Let’s breakdown the development process
There are two common ways to build an eCommerce Website: using a builder or custom it. Whatever methods you use, you need to carefully prepare and follow the guide steps for the best result.
Phase 1: Research & planning
This phase is all about preparation. You choose what product you want to sell with your online store. Then your store name and domain. Remember to select something unique but easy to recall at this step and still represent your brand and product identity.
Next, you write down your project scope. This includes the goals and needs. What features do you want your website to have? What experience do you bring to your customers? And what do you want to achieve from your website? (Brand awareness, customer retention, conversions, or just products listings)
Then choose a Web Builder you want to use or a Web Agency that helps you with the development.
This step can take from 1 week to 1 month
Phase 2: Design
Now it’s time to design your website. It would help if you created a sitemap, layout, and wireframe during this. This is how users will navigate through your site. Afterward, prepare other components to finish the final look of your web. This includes color, font, image, button, and popup design.
This step can take from one to eight weeks. You can look for inspiration on Pinterest, Webflow, or Dribble. Work closely with your team during this process to ensure good UX/UI.
Phase 3: Development
Perhaps the most important and complex part of eCommerce web development is coding. While the back-end development will work on how your site process data and responds to action, the front-end will determine the function of your web interface.
If you decide to code manually, you can use ReactJS for the front-end and NodeJS for the back-end. There are many programming languages and frameworks for web development to choose from.
If you use a web builder, you only need to set up payment & shipping methods and products listing. The vendor will take care of the rest.
It can take anywhere from 1 to 8 months to finish this stage.
Phase 4: Testing & launching
Before launching, thoroughly test your web function. You don’t want any bugs or errors to happen when you launch. Check your web loading time, CTA button function, navigation bar, and checkout process.
Add up: How long does it take to create an eCommerce website?
The timeframe for creating an eCommerce Website can vary. Depending on the project’s complexity, the number of pages, the features you choose, and other requirements (integration with the management system, payment gateway), the process can go from 1 week to 1 year. To know the exact answer, you need to consult your team and vendor to set a deadline.
However, for your preparation, we have put down an estimated timeframe:
- If you use an eCommerce Web Builder (Shopify, Woo, BigCommerce, Magento) and build a basic one: 1 day to a few weeks
- If you use an eCommerce Web Builder but still need to custom code a few parts (yes, you can do it): 1 month to 6 months based on the feature’s complexity
- If you choose custom eCommerce Web Development: anywhere from 1 month to 1 year, depends on the complexity
eCommerce website builder vs custom eCommerce web development
Time shouldn’t be the only criterion when choosing a method of building an eCommerce web. Using a builder might be more cost-effective, but they have many limitations. In contrast, tailor-made ones require more time and resources. Other than that, what are the differences in performance and features?
| eCommerce Web Builder | Custom eCommerce Website | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to build | Take anywhere from one day to a week to create and optimize your website. You don’t have to deal with coding, back-end, front-end, and testing. | Take anywhere from 1 month to a year. It requires plenty of time for research, drafting, design, development, and testing before the final launch. |
| Human resources | One person can even do a job | For the best project performance, you might need a team of at least 3 people |
| Cost | Basic features are usually free, while advanced features will cost a bit. You also must pay a monthly/annual fee or license fee to create and maintain your website. | You only need to pay one time. The price is based on the contract between you and your vendor. Some vendors might also require an annual maintenance fee. |
| UX/UI | Might be challenging to optimize since you are using templates | You can freely optimize it |
| Performance | Range from low to medium performance (page load, data processing, responsive) since you use pre-coded back-end and front-end. These can be limited sometimes. | Range from medium to high performance since you can freely adjust your web source code. These webs are custom coded based on the project requirements. |
| Scalability | Scaling might be limited; you also have to pay extra. | Easy to scale in the future. You can quickly do it anytime |
| Integration | If your builder doesn’t have an integration plugin or an API, you might need to accept set parameters. | You have full control of your integration ability and API |
| Risk | With the vendor taking care of the back, you don’t need to worry much about bugs, troubleshooting, or testing. | You must constantly watch out for bugs or errors during and after development. |
However, for your preparation, we have put down an estimated timeframe:
- If you use an eCommerce Web Builder (Shopify, Woo, BigCommerce, Magento) and build a basic one: 1 day to a few weeks
- If you use an eCommerce Web Builder but still need to custom code a few parts (yes, you can do it): 1 month to 6 months based on the feature’s complexity
- If you choose custom eCommerce Web Development: anywhere from 1 month to 1 year, depends on the complexity
Synodus – A full cycle web design & development agency
In case you are looking for a Custom eCommerce Website solution, Synodus provides a full-cycle web design & development service.
As a leading IT Outsourcing & Web Agency in Vietnam, we have successfully delivered hundreds of responsive, UX/UI driven, and lightning-fast web pages for eCommerce businesses over the last 3 years. View our portfolio.
We adopt a plethora of tech stacks, including Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, WordPress, ReactJS, NodeJS, PHP, Java, etc. With a team of 300+ tech experts, we will consult and create the most tangible results that help your eCommerce business accelerate.
Wonder how long does it take to build an eCommerce website with Synodus? Request time estimates now!
