Table of Contents
eCommerce trend
the eCommerce strength keeps getting amplified year after year, and you can tell that eCommerce is the new oil online. This is simply because everyone loves convenience shopping. Who doesn’t like to shop and pay for their product and services from the comfort of their home? So if your business is still operating a physical store without an online shop, it’s time to transition to a professional eCommerce website, because more people are making the switch to online platforms to purchase their products. Konga and Jumia still have the most significant market share as far as eCommerce is concerned in Nigeria. However, Nigeria’s eCommerce market was valued at $7.6 billion in 2021 (ecommercedb.com) making it the 38th largest eCommerce market in the world.Why develop an eCommerce Website for your business?
There are numerous reasons to create an eCommerce Website looking at the above figures for the Nigerian market, the industry is yet to be fully explored and a lot of players are welcome to come into the industry. Simply, Nigeria needs more eCommerce websites to shop for their daily needs. There are largely fashion, groceries, tech, and electronic eCommerce gadgets in Nigeria and there are still so many inches in the eCommerce industry that are yet unexploded, in light of this, here are some more reasons you should consider starting an eCommerce Business in Nigeria. 1. Boost sales One of the best ways to increase your sales in 2023 is to sell online, an eCommerce Website makes that a possibility. Be it service or products you can sell online via your eCommerce website, you will reach a wider audience and experience an increase in sales compared to when you’re selling using traditional methods. 2. Convenience As far as shipping online is concerned, the keyword is convenience. People want to be able to shop for anything from the comfort of their beds, talk about all their home improvement needs, their personal development needs, and food items and they want to be able to shop on the go interestingly this can lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty. For example, if you sell tech gadgets and have an eCommerce shop, people from far locations can shop from your website and have their products shipped to them this is the case with Pointekonline and Slot Nigeria. 3. Cut down the cost of running a business Creating an eCommerce Website can be a little bit costly at first, especially for a small business but when you factor in the cost of running a business that would otherwise run better with eCommerce you’d come to realize that an eCommerce Website can help to reduce your overhead cost such as cost of warehousing, office rent, utilities and other expenses associated with running a physical store. 4. Data tracking Data tracking is one of the biggest mistakes any business can make is not using important metrics such as customers demographics, website traffic, most purchased products, and other types of metrics these data are important to understand your target market and customers better as well open you up to marketing strategies that are best for your business. 5. Improved customer experience and branding One of the goals of every small business owner should be to build a strong brand and provide a superb customer experience. An eCommerce website can help you achieve this, streamlined checkout process on the website, the ability to pay for orders using desired payment methods, ability explore product catalogs with details descriptions and prices are some of the experiences that help to improve customer experience.Features of a professional eCommerce website
Briefly, let’s look at some of the features of a professional eCommerce Website. 1. Product listing catalog showing product images, prices, descriptions, and how to order products. 2. A Shopping cart system for customers to manage their orders and see their shopping history. 3. A seamless Checkout process that makes it possible for customers to use their choice of payment method and shipping information to finalize their purchase. 4. Reliable Payment gateways: You can use a combination of one or more payments gateway to process the payment on your website. For example, if you sell in Africa and internationally you can use Stripe, PayPal, Flutterwave, or Paystack. 5. Customers must be able to pay for their purchases using a variety of payment methods such as credit cards, debit cards, or electronic payment services like PayPal. 6. Order tracking allows your customer to track the status of their order, and to have first-hand information on shipping and delivery details. 7. A Customer’s account area allows customers to create and manage accounts, from their personal dashboard, they can see their order history, key in their payment and shipping data, and access other platform-specific features. 8. Mobile responsiveness is an important feature when developing both eCommerce and corporate informational Websites today. The website should be easily accessible across platforms and different device screen sizes such as smart TV, smartphones Android phones, desktops, etc. 9. Security measure is another important eCommerce website feature. every eCommerce site must have security measures in place to mitigate cyber threats and data breaches. Installing SSL, investing in a cloud softest, and other security measures can help prevent fraud and protect the day of your customers.Elements and resources needed to create an eCommerce Website
- Domain Name (see the cost of domain names in Nigeria)
- Website Content
- Web Hosting
Best eCommerce Platforms
There are several platforms for building eCommerce websites including Wix, Prestashop, Shopify, Magento, Webflow, and Bigcommerce but WordPress and Shopify have the largest market share.WordPress + Woocommerce
If you have a lean budget I recommend you go with WordPress (Woocommerce), You can power your eCommerce Website using a combination of sophisticated eCommerce plugins, and themes. You just need to fork out your own web hosting and put the elements together.Shopify
For some, Shopify is perceived as costlier (until otherwise proven if/when the entrepreneurs suffered a breach). Shopify is a managed eCommerce site builder, the platform dedicates to managing all the technical stuff for you and also puts in your real top marketing software to supercharge the growth of your business.Breakdown of Cost to build an eCommerce website in Nigeria
The cost of developing a professional and fully-functional eCommerce website varies from agency to agency, the eCommerce solutions deployed and the features needed for the eCommerce website. However, the cost of designing an eCommerce Website in Nigeria can range from N150,000 to above N1m.| Item | Cost Estimate |
|---|---|
| Domain Name | ₦1,500 – ₦18,000 per year |
| Hosting | ₦1,800 – ₦10,800 per month |
| Website Design & Layout | ₦18,000 – ₦72,000 |
| Professional Logo | ₦5,000 – ₦300,000 |
| Ecommerce features | ₦30,000 – ₦180,000 |
| Website Maintenance | ₦3,000 – ₦72,000 per month |
| Site Copies and Content | ₦30,000 – |
| SSL | ₦0 – ₦100,000 per year |
| Payment gateway Integrations | ₦50,000 – ₦520,000 |
| ERP integrations | ₦50,000 |
To Hire a Web Developer or Do-It-Yourself?
As a Small Business owner, should You hire a professional web designer to handle the development of your website or Do-It-Yourself?A business website is not something that should be done with trial and error, one of the major goals of creating a website is to be a marketing tool that you can use to create awareness around your business, boost your marketing reach and generate convertible leads, creating a business website should be approached with much precision and professionalism.You can either create your own website design yourself or engage the service of a professional web designer to do it for you. The optimum goal is to have a professional-looking website that is easy to use and speaks great customer experience. A professionally designed website can help establish credibility and trust with potential customers, and can also help improve search engine rankings. In most cases, it’s a good idea to hire a professional web designer to oversee the development of your website. There are several reasons why it’s generally a good idea to hire a professional ecommerce web designer to handle the development of your website. Some of the main benefits are: Expertise and experience: Professional web designers have the knowledge and experience to innovate a high-quality website that fits well with your specific business model. They are skilled at using the latest design technologies and methodologies to ensure that your website is functional, user-friendly, and visually appealing. Save time and hassle: Designing and developing a website can be a time-consuming and complex process, especially for the non-tech savvy. By hiring a professional, you can save yourself the hassle of trying to figure it all out by yourself and focus on running your business instead while the Web specialists do their thing. Improved search engine optimization (SEO): A professional web designer will have the knowledge and expertise to optimize your website for sound web positioning on search engines, which can help improve your search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site. Greater flexibility and customization: Engaging a web design agency can be the right decision especially when you need to create a custom website that is tailored to your specific business needs and goals. This can give you greater flexibility and control over the design and functionality of your website.
