A website for your business is probably the first step in building a web presence. And the first question which comes to mind is how much does it cost? And how to make one?

Even without a Google search, you know that a website can be created for free within an hour on your own. But it might not be the one you want your customers to visit.

So, now you know it is a better choice to hire a  web development company  to build your business website. You looked upon freelance marketplaces, and there are thousands of offshore companies to hire. And their prices vary vastly. This is because the cost of developing a website is subjective. It depends on several factors. There is no one answer to the question for every business.

Our web development company has experience of over a decade in building websites, yet we don’t have a fixed quote for all our clients. It doesn’t exist.

Some of the reasons why it is so -  

No defined baseline: website development involves different languages like PHP, Angular, WordPress, and other frameworks. There is no fixed program, code, or service which can be used for every project. Sometimes it can be PHP and its framework; for others, it can be a combination of all the languages. Thus no single way to reach the desired result. Different companies have different processes in place.

Complex planning: a website has many features, and developing a single one of them takes planning. It might take up to an hour or fifty of them, depending on the complex function of the feature. For instance, if you want users to comment on the blog posted on the website, many details will be required. Does the comment need approval before publishing? Who should authorize the publication of the comment? Can they also post images in the comments? It is advised that one should consider professional web development services.

Time required: developing a website is a process, so it should be considered as a service. It is a continuous process that requires time and effort, which vary for every project and the development team’s efficiency.

Pricing: some offshore companies still quote a fixed price; most of them adopted an hourly pricing structure. It is profitable for the business and valuable for the service provider. If it’s a simple website, a fixed price might be too much for too little value. And on the other side, if the website is fairly complex and requires a lot of manpower and expertise, they get paid for their hard work.

Different components of website development cost

We have discussed why a single price will not work for all websites. We will see the main contents which make a website cost.

1. The type of website  

Websites are not just a tool to provide information anymore. A business website can be used as a marketplace for its product or service. It can also collect data about consumer-preferred products, the time of most visits, the most sold products, and many other metrics. The cost also varies with how big the website is. A single-page website will cost more than an eCommerce store with hundreds of pages.

2. Domain name and hosting  

The domain is the URL address of your website. Along with .com, its other variants .in, .org, and others should also belong to your business. There is an annual cost of this domain name. It can be as low as $5. A domain name with a keyword can cost more than $1000.

Hosting may be free to some hundred dollars per year. The cost of hosting is according to the traffic and the security features. Although free hosting is not advised as the total uptime, loading time, tech support depends on the host.

3. Website design  

Website design is the core process of development. And again we can’t say how much it will cost you. It can lie anywhere between $500 to $50,000. It is a big range. The cost goes high according to how good you want the website to look. Custom-made themes and layouts cost more as they are better for customer engagement and retention than a free theme.

Custom-made websites are an investment for your business’s future marketing and branding purposes too. It is an effective strategy for your business.

4. CMS  

Coding a website from scratch is a huge task. If a website is built from the ground up and a developer fixes all the bugs manually, it will cost you a fortune. It is also tedious, time-consuming, and requires a lot of effort. Content management systems are helpful to process and edit information on a website. The most commonly used CMS are WordPress and Magento; they also have a free version, others need a monthly or yearly subscription.

5. SEO and content creation  

A website has a lot of content on it. Every page is filled with information, and the copy on your website is very important to convince customers of the value of your products. You can write your copy or hire a professional content writer. It can cost you from $50 to $500. Professional writers know how to include relevant and high-traffic keywords into the content so that the website ranks better in SERPs.

SEO is also necessary for website ranking. Without active SEO efforts, the website reach can go down significantly. The cost of SEO services can be from $200 to $2000 per month.

Other than the factors mentioned above, there are also the payments of developers, WordPress plugins, and maintenance.

The cost of website development

  • Web hosting cost – $5 to thousands (depending upon the security and traffic)
  • Design – $500 – $1500. Custom designs cost as high as $10,000 or more depending upon the features and functionality you want.
  • Content and copy – $40 – $500
  • SEO – $200 – $2000 per month
  • Developers fee – $30 – $100 per hour
  • Maintenance – $300 – $1200

Wrapping up

The cost of websites varies with how much customization you want. Recently the high price of web development is mainly due to personalization to keep users engaged.

For your business, if you’re looking for a web development company, contact our team for consultation and quote.