A working online store in India starts around ₹60,000 to build and takes four to eight weeks — and the cost that surprises people isn’t the build, it’s product entry, which is almost never included. Full cost table, the integrations you actually need, and the honest marketplace comparison below.
The cost table
| What you’re buying | One-time build | Ongoing |
|---|---|---|
| Store on WordPress + WooCommerce, up to ~50 products | ₹60,000–1,20,000 | Hosting (higher than a brochure site), domain, maintenance |
| Store with 200+ products, variants, filters | ₹1,00,000 upward | As above, plus product-entry cost |
| Hosted platform (Shopify and similar) | Lower build, template-based | Monthly platform fee, indefinitely |
| Marketplace listing only | Little or nothing upfront | Commission on every sale |
| Custom checkout or ERP integration | Quoted individually | — |
Plus, on every route: payment gateway per-transaction fees, delivery/courier charges, and 18% GST on the build.
The Shopify row deserves a note. Compare it over three years, not against the build price — a recurring monthly platform fee continues for as long as the store exists, and moving off a hosted platform later is difficult. The broader cost picture.
The product-upload reality
This is the part that derails store projects, and it’s almost never in a quote.
Every product needs a name, a current price, a description, at least one cropped photograph, a category, variants where they exist, stock status, and sometimes weight and dimensions for delivery charges. That’s roughly five to fifteen minutes each depending on how ready your material is.
| Products | Realistic entry time |
|---|---|
| 20 | Half a day |
| 50 | 1–2 days |
| 200 | 4–8 days |
| 500+ | Weeks, or a bulk import |
Ask this before commissioning anything: “Is product entry included? If not, what’s the cost per product — and can you bulk-import from a spreadsheet?”
The bulk-import question is the largest possible saving. If your products already exist in Tally, an Excel sheet, a billing system or a marketplace listing, most platforms can import from a formatted file — turning eight days into an afternoon plus corrections. The full catalogue problem.
Practical advice: launch with your best thirty products, not everything. A live store this month beats a complete catalogue that never goes live, and you’ll learn which products actually get viewed.
The integrations you actually need
| Integration | What it does | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Payment gateway | Cards, UPI, netbanking, wallets | Business verification required; per-transaction fee |
| UPI | Usually via the gateway | Check it’s enabled — most Indian buyers prefer it |
| Cash on delivery | Large share of Indian orders | Increases returns; decide your policy before launch |
| Courier / shipping aggregator | Rates, labels, tracking | Weight and dimensions must be on every product |
| GST-compliant invoicing | Tax invoices to buyers | Confirm your rates are set correctly per category |
| Order notifications | Email/WhatsApp to you and the customer | Test both before launch |
One warning worth taking seriously on the gateway. Verification cross-checks your business details against your site and registrations — and one buyer reported a developer registering their site against a personal email, after which the gateway withheld transactions until it was corrected. The site existed; money couldn’t move through it.
Rule: register the domain, hosting, business email, gateway and Google profile all under one email address you control, with consistent business details. Why the email matters.
Realistic timeline
| Phase | Duration | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements, catalogue structure | 3–5 days | Both |
| Design | 5–7 days | Developer |
| Build, cart and checkout | 10–14 days | Developer |
| Payment gateway application and verification | Unpredictable — start early | The gateway |
| Product entry | Half a day to weeks | You, or paid separately |
| Testing, test orders, go-live | 5–7 days | Both |
Four to eight weeks total for a straightforward store. The two rows that break schedules are gateway verification, which nobody can compress, and product entry. Start the gateway application in week one, and prepare your catalogue spreadsheet while the build runs.
Marketplace versus your own store
An honest comparison, because most sellers should do both.
| Marketplace | Your own store | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Little or none | ₹60,000 upward |
| Existing buyer traffic | Yes — the main reason to be there | No; you bring it |
| Commission per sale | Yes | No — gateway fee only |
| Customer relationship | Theirs | Yours |
| Price and presentation control | Limited | Full |
| Platform can change terms | Yes | Not applicable |
The sensible position: marketplace for reach, own store for margin, repeat customers and credibility. Not one instead of the other. Website, app or marketplace — the decision test.
What a store quote must specify
Ask for these in writing before paying:
- Which platform, and who holds the licence
- Whether product entry is included, and the per-product rate if not
- Whether bulk import from a spreadsheet is possible, and the format needed
- Which payment gateway, and who submits the application
- Whether COD, shipping rates and GST invoicing are configured
- Number of revision rounds
- Backups: frequency and where stored — order data cannot be recreated by rebuilding
- The year-two cost: hosting, domain, platform fees, maintenance
- Domain registered in your name and account
- Post-launch response time and change rate
Row 7 matters more on a store than anywhere else. Customer and order records are not recoverable from a rebuild — why the backup location matters.
What to do this week
- Count your products and check where they already exist digitally.
- Ask whether bulk import is possible, and get product entry priced separately.
- Start the payment gateway application early — verification is the unpredictable step.
- Pick the thirty products to launch with.
- Confirm order-data backups: frequency and storage location, in writing.
If you want it done the certain way
Tell us your product count and where your catalogue currently lives — Tally, Excel, a marketplace, a printed rate card — and we’ll tell you whether a bulk import is possible and what entry would cost. Domain and gateway under your own accounts, build price and year-two costs published before you commit. WhatsApp us; we reply in about five minutes between 9am and 7pm.
Related reading
- The complete guide to your first business website in Delhi NCR
- Who types 200 products into your online store?
- Website, app or marketplace shop?
- What should “all-inclusive” actually include?
- Real website price list for Delhi NCR
FAQ
How much does ecommerce website development cost in India?
A WooCommerce store with up to around fifty products runs ₹60,000–1,20,000 to build; larger catalogues cost more. Add hosting, domain, gateway transaction fees, 18% GST, and product entry if it isn’t included.
Is product upload included in an ecommerce quote?
Almost never. It’s typically charged per product or left to you, at roughly five to fifteen minutes each. Ask whether a bulk import from a spreadsheet is possible — that’s the largest available saving.
How long does it take to build an online store?
Four to eight weeks for a straightforward store. The two unpredictable phases are payment gateway verification, which nobody can compress, and product entry — so start the gateway application in week one.
Should I sell on a marketplace or build my own store?
Both, for different jobs. Marketplaces bring existing buyer traffic at the cost of commission and the customer relationship; your own store gives you margin, repeat customers and control.
What does WooCommerce cost compared with Shopify?
WooCommerce has no platform fee but needs stronger hosting and more maintenance. Shopify has a lower build cost and a recurring monthly fee that continues indefinitely — compare them over three years rather than at build price.
What must a store backup include?
Files, the database, and — critically — order and customer data, stored off-server and taken frequently. Order records cannot be recreated by rebuilding the site.
