Website Development Costs, Magento is working out to be expensive!

[samuel5]

Hi all

We have finally migrated our Magento 1 website over to Magento 2 and now our developers have hit us with increased support costs and they have gone up massively.
If we had a Shopify website I imagine the support would be minimal and we would only have to pay for design changes?

On the options quoted below they are charging us £1100 + VAT just to keep the site active at a bare minimum!
Oh, and it is £300 per month to host our site on a dedicated server so total upkeep costs will be £1400 plus VAT per month minimum,

Critical Support & Security Patches - £1100+VAT Per Month

• Critical Support
• Security Patches
• Not suitable for design or development services, this package is only focused on keeping the site up to date with security patches, and critical website support in the event of the site being offline or unable to transact.

Starter - 25 Hours Per Month - £2500 +VAT Per Month

• Critical Support
• Security Patches
• Design & Development Services
• Magento 2 Platform Support
• Suitable for general site support, smaller developments and improvements, critical support & security patches

They do more expensive packages up to £11,000 per month but that is well above our needs.

Been working with them for years now and from my understanding, they just sub our work out to developers in India.

Anyone on Magento 2 paying similar costs? Would be good to get a few comparisons as I think they are taking the p!ss

Thanks

Sam

 

[ctrlbrk]

Wow, looks like they're ripping you off.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Not knowing enough anything about your setup or throughput, it is hard to comment, but, even for a large install, it sounds excessive.

Have you got other quotes or looked at the server specs and compared?

On a downer, whilst Magento is a great package, it has become a bit of a behemoth.....

 

[japancool]

Do you have a lot of custom work that requires Magento? Perhaps it's time to evaluate your ecommerce software.

 

[WebDesires]

Wow these guys are massively expensive, I'm sure we could provide the same support and hosting for less than £500pcm EASILY.

 

[NathanJames]

I agree with WebDesires - you're being overcharged.

krystal.uk/dedicated-servers <-- I highly recommend you check out Krystal for your dedicated server. I've tried numerous hosting providers in the UK and these guys are EXCEPTIONAL, very reasonably priced and I'd be amazed if you found better support from a hosting company anywhere in the world - even if you're on their very cheapest package. That link isn't an affiliate link either, they're that good of a company I shout about them to everyone that will listen.

Do you definitely need a dedicated server?

"If we had a Shopify website I imagine the support would be minimal and we would only have to pay for design changes?"

- Yes, platforms like Shopify / WordPress are all patched & updated automatically. You'd only need the support if there was an issue with the automatic update, which (in my experience), very rarely happens, unless you have super bespoke scripts running left right and centre.

You definitely need to shop around.

 

[antropy]

Website Development Costs, Magento is working out to be expensive!​

That's the problem with Magento, it's incredibly difficult to work with so it takes a lot of time from very skilled web developers and I'm afraid that's never cheap.

You should consider a simpler platform like OpenCart or Prestashop.

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

I agree with WebDesires - you're being overcharged.

krystal.uk/dedicated-servers <-- I highly recommend you check out Krystal for your dedicated server.

Krystal charge from £250/month for a dedicated server. Which isn't that much cheaper.

- Yes, platforms like Shopify / WordPress are all patched & updated automatically.

Wordpress isn't patched and updated automatically. You have to do it yourself. There is an auto update option but you need to be careful with this. And Wordpress is not an ecommerce platform.

Shopify is very limited unless you upgrade to enterprise plus at $2000/month.

As @antropy says: Magento is a big beast and very expensive to maintain and manage.

@samuel5 - what are you selling? Do you really need Magento?

 

[samuel5]

@samuel5 - what are you selling? Do you really need Magento?

We sell various lighting products on
Auraglow.co.uk

Not sure if we need Magento or not but it’s all we have ever used.
I know we have lots of custom work done, like being able to sell returned products as ‘warehouse deals’ and taking preorders for products with backorder dates etc

 

[gg12]

I do lots of web development and yes Magento is one of the best ecommerce solutions around. Do you need it or not, not really sure, probably you do. It has its pros and cons than the alternatives.

