Service based industry has witnessed a significant growth in the past few years. With demand and supply increasing at a rapid pace, providing a platform that can provide a convenient experience is what the situation demands. In such a scenario, starting a web based marketplace can prove out to be profitable if executed in an effective manner. Such service marketplace help people in accessing services, goods, accommodations and other related information. So, if you are also looking to provide a platform to help out people in accessing different services and service providers to improve their business services then you first need to understand the model and its costing required in development.
The costing of a marketplace depends on the number of categories you are looking to operate and the options you opt. You have two options available, one is you develop such marketplace on a platform like Sharetribe that provides a lot of ready to use features. A platform similar to Sharetribe is the cheapest way you can have your own marketplace in a limited time period. Another option is to develop a marketplace from scratch which requires designing, implementing functions, analyzing navigation, optimizing the process and other related aspects.
The second option is something which can help you in standing out of the crowd. There are a number of marketplaces already available on the internet and to make a significant impact, it is important that your platform is unique and provide something different from the competitors. So, if you are looking to develop a marketplace from scratch, then this guide will help you in determining the overall costing of the project.
Coming up with a marketplace software with a number common features is a practical step. With this you will be able to gauge what are the factors that needs improvement and what are the areas that don’t need any technical advancements. It needs to be understood that the overall pricing depends on the level of complexity the developers will face in the development process. According to our estimation, a highly functional marketplace requires at least 750 hours of development when developed using Sharetribe. If you are going for fully customized marketplace then the time required increases to 1050 hours.
Depending on the expertise of the team hired, the pricing per hour increases. A developer with 2-3 years experience will cost around $18 per hour. The pricing for 4-5 years experience increases to around $25. It should be noted that the pricing could vary in different countries. You can multiply the costing with the number of developers working on your project with the hours clocked for the different levels of the project. Now, you are aware of the costing of the developers, the next step is to determine what are the tasks that needs to be completed and the estimated time it will take to complete.
Here is the list of the aspects that needs to be worked upon while designing your own marketplace website.
1. User Experience : It involves designing the theme of the website, color scheme, logo, style guide and different levels of the website. You can either purchase an already existing theme or can create from the scratch.
2. Database : The next step is to create a database where all the data from the service providers and the requests of the customers will be stored. It requires backend and front-end tools along with writing scripts for deployment of different functionalities. This step basically involves for a visitor who navigates the website, wishes to avail or post a requirement, registers itself as an authenticated user and then post its requirement on its profile.
3. Authorization And Security : When a user sign up and registers itself in the marketplace, it expects that the personal information should remain secured and does not get leaked. So, it is required that you develop a platform which can have user accounts and their data secured and safe.
4. User Profiles : Depending on the requirements of a user, different level of functionality is required for different profiles. A user needs to set up an account according to either a service provider or service seeker. You need to provide all the functionalities to edit the profile and how to post the requirements. A place to get connected and discuss the requirements. The platform should clearly reflect the information of the users in an effective manner.
5. Manage Listings : How you manage listings and how you provide better opportunities to the users is something that will help in creating an effective marketplace. For service providers seeking good clients and getting payment in a timely manner is important while for the seekers, it is important that they get to work with highly skilled professionals in order to get desired results in an optimized pricing.
6. Booking Process : You need to setup the process of booking and locking a professional for the service. There should be a online tracking and coordinating section on the website that will help both the sides in executing the project in an effective manner.
7. Payment : Once the project is completed the payment process is the final step and the most crucial one. You need to have a secure platform to receive and send payments. Your marketplace requires advanced payment functionality that lets users pay in a secured manner.
All these tasks required almost 1000 hours to get completed with hardcore testing of each section by experts and live cases. So, if you consider an average of $20 per hour for the developer working on the project, the total costing would be $20,000. You can also get a multivendor marketplace software that comes with a number of predefined functionalities with significant testing. The pricing stated here is estimated and the actual pricing would depend on the complexity of the project, expertise of the developer and time it takes to get the project completed.
