A popular question we receive by phone or email at least twice a day is “how much does a website cost?” Usually the person asking the question is in a hurry and just wants a specific number. Sometimes the question will come by phone and email several times in one day.
And verbatim “how much does a website cost?” seems like a valid enough question, especially for a small business owner or anyone unfamiliar with web design, search engine optimization, internet marketing, e-commerce, and what goes into building a professional presence. online.
But you’re also trying to put a finite, single dollar amount into something that has toby its nature to be an ongoing marketing process, a brand extension, a way to promote and build a business if it’s going to be successful for a business and produce results that can be seen.
So somehow when people ask “how much does a website cost?” we might ask “how much do you want your business to grow, for how long and what image do you want to project to potential consumers?”
For someone who may not be a WordPress web developer or programmer, SEO, e-commerce, internet marketing… they can all be quite intimidating.
Where do you start? How can you distinguish the good design elements, the good practices, from those that are not necessarily beneficial to you? How can you tell how to judge a professional, serious and honest developer from one who will just take your money and split it or not provide you with a professional level service?
Before we dig any deeper, it’s important to pre-qualify with the simple statement that many see web design as a one-off product, like buying a cell phone or tablet.
But, like the aforementioned tablet or cell phone, there are levels of quality, so even with a cell phone or tablet as an analogy, some models allow for more functionality than others. Some are of higher quality and will last longer, give better quality signals, some will have better connectivity, etc.
Similarly, there are free website template building services and others that are as cheap as a meal with friends.
There are also people who will offer to “give you a website” for pennies on the dollar.
In both cases, trying to take shortcuts simply results in having to redo the process a few months later, or simply abandoning the concept of ever having a professional online presence altogether. Because? Free site template building sites rarely provide working search engine optimization (because their results are generic and scripted), no e-commerce (the ability to sell items or accept payments online), often site-wide ads and censorship to the extent that what you can write about and what images you can use. If you went to a business website that had ads for another company, that looked like an old brochure or PowerPoint presentation from the 1970s, would you trust them? Probably not.
A template creation service provides just that, a one-size-fits-all basic DIY generic template that you can write your content on. Changes to text, appearance, layout, search engine ranking, programming, the addition of e-commerce, are not in the equation. Free site building services can take down your site for any reason at any time, put ads on it where and when they want, and own most, if not all, of the content you upload to their servers.
Changes of any kind, if they can be made at all, often cost hundreds of dollars, and you’re still left with a very primitive looking website that most people in the modern age of apps, smartphones, and Google devices will not accept. don’t take yourself seriously Free template building websites are often best for hobbyists or sites built for fun, not serious business ventures.
Automated template builders and people trying to make a quick buck for the digital equivalent of snake oil won’t care about your business structure, profit margins, process optimization, or SEO ranking.
So once we get past the allure of free websites, how do we judge cost?
The first thing to recognize is that investing in a professional online presence is Noas we said before, buying a single product.
Either you’re participating in an ongoing marketing process (using SEO, copywriting, social media integration, and a few other avenues to reach your target audience), or you’re wasting time and money. A professional online presence should be a 24/7 online marketing division of an organized business venture bent on making a profit. A static collection of web pages that never adds anything, isn’t updated regularly, isn’t connected to social media, doesn’t sell services or goods, doesn’t care about being found on search engines like Google, ignores what marketing on The internet is all about the goal of having a website in the first place.
Second, what makes an online presence professional for one person is not the same for another. One person may want a custom design to make the site stand out online as unique and attractive, while another person may not care what their site looks like or have no idea. A person may want their Google search engine ranking to be closely monitored and increased; someone else may not care at all. You may want e-commerce to sell items or services online, while someone else may not want to sell just a few items, you may want the consumer to be able to pay for services rendered or book appointments. You may have a restaurant that you want the public to find online, make reservations, sell your special sauce online, but you don’t care how the site looks or whether or not it works on mobile devices (called responsive design). So no two projects are ever the same; although many people will say “I just want a website” or “it should be simple”. When you think this way, you limit the results you can get.
Another point to note is that everyone’s journey is different. You may have already paid a hosting company like GoDaddy to host a site. You may have paid for a domain name, while someone else may not have done any of this yet. Just as no two projects are the same, neither are two paths to professional web design the same.
Finally, when it comes to general pricing, costs in the form of ballpark estimates can vary wildly because the developer a) doesn’t know what the full situation is or what they’ve already done in total and the details of what they want to do until they do it. Thoroughly evaluate you as a potential client (what files do you want to add, how many pages, how many categories, image galleries, SEO ranking, custom design or you don’t care, how many people are involved, how easy are you to reach, how much is your budget so we can determine what is realistic to do, what your deadline is, etc.), and b) the developer may have varying degrees of experience and ability.
Those with limited ability can volunteer to create something for next to nothing. They will not have portfolios with previous work, relevant experience or references. Those with more experience will ask more questions, want to plan for long-term usage, worry about business scale, profit, and longevity, train you to manage the site afterwards, or want to set up a maintenance plan, and of course, charge more. . than their less experienced counterparts. Your portfolios should include references/testimonials from real and verifiable sources, design samples from previous clients, content writing samples, relevant education, business experience, user contracts…
There are also many different ways to create websites. From using recycled templates and changing some boxes and images to creating custom layouts and custom solutions that will guide consumers to important sections, the breadth and depth of quality varies dramatically. Before calling or emailing a developer, research at least 2 local competitors that are doing what you want to do. Look at your design, your site content, how things are laid out, your rates, what you would do differently if given the chance…
Therefore, the client must be demanding and take web design as a process as seriously as they do their business. One must work hand in hand with the other to ensure lasting success.