you want uniqueness, a full-scratch design is effective.is.
Be sure to get a thorough estimate before development and plan with post-release operations in mind.
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