Video Transcription:
The number one question I get asked is "How much does a website cost?"
People sometimes think I'm avoiding the question when I say, "Well, it depends." But it really does!
Look, a website design can cost $500 or it can cost $100,000. It really depends on what you want and who you're asking the question to. But if you want to know what impacts the price and get some ballpark costs of what it typically would cost keep watching.
Hi I'm Tom Malesic, founder and President of EZMarketing, and you're watching AskEZ. This is where small business owners go to get real answers to their marketing questions.
Why cost shouldn't be your first question
So before we get into this, I understand that "How much does it cost?" is a really important question, but it shouldn't actually be your first question. We sometimes get asked for a quote way before we even know what you want.
It's kind of like asking, "How much does a car cost?" Well, what kind of car? Is it new or used? Is it a Toyota or Mercedes? Is it a sports car or is it a minivan?
You get what you pay for, and if you're only concerned about price you may be unhappy with the end result.
Factors That Influence Website DESIGN Costs
Okay, let's talk about the main factors that influence the cost of the website.
Who Is Designing It?
First, who's designing it? You could do it yourself, you could hire a freelancer, or you could use a professional web design company.
If you choose the DIY method, it's absolutely cheaper because — well — you're doing the work yourself.
If you hire a freelancer it's cheaper than hiring a professional website designer, but that person may lack the skills or the capacity to complete your project.
You could use a web design company like ours. It's going to be more expensive, but we can handle your project from start to finish, and we have a large capable staff that you can trust.
How Big Is It?
The next factor is how big is the site? In general the more pages on the site the more time it takes and consequently the more expensive it becomes.
Think of each new page that you add. We need to write copy. We need to create graphics. And we need to design the page. That all takes time. So a basic site that might have five pages in it — maybe it has a Home, About Us, a couple of product or services pages — doesn't take as much time as a large e-commerce website design might take that has hundreds or even thousands of pages.
A typical small business website design is going to have between 10 and 50 pages.
What Features Do You Need?
And finally what features do you need on the website?
Some website designs don't do all that much, right? They provide basic information, they look pretty, and they're kind of like online brochures.
But in many cases you're going to want your website to actually help you sell. And that might be generating a lead, or maybe you're actually selling a product online. So you might want a form or a get a quote button, and that's a lot easier and cheaper than adding a full shopping cart or even some kind of shipping calculations.
Other features that you might be considering adding would be photo galleries or blogs. Maybe you're looking at an event calendar online or even animations or videos. All of these things influence the final price of the website.
Website DESIGN Cost Guidelines
The bottom line is: every web design is different and we're going to need to quote this. But I know you want to know some numbers, so here are some ballpark numbers that you can anticipate spending.
- DIY approach, bare-bones website: <$500
- Freelancer, mid-size website: $2,000 - $10,000
- Website design company, typical small business website: $5,000+
- Web design company, e-commerce website: $10,000+
If you want to hire the right web designer for your next website project and avoid overpaying, download our free 'Ultimate Website Buyer's Guide' that will walk you through the entire process to help you make a good educated decision.
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