Are you using a dedicated server for it? I do not think you really need to, a cloud VPS will do. This is what I did when I hosted Magento.

Is it properly maintained? No, it is not. It throws lots of errors (counted 12 major errors on homepage like the one listed below), and quite probably you lose sales without even knowing.

Example from the site > Error: Script error for: Magento_Paypal/js/in-context/express-checkout-wrapper

Is the price too high? Depends how much development you need on the website each month. If not too much probably yes. Yet looking at the errors being thrown, its like having a luxury car with flat tyres.

 

[fisicx]

We sell various lighting products on
Auraglow.co.uk

Not sure if we need Magento or not but it’s all we have ever used.
I know we have lots of custom work done, like being able to sell returned products as ‘warehouse deals’ and taking preorders for products with backorder dates etc

The actual site doesn't need Magneto - pretty much every ecommerce platform could do this.

It's what happens in the backend that determines which platform you need. The custom work you describe isn't that complicated so my suggestion is you talk to @antropy. I'd put money on OpenCart being able to do everything you need at a fraction of the cost.

 

[samuel5]

Is it properly maintained? No, it is not. It throws lots of errors (counted 12 major errors on homepage like the one listed below), and quite probably you lose sales without even knowing.

Example from the site > Error: Script error for: Magento_Paypal/js/in-context/express-checkout-wrapper

Thanks for taking a look but I cannot see any errors on the homepage?

 

[japancool]

BigCommerce can do pre-orders (and backorders, I believe), and I imagine most other system can as well.

 

[gg12]

Yes, you cannot as you do not know where to look. It looks all fine on the outside, but its not.

I am sure also search engines do penalize your SEO ranking quite a bit for all these errors.

And because some of these errors do involve payment provider files its possible some of the customers cannot complete their sales.

This is why I said there is high chance you lose sales and you do not really know.

 

[Mister B]

Plus one for Krystal.

We have a Magento 2 site and they charge us £140 plus VAT per month.

Support is second to none.

 

[samuel5]

Yes, you cannot as you do not know where to look. It looks all fine on the outside, but its not.

I am sure also search engines do penalize your SEO ranking quite a bit for all these errors.

And because some of these errors do involve payment provider files its possible some of the customers cannot complete their sales.

This is why I said there is high chance you lose sales and you do not really know.

I have sent you a private message for your consultancy fees for highlighting the errors for me, thank you.

 

[Mister B]

As for the devs, that sounds ridiculously high. £100 per hour for the starter package, I don;t think so.

 

[fisicx]

As for the devs, that sounds ridiculously high. £100 per hour for the starter package, I don;t think so.

That’s not an unusual rate for Magento devs.

 

[zigojacko]

they are charging us £1100 + VAT just to keep the site active at a bare minimum!

What does this actually entail...?

If you are paying for dedicated hosting at £300 per month, it isn't really clear what £1100 to keep your site active as a bare minimum even means.

We've worked heavily with Magento for years and we have a wide range of support plans where we provide ongoing support and maintenance but our clients actively utilise our service and expertise to make changes and work on new features etc month to month. And many of them pay more than £1100 per month but it depends on the size of the website and how much our clients require from us.

If you're literally paying £1100 per month just for them to apply patches as and when they are released then yes, this sounds excessive - plus a lot of web hosts will apply patches as part of your hosting plan anyway.

 

[makeusvisible]

Hi all

We have finally migrated our Magento 1 website over to Magento 2 and now our developers have hit us with increased support costs and they have gone up massively.
If we had a Shopify website I imagine the support would be minimal and we would only have to pay for design changes?

On the options quoted below they are charging us £1100 + VAT just to keep the site active at a bare minimum!
Oh, and it is £300 per month to host our site on a dedicated server so total upkeep costs will be £1400 plus VAT per month minimum,

Critical Support & Security Patches - £1100+VAT Per Month

• Critical Support
• Security Patches
• Not suitable for design or development services, this package is only focused on keeping the site up to date with security patches, and critical website support in the event of the site being offline or unable to transact.

