How Much Does Website Design Cost? An Informative Guide

When it comes to designing a website for yourself or your brand, chances are you’re going to have to outsource this responsibility. Since not everybody has the necessary skills, it makes more sense to hire an expert to help you bring your vision to reality.

But, not everybody understands how much they should be paying. Fortunately, it’s not as difficult to calculate as it might seem. 

Not quite sure how to begin? We’ve got all the info you need.

Let’s explore everything you should keep in mind when it comes to overall website design costs.

Website Hosting

One of the primary costs of creating a website is its best hosting. This involves paying a service provider to ensure that your website remains up and running.

While you may be able to shop around from provider to provider in order to minimize the amount of pay, you’ll often find the savings to be marginal at best. Instead, you want to search for a host that can satisfy all of your individual needs.

These typically include guaranteed uptime, ongoing maintenance, accessibility, etc. 

Website Domain

Similar to how you need to pay for hosting, you’ll also need to pay for your website domain.

In most circumstances, the cost will be negligible. But, you may find that you need to pay a large amount of money if you’re set on a certain domain name.

In general, short and simple domain names will often cost far more than something longer and more specific. There’s a strong difference between www.news.com and www.saltlakecitysportsbar.com.

So, you’re left with two options: compromise on the domain name or pay more money to secure the one you want. If your budget allows for it, though, you should strive to get the shortest domain name possible since shorter names are easier for customers to remember. 

eCommerce Functionality (Optional)

If you intend to sell products on your website, you’ll need to integrate e-commerce functionality. This includes attributes that allow customers to navigate through your store and pay for items securely.

Depending on the level of functionality that you require, this cost can range from a few hundred dollars to over $10,000. So, this is something you need to keep in mind when budgeting for the design of your website.

Otherwise, you may be left with no way for your customers to make purchases, which will negatively impact your overall revenue.

Your Web Design Professional

This is perhaps the most variable cost they experience for designing a website. Factors that determine how much you can expect to pay a web design professional include:

• Their level of experience
• The size and functionality of your site
• Other required services (such as app integration)

To elaborate, a designer with more experience typically charges a higher rate than someone who is new to the industry. But, they may lower this rate for larger projects since it will take them more time to complete.

Depending on their level of skill and availability, they may charge a premium for miscellaneous services that you require. In order to find a reliable web designer, it’s in your best interest to take a look at their past project.

Most designers will have an easily accessible portfolio on their personal websites that you can browse through. Designers that do not offer this are likely inexperienced or have not completed work they’re proud enough to show off.

In the scenario, it’s best to look elsewhere until you find a web designer who can accommodate your needs. You can check out this web design service to get a better idea of what to look for. 

Content

If you don’t plan on creating content yourself, you need to outsource this obligation, as well. This typically falls into two categories: graphic design and written copy.

For example, you may need to hire a photographer to take pictures of your facility, your team, etc. Freelancers also tend to hire photographers to take pictures of themselves.

Since it’s imperative to provide your audience with high-quality content, you also need to hire a copywriter who can write for your blog. Depending on how much content you plan on publishing each month, this can be a notable ongoing cost that you’ll need to properly budget for. 

Marketing

It’s highly unlikely that people are going to find your website on their own after its initial creation. So, you need to allocate funds toward marketing to get your brand in front of the right users.

In general, this can be achieved by taking advantage of paid ads and search engine optimization (SEO). For those unfamiliar with the latter term, it involves fine-tuning the content and nuances of your website in order to facilitate the greatest chance of people finding it on their own through Google.

Over time, you’ll begin to experience a steady flow of organic traffic that can lead to a large number of conversions if you target the right audience.

Obviously, you’ll need to budget for the money you spend on ads if you choose to go this route. But, you also need to budget for hiring an SEO expert if you don’t plan on handling this obligation on your own.

So, What’s The Total?

Depending on what you require in each category, your overall cost could range from $100-$200 to $10,000-$20,000.

The good news is, though, is that the price you pay is often directly related to the level of functionality your site requires. Since larger companies will typically need to pay more, they’ll often make this money back relatively quickly. 

It Can Seem Complicated to Figure Out Your Website Design Cost

But the above information will make the process far smoother. From here, you’ll be able to accurately determine your website design cost and make the decision that’s best for you.

Want to learn more info you should keep in mind? Be sure to explore what the rest of our blog has to offer.