How Much Does It Cost to Design & Develop a Website?
Websites are essential in our highly online-connected world, and you should want one that converts users to paying customers. That makes your website an investment. We hate to break it to you, but that comes with a cost.
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Website?
If you are a business that is in the market for a website, we want to note that GENERALLY, website design and website development are two separate areas of website building, but it requires both for a fully functional site. As we talk about website development, keep in mind that the development portion focuses on the behind-the-scenes programming that makes the website functional, not the design aspects.
How Much Does Website Development Cost?
There are numerous elements that play a role in determining how much a website will cost to develop. These include size and complexity of design, features included, type of builder or developer employed, and level of customization desired.
It can be difficult to break down the cost of website development entirely without factoring in the cost of the design aspect as well. However, we’ll give it a go!
▼ Complexity
A more complex website will cost more to make. A large dynamic website with custom features will take more time and effort than a few static pages.
▼ Features
The more features, the more complexity coding-wise. An eCommerce store with hundreds of product pages and multiple application integrations will be more timely and costly to produce than let’s say a 5-page informational website.
▼ Type of Builder
By this, we mean who is building the website for your business. Are you going to try and DIY it? There are also companies that are some of the best in the business, freelance developers, and even major agencies that work with businesses.
▼ Customization
Businesses that want a custom, built from scratch, website will cost much more to develop than a website using a theme. We will talk about this a bit more later!
DIY
You can pay for a “website” on a website builder and probably get away with as little as $10 a month, but some can get up to $400+. Again, the level of complexity, features, and more would all play a role in the price. This does not necessarily factor in the cost of hosting or your domain name though.
Features and functionality would be highly limited at the lower-end prices. Also, note that your website would be blank pages you would have to design yourself. Therefore, the amount of time for research, content creation, testing of functionality, and more would all be on you. Lastly, you would want to check for security features, storage restrictions, and other limits some of these website builders may have.
Freelance Developer
On average, a skilled website developer charges around $75 per hour. This is an average though, and they can range anywhere from $30 to $180 per hour.
To determine your out-of-pocket expense, you would then need an estimate directly from the developer for the time your website would take to develop. The number of pages, features, application integrations, and more would all influence your overall cost. More complex websites would require much more time, and therefore money.
Again, if you are hiring a developer to specifically code, but not design, you would still be looking at hiring a designer or taking the designing part on yourself.
Company
Hiring a company can take a ton of work out of your hands. First, they have dedicated experts that work on developing the website to ensure full functionality. Additionally, they can give you mockups, complete testing, and ensure that the website looks and behaves how you want. Sometimes, they even think of features that you wouldn’t even consider.
A company will generally take on both the development and design of a website, not just one or the other. Therefore, the cost may be higher, but you are getting a complete website with input from both you and your team. On average, you could look to pay about $3000 to $7000+, depending on your needs, for the website development portion alone. Generally, companies will issue a flat price that includes both the development and design though, so keep that in mind.
There are ways that a website design and development company can keep the development costs lower too! Specifically, through the use of templates. You may be thinking, “I want a custom website so it is 100% unique,” however, templates are highly customizable so a similar experience can still be given. If using a theme, you could be paying on average half of the cost of the development price compared to coding a completely custom website. Why? Well, it takes about half of the time.
Unless you have some experience in website development, or need more than a few informational pages, we would recommend hiring someone who can take on both the development and design.
Invest in Your Website. Expand Your Opportunities.
Modern website rules dictate you need to up your game. A website is where your business can promote products or services, impress users and potential customers, and stifle your competition. Development and design are two parts of a whole. This is why we recommend someone who can both develop and design. Cyberlicious® does it all, and more.
How Much Does Website Design Cost?
Sure, you have probably come across ads saying they can build a website for $199. We call BS. I mean, they might be able to give you a one-page website with all the info just slapped on that one page, but it will probably also look the exact same as every other “website” they have built.
The cost of a website design can vary for a number of reasons. When it comes down to it, it all circles around how much work is involved. By this, we mean the size and complexity of the project. Someone looking for a 10-page website build with standard customization features will pay less than a project requiring 30+ pages with custom features and SEO implementation. Other things to keep in mind include:
CUSTOM DESIGN VS. THEME/TEMPLATE
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
CUSTOM IMAGES/GRAPHICS
LOGO/BRANDING
CODING/PROGRAMMING
NUMBER OF PAGES
SEO MARKUP
NUMBER OF REVISIONS
INTEGRATION OF APPLICATIONS
How Much Does It Cost to Design a Website?
Let us start with the cost of a basic website design. There are two options to consider when figuring out how much you can expect to pay.
