How Much Does a Website Cost?
If you’re thinking about getting a new website and want to know how much it will cost, you’re in the right place. If you send the same proposal to 4 different website companies and you will get 4 different quotes, often with a very wide range in terms of pricing. The question isn’t just ‘how much will my new website cost?’ the question is, ‘what should my expectations be for the budget I have?’ The truth is the cost of a new website can range from free, to over $100, 000. The best solution for you will depend on how you, your goals and your budget align together. In this brief guide we will give you a sense of exactly what you can expect from a new website is any price range. We also offer suggestions and solutions that might be right for you based on your budget.
Alignment
YOU:
How involved do you want to be in the process? With no budget you are essentially the designer, developer, project manager, content writer and marketer. As your budget increases, your roles in completing the project decreases as experts fill the roles.
GOALS:
What kind of website do you want? Do you want a website that looks ‘good enough’? Better than your competitors? Or the leader in your industry? The goals of your website affect your budget and it will have to adjust accordingly.
BUDGET:
Your budget will be affected by your goals of the site and how much involvement you want to have in the project. The higher quality website and less involvement in deliverables, the more higher your budget will have to go.
Free Website
What You Get
TEAM:
- Yourself
PLATFORM:
- Online website builder
DESIGN:
- Pre-made template
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Pages – N/A
- Page templates – N/A
- Revisions – N/A
- SEO – None
- Responsive Design – Not usually
- Social Media Integration – N/A
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Affordable
- Quick Setup
CONS:
- Generic template design
- Branding on-site/limited options on free plans
- Lack of customization
- Lack on S.E.O.
- Unprofessional look
- Hard to customize & edit to look the way you want
Who is this right for?
- First-time blogger
- Personal website
- Small club, organization, or group
Resources
Here are some of the better free website builders available:
- wix.com
- weebly.com
- wordpress.org
- Google My Business
$100 WEBSITES
What You Get
TEAM:
- Yourself
PLATFORM:
- WordPress and others
DESIGN:
- Pre-made template
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Pages – N/A
- Page templates – N/A
- Revisions – N/A
- SEO – None
- Responsive Design – Not usually
- Social Media Integration – N/A
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Slightly more professional design than a free website
- Allows people with no technical knowledge to have a website
- Affordable
CONS:
- Generic template design
- Lots of time learning to setup WordPress
- Overwhelming to learn WordPress from scratch
- Lack of customization
- Not optimized for search
- Unprofessional / basic design aesthetic
Who is this right for?
- People interested in learning more about WordPress and how to develop websites on their own
Resources
Here are some of the better free website builders available:
- wordpress.com
- squarespace.com
- wix.com
- weebly.com
- mailchimp.com
$1000 WEBSITES
What You Get
TEAM:
- Oversees developer
PLATFORM:
- WordPress
- Joomla
DESIGN:
- Pre-made template
- Modified template
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Pages – 5-7
- Page templates – 2-3
- Revisions – 1-2
- SEO – None
- Responsive Design – Not usually
- Social Media Integration – Limited
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Someone to help you design & develop your website
- Some customization to your design Cheap cost
CONS:
- Difficulty in communication
- Difficult to manage your project
- Inconsistent results, often unusable
- No Support
- Overseas worker
- Time zone delays
- Poor attention to detail
Who is this right for?
- Individuals with small budgets who are comfortable managing their own project
Resources
Here are some of the better free website builders available:
- www.upwork.com
- www.guru.com
$2500 WEBSITES
What You Get
TEAM:
- Local solo designer
PLATFORM:
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Straight CSS /HTML
DESIGN:
- Basic customisation to pre-built templates
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Pages – 1-5
- Page templates – 1-2
- Revisions – 2-3
- SEO – Limited
- Responsive Design – Maybe
- Social Media Integration – Limited
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Easier to maintain yourself
- Not a lot of time needed to design and launch
CONS:
- Minimal time to learn about your business
- Limited time for competitor research and analysis
- Website content not included
- Built quickly without rigorous testing & security checks
- Limited time for website management training
Who is this right for?
- Individual marketing their personal services who is on a budget
- Very small business starting out who needs a web presence
Resources
Here are some of the better free website builders available:
- myclearweb.com
- studio.envato.com
$5K-10K WEBSITES
What You Get
TEAM:
- Agency
- Project Manager
- Designer
- Developer
PLATFORM:
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Drupal
DESIGN:
- Custom Design
- Wireframes & Mockups
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Pages – 15-20
- Page templates – 3-7
- Revisions – 3-6
- SEO – On Page
- Responsive Design – Yes
- Social Media Integration – Yes
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Professional quality
- Custom design
- Hands on project management
- Quality development
- Rigorous testing & security
CONS:
- More costly
Who is this right for?
