Here is how much it costs to start an online boutique.

Indeed, clothing is a human need. We need clothes to protect ourselves against extreme weather conditions. No wonder people make much money selling clothes and other clothing accessories.

How Much Does it Cost to Start an Online Clothing Store?

Opening a boutique, no doubt is a sure money spinner. The boutique industry has produced millionaires and even billionaires.

This explains the wealth and inherent profit that is in the boutique industry.

For many years, opening a boutique was a brick-and-mortar business, where we walked into our store or boutique of choice to buy the clothes and apparel we needed.

SEE: Start Online Boutique in Texas

But much of that has changed today as people can buy clothes online and even over the telephone. Today, a lot of the buying is done from online boutiques.

The advent of technology in the 21st Century has given rise to many buying and selling online, and boutiques are not missing in action.

The boutique business not only deals with clothes but also encompasses all the accompanying accessories we can put on our bodies to complement our clothing, such as wristwatches, bags, jewelry, etc.

Talking about e-commerce and selling online, the online boutique business alone is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

The global market for bags alone is worth more than $150 (U.S. dollar), and a good chunk of that value is transacted online.

This is a testament to the value found in the online boutique business. That said, if you are considering starting an online boutique, you are thinking right.

Like any other business, starting an online boutique comes with unique costs.

In this article, we will examine the cost implication of starting an online boutique and how much it costs to start an online clothing line.

STARTUP COSTS FOR AN ONLINE CLOTHING BUSINESS

The main costs of starting an online boutique which we are going to examine in this article, are;

  1. Domain Name Cost.
  2. The Webhosting Cost.
  3. Website Development Cost.
  4. The Shopping Cart Installation.
  5. SSL Certificate Cost.
  6. Payment Processing Cost.

These are the cost that you must encounter in starting your online boutique. We shall now examine these costs in detail.

  1. Domain Name Cost

The first cost you will deal with when starting an online boutique is the cost of procuring the domain name for your online boutique.

You must have an account with a domain name company to get your domain name. The cost for a domain name could range from $1.99 (U.S. dollar) to as high as $50.00 (U.S. dollar).

The domain name’s cost would depend on the domain name company and the domain extension you are using, whether it is a .net or a .com domain extension.

  1. The Web Hosting Cost

Web hosting is another cost you would encounter in starting your online boutique. The web hosting cost could be as low as $2.99 (U.S. dollar) a month. It is essential to mention that most domain name companies or registrars offer a free domain name when you pay for web hosting.

  1. Website Development Cost

If you are using a professional website developer for your website development, the cost could range from $40 (U.S. dollar) to $150 (U.S. dollar), depending on your need and the experience of the web developer.

If you are developing the website yourself using a PHP platform like WordPress, this would be at no cost, as WordPress is a free website development platform.

  1. The Shopping Cart Installation

The shopping cart installation is free. Since your online business is e-commerce, e-commerce websites come with a free shopping cart installation.

  1. SSL Certificate Cost

Your online boutique website would need an SSL Certificate to protect the financial information of your shoppers, who would be entering their banking, credit card, and debit card details on your website.

An SSL Certificate provides a strong layer of security for data transfers and customer logins which your website would need. The cost for an SSL Certificate could come to $1.67 (U.S. dollar) per month.

  1. Payment Processing Cost

Your website would accept payments from customers, who would be the life wire of your business.
More than 90% of your website’s payment would be through payment processors such as PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and other payment processing companies.

It is free to install these payment processors’ interfaces on your website. However, a transaction fee is charged.

Usually, these payment processors charge a payment processing fee of 2% to 3% per transaction.

Total Cost

From the information we have provided in this article, we can see that the cost of starting an online boutique starts from $62.03 (U.S. dollar) and can go as high as $220.04 (U.S. dollar).

Conclusion

With the information provided, you can now be sure that you understand the cost that will most likely come when starting your online boutique.

Note, however, that the above cost does not include the inventory cost. Ensure to keep the cost of your online boutique within your budget.