Ecommerce Website Costs & Scope Estimator
Scope WooCommerce, Shopify or custom storefront implementations based on build effort. Configure scope and review confirmed labour at R850/hour excl. VAT, with unpriced items identified.
Configure your scopeA labour budget to start the conversation
For a store budgeting exercise, assume 60 hours to discuss catalogue setup, checkout, payment configuration and testing. Product volume, payment provider and operational integrations determine the actual work.
60 assumed hours × R850/hour = R51,000 excluding VAT. This is a hypothetical planning allocation, not an approved package or a quote for your project.
Product capture, photography, gateway fees, subscriptions, shipping services, accounting integrations, hosting and ongoing care need separate allowances. Discovery, build and ongoing operation need their own scope. Changing this allowance does not price the activities below or change an issued estimate.
Build a scope you can discuss.
R850/hour excluding VAT. Unapproved hours and fees require custom quotation. Your selections are indicative.
- 1. Context
- 2. Activities
- 3. Delivery plan
- 4. Request
Your indicative scope
Indicative display conversion using Frankfurter reference rates. Charges remain in ZAR.
Scope an uncertain project through discovery
Once-off and monthly charges are separate. Tax, supplier fees, validity and custom milestones need confirmation. Pending items are excluded from known charges.
Discuss this scope by email
Download your brief and attach it to an email, or open a draft with a short summary. Review it in your email app before sending.
Open email draftNo online request is sent by these actions. Contact details and private notes are not included in the email link.
What changes this estimate
A store with ten simple products raises different pricing questions from a catalogue with sizes, colours and stock held in another system. Use this estimator to describe the WooCommerce, Shopify or custom storefront you need, including what already exists. We can then discuss the work behind the catalogue, checkout and day-to-day operation, with the assumptions visible alongside the costs.
Describe a representative delivery
Start with a representative product and order. Show us the product details, images, SKUs and variants you have, then describe where the customer can order from and how shipping should be calculated. Include your platform, total product and SKU counts, catalogue import needs and shipping zones. A sample makes it easier to see whether the job is mostly store setup or also includes preparing inconsistent product data.
Use the first-delivery option to describe what the store needs for its initial release. For example, you might want to discuss launching one product range before adding a wider catalogue or a stock connection. Note those later dependencies separately, along with who will check the first release. Quantities describe activities or units of work; they do not establish approved hours per unit, and selecting a plan does not create an approved fixed price.
Compare storefront delivery assumptions
When comparing WooCommerce, Shopify and a custom storefront, consider both the build and what you will need to operate it. Hosting, platform configuration, extension choices and maintenance carry different responsibilities. The estimator does not assume identical build effort or subscription costs. Describe the same product model, variants, shipping regions, tax requirements and payment path for each option so the comparison covers the same store.
For a catalogue import, share a sample of the source data so we can agree which fields become product titles, SKUs, variants and other store details. Product counts alone do not establish effort when images, variants or SKUs are inconsistent. A stock connection to an ERP belongs in a separately selected integration scope.
Allow for checking the awkward orders as well as a successful checkout: a failed payment, an address outside a shipping zone, account behaviour and representative orders all belong in the launch review. Provider subscriptions and transaction fees remain separate from development labour.
Hours, costs and assumptions
Confirmed labour is calculated at R850 per hour excluding VAT. Each selected quantity is multiplied by an approved hours-per-unit value. Base, discovery and complexity allowances need their own approval. Unapproved items remain Custom quote required and prevent a fixed total; they are never silently priced as zero.
For a budgeting example, assume 60 hours for catalogue setup, checkout, payment configuration and testing: 60 × R850 = R51,000 excluding VAT in labour. Those 60 hours are hypothetical, not an approved ecommerce allowance or package. Product volume, the payment provider and operational integrations determine the actual work. Product capture, photography, gateway fees, subscriptions, shipping services, accounting integrations, hosting and ongoing care need separate allowances.
The initial ten-hour website allocation is specific to the existing website calculator. It is not automatically applied to this service. Where managed dedicated hosting is selected, the separately stated management allocation applies to the agreed management scope.
Once-off work and monthly commitments are shown independently. Content writing, SEO, subscriptions, platform usage, travel and other external charges are included only when explicitly approved and itemised. International display currency does not change the authoritative ZAR calculation or establish a tax exemption.
Scope boundaries
- Separate provider subscription, gateway transaction fees and plugins from labour.
- Inventory sync with ERP is not included unless integration module is selected.
- Large catalogues or unusual taxation are custom scope.
Use the plan to request an estimate
A few useful answers before you decide.
Use the platform comparison to check what each option includes and which recurring services it depends on. Before requesting a quotation, add any missing catalogue details, payment or shipping requirements, and review amounts still marked for a custom quote. This gives us a clearer starting point for discussing your store. Your contact details stay separate from saved session selections. Payment milestones and quote validity require written confirmation.
Explore the related service or compare the original website calculator. The PDF request becomes available only when the secure quotation backend is configured; the page clearly indicates its current state.
Why does this tool show custom quote required?
Is the result a binding quotation?
Share the scope while you plan
The interactive summary lets you download a text brief or open an email draft for review. The email action does not send an online quotation request. To share the store requirements, attach the downloaded brief and add your preferred contact details in your email app. Private PDF issuance remains conditional on a configured quotation service.
Start a conversation
Tell us what you are working towards. We’ll help you find a practical next step.