Starter - 25 Hours Per Month - £2500 +VAT Per Month

• Critical Support
• Security Patches
• Design & Development Services
• Magento 2 Platform Support
• Suitable for general site support, smaller developments and improvements, critical support & security patches

They do more expensive packages up to £11,000 per month but that is well above our needs.

Been working with them for years now and from my understanding, they just sub our work out to developers in India.

Anyone on Magento 2 paying similar costs? Would be good to get a few comparisons as I think they are taking the p!ss

Thanks

Sam

Hopefully I can give an alternative view to some of the replies you have already had. I run a web agency, and we also support and develop on Magento 2. All of what you say resonantes.

You did mention "they just sub our work out to developers in India.". I'm entirely being the devil's advocate here, but I wouldnt be mistaken into thinking that outsourcing work to a 3rd party developer is a) an easy decision to make, or b) an easy process to implement sucessfully or manage.

You may be thinking that you might as well work with the developers direct, but I can tell you with over 15 years experience of working with developers, (often overseas), and a decades experience of working with Magento, that if you try to work with developers direct, without either project management or Mage dev experience, you are onto a hiding to nothing. Magento is not a platform you want to take risks on, and having a trusted project manager to handle development is about as important as having your products prices correctly.

The fact of the matter is, Magento is becommming a niche platform. There are not a vast number of developers, certainly not in the UK who are reliable or as skilled as their CVs often suggest. The skills shortage has lead to more overseas outsourcing, and the dropping number of Magento customers has means that for web agencies it isn't viable to employ in house. For developers in the UK who are qualified in Magento development, the prices they can demand mean it is more lucrative to be self employed and freelance between agencies. Do not expect to pay less than £50 - £70 per hour for a Magento dev.

It looks like your chosen agency is charging £100 per hour. They sit between the dev, and you. They will be paying developer rates, and also have to factor in their own time in project managing, and client managing.

From what you have said, it looks like they are proposing at least 11 hours per month for support. Even for a fair sized m2 site, thats a stack of hours! I'd be asking why they need 11 hours per month.

You'll know form your past experience how demanding a customer you are, and how much time they spend with you each month. I would hope they havent plucked the figure from the air, but a well maintained Magento 2 site shouldnt need 11 hours per month in orde to maintain patches and updates, so the 11 hours may be based on how much time historically they are giving you.

Hope that helps.

 

[AlanJ1]

We are on Magento 2 with dedicated servers with Sonassi. Cost's us a big amount but it's needed.

We are actually looking at moving from M2 but we have a lot of custom work on the back-end of the site (and front-end). We are looking at Shopify + and going through a scoping exercise with them currently.

 

[zigojacko]

We are on Magento 2 with dedicated servers with Sonassi. Cost's us a big amount but it's needed.

We are actually looking at moving from M2 but we have a lot of custom work on the back-end of the site (and front-end). We are looking at Shopify + and going through a scoping exercise with them currently.

You'll struggle to replicate "a lot of custom work" from Magento on Shopify (in my experience) to be honest. Be interesting to know what they come back to you with though.

 

[AlanJ1]

You'll struggle to replicate "a lot of custom work" from Magento on Shopify (in my experience) to be honest. Be interesting to know what they come back to you with though.

We have been through a 2 hour scope and have the other 2 hours later this week.
2 problem areas on something they can't do natively (or something we can manipulate). Potential for them to create a custom app for us (or our devs can do this).

Biggest concern with us is the payment side from Shopify with the amount they take from cards but we are negotiating rates.

 

[zigojacko]

We have been through a 2 hour scope and have the other 2 hours later this week.
2 problem areas on something they can't do natively (or something we can manipulate). Potential for them to create a custom app for us (or our devs can do this).

Biggest concern with us is the payment side from Shopify with the amount they take from cards but we are negotiating rates.

It sounds like you run quite a sizeable store so can imagine that the transaction fees in Shopify would be substantial. Good luck with the negotiations.

 

[webjaved]

Hi all

We have finally migrated our Magento 1 website over to Magento 2 and now our developers have hit us with increased support costs and they have gone up massively.
If we had a Shopify website I imagine the support would be minimal and we would only have to pay for design changes?

