How Much Will My Website Cost?

Creating a website is a serious investment in the continued growth of your business and should be approached with this in mind. Spending the money to develop a high quality and attractive website will pay dividends for years to come, so choosing the highest quality designer that you can afford will offer you the best return from your web site.

Quality & Price
As is the case with food and architecture, with web design there is a correlation between quality and price. A well designed site will cost more, but has a greater potential for positive results in the future. Higher quality costs more for several reasons. Often times high quality designers are in demand, so they can ask for a higher rate since you are essentially competing against other clients for their time. In addition, a well thought out design takes more time to develop, additional iterations to arrive at a refined concept, and involves more communication between the designer and you. Often times small businesses underestimates the cost to develop a quality website, instead opting for a lower cost option which may end up costing more in the long run. The best practice is to find several designers who's portfolio you like, and get quotes from each. You will then know a good range for the cost of services, and can make a good decision based on price and quality.

How Do They Charge?
There are several ways that designers will charge for their work, the most common are: a flat rate fee for the entire project, an hourly rate, or by the page. A flat rate fee is perhaps the safest method, since the cost is controlled and won't go over the amount specified. In this method, any cost overruns are absorbed by the designer. Pricing by the page is also a good option, since you will have a pretty good idea of how much the entire project will cost. Just be sure to know of any charges that may be in addition to the per-page charge. Hourly rates can be more complicated and risky. Any cost overruns will be paid for by you, and while most web designers are good people, there is always the chance that a designer will misreport or over-inflate their hours.

What Is This Going to Cost?
Costs for web sites vary greatly based on the designer chosen. For a simple brochure website, which just describes your business, services, and provides contact information, prices could range from $1000-$3000 based on the designer and your specific needs. You can of course find prices cheaper than this, and perhaps the designer is perfectly capable, but make sure that their portfolio meets your standards. Larger sites, where more custom design or programming is needed could range up to $5000. Complex database web sites or e-commerce sites may cost even more.

When looking into web design costs, it is important to know exactly what you are paying for and how the site is billed. There are four main components to a web site that will cost money; the domain name, the web space, design work, and coding. You will want to know exactly what you are paying for, and what is not included with the quoted price.

Get a Contract
However your website project is billed, and whomever you choose to do your site, make sure that you sign a contract that explicitly states the cost, as well as the tasks that will be completed. A contract protects both you and the designer and ensures that both parties are on the same page when it comes to what tasks will be completed, and when they will be performed.

Knowing that you are getting quality design work for your dollar can be a tricky, and a somewhat intimidating prospect. Be sure to view the work of several designers, factor in how much you can spend on a project, and listen to your feelings about each proposal.