There is no singular answer to the cost of a website. Every website is unique and every website designer, web development agency, freelancer or whoever is going to design your site is different in their skill level and price points. That being said, we have compiled a list of commonly asked questions concerning the website costs. Hopefully, this will help you understand the variety of things you must be aware as you embark on this journey.
The bottom line is, it depends on what you want your site to do for you (your goals) and how many visitors you expect to get. If you are looking at building a new business or launching a brand, then there will be more costs involved than if you just need something that looks good but does nothing else.
No, I have seen some sites built by agencies with prices ranging from $10k-$20k+. The truth is most small business websites can be done between $1K and $5K. It really comes down to what type of design you like and whether you want any bells & whistles or additional functionality.
A single page website usually starts around $500 - $1000 depending on the amount of content and information required for the project. You should consider hiring someone who has experience in creating these types of projects as they may have good ideas to help you achieve what you want on a one page website.
The main direct upfront costs include:
Indirect costs would be things such as:
This varies based on the size of the company, your budget, and the features you require. The average monthly price for an e-commerce site is $1,000 - $2,500 depending on how many products you have to sell. A basic WordPress blog will run about $100/month while more complex sites can easily exceed that amount.
Website costs vary greatly, largely based on the type of site you need and how you choose to build it. The cheapest option is to build it yourself either with WordPress (as low as $2.95 per month for cheap web hosting) or you could use a site builder like Squarespace at $12 per month.
It's more expensive to outsource to a marketing agency or web design firm, but you have many more benefits. That can range from as little as a few hundred dollars for a very simple 5-7 page site to thousands of dollars if you are a large business with specific requirements and needs.
There are the three ways to get a website:
Build your own website using WordPress: This would be best suited for those who have some technical skill and would like to learn how to build a highly customizable site.
Build your own using an all-in-one site builder: This is probably the most affordable way for people who would like to build or maintain their own website.
Hire a professional: This is ideal for businesses with specific and/or complex needs and enough resources to hire an expert web developer or web development team. This is the best option if you need additional features or more advanced features.
You can have a look at our web design pricing to see what we charge.
Yes, there are ongoing expenses associated with maintaining a website. The basic expenses are going to be you domain renewal, a hosting provider, an email account (email could be free). There could also be annual expenses related to plugins used on your site. If you choose to have someone maintain your site (backups, content, edits, etc.) then that would have to be factored in as a recurring expense.
That depends on the services offered within the plan. A monthly fee of $50 to a couple hundred dollars per month is typical for most websites. Some companies offer discounts if the customer signs up for multiple years at once or offers special deals when purchasing more than one year upfront. Here are the website maintenance plans we offer.
Freelance Web Designers can range from $50-$500+/hour depending on experience and skill level. We recommend hiring freelancers who specialize in WordPress development because they will know how to optimize your theme for search engines like Google and Bing.
The average price tag for building an online store ranges between $10k - $20k. This type of site requires everything from website design, custom programming, payment processing, marketing, SEO, social media management, and other miscellaneous requirements. Since they are all specialized areas of expertise the cost for ecommerce sites are naturally more expensive that a regular business site.
Domain names start around $15-30 USD annually depending upon who you purchase them from. The two I use are GoDaddy.com and NameCheap.com. You can also buy custom domain names using unique TLD's. These usually range from $30 on up.
Hosting prices vary greatly based on what features you need. For example, cheap shared hosting package starts at just under $3/month while high end dedicated servers can runs over $200/month. You should always check out their pricing before signing up for anything.
SSL certificates usually run about $100 each. They come in both single domain and wildcard versions. Wildcards allow you to secure many subdomains such as www.example.com, mail.example.com, admin.example.com, etc.
Yes! There are several free options available, including Let's Encrypt. These certificates require no registration and work automatically after installation. However, these certificates expire every 90 days and must be renewed manually although some web hosts will handle this for you.
WordPress themes typically cost anywhere from $25-$150+. If you want something really unique then expect to pay upwards of $300. Many themes have a trial version included allowing you to test drive the product without any obligation.
Maybe. Responsive websites require additional time to build, since they often need additional coding. Many website builders now include this functionality but could require specialized CSS or JavaScript to make your site look correct on all browsers.
Payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal charge fees ranging from 2%+ per transaction. Some companies offer discounts if you sign up for multiple accounts. Checkout services like Braintree also charge a monthly subscription fee. Both PayPal and Stripe provide online payment solutions. Stripe focuses primarily on credit cards, PayPal accepts other forms of payment too.
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems available and used by millions of people worldwide. It’s completely open source so anyone can download and modify its code. If you are technically adept you won't have to hire expensive developers to create custom plugins or design templates. All you need is a computer and internet connection.
Plugins are small pieces of software that add specific features to your website. Most plugins are free while premium plugins may cost between $10-50 depending on what feature you're looking for. Popular plugins include Contact Form 7, WP Super Cache, Yoast SEO, and Jetpack.
You don't necessarily need to spend thousands of dollars hiring professional designers and programmers to get started. In fact, you might not even need a designer at all. A simple drag & drop builder tool allows you to quickly assemble pages using pre-built elements. This saves money because you aren't paying someone else to put together a page layout. Instead, you save those costs yourself by doing it yourself. That being said, you also do not have the advantage of setting up pages SEO ready, marketing expertise, and professional design that a freelancer or agency can provide.
Content writing isn't cheap! You'll likely end up spending around $100/hour to find an experienced freelance writer who has experience in your niche. Even with good writers, there's still going to be editing involved which takes more time than simply typing out text.
