When it comes to building a website and estimating its costs, there are plenty of factors to take into account, such as design, features, tech stack, and many others. In order to estimate the exact costs that you will need to cover when ordering to build a website, get a clear idea of what you need and what you can do to achieve your goal.
You may not be able to consider every single expense, but, thanks to carefully planning, you will be able to get approximate numbers. Eventually, your project costs may change during the development process, so you should keep this in mind. It takes about 14 weeks to build a website of medium complexity, while the work may last for a few months when it comes to making a large e-commerce store.
In this article, you will find detailed information that will help you to understand how much it may cost you to build a website tailored to match your requirements.
Do It Yourself (DIY) Site: Options and Costs
Depending on the complexity and purpose of your site, you can either use a website builder to make a site yourself or hire a professional for making a custom design website. Today, you can find a range of high-quality website builders allowing everyone to make a site. This option seems to be attractive to people who want to save some money, but it is not suitable for everybody.
Using a Website Builder
Website builders allow creating a website without writing and editing codes. This means that you do not have to possess deep knowledge of programming languages, such as HTML, CSS, and so on.
Such builders come with templates and pre-written codes for you to make minimum efforts when trying to build a website. The choice of tools, features, templates, and customization options depends on the website builder.
You can think of creating your site yourself using such a builder in the following cases:
- You need a simple few pages site;
- It is your first business, and you do not have money for a more professional solution;
- You need it for blogging;
- It will be a website of non-profit organizations.
Pros and Cons
Below you will find the pros and cons of making your website yourself.
Pros:
- It is inexpensive to build a website yourself;
- If you do need a simple site, you will be able to make it within a few days;
- You will be able to make all changes instantly without having to opt for help from web developers.
Cons:
- You may not be able to create a beautiful and user-friendly website for your users due to lack of special knowledge and experience;
- If you need to build a website of medium complexity or something sophisticated, you may have to spend months or even years on this work;
- You may not be able to fix problems if they occur, which will make your users frustrated.
Costs of a DIY Website
Even if you build a website yourself, you still should be ready to pay some money. Well, the platforms like WordPress allow you to run a website at no cost at all, but in this case, you will not have a beautiful domain name while you will get access to only a few customization options, not to mention lots of other limitations you will have to deal with. Therefore, if you want your website to look professional for other people to like it, you will have to cover at least initial costs.
Domain Name
It is your site address. In order to visit your website, customers can either type its address in their browsers or click a relevant link. Your site must have a unique name. Usually, you can register a domain name for at least a year, and then you just need to renew it annually. It will cost you from $10 to $12 to register a new domain.
Website Hosting
Web hosting is where you store files and content of your website. When someone accesses your site, he or she is directed to the files stored on a hosting server.
When it comes to web hosting, there are lots of options to choose from based on such factors as storage size, support, additional features, price, and others.
For instance, if you get a basic plan from BlueHost for your WordPress site, you will pay $2.95 per month ($35.4 per year). Also, you will get a free domain name for 1 year, a free SSL certificate, and $200 in marketing credits.
SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate is what you need on your website even if you are not planning to sell goods or services. It allows protecting sensitive info of your users. The price of the certificate depends on the site and can range from a few dollars per year to more than a hundred dollars per year.
Other costs that you may have to pay depend on the website builder you use and the features you want. For instance, it can be a premium theme, advanced plugins, etc.
For instance, you can build a website at no cost if you use a free version of WordPress. In this case, you will get jetpack essential features, a range of free themes, a pre-installed SSL certificate, and 3 GB of storage space.
The starting price for more options, including a domain name for one year, is $4 per month ($48 per year). The largest price of $45 per month ($540 per year) is offered for e-commerce.
Opting for Professional Services
If you believe that you will not be able to build a website of high quality or you just do not want to spend your time on that, you can entrust this work to professionals.
Designers take from $30 to $80 per hour for their work, while developers may charge $30 to $180 per hour.
The price depends on various factors, such as:
- In-house team or freelancers:
- Team location;
- Work complexity;
- Specialists’ experience.
In-house Team vs Freelancers
Sometimes, a price charged by a freelancer is greater than for an in-house team. It is because they do not receive typical perks provided by companies, such as health insurance. However, when it comes to freelance platforms, where competition is pretty tough, it is possible to find attractive rates.
Team Location
Per-hour rates for web development services also depend on where the specialists reside. The highest prices are typically charged by US experts, while the lowest can be found in Asia.