On the options quoted below they are charging us £1100 + VAT just to keep the site active at a bare minimum!
Oh, and it is £300 per month to host our site on a dedicated server so total upkeep costs will be £1400 plus VAT per month minimum,

Critical Support & Security Patches - £1100+VAT Per Month

• Critical Support
• Security Patches
• Not suitable for design or development services, this package is only focused on keeping the site up to date with security patches, and critical website support in the event of the site being offline or unable to transact.

Starter - 25 Hours Per Month - £2500 +VAT Per Month

• Critical Support
• Security Patches
• Design & Development Services
• Magento 2 Platform Support
• Suitable for general site support, smaller developments and improvements, critical support & security patches

They do more expensive packages up to £11,000 per month but that is well above our needs.

Been working with them for years now and from my understanding, they just sub our work out to developers in India.

Anyone on Magento 2 paying similar costs? Would be good to get a few comparisons as I think they are taking the p!ss

Thanks

Sam

Excessive! ?

Time to look elsewhere and cut down those costs.

 

[AlanJ1]

It sounds like you run quite a sizeable store so can imagine that the transaction fees in Shopify would be substantial. Good luck with the negotiations.

Fairly large yes! Thankyou

 

[NEF]

I moved from Opencart and looked at Magento and Shopify, both nice solutions but ended up with woocommerce a quality theme and low cost quality cloud host. I'm amazed at the features, design, ease of editing, and functionality. Costs me < £30 a month to run, although there is some plugins I've added like Yoast, etc but overall massive cost difference, rapid quick and I have full control on the back end and front end. Compared to competitor sites running the above, I might be biased but I think my solution looks so much better.

 

[Taelor]

I would reach out and negotiate a billable rate for any bug fixes but there's no need to be paying £1100 unless you're constantly changing the scope of the project.

 

[Deleted member 315707]

I moved from Opencart and looked at Magento and Shopify, both nice solutions but ended up with woocommerce a quality theme and low cost quality cloud host. I'm amazed at the features, design, ease of editing, and functionality. Costs me < £30 a month to run, although there is some plugins I've added like Yoast, etc but overall massive cost difference, rapid quick and I have full control on the back end and front end. Compared to competitor sites running the above, I might be biased but I think my solution looks so much better

Sounds great what’s your website or can’t you post it?

 

[fantheflames]

That's outrageous!

Definitely consider your options, as you could move to a different solution and cut costs dramatically.

Just make sure the quality isn't degraded in any way.

Like others mentioned, it sounds like you need a specialist solution.

I'd talk to other developers to see how they can resolve your situation that's cost effective.

 

[Russ Michaels]

The big question here is do you really need Magento?
the primary reason to use a solution like Magento is that you need a lot of custom functionality cannot be done with any of the off the shelf ecommerce solutions.
Magento is a behemoth and a PITA to manage and expensive.


I would suggest to test out all the other solutions available to see if they can do what you need, and so, you will get rid of all these management and maintenance costs.

For the majority of my clients, I use ECWID, which is super easy for them to use and manage. It doesn't have as many features as some of the others, so again depends if you need those or not.

Another cheaper option if you want custom work done is opencart, which is again easier and cheaper than Magento... If you want a CMS website, then just use WordPress for the website, and then you can still use something else for the actual shop or Woocommerce which is the native WP solution.
This is somehting else I love about ECWID, it can just be dropped into a wordpress page with ease, as can some of the other solution too.

 

[Kumarvu]

Blimey that is expensive. We have been using Magento 2 since around 2018.

Our biggest mistake was using a cheaper developer initially and we had lots of issues. We moved shortly after it was created to an agency who are Magento partners and they now have our site running smooth.

There is no need to be paying such high monthly fee's. We find the largest costs are when Magento release major upgrades for example 2.3xx to 2.4xx.

Magento is a complicated solution, I strongly recommend anyone who use it to make sure you use a agency who are dedicated to Magento and know what they are doing.