Intro: the "site = e-commerce" fallacy
When you say "I want to launch an e-commerce site", the first thing that comes to mind is the site cost: theme, design, setup. Yet that line item is not even 30% of the total project. The other 70% is payments + marketplace + ERP + shipping + KVKK + operations.
In this post we cover e-commerce setup under 8 headings with real cost ranges: platform choice, theme + design, payment integration, marketplace + ERP, KVKK + security, shipping + logistics, content + product photography, operational cost.
2026 reference range: small e-commerce (100-500 SKUs, single category) total ~$5-13K upfront + $500-1.7K/month ops. Mid-market ~$17-50K + $1.7-5K/month. Large (10K+ SKUs, multi-channel) ~$70-170K + $7-17K/month.
1. Platform choice: ~20% of setup cost
Hosted SaaS: Shopify ($50-500/mo + transaction fees), Ikas ($17-170/mo), Ideasoft, T-Soft. Fast launch (1-2 weeks), low technical bar, limited customization.
Self-hosted: WooCommerce (WordPress) — hosting only ($7-50/mo) + plugin cost ($170-1K/year). More flexible but maintenance is on you.
Custom: Next.js + Medusa / Saleor. Build $7-17K, $70-340/mo hosting. Full control; no license cost but you need a maintenance team.
Decision matrix: SMB (1-3 year horizon) → Shopify / Ikas. Mid-market + Turkey-focused → Ikas (Turkish support + local integrations). Large + global → Shopify Plus / custom. Product is the competitive moat → custom from day one.
2. Theme + design: "stock or custom?"
Stock themes: Shopify Theme Store / Ikas templates $0-500. Live in 24 hours, but "generic" look. SEO + Core Web Vitals depend on theme quality; some themes are slow.
Custom theme on existing platform: Shopify Liquid / Ikas custom theme — $1.4-5K. 2-4 weeks. Brand identity fully expressed, performance can be optimized.
Headless e-commerce (custom frontend + Shopify backend): Next.js + Shopify Storefront API. $3.5-10K. 4-8 weeks. Highest performance, brand control, SEO advantage; but you need a maintenance team.
Practical rule: annual revenue <$70K → stock theme is enough. $70K-700K → custom theme. $700K+ → headless or custom build. Don't fall for "more expensive design = higher conversion"; conversion lift is in the underlying structure (UX, speed, message).
3. Payment integration: multi-provider mandatory
In Turkey e-commerce, a single payment provider is insufficient. Typical combo: iyzico or PayTR (credit/debit card) + Stripe (international cards) + BKM Express / Garanti BBVA Pay (local user preference) + Papara / Param (wallet).
Cost lines: provider transaction fee (1.5-2.99% + 0.01 USD), monthly subscription (typically $0-17), integration labor (each provider 1-3 days = $170-500 × 4 providers = $700-2K).
Installment systems: 60%+ of Turkey e-commerce buys with installments. Separate installment agreement per bank (Garanti, Akbank, İş Bankası, Yapı Kredi). Without this chain, half your sales evaporate.
3D Secure: mandatory on all payments (BDDK rule). Test environment + production transition is a separate process per provider. Done badly = high failed-transaction rate = low conversion.
4. Marketplace + ERP integration
Is marketplace mandatory? In Turkey: Trendyol, Hepsiburada, N11, Amazon, GittiGidiyor. 80% of new e-commerce starts from marketplace. Site + marketplace combo is the "omnichannel" strategy.
Integration cost: per marketplace, sync of stock + product + order + price. Pre-built tools (Mikropage, Trendyol Pano, Hepsiburada Pano) $17-100/mo. Custom integration $1-3.5K/marketplace.
ERP integration: Logo, Netsis, Mikro, SAP. Stock + accounting + invoicing connection. Pre-built plugins $170-700 setup + $35-100/mo. Custom integration $1.7-5K.
Typical trap: "I'll sync manually". Possible up to 100 orders/day; chaos beyond. Manual errors (wrong stock = order refund = lost customer) are 3-5x more expensive than the integration cost.
5. KVKK + security + legal items
KVKK compliance is mandatory: privacy notice, cookie banner, explicit consent, data subject access channel. Templates exist but lawyer review needed ($170-500).
SSL + security: SSL is free (Let's Encrypt) but EV SSL (green bar) for payment trust is $35-100/year. WAF (Cloudflare, Sucuri) $70-340/year. PCI-DSS compliance (if you store card data) $1-3.5K audit.
Legal items: distance sales contract, pre-information form, return/cancel policy, terms of use, privacy policy. Lawyer $340-1K; using stock templates is risky (Turkey-specific clauses missing).
Right of withdrawal: 14-day right of withdrawal is a legal mandate. Refund procedure, payment refund automation, logistics tracking — each a separate system. Complex but violation carries serious penalties.
6. Shipping + logistics infrastructure
Shipping integration: Yurtiçi, MNG, Aras, PTT, UPS, DHL. Each has separate API + contract. Pre-built tools (Sendoo, Kolay Gelsin, Sürat) $17-70/mo; custom integration $700-2K.
Shipping cost: $0.85-2.7 per item (by weight + region). Free shipping threshold ("free over $17") shapes customer behavior; critical for conversion.
Storage / fulfillment: own warehouse + packing team (at scale) or 3PL (third-party logistics: Hepsijet, AnaSayfa, Trendyol Express). 3PL monthly $170-1.7K + per-order $0.17-0.70.
Returns management: avg 15-25% return rate (apparel 30%+). Each return = shipping + warehouse + customer service = 30-50% of order cost. This line is invisible the first 6 months but pinches cash flow from month 7 on.
7. Content + product photography + ads
Product photography: professional studio shoot $3-17/product. 100 products = $340-1.7K. Mobile UGC-style photos (phone shots) cheap but quality risk.
Product description + SEO content: 200-500 words SEO-friendly per product. 100 products × $1-3.5/product = $100-340 content writing. AI is 50-70% cheaper but a human editor is required.
Ad budget (Google Ads + Meta Ads): $1-10K/month range. New e-commerce's first 6 months are ad-dependent (no organic traffic); SEO kicks in at month 4-6.
Content marketing (blog, social): $170-1K/month (writer + visuals + social media manager). Lowers CAC (customer acquisition cost) over the long run.
8. Operational cost: "6 months runway" rule
Typical monthly ops: (a) infra + integrations ($70-500), (b) shipping + fulfillment (variable by orders, $1-5K), (c) ads ($1-10K), (d) content + social ($340-1K), (e) customer service (1-3 people, $1-3K/mo), (f) management + accounting ($340-1K).
Monthly total (mid-market): $3.5-17K. First 6 months are ad-heavy; revenue won't cover that. "Setup + 6 months ops" runway is mandatory.
Setup + 6-month ops calc: $13K setup + 6 × $7K ops = ~$55K mid-market start. Projects that skip this calc — 60%+ hit cash crunch in months 3-5.
Cash flow is generally negative for first 12 months: revenue < cost. Track conversion rate, AOV (average order value), CAC, LTV from day one. Positive cash flow is targeted at month 12.
Conclusion: ask "total investment" not "site price"
E-commerce setup cost = site 30% + infra 20% + ops prep 50%. Teams that only ask the site price get a shock 3 months in.
Healthy planning: 8-line detailed budget + 6-month ops runway + 12-month cash flow projection. Without all three, e-commerce investment is gambling.
If you want a detailed cost analysis + infrastructure recommendation for your e-commerce project, reach out via our web software page; we'll prepare a tailored 8-item budget + ROI projection.
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