Work Complexity
If a specialist needs to do some basic work with standard features, it will not cost you a fortune. However, when it comes to creating unique designs, the use of sophisticated tools, and other challenges, the price goes up.
Specialists’ Experience
If it is an expert with many years of experience who knows exactly what he or she is doing, then the price per hour will be higher than that charged by a beginner.
Generally, the average rate per hour to design a site is about $55 and to build a website – about $105.
Costs Based on the Type of Work
Now, let’s try to estimate costs depending on the work type.
User Interface (UI)/User Experience (UX) Design
It is unlikely that a website that comes with a poor design will become popular. It takes a few seconds for users to evaluate your site’s appearance and decide on whether they like it or not. Therefore, if you want your site to bring you money, make sure that it is beautiful, filled out with helpful and relevant info, and easy to navigate.
The UI/UX design process is broken down into the following three stages:
- Research. It includes gathering essential information about competitors, user preferences, customer’s ideas, and so on;
- Creating a wireframe. At this stage, a designer arranges the site’s elements and gets approval on the results from a customer;
- Making a final version. The rest of the work is done to make the app look exactly like on devices.
It takes different time to create a site design depending on the number of pages, the complexity of the layout, experience of the designer, and other factors. Creating a UI/UX design may take from about 15 to 80 hours. If the price per hour is $55, then you will pay from $825 to $4,400.
Front-End Development
Front-end developers create the part that users see and interact with. They use a range of tools, such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and others. Basically, everything created by designers then implemented by front-end development experts.
Such work takes from 20 to 250 hours. Considering the price per hour of $105, we will get costs ranging between $4,100 and $26,250.
Back-End Development
If it is a simple site that comes with text and images, you may not need to opt for the services of a back-end developer. Back-end development is what powers the site features, and its costs depend on the complexity of your site.
This stage may last from 60 to 180 hours, so it will cost you from $6,300 to $18,900.
Admin Panel Development
Admin panel or CMS is what you need to manage your site settings, users, content, and more. It is possible to use ready-made platforms, such as WordPress, Shopify, and others, which allows you to build a website at lower costs.
However, such solutions come with limited security and functionality. So, if you want a solution matching all your requirements, you should opt for professional development services. They will take from 60 to 180 hours and cost you from about $3,000 to $18,900.
Quality Assurance Engineers
These specialists ensure that everything works smoothly, and your site is ready for the launch. The average rate of a tester in the US is $32.85.
Usually, it takes about 5 minutes per test case. An expert will conduct different types of testing, such as functional, usability, interface, and others.
It may take from a few hours to weeks depending on the site complexity. Approximately, if it takes 8 hours, then the price will be about $260. But if a QA engineer spends 80 hours, then the costs will be over $2,600.
Total Cost
So, how much does it cost to build a website? Let’s summarize our calculations:
| Stage | Time in Hours | Rate per hour | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UI/UX design | 15 - 80 | $55 | $850 - $4,400 |
| Front end | 20 - 250 | $105 | $4,100 - $26,250 |
| Back end | 80 - 250 | $105 | $6,300 - $18,900 |
| Admin panel | 60 - 180 | 105$ | $3,000 - $18,900 |
| Quality Assurance | 8 - 80 | $32.85 | $265.8 - $2,628 |
| Total | 183 - 840 | - | $14,515.8 – $71,078 |
Need more information? Call Us:  610 616 3535 | Get a Quote | Get a Quote | Get a Quote |
Basically, in order to calculate the cost of your project, you should have an approximate idea of how long will each stage take and a per-hour rate charged by each specialist.
Web Development Costs Based on Site Type
Websites are built for different purposes, from blogging to e-commerce. So, how much does it cost to build a website depending on its type?
Cost of Building a Landing Page
A landing page can be a single-page site, or it can be a separate page of a multi-page site to promote something or sell products or services. Usually, such sites do not come with lots of content as they aim at keeping potential customers to focus on certain things, from buying something to downloading a file.
While such a page can be quite long, the cost to build a website or page like this is lower compared with other site types. Approximately, the price starts at $1,000.
Cost of Building a Site for a Business
Businesses may create sites to increase brand awareness, boost customer loyalty, and other purposes. Such sites may be different in terms of complexity, and their development price depends on it.
Typically, a business site contains several standard pages, including the following:
- About the company;
- Services;
- Blog page;
- Contacts;
- Testimonials.