- A small or medium-sized business looking to refresh their website design
$10K-25K WEBSITES
What You Get
TEAM:
- LargeAgency
- Project Manager
- Designer
- Developer
- Copywriter
PLATFORM:
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Drupal
- Magento(for shopping cart websites)
- Proprietary CMS
DESIGN:
- Custom Design
- Layered Photoshop Design
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Pages – 50-300
- Page templates – 8-12
- Revisions – 7-12
- SEO – Yes
- Responsive Design – Yes
- Social Media Integration – Yes
- Custom front-end functions
- Extensive backend database management
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Professional Design
- Professional Development
- Project Management
- Dedicated Support
- Custom Functionality
- Content Writer
CONS:
- Higher cost
Who is this right for?
- Medium-sized businesses with a +100 page website or requiring eCommerce & high-level integration.
$25K WEBSITES
What You Get
TEAM:
- LargeAgency
- Project Manager
- Designer
- Developer
- Copywriter
PLATFORM:
- Custom Application development. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp are not really websites, they are web applications. At this price range, you are getting a web application with a much more sophisticated custom function than a ‘regular website
DESIGN:
- Custom Design
- Layered Photoshop Design
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Pages – 100 – +1000
- Page templates – +15
- Revisions – +15
- SEO – On and Off Page
- Responsive Design – Yes
- Social Media Integration – Yes
- Custom front-end functions
- Extensive backend database management
Pros & Cons
PROS:
- Professional Design
- Professional Development
- Project Management
- Dedicated Support
- Custom Functionality
- Content Writer
CONS:
- Large agency pricing
- Work handled by junior staff
- Expensive overages and delays
Who is this right for?
- Large businesses with several thousand employees and high-security needs.
Pricing Breakdown
Team | FREE | -$1,000.00 | -$2,500.00 | $5-10K | $10-25K | +25K |
Firm |
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Designer |
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Developer |
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Project Manager |
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Content Writer |
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UI/UX Designer |
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Team | ||||||
Wireframe Mockups |
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Photoshop Design |
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Revisions |
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Landing Page Design |
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UI/UX Prototyping |
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Branding |
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Development | ||||||
CSS/HTML |
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CMS |
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Theme |
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Landing Page Design | Template | Template | Semi Custom | Custom | Semi Custom | Semi Custom |
QA Testing |
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Sitemap Architecture |
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Front End Development |
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Backend Development |
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External API Integration |
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Features | ||||||
Pages | NA | 5-10 | 5-10 | 15-50 | 50-1000+ | 1000-5000+ |
Page Templates |
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On Page SEO |
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Off Page SEO |
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Search Engine Marketing |
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Social Media Integration |
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Mobile Responsive Design |
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Training/Support |
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Content Marketing |
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Contact Form Integration |
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Payment Processing |
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Web Application |
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E-Commerce
If you thought the pricing for regular websites was all over the place, that`s nothing compared to an E-Commerce website.
Because you’re dealing with so many extra factors such as payment processing, security, fulfillment, inventory and inputing many different product SKUs, an E-Commerce website is typically far more expensive and complex than a regular website.
If you’re looking for an affordable option to having an E-Commerce website, sites such as Shopify and Big Commerce offer a turnkey solution for opening a store online.
Otherwise when working with a reputable agency, be prepared to pay anywhere from $10,000 – $50,000 and above for an E-Commerce website.
What is Hosting?
Think of your website in terms of your home.
Your domain is the address of your house, your hosting is the block underneath your home and your website is the building on the block. You need to have all three to have a house.
What kind of hosting you should get, goes back to your goals and budget.
If you don’t have that many visitors to your site, are not super concerned about security or support and need an affordable and reliable company to go with, then we would highly recommend GoDaddy.
If you have a WordPress site and are more concerned with
having the best, fastest and most secure hosting provider,
then I would go with Siteground or ClearWeb.
Some people like using BlueHost for hosting. While we like
GoDaddy for Domain Registration, we prefer Siteground or
ClearWeb for hosting.
Opportunity Cost
Warren Buffet, the world’s greatest business investor and second richest person on the planet, said that the key to making good business decisions is understanding Opportunity Cost.
Opportunity Cost is not just asking ‘Will I get a good return on my investment’ it is asking the question ‘Of all the things I could do with this money, is this the overall best thing I could do’
When choosing a new website designer the question most people ask is ‘How much will this website cost’ but that’s actually not the best question to ask. The real question to ask is ‘Which website is going to produce the most value for my business overall?’
Someone getting a ‘free’ website might think they got a better deal than someone who paid $5,000 for their website. But the $5,000 website might have generated more traffic, more leads, and more business than the ‘free’ website and in terms of total dollars the ‘free’ website might have actually cost the business $100,000 in lost business it might have otherwise gained.