Have you ever wondered how much it would cost to launch your very own website? You’re not alone. As more businesses make the leap to the digital world, the question of website costs becomes increasingly important. And let’s face it, navigating the complex maze of website design and development pricing can be quite a challenge – even daunting at times. That’s why in this article, we’ll show you exactly how much it cost to build a website and reveal hidden fees you need to be aware of before you build your website.
So why are we the right business to guide you through this process? As experts in the field, we’ve built dozens of websites. We understand what’s involved, and we are aware of some of the hidden fees you may encounter.
In this article, you’ll learn about the various elements that contribute to website costs, from design and development to hosting and maintenance.
So whether you’re a large, medium, or small business owner, a blogger, or just a curious individual, rest assured that by the end of this read, you’ll have a clear understanding of what it takes financially to create your ideal website. Ready to decode the mystery of website costs? Let’s dive in!
Before you read on, know that the cost of a website depends on a variety of factors as described below, but it will likely fall between $2000 and $30,000.
Factors That Influence the Cost of a Website
Deciphering the cost of creating a website requires a deep dive into various contributing elements. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the range of factors that come into play, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
Let’s break them down one by one.
When it comes to building a website, the cost can vary greatly depending on:
- Functionality and Features: Your website’s complexity is a significant cost factor. It’s like a vehicle – a sleek sports car with advanced features and functionalities costs more than a standard family car. A complex website demanding intricate features, multi-tiered user access, integration with other systems, and advanced security protocols needs more time and specialised skills to build, thereby increasing the cost.
- Design and Branding: The aesthetic appeal of your website has a price tag. Tailor-made designs and unique branding elements that resonate with your audience are labour-intensive tasks, demanding creativity and precision. On the other hand, designs that are not custom (i.e. using pre built themes, drag and drop editors etc) will cost less.
- Content Creation: Other than the overall design of your website, you’ll also need to think about what images, videos, and words (copy) will go on your website. Compelling copy, eye-catching images, engaging videos, and interactive media not only take considerable time and expertise to produce but also play a crucial role in driving traffic and sales revenue. If you outsource all of the content creation, this will increase the cost of the website build.
- Number of Pages: Just like a novel, the longer your website, the higher the cost. More pages mean more design, more content, and more optimisation.
- Who Is Building Your Website: Your choice between agencies and freelancers can also influence the cost. While freelancers are cheaper, agencies bring comprehensive services and expertise to the table. It’s essential to balance quality and cost-efficiency in this decision.
- Revisions: The creative process rarely gets everything right the first time. You’ll need to factor in the cost of revisions, which can vary depending on the extent of changes and the agency’s pricing structure.
- Website Creation Method: Finally, the technique used to build your website impacts the cost. Websites can be built using various tools and in various ways. Depending on the way it is built, the skills and time required changes. For example, custom-built HTML sites require significant coding skills and time and therefore demand higher costs, while drag-and-drop edited sites will be far cheaper but may limit customisation and scalability. When you hire a team to build your website, you want to make sure you understand how they’re planning on building your website so that you can evaluate how this might impact the cost.
Understanding these variables is your first step to planning a cost-effective, high-impact website.
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Website?
If you’re looking to build a simple website
If you’re looking to build a website with 5 to 6 pages, and you only need basic functionality (form submissions, images and videos and text across pages) and a basic design (that means the design isn’t custom made but will still look clean, fresh and nice), you’re looking at $2000 to $10,000.
The reason we’re giving you a range here as opposed to a single number is because there are still some factors that can influence the cost, including:
- The agency you work with: some agencies will have higher profit margins than others
- Whether or not you work with a freelancer: freelancers will generally charge less than $3k (depending on who you work with) since they’re the only person working on the project and only need to charge for their time
- The number of revisions provided: for example, if many revisions are provided, this may drive the cost of the website up towards the $5k mark, since it will take more time to complete
- The way the website is made: for example, if it’s a custom HTML build, it’s going to cost more than a Shopify or WordPress build using a pre-built theme
If you’re looking to build a website as specified above but you need more than 6 pages, then you’re looking at a $250 to $500 increase per page created, depending on the complexity of the page.
The more content that must be included on the page, the more custom the design, and the more requirements in general, the more expensive it will be. It should never cost more than $500 for an additional page, unless it’s a very specific landing page with extensive copywriting and custom design.
If you’re looking to build a more complex website
What does a “more complex website” even mean? A website is more complex when the functionality required is not basic and/or the design of the website is custom. Let’s take a look at what this means before we look at prices.
When it comes to the design, this means that you’re looking for a custom design, which simply means that the agency designs your website from scratch rather than using pre-built templates and editing the style. If you want a website that really feels like your own, you’re going to want to choose this option. Keep in mind though, it will be more costly.
When it comes to advanced functionality, this could mean many things. For example, you might require a custom CMS. Or you might require a specific feature for your website, such as allowing customers to sign in and edit appointment information, or custom features on your checkout page, such as abandoned cart recoveries.