Every project should look unique and have a convenient structure. Basically, a greater number of pages results in higher development costs.
A simple business website should have a range of features, including the following:
- Contact back form;
- Live chat;
- SSL certificate;
- On-site search;
- Responsive design to be used on mobile devices powered by Android, iOS, and other OSs;
- Admin panel.
More features may be required when it comes to businesses of medium to large sizes so the cost to build a website will be greater for them. This is because such businesses have their own requirements for security, interactive elements, features, and more. Generally, the starting price for building a business website is about $9,500.
Costs of Building an eCommerce Website
Estimating development costs to match each e-commerce store requirement is difficult. It can be something from an online store featuring few pages to such giants with millions of pages like Amazon. Also, online stores differ in their functionality, target audience, payment options, security, and plenty of other aspects.
Remember that more and more people prefer to use their mobile devices for shopping. If you do not have enough money to launch native or cross-platform apps, it is important to optimize the design of your site so that it could be conveniently used in a mobile browser, such as Google Chrome, Opera, Firefox, and others.
A minimum set of pages is as follows:
- Main page;
- Product pages;
- Category pages;
- Shopping cart;
- Favorites;
- Check out;
- Blog.
A range of features typically includes:
- Integration with different payment systems;
- Recently viewed items;
- Search;
- Push notifications;
- Reviews and rating;
- Admin panel.
If you want to create a large e-commerce site, it should be well-built in order to ensure quick loads and high positions in search results. It is also essential to choose the right tech stack, depending on your project specifics and budget. While there are platforms that you can use for setting your online store, the best way to go is to opt for professional help. Eventually, any problems with your site functionality will lead to losing your customers.
Building an e-commerce website may cost you from $17,500 to $500,000 or even more. All in all, making an online store will surely require some investments.
Additional Costs
Remember that you will also need to pay for a domain name, hosting services, and site maintenance. The price depends on the service provider and pricing plan that you wish to choose based on the size and complexity of your website.
For instance, annual prices for a domain name range between $5 and $15. For hosting services, you may have to pay $75-$200 per year. Annual maintenance costs start at about $500.
Marketing Expenses
Another important thing you should take into account is how to make your website visible on the Internet to attract customers. While you can try to implement some marketing strategies yourself for promoting a small website if you have enough knowledge and time, the best way to go is to hire professionals.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization is conducted to make your site easily found through different search engines. It is done by including certain words, known as keywords, to your site content. Those are the words used by users when they are looking for something on the Net.
For instance, if you have a restaurant in Florida, you want people looking for one to be able to see yours listed in the search results. The higher is your site’s position in search results, the more customers will find out about your restaurant.
There are different SEO techniques, and it is important to pick the best ones depending on your goals and budget. SEO services may cost you from $300 to $1,500 per month.
Copywriting Services
It is important to fill your site with useful and interesting content on a regular basis. Also, texts are used to include keywords and links, which helps in SEO. Lots of businesses create a blog section on their websites to publish engaging texts frequently.
The price of copywriting services depends on work complexity. Generally, the costs vary from $10 to $500 per article.
PPC
Pay-Per-Click is an advertising method used by companies to increase their brand awareness. Basically, you post an ad and pay per click. The price for such services depends on different factors, particularly, on your industry. Sometimes, the price can go as high as $50 per one click.
SMM
Social media networks have been used for marketing and advertising purposes for a long time. They unite millions of people from around the globe, providing fantastic opportunities for those looking for potential customers. So, if you need to promote your business on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms, then you can opt for Social Media Marketing. This method is suitable for businesses of any size and type. On average, SMM will cost you from $400 to $20,000.
Why You Should Choose Us?
Our team has been creating websites of different complexity for years. In our company, you will find all the services required, from planning your site to promoting it. All you need to do is to contact us and tell us what you need. If you are not sure which options you should choose, it is not a problem because our experts will recommend the right solution, allowing you to enjoy the best value for money.
Conclusion
As you can see from everything written above, the price for site development services ranges drastically from a few to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The total project expenses can be estimated based on specific requirements.
The best way to go is to decide on what you want and then gradually cut the cost if the plan seems to be too expensive for you. If there is a feature that will cost you lots of money, you can add it later after generating more income. Remember that it is possible to optimize your site even after it is launched.
If you need to make a simple site, you can invest your own time in doing this, but if it is crucial to ensure the high quality of your website, then turning to professional help is the best choice.
