What does it cost to have a website created?
As a business, you want a website that gets results, because the only expensive website is the one that doesn’t work. But what does having a website created really cost, and where should you start? With more than two billion websites in the air, the cost of developing a website varies greatly. I get the question daily and without explaining what it takes, it costs as much as a car. The options and possibilities are endless and your needs determine the price. So you can make it as affordable or pricey as you want. In this article, I lay out some of the options and possibilities for you. The first step is knowing what is involved in creating a website.
What are all the cost items?
As a first step, it is important to identify the types of costs and options involved in a Web site. Because while the investment of a Web site varies, there are some elements that almost always recur.
- Domain Name & Hosting – Every Web site needs an address and building ground. In web terms, this is called a domain name and hosting. You can purchase these separately, manage them independently or arrange them “managed” through a hosting partner such as WP Provider.
- The type of website – No one website is the same. The price is therefore based on the goal you want to achieve. A (small) blog website will soon be many times cheaper than a web shop, for example.
- The basics – Every website must be developed with code. This can be done from scratch with a number of coding languages or you start with a base such as a Content Management System (CMS) (For example, WordPress). The cost of this varies widely. As a rule, building from scratch is much more expensive than starting with a CMS. Sometimes companies even choose to have their own CMS developed – of course, this is even pricier.
- Components – You often need more than just a basic Web site. You may need several plug-ins, applications or other services to optimize the Web site for marketing purposes. Many of these additions involve separate investments because the component developers also need to be paid.
- Design/Development – Building a website is more than just buying the right components and plugins. You go through a complex process where you want to make sure that you work with the web developers to capture more at each stage to ultimately arrive at a complete website. You can purchase a basic template and update it or you can create a web design completely customized with a designer. This is something I will come back to in a moment.
- Maintenance – Your built website will in many cases also need to be maintained. On the one hand for security purposes on the other hand because you would like to update and expand it. The latter is certainly the case if you start working with online marketing.
You can choose to craft it yourself or outsource it to someone who can do the job faster. Of course, this depends on how much you can and want to do yourself. If you do a lot yourself, the cost will be significantly less. But beware: putting together a Web site takes a lot of time. More than you might think. With this knowledge, it’s time to make a budget. Of course, this can only be done when you know whether you are going to build a website yourself, or have it outsourced. The following three options show the possible costs for a website:
Option 1: Build your own website
The cheapest option is to build a website yourself. Don’t be alarmed, because even without coding knowledge you can get the job done. It is perfectly possible to put up a running website without the use of crazy code. Are you willing to learn? Then a WordPress website is a good starting point. Here you can set up a website from scratch using themes, plugins and interactive block structures.
You only pay monthly costs for hosting, a domain name and (possibly) a purchased theme and plugins. A good hosting package costs on average €15/25 euros per month, a .nl domain name around €15 euros per year and a purchased theme about €100 euros once.
This option does have several snags. It takes a lot of time to create a slick and user-friendly website. In addition, many themes use unnecessary code, making your website slow. Doesn’t that matter to you? Then this option is definitely worth it and you will spend about €200 euros on a yearly basis, and of course many hours in fine-tuning your website.
Option 2: Hire a freelancer
Of course, if you don’t have the time (or patience) to get started yourself, you can always hire a freelancer. There are plenty of web designers who can deliver a beautiful website for a small investment. With many independent web designers, you can have a website built for between 700 and 1400 euros. The cost will vary depending on the hourly rate, the length of the project and the level of customization.
Setting up a standard WordPress template to your liking takes about 15 to 30 hours. Want a unique design that doesn’t exist yet? Then you need to consider additional costs. If you opt for quality, the expected minimum for a user-friendly website is at least 2000 to 3000 euros with a freelancer. The more complex the website, the higher the cost.
The danger of a freelancer is that he or she is not all-round enough to put up a website that recovers its investment. A good website is conceived by digital (marketing) consultants, designed by visual and user interface designers, and built by front- and back-end developers. There is often another online marketer involved to help set up marketing tooling.
Option 3: Have a website built by an agency
Hiring a professional web design company to build the website is completely different from creating a website yourself. You interact with several experts who are responsible for your website setup, design, branding, coding and
If you engage a professional agency, then you can count on a good website and a clear process developed to recoup the investment. But know that the price is then also higher than that of a freelancer. You should expect to pay between 5,000 and 15,000 euros for a professional website, but then you can expect perfect integration of marketing, design, web development and SEO.
Is the website even more complex, such as a web shop or a well-stocked news site? Then it is not strange to come across offers of 15,000+ euros. With such websites, the money is made entirely online with the website so it’s not crazy that you need a good investment here. You also have to consider that the website is going to generate profits for years because it has to perform well, so it’s not crazy to bet on a tight development process in order to have a future-proof site developed.
How expensive is a good website?
Creating a good Web site is an investment. But, an expensive website does not mean that sales will increase or that visitors will stick around longer. In fact, there are plenty of web builders who create beautiful websites but totally disregard conversion, target audiences and/or online findability.
A beautiful website with a slick design does not equal a high-performing website. A strong website is one that does what it is supposed to do: inform, persuade and, ultimately, convert. A website visitor should always know what you have to offer and what steps need to be taken to get what he or she wants. It is not about you as a person/company, but about the visitor and a matching design.
What does it cost to have a website made?
Whatever choice you make; make sure you secure the investment. Consider the following before you start:
- Clear choices about structure and layout of the website. This is important for your findability, but also to get your visitors to a conversion point;
- Design choices made to present the brand well online and work for your target audience. Preferably something unique that stands out in the sea of website templates;
- Determine well what techniques will be used and see if you can already see how the “back end” of the website works. This prevents surprises later;
- Make sure the process you are going to go through is clear and logical. After all, you’re going to be working with your web builder for a while, and unclear communication leads to dissatisfaction;
- Makes sure you know what to expect after going live regarding support.
A well-functioning website for an optimal experience for the website visitor so you generate more leads/sales. Building a website is a smart investment, provided it is well thought out. Want to know more? Please feel free to contact me, I would love to help you!
What are the basic cost items when building a website?
What does it cost to build a website yourself?
What does it cost to have a website created by a freelancer?
What does it cost to have a website built by an agency
What determines whether a Web site is “good”?
What should you arrange in advance when you have a website built?
Make choices in advance about structure, layout, design, techniques and communication. That way, you avoid surprises and work pleasantly with your web builder. Also know what to expect in terms of support after going live.
