How much should a website cost?

Hopefully if you work with a reliable and trustworthy website designer (we'd like to think we could be counted as that) then you will be paying a fair fee for your site. However, for budgeting purposes and so that you can work out if what you’re being offered is a good deal, it’s helpful to understand the costs related to building a website before you start. Here we’ll outline what you might expect to pay for different components or types of websites so that you can stay ahead of the game.

To start with, there’s a big difference between a website and a web presence. If you have a domain name and some information pages then you really have a web presence. If however you have an SEO-optimised site with clear call-to-actions, conversion opportunities (including eCommerce) and a site that bring business to your business then you have a website. And understandably, this costs money.

Things you need to think about to start with;

• Text; do you need to write the copy, does the agency (and do they charge extra), who’s going to proofread it, is it SEO optimised?
• Design; do you have a logo, do you have a brand identity with a colour palette and font choices, does the overall website design need to have a certain ‘feel’ about it (modern, minimalist, image-based)?
• Site map; how will your pages be structured, how will the menus be accessed/displayed, what type of pages do you need (text, image, video, landing pages, conversions, webforms), what should your homepage do?
• Responsiveness; if your website’s not responsive then Google ain't gonna like it unfortunately, it really does need to be responsive.
• Ongoing maintenance; do you want to update content yourself, do you want an agency to have an ongoing support contract, how much do you understand about keeping your website up-to-date?

As well as the actual build of the site itself, you need to budget for domain name renewal, ongoing hosting fees, future development to the site, Google search changes (and the need to adapt your website for this), eCommerce opportunities etc. Again, these aren’t free, or if they are, be wary.

Essentially I can’t tell you exactly how much your site will cost because of all of these complicated factors. However, a basic website with content, a limited number of pages and limited photography/video content and no eCommerce ability would probably start at £3,000 (ish – again, it totally depends!), and an all-singing, all-dancing website with high value eCommerce, high-quality image and video content, a large number of overall pages, and with a completely bespoke system built into it could set you back £50,000 or more. Obviously there are a multitude of prices in between, so you’d need to discuss your requirements more thoroughly to get an accurate estimate.

If you’re unsure you’re getting the best deal then get several quotes from different people/companies. There’s absolutely nothing to stop this, and it’s actually recommended so you can find the right solution for you. A price/quality evaluation of the website offer is essential to make sure that you get all of the features and functionality that you need/want, but also that you’re not being ripped off.

If you need to discuss your website needs and don’t know where to start then get in touch: hello@webfwd.co.uk