Whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, it’s now more important than ever that you have a consistent and informative online presence. Having a well-designed and functional website is crucial and it can maximise your business considerably. But obviously, this comes at a cost, so how much does a website cost?
A website is likely to be a large initial investment for any business, great or small and that price can vary based on various factors that we’ll explain in more detail in this post, whilst outlining some guidance on what to expect when budgeting for a new website.
Factors That Affect The Cost Of A Website
Some of the factors that can affect the cost of a website have been explored below, but it’s important to be aware these can vary per business and depending on the route you choose to get the site quoted (eg. self-build, agency, freelancer etc).
The majority of factors below impact the time a project will take - usually the most important factor when determining price. Digital marketing agencies' pricing is often based on a profitable hourly rate (even if you’re charged a flat fee) that they work to, and therefore the longer the site is expected to take, the more expensive the quote will be.
Size
The size of the website is going to affect the cost greatly due to a number of reasons.
For example, larger, more complex sites will require additional development time and resources to implement effectively.
There are a number of factors that could increase the time it takes to build larger websites, for example, the amount of content that needs to be created, the number of templates and layouts that need to be designed or the overall larger architecture and workings of the site that need extra configuration or development.
A more extensive site may also require more storage space and better-quality hosting. If the site is particularly large, with a lot of complex features, and a great amount of imagery or videos, in order to perform sufficiently, it may require more expensive hosting and storage features.
Design
The design of a website will usually impact the overall price that it's going to cost, once again due to the amount of time it’ll take the designers and developers.
Simple website designs can take just a matter of hours to design, and then will get handed to developers to build. The more complex designs with greater functionality will take longer to design and require more resources and therefore will take longer to build.
Features, Functionality & Complexity
One of the main factors that’ll affect the cost of a website will be its features and functionality - basically what the website needs to be able to do.
Simple, more informative websites that simply display information take a lot less time in terms of design and development compared to more complicated builds such as an ecommerce website that sells products. These more complex builds require a higher level of development knowledge, a greater deal of detail, and more work.
The complexity of certain features such as accessibility and device priority can also make a difference. Although nowadays, most websites should be mobile-friendly as standard, an enhanced mobile-first web build can usually be a little more complicated and require extra development time.
CMS
The chosen CMS (content management system) platform that the website will be built on can also influence the overall price of the project.
Off-the-shelf CMSs such as WordPress, WIX and Squarespace usually require less development input and come with a lot of pre-built features, therefore cutting the development time and cost down.
The only potential issue with these off-the-shelf, template-based sites occurs if you’re after something a little more customisable and features these platforms can’t offer. This is where more bespoke options are available. Bespoke websites built from the ground up are going to require more budget, especially if you require a custom CMS.
If you’re looking for a middle ground, a bespoke WordPress website may be the way to go. Usually, this will be cheaper than a completely bespoke CMS and still provide a great deal of flexibility compared to a standard out-of-the-box solution.
Industry/ Website Type
The industry your business operates within can also affect the cost of your website quote due to various factors.
Some industries will require specialist features not always available with the pre-built options, for example, if you’re an ecommerce company looking to sell products online. Depending on the complexity of the buyer journey, this will require more time and therefore a greater investment. Equally, if your business is within the hospitality sector, the website will need to integrate smoothly with a variety of booking engines (IBEs) - consequently requiring more work.
Businesses that operate within certain sectors may also be affected by particular regulations that a website must comply with. This could then indicate extra work for your developers, consequently driving up prices.
Who’s Building It
The company or individual that’s building the website will also impact the cost.
Many companies choose to work with digital marketing or web design agencies when creating new websites. Agencies are companies that do these services, day in, day out, usually with a lot of experience and past projects under their belt. A digital marketing agency's pricing can fluctuate based on a number of factors, so it’s always best to reach out directly to multiple agencies to get a range of quotes before making a decision.
You’ll also have a few other options when it comes to who’s building your site, you could choose a freelancer or even opt to build the site yourself. Freelancers will usually be slightly cheaper than agencies, but projects may take a little longer.
If you’re choosing to build the site yourself, this is probably going to be the cheapest option as your biggest expense outside of hosting, domains etc. will be your own time. This option is suitable for smaller more informational sites and for people with decent technical knowledge.
Average Cost Of A Website
As mentioned above the average cost of a website varies on many different factors. However, based on research and estimations, we can outline the below. It’s also important to note these estimations don’t account for ongoing maintenance.
ecommerce
According to WebFX the average cost of an ecommerce website is anywhere between $5000 - $55000 for between 100-1000 products. If the ecommerce site is built using a basic WordPress, you can expect between $500 - $3,000 with custom WordPress estimated to be between $5000 - $10,000 with everything included. If you’re considering Shopify WPBeginner estimates a cost of between $1,000 - $10,000 all in.
Informational
MonsterInsights claim that a super simple website for small businesses can cost anywhere between $100 and $500, with more advanced, yet still simple sites pushing up to $500 - $1000.
Hospitality
Hospitality and hotel websites that tend to have a variety of integrations can fluctuate a lot in terms of price ranging from $2,000 up to $10,000+ depending on the complexity of the build.
Bespoke
If you’re considering a fully bespoke website, built from the ground up, the list of customisations can be endless and here it’s hard to estimate a price. However, you’re probably looking at anywhere above £10,000.
Benefits Of Investing In A Website
If you’re thinking about investing in a new website, the saying “you get what you pay for” is something well worth remembering and there are many benefits to investing a little bit more into your website.
If you’re spending more it’s likely you’ll be getting a higher quality site and a site that has had more time invested into it by the designers and developers. The more expensive sites tend to be built with growth, SEO, user experience and conversions right at the very forefront.
Your website should always be seen as a long-term investment, and the core of your business’s online presence. It’s there to serve your existing customers and bring in new customers to help your business grow.
Conclusion
As explored, the cost of a website can vary vastly depending on many different factors. It’s really important to understand these elements and how they could affect the cost of your website.
If you’re looking for an experienced website design and development agency, then look no further. Our web team have years of experience, from small well-known CMS-based sites to fully large eCommerce websites and bespoke hotel websites. Get in touch with us to see if we can help make your website dreams come true.