Over the past 20 years, I’ve often been asked how much a website costs. I get this question almost daily. So I figured I would share my opinions to help web designers and customers looking for a new website or a website re-design.
There is no solid price guide because it’s like asking, How much does a painting cost? There are so many factors that will determine how much a firm or freelancer will charge to build a new website or redesign your current one, but here are some rough estimates based on my experience.
Some of the main factors that will affect the final estimate of your project may include:
Where is the firm or freelancer located?
This may be the most important factor. If you are in the USA and are targeting the USA with your business, then you should hire someone who is either from the USA or still lives in the USA. This goes for any country; you should stick with a firm that knows your country well and can speak your target language fluently at a native level.
So how much does a website cost? You have to consider that your website is going to be the most important part of your business, so expect to pay a US designer at least $3,000 for a basic 5-8 page business website. And more like $5,000 to $15,000 for a higher-end, custom design with around 15–20 pages. When you pay more, you usually get more. A quality designer will usually treat you as a partner, not just build you a site like you ask, but they will guide you along the way, do some things you didn’t think of, and help you in many aspects during and after the project is completed.
Experience Level?
Sure, you can hire your nephew, friend, or relative to build your website, but would you hire them to build your house? Would you let them perform heart surgery on you to save a few dollars? Is your business not important to you? Does your business pay your bills like mine does? If it does, I would seriously consider putting some effort into building a good website for your business. Hire a professional, make sure they know what they are doing, and have years of experience because you will be dealing with them for a long time.
How Much Does a Website Cost?
Basic Business Website Example
This is probably the most common type of website. Its main goal is to get leads and promote your business.
The usual pages involved are:
- Home Page
- About Us
- FAQ
- Services page
- Contact Us
- Blog
- Policy
- Examples/Clients
- Testimonials
Services Involved:
- Website Design
- Website Development
- Adding SEO tags to each page
- Google Analytics Setup
- Website Hosting Setup
- Email Setup
- Content Editing
- Image Optimization
- Google Sitemap
- Adding plugins
- Basic training on how to use the site
If the site includes a custom design, it will cost $5,000–$15,000 in the USA, depending on experience. If they are using a pre-designed theme to build your website, then the price should be slightly lower than the above. However, this is now becoming a very valid method of creating new websites and is often the best way to go. Using a good theme can save you and your designer a lot of headaches, time, and money. Newer themes tend to have very high-end features, which would cost too much to build one at a time. And a custom theme can be fully customized to fit your exact brand.
So next time you are wondering, How Much Does a Website Cost? The price guide listed above is a rough estimate; if you want to hire the hottest design firm in the world, you will pay much more. The price will also adjust depending on where you live; for example, if you want a local designer in New York City, you will pay more than if you are in a very small town. If you take your business seriously, you should be willing to spend around $5,000 on it, and that’s just to get started. You then have to promote the site.
I guess it depends from you. You want to have a website like what? The custom was certainly more expensive, because it has to be tailored to what you want. Certainly select the appropriate criteria and also budget.
People should consider the hosting and the domain. Even though they are only a few bucks a year it is a recurring payment. The website designer doesn’t have to cover them for you.