How Much Does A Website Cost
Pricing a website is similar to pricing a house. Imagine going
to a home builder and telling him "I need you to build me
a house." He would then proceed to ask you a series of detailed
questions regarding your needs for a new home and your budget.
The most important question may be regarding your choice of
floor plans which can vary dramatically, and the price depends
on many variables. Do you want a modest 2-3 bedroom home in
a decent subdivision? Or how about a luxury mansion by the
golf course and the lake? Are you looking for a home in a good
school district, or do you need a retirement home, vacation
home or a combination of both?
Then there are always various options which can be added such
as a swimming pool or spa, additional rooms such as a library,
music room, designer touches, etc. All of these add to the
price of the home.
This analogy can help you understand how web development works.
Just like the investment of time and money you would make
when designing your home, the investment you make in your web
site development project depends upon its complexity. In web
design, the elements range from the level of visual sophistication
to the type of programs you require on the site. There are
hundreds of variables that will affect the cost of your project,
but ultimately what it comes down to is time and materials.
The more time and/or materials it takes, the more your project
will cost. As with homebuilding, it is helpful to begin with
the end in mind. When thinking about the completed web site
you will require, here are ten things to consider:
What are your needs and goals? What do you expect the website
to accomplish for you?
Do you already have an established business with its own unique
brand and identity, or will the website content be conveying
this to prospective clients for the first time?
Do you need the site to serve as a "brochure" or
informational website only, or will you need a more interactive
design?
What are the needs and expectations of your site visitors,
customers and clients?
What do you require in terms of functionality in the website
(i.e., ecommerce shopping carts and real time credit card processing,
databases, advanced programming, etc.)?
What is your budget for the website? Have you established a
budget?
Do you want all the bells and whistles of the larger more well-funded
websites?
Will your website be database-driven?
Do you need a CMS (content management system) so you can add
your own information and update the site and pages yourself?
Do you need dedicated hosting (for larger sites with numerous
custom programs and dynamic content delivery and interaction)
or will shared hosting suffice?
Let's look at a few examples:
A small business owner wants a website in order to have a
presence on the internet, but the company's needs are quite
simple - about 4-5 pages with information about the business,
the services they provide and a feedback form to gather information
from clients and prospects. Their budget isn't that of a Fortune
500 company and they already have a few pictures and a logo
for use on the website. A web design company specializing in
designing websites for small to medium sized businesses would
take on a project like this for around $400-$500. A web design
firm catering to medium-sized and larger businesses would consider
the website design for around $2,000-$4,000, depending on their
answers to #1-#10 above. A larger web design firm would probably
decline to service this project since it is too small.
A company recently contacted us about developing a website
similar in scope to a very large and very popular online dieting
website. We first asked: Do you want all the bells and whistles
of this website? If so, they're probably looking at search
engine technology (to search through recipes, for example),
a CMS (content management system), a mechanism for designing
custom meal plans and shopping lists, forums for a support
network, chat software for communication with other members
and experts and much, much more. Even with these features,
this would be quite a large project. At a minimum, all of the
above mentioned features would cost at least $20,000 to $30,000,
and most likely even more. Also, the company would need a dedicated
server, which would add to the expense because of the heavey
programs necessary to generate that kind of dynamic content
and the higher number of custom programs that will be needed
to support this level of user interaction.
Consider that this cost estimate is merely "chicken feed" compared
to what The Wall Street Journal spent to upgrade their website
($28 million). Hewlett-Packard has also recently spent tens
of millions of dollars revamping its web site in an attempt
to make its e-commerce effort more coherent after its acquisition
of Compaq Computer.
In summary, the cost for a website is determined to a large
degree by what you can afford to spend. The complexity, size,
and needs play an important role as well as the level of expertise
and experience of the design team.
Generally speaking, the more you spend on your website, the
more website you will get for your money, an obvious statement
but true none-the-less.
Additionally an important component, beyond the scope of this
article, addresses the promotion and marketing of your site.
The best project in the world isn’t likely to be successful
if no one knows about it. Be sure to include the costs associated
with your marketing program.
This leads into the second most asked question of web developers, "How
long does it take to build a website?"
That depends on several variables...
You get the idea.
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About the Author: www.7designavenue.com offers affordable
website design for small
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