When it comes to building a website, one of the first questions people often have on their mind is the cost of the website. “How much will a website cost?” People often look for simple answers and like to compare option A with option B to reach a decision. But answering this question can be difficult as websites are getting more and more complicated.
Truth to be said, the cost of a website varies depending on a number of factors. However, in this article, we will help you get an idea of how much can a website cost you.
How Much Does a Website Cost?
The simplest answer to this question is, it depends on the website you choose to build. Nowadays, companies are opting for complex websites to showcase their services and products. Moreover, businesses have a plethora of options to choose from.
So before you get an answer to this question, it is important to determine the type of business website that best fits your needs.
Types of Business Websites
Majorly, business websites are divided into four types depending on budget, goals, and technical aspects.
Hosted Websites
The hosted websites are web application that requires a person to pay a monthly or an annual fee to use. These websites come bundled with a content management system, specific templates, and optimizations. Some of the popular examples of hosted websites solutions include Shopify, SquareSpace and Wix.
Page Builder Websites
If you are someone who wants to DIY their website but does not possess the technical know-how, this is for you. The page builder websites use popular plugins such as Elementor, Divi, and Visual Composer to effectively build a functional website for you using preformatted content blocks.
DIY Websites
If you are eager to set up your business website, you can use open-source content management system such as WordPress to install your own hosting and theme. WordPress offers plenty of themes, out of which some are free and some are paid. You can choose a theme that comes packed with post templates, color options, and pages. WordPress gives you the freedom to build a website that suits your business requirements.
Custom Websites
If you are looking forward to building a complex website, you need to get in touch with one of the best website development companies. Such companies have experience in building custom websites effectively from scratch. A custom website can be built on open-sources, licensed or a customized content management system platform.
What Influence the Cost of a Website?
Here are some of the factors that can influence the cost of a website.
Type of website
As described above, you can choose to get your website custom built or built it on an open-source CMS. While it is easier and cheaper to set up a simple blog, setting up a complex business website will cost you a lot of money.
Domain and Hosting
To put your business online, you need an online address. In terms of a website, you will need a registered domain and a server on which your website will be hosted. You can either choose to pay for the domain or hosting yourself or choose them from the website services provider.
Technology
Some kind of software is required to power a website. This can be a PHP file or pure HTML. You can even choose an open-source content management system like WordPress. Depending on the chosen software, the cost will differ.
Functionality
The cost of setting up a website also depends on the functionality of the website. You may need to use additional plugins, third-party services or additional apps to improve your website functionality. This can increase the website cost.
Development
Building a business website is not only about acquiring different components but it is also important to assemble them. You need to hire a web development company to design and develop your vision.
Maintenance
Website maintenance is an ongoing job. It is not enough to just build a website. You need to maintain it as well to keep it running in the best shape.
While you can accomplish some tasks yourself, you need to hire experts to complete other tasks. Depending on your capabilities and the services you choose to outsource, the final cost of the website will change.
A Few Scenarios Depicting the Final Cost
Here are a few scenarios depicting the final price of a website. This will give you a fair idea of how much will the website cost.
Do Everything Yourself – Approximately $60 a Year
The cheapest way to get a website up and running is to create it yourself
But “I don’t know how to do it” you say.
Well, there’s enough technology available at your dispose that allows you to create a website without coding. WordPress and Joomla are two prominent open-source CMS that can help you design your own website while paying for just the hosting and domain.
Hire a Freelancer - $1000 to $3000 per Website
If you have a budget, you can choose to hire a freelancer. As the average hourly pay varies depending on the freelancer expertise, you can hire someone from below $10 to $100+. A standard WordPress website takes anywhere from 15 to 30 hours, this option can cost you around $1000 to $3000 a website.
Remember, the more complex site, higher will be the cost.
Work with an Agency – $5000 to $50,000 per Website
If you are big business, you can choose to work with an agency. This gives you an option to work with the experts who have years of experience to back their knowledge. However, working with an agency includes much more working hours and thus, the cost of website increases.
When working with an agency, it is possible to get a site for anywhere between $5000 to $50000. One of the advantages of working with an agency is that you get access to expert services under one roof.
The Bottom Line
The cost of a website depends on your needs, preferences, and budget.
Want to get a website designed for your business? Looking forward to revamping your existing website?
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