- Hire a Professional
- Do it Yourself
Unless you have experience designing websites, we always recommend hiring a professional. Why? Easy, they know what works. They know what users want, how they behave, and most importantly, how to design around those wants and behaviors.
Hire a Professional
The average cost of a website design for a small-business can range anywhere from $5,000-$10,000. Larger and more complex websites can cost between $20,000-$40,000+. Again, it all depends on size and complexity.
Do it Yourself
The average cost of a DIY website ranges from $500-$1,000, but do not be surprised if that price is higher. The caveat? It takes a lot of time and effort to design a website. Someone who knows what they are doing may be able to build a simple website in 20-40 hours. Someone new to the process may spend x2/x3 that amount of time.
How Much Does a Custom Website Design Cost?
Most website design companies do NOT build every website from scratch. Programming a completely custom design is both time-consuming and costly, which does not bode well for most clients.
Generally, when an agency discusses average website design costs, those prices are quoted with the assumption of using a theme/template. Themes/templates are pre-coded, designed with users in mind, and have already been evaluated for functionality. For a complete custom built website design, you can expect to pay double, or even triple the price. Therefore, that $5,000-$10000 average may actually be closer to $10,000-$20,000; that’s for smaller/normal websites. For large websites, expect a high price tag.
How Much Does a Professionally Designed Website Cost?
As Cyberlicious® is a full-service marketing agency, we consider every website design project a professionally designed website. Therefore, we still consider the average cost to be $5,000-$10,000, with larger and more complex projects costing easily over $20,000.
Website builders that say they charge only $199 are not what we consider professionally designed. In fact, they will likely spit-out a cookie-cutter page that is not designed to specifically reach your goals.
Remember, a lot goes into a website’s design process:
- Back-End Web Development
The coding and programming that makes everything run smoothly and together. - Front-End Web Design
The visual appearance that users and customers see when visiting your website. - UI/UX Design
Features and elements specifically created to engage with users. It should be a journey. - Mobile Responsiveness
Mobile users should be able to easily read, navigate, and use the website. - SEO Markup
Do you want your website found when users search for what you offer? It’s a competitive SEO environment. - Content Creation
Website copy, images, videos, and other media need to engage and resonate with your audience.
How Much Does It Cost to Design an eCommerce Website?
An eCommerce website design will likely fall on the higher end of the cost spectrum due to the amount of content and applications required to have the website functional. eCommerce websites will generally require:
- CMS/POS Integration
- Numerous Product Pages: Will need a lot of content creation for product descriptions, media, etc.
- Integration of Google Analytics & Google Ads
- Security Measures: Protection of customer information is especially important.
- Functional Features: Shopping Cart, Check out buttons, Email integration, & more.
- Mobile App UI/UX
- SEO Markup of Products/Content
DIYers can get away with a basic design for $1000-$3000, but keep in mind monthly fees for hosting. DIYers must also consider their needs in relation to security and checkout for their customers. Overall, eCommerce website design costs will increase with the use of a professional website designer. In total, the costs for building an enterprise-level ecommerce website design could add up to about $15,000 – $30,000, or more.
How Much Does a Website Designer Cost?
The average cost of a website designer is estimated to be $30-$80 per hour with a website developer averaging around $100-$180 per hour. While these ranges are different, as noted above, pricing will be determined by numerous factors. Remember, you get what you pay for.
The cost to hire a website designer depends on distinct factors:
▼ Skills & Experience
More experience means higher rates. Additionally, more experience and skills may mean an understanding of more advanced features and elements, and maybe even slightly quicker turn around time.
▼ Freelance Vs. Company/Agency
A company/agency may accrue higher costs due to having a team of people working together. This can also be good as you have numerous people with different skills working together to create the final product. That means more expertise all around, and more eyes going through and testing functionality, design, and UI/UX.
▼ Size & Complexity of Project
More time and details mean more money. A startup eCommerce company who sells a few niche products will require much less than a full-fledged and running department store.
▼ Market Rates
Inflation, and supply and demand, will affect costs.
Websites Shouldn’t Cut Corners.
The price of well designed and developed website can hit a little hard. Especially if you aren’t expecting it. However, a website is a virtual door to your brand. People are online all day, every day and they need to be able to find you.
Experts can make sure your website is designed to meet your goals. Lead capture, revenue, you name it. Our team here at Cyberlicious® does that and more. You just have to want it bad enough.
Are Website Development Costs Tax Deductible?
Yes, as an expense, but…
Can You Capitalize Website Development Costs?
Yes, as a 3-year software asset with the federal depreciation bonus at 80% for year 1, and 20% over the next 2 years. Remember, we’re not your tax accountant as this could be different for your business.