A freelancer or web design company will generally charge anywhere from $200 – $10,000 to build a website. They may even charge as much as $20,000. This price range seems awfully vague to people with limited understanding, but with a little (much needed) research, all will become clear.
The price of a website can tell you a lot about its performance and features. The cheaper websites are often supported by user friendly web builder sites like Weebly or Wix. This will do the trick for small simple websites without much frills.
However, an original, high powered, professional looking, responsive website with exceptional UX design and custom features will cost about $3,000. Most reputable companies offering web design in Boston will charge this much or more as a base rate.
These main components contribute to the costs:
- Type of Website
- Domain Name
- Server Type
- Skills Needed
- Required Skill level
- Hourly Rates, Flat Rates & Monthly Fees
Most people – aside from professionals working in the industry – have no idea how much time and effort goes into building a website. Nor can they tell the difference between the types of websites, just by looking at it.
To calculate a reasonable cost for the proposed website, one must go in depth and learn more about each of these areas.
Website Builders Add Image here
If you’re wondering how much should I charge to build a website? The first thing you need to establish is what kind of a site you are building. For instance, a drag-and-drop website may cost around $200, as opposed to the $3,000 it would take to build one from scratch. Both have their advantages, and so it really matters what the goal for the website is.
Drag and drop website builders can be really appealing to those who are less technically inclined. With this kind of website, you will get basic website features and design at an affordable price. It offers a large number of templates that can be customized for a specific business.
Again, many people don’t know the difference, and so this option works just fine for them. Not to mention knowing that a DIY job will cost them about $60 is appealing. On the other hand, hiring a freelancer for the same job usually costs anywhere from $200 – $500.
This is not a bad choice for small, start-up businesses that want to learn how to navigate the digital climate. However, any business looking to take their digital marketing game to the next level will eventually need to migrate away from this kind of site.
Custom Websites Add Image here
When business owners are looking to grow and get serious about their company, it’s a time to hire web development group. It’s best to start out with this type of website, as the drag and drop design will cause hassle in the future.
Why is this? Well, those generic Wix, Weebly and Square space websites are owned by the platform on which they were created. This means that the data cannot be transferred over to a new site, and so it will have to be recreated from scratch.
But most digital marketers will suggest this, because of two fundamental differences. First, website builders limit SEO capabilities. Second, they restrict Google Analytics integration. With a custom website, you face no such limitations.
Professionals know that those tools are essential to any marketing campaign. Therefore, even the most basic web design would fare much better if done through an experienced developer. Still, building a high-powered website like that requires an investment of time and money.
Not to mention it requires an experienced team with each member carrying a specialized set of skills. When you have this, the $3000 website starts to seem worth it, especially when the ROI multiplies!
Website Building Skills
Website creation involves a few different phases, with different skills required at every step. So, when people are wondering how much it costs to hire a web developer they don’t realize they need a whole team, not just the developer.
Because each individual brings a specific skill set to the table, they are all paid at different rates. This is a list of the necessary professionals and rate at which they provide their services:
- Web Designer ($25 – $80 per hour)
- Web Developer ($25 – $50 per hour)
- SEO Specialist ($19 – $175 per hour)
- Content Writer ($29 – $200 per hour)
- Marketing ($500 – $5,000 per month)
Again, this wide price range is due to a plethora of different reasons. So, research should always be the first step, regardless of your role.
Business owners need to make sure the company they are looking at is capable of the work they need done. They should get examples of the company’s previous works, specifically the sort of ideas they are hoping to try.
On the contrary, this should be a lesson for people looking to turn their web craft into a professional business. Always keep examples of your best work, for everything that you do. In this way you can prove the worth of your work and the potential to give them a substantial ROI.
But the labor and website type are not the only things that should be considered. The hosting platform and domain name can make a price skyrocket.
Web Hosting
The term “web hosting” refers to the servers that will be supporting your website. It’s like renting space online for your website to reside in, so factor this in when learning how much a website costs per month. The fee is generally for a monthly or yearly subscription.
There are 4 main types: shared servers, virtual private servers (VPS), cloud hosting and dedicated servers.
- Shared hosting is the simplest and cheapest your resources are shared with countless other websites with the same deal. ($0 – $15 per month)
- VPS and Cloud Servers give you more to work with. You have resources put aside only for your site. ($15 – $50 per month)
- A dedicated server hosts only your website and uses all its resources to support your website. This is best for keeping heavily trafficked sites running smoothly. ($50 -$100 per month)
Finding the right type of host depends on the site. Some websites do just fine with VPS and cloud servers. But some require the power of a dedicated server. Shared hosting is generally advised against, due to a lack in quality. Still, e ach host has its differences, and so it’s worth looking into. Similarly, Domain names can cost you almost nothing, or it can cost a fortune.
Domain Name
The domain name is just as essential to the website as the host is. It’s how your brand is differentiated from the rest of the internet. When you pay for a domain, you are renting the rights to that URL for a year. Depending on what kind of URL you want, it can cost as low as $10 per year or as high as $150,000 per year. Here’s what makes the big difference:
- Standard custom URL bought from a domain registrar site like GoDaddy ($10 – $20 per year)
- Standard custom URL with unique domain extensions like .tv or .in ($200 – $300 per year)
- URLs with Keywords in them ($1,000+ per year)
- Pre-owned URLs ($500+ per year)
But consult with your developer, about the right kind of URL to use when getting a website, so they can guide you in the right direction. For example, small business websites work better with .com because they are most common.
How Much Does a Website Cost to Build?
By this point in the article, you’ll have noticed a common theme of drastically varying price ranges. The answer to the above question is that it depends on the project and wishes of the website owner.
A website cost calculator will briefly address the different factors mentioned in this article, along with some additional prices specific to your project. For a free quote and expert assistance call the best web design professionals in the Boston area today.