How Much Should A Website Cost Anyway?

What is the true value of your business? How much are you willing to put into a website that is essential to your business?

It can be hard to get a solid price range for a web design project without going through the gamut of contacting lots of web design providers and asking for quotes. Most people will give you a short answer – “It depends,” and that’s true. Prices for websites vary quite a bit depending on what features you need, yet they still fall within a general range.

Website Development

Simple custom-designed websites (1-10 pages): $400-$10,000
Designing a site from scratch will start with a simple, custom-designed website, between 1-10 pages. This is the the most basic route to go and will be between $400-$10,000. If you are just starting your business this is a good place to start your website.

Complex sites (10+ pages or sites with lots of programming): $10,000-$25,000
Complex sites include a 10+ pages and custom social media site or web application. Just for reference – your typical small business site generally costs between $3,500-$6,000. Understand that your business website is your business and represents it on a large platform. With the competition that your business will face, it is crucial to have a fully-functioning website, especially if you have an eCommerce business.

Can I get a custom site for less than $1,000?
Yes, but you probably won’t like what you’re getting. Around the lowest price you’ll find for an entire custom website will be $400-$500, which will almost certainly come from overseas (very frequently from India and Pakistan). These websites are notoriously of very, very low quality, and likely will do little to help your business succeed. Online marketing in the U.S. is an incredibly difficult discipline, even when your first language is English. Imagine how hard it can be with a language barrier! If you’re looking to actually make money online, you’ll need a higher quality site.

For a reasonably high-quality site from a U.S. firm, the minimum price is usually something like $4,000. With any eCommerce functionality, most firms charge at least $10k.

Web Designers

What if my designer wants an hourly rate?
International work: $5-$40
Freelance: $30-$90 (usually)
Professional: $45-$120

Pay-by-the-hour is not particularly uncommon with freelancers. If you’re working on a big project – beware. Your cost can quickly get out of hand if your designer hits a roadblock. Or if they simply decides to exaggerate the number of hours he/she worked. Attempt to avoid an hourly rate if you can. Nearly all projects can be quantified with a flat rate to some extent. If not, make sure you have a bona fide contract in place that limits the number of hours you can be charged.

Other website costs

Web hosting: $4-$50 a month

Your hosting fee is the way that you pay “rent” to house your website on the internet. For simple websites, you shouldn’t need more than 1GB of space per year and 3-10 GB of bandwidth. As you begin to grow, you’ll want to expand your hosting. But unless you’re hosting large image files or streaming videos, that likely won’t be necessary soon. Nearly all web design firms will work with your existing hosting provider, (if you have one). Don’t feel as though you’re required to switch every time you need a redesign.

Domain registration: $7-$14 a year

Your annual domain registration fee renews your exclusive right to the use of your domain name. You can register a domain on your own or through your web design firm. Warning: if your web design firm is registering your domain name for you, and you’re not sure if they’re trustworthy, make sure that they register the domain in your name, not theirs. If the domain is registered with their business name, some domain providers consider them as the actual rightful owner of the domain – which means if you ever need to switch web design firms, you’ll be unable to do so without going through the firm. I can’t tell you how often we encounter clients who’ve been essentially extorted by their web design firms over their domain names – sleazy firms will require a “transfer payment” to give over control of the domain, sometimes $500 or more. Make sure you never get into that position!

Do I Need SEO for my website?

Yes, it’s mandatory for your website. SEO is no longer optional. In fact, it is mandatory, especially if you’re running a commercial website. SEO is a series of tasks that ultimately determine where your website ranks on search engines for a particular keyword. The idea is that your website should be the one people see high above others if a search for your specialty is queried. How much you’ll pay: SEO costs vary per agency, but it is one of the more pricier expenses of anything related running a website. You can expect to pay an upfront cost (likely between $3,000 and $9,000), in addition to a monthly maintenance fee (approximately $200 to $500 per month, on average). The bigger your company, the higher you can expect costs to be. How often you’ll pay: SEO is an ongoing battle, it’s never a one-time thing. You should set aside a budget to pay for a company that knows what they’re doing, with a proven track record. The more credible they are, they more they charge. It’s better to pay a competent but expensive company for their optimization skills than to pay a cheaper but ineffective business making empty promises. [Source: Digtial.com]

Marketing professional Kristen Luke from Investment News states:

“As a marketing professional, I would tell you that a website is the hub for all of your marketing and you should put all the time, money and energy you can to make it spectacular. But as a business owner, I understand that a website might not be the best use of your hard-earned revenue or your highest priority, especially if the majority of new business is generated from referrals. So choose a budget that fits your comfort level and find a provider to meet your needs. owner, I understand that a website might not be the best use of your hard-earned revenue or your highest priority, especially if the majority of new business is generated from referrals. So choose a budget that fits your comfort level and find a provider to meet your needs.”