It’s harder to give an exact range for a website like this, because the requirements every customer needs will be unique. However, what we can say is that if you’re looking to build a complex website, you’re going to be spending a minimum of $10,000 and up to $30,000 and beyond.
What now?
Now that you know how much it cost to build a website, you should consider these things when discussing terms with your agency or freelancer.
Ask them whether the design is going to be custom created and then developed, or whether a pre-built theme is going to be used and edited to match your brand style. This will give you a good idea of whether the price you’re being charged makes sense. If not, it might be time to find another agency.
Now that you have an idea of how much a website costs and the factors that influence the price, it’s time to explore some of the hidden fees and charges that can add up quickly and catch you off guard.
Hidden fees and charges in web design and development
There’s usually three main hidden fees and charges that come up in web development:
- Hosting and domain fees
- Content Creation
- SEO Optimisation
- Analytics
Let’s take a look at each one!
Hosting and domain fees
Many web design agencies require their clients to purchase their own hosting and domain name. This is actually pretty cheap in the great scheme of things (can cost a couple hundred of dollars a year at the most). However, where it can catch you off guard is when agencies overcharge you for this.
A domain usually cost around $20 to $30 per year to own, except in exceptional cases where you’re looking at a special domain or when someone else already has access to the domain you want, in which case you’ll have to buy it off them at whatever price you can negotiate. This can cost up to thousands of dollars. Our recommendation? Pick a domain that matches your brand name closely enough but that isn’t more expensive than $30 a year. In the end, it likely won’t make much of a difference if you’re doing everything right from a marketing and SEO perspective, so it’s better to pick the cheap option here.
Hosting costs depend on how your website is built. For example, if you choose to build your website with Shopify, you’ll be paying $30 per month. On the other hand, if you build your website with WordPress (wordpress.org, not wordpress.com) you can purchase custom hosting from a hosting provider directly, which will always be cheaper than subscribing to a platform like Shopify. One example of a good hosting platform is Bluehost, who charge as little as $5 per month for hosting.
So when you add this up, at the lowest price point, it will cost you $90 per year ($30 per year for the domain + $60 per year for hosting).
At a higher price point (when you opt to use a website builder like Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, where hosting is already provided), you’re looking at around $390 per year ($360 per year for a website builder + hosting and $30 per year for the domain).
As you can see, your domain and hosting isn’t likely going to cost you more than $400 (or around about that) per year.
With this in mind, before you proceed with your agency, find out whether you’ll have to host your website yourself or whether they will do this for you, and then find out how this fits into the price they provided you with. Some agencies may charge additional fees for setting up hosting and domain names for their clients.
Additional Service Fees
Some agencies may add on additional service fees for things like content creation, SEO optimisation, and analytics installation. These things can actually take a significant amount of time to do, so it makes sense to be charged for these add on’s.
Content Creation
If images, videos and copywriting are all being created by your agency for your website, then that can incur at least an extra $2000 and go up to over $10,000 depending on what is being made. Content creation takes time and is a project in and of itself, so these prices make sense.
You can check out our graphic design pricing pages and videography and animation pricing pages to get an idea of the potential cost.
SEO Optimisation
If your agency is also providing ongoing SEO optimisation, then you can be expected to pay anywhere from $2000 upwards per month, depending on the extent of SEO work the agency is committing to.
However, if your agency is charging you a one-time fee for SEO optimisation when setting up your website, you’re being ripped off, and you should probably find another agency.
Setting up a website that has basic SEO features like meta tags, semantic HTML, fast page load time, etc is an essential part of the web development process and isn’t a separate “add on”. It’s simply a part of the process and doesn’t incur any additional fees, and if it does, your agency is just trying to make money off you wherever they can.
Some agencies get lazy when it comes to the SEO setup and simply skip this part of the process. This is why you might see some SEO agencies offering one-time SEO optimisation services for businesses. However, a website that’s done properly should have all of the basic SEO optimisation checkmarks completed.
You should ask your agency what SEO commitments they’re making when building your website to make sure they’re not planning on skipping this.
Analytics
When it comes to analytics, this can sometimes incur an additional charge if your agency is building out complex analytics for your website.
For example, simply installing Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel will take up to ten minutes to do. However, setting up custom events to track every click and conversion on the website and differentiate those clicks and conversions can take more time.
So if your agency is charging an additional $200 to $500 for analytics setup, this probably makes sense if custom events are being setup.
You should ask your agency exactly what analytics they’re installing and whether they’ll be creating custom events for you or not. If not, it doesn’t make sense to incur this additional fee.
So, what’s next?
You should now have a rough idea of how much a website costs to build depending on your specific circumstances.
At Aesthetic Studios, we understand the importance of transparency and honesty when working with clients. That’s why we explain our pricing in detail